The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1865-07-15
Roseerans in West Virginia.

Some UnpnbIished Details OF Early
Operations in our BIidst..-The days
when all Hands were Cropping in the
D0HlE--.-McClellan not the Hero OF
Rich Mountain by n good deaI...-
PhiIIiPpl Considered n .sbIg thins''
and n Defensive Point.
From ute testtmony before Die Committee on tte
Conduct Gf the Var, Dirs1l 6y Gen. RosecrdnS.)
Major General w. S. Rosecrans sworn
and examined. g'5a.
BY the Chairman: @
Q. What is your present rank and
position in the army, and what positions
have you held in the army since the
commencement of the rebcllion2
z "A. My first military service in this
war was as Volunteer Engineer and AS
sista1lt Camp to cClellan,. dur
ing which l laid out Camp Dennison
and visited Philadelphia to examine
JuStuS' arm factory, and Washington to
urge that prompt provision be made for
paying and clothing our Ohio troops.
many of the Officers and men, from
leaving home so promptly, being in
great deStitution.
On my return from Washington. I
found awaiting me commission as
Chief Engineer of the State of Ohio, un-
der special law then recently passed,
authorizing such an officer, with the
rank, pay and emoluments of United
States Colonel of Engineers.s HF
IaCcepted, but explained to Governor
Dennison that this office would keep
me from active service, at u time when
my military training and information
would be OF great service to our noble
young men, who were flying to arms,
and would be subjected TO numberless
hardships and hazards, arising solely
from Ignorance and ineXperience in the
military service.
| a few days after he sent me a COM
mission as Colonel of the 23d Ohio Vol
unteer Infantry, which ] accepted, and,
repairing to Columbus, reported for du-
ty as commandhnt Of the enoampment
| of three years volunteers, which nam
ed Camp Chase, and commanded until
was surprised by the receipt of an ap-
pointment, dated May l6, 1861, as Brig
adler General in the regular army: md
almost Immediately thereafter, of mi
order from Gen. Mcclellan, TO report to
him at Cincinnati for further orders.
On my arrival in Cincinnati, I found
was TO accompany him into Western
Virginia, into which, after the defeat
and dispersion of the rebels under
Porterfield, at Phillippi, General Rob
ert S. Garnet hRd entered, for the pur-
pose of teaching the loyal Union men
proper Difference to the will of their
llcge masters, the Shareholders east of
the Blue Ridge.
l served in this grade long after Col
onels Ind been promoted to Major Gen
erals, for camp service; and, finally, the
| day after the battle of Iuka, received
an appointment of Major General of
VOLUNTEERS, to rank from the 10th tav of
September, 1862, the date of which WINS
subsequently changed to March q 1862,
probably to avoid the Inconvenience in
plncing me in command of BuelIs
army, in which were Afajor Generals OF
senior rank. .
In this grade I have since served.
4 lMCLELLAN's FAILURE TO SUPPORT ROSE
q, GRAMS AT RICH MOUNTAIN.
After giving fully his account of the
nrst operations in West Virginia, Gen.
Rosecran'ss says:l ~
As no explanation was ever, to my
knowledge, given for the failure of our
main force tolattack the enemy on the
10Th, 1t Is proper to say that while we
We're Se1ztng the Gap, not only Was the
firing of the enemy's artillery heard,
but the musketry and cheers ofour own
men, inthe final charge on the enemy's
line, were heard by the men in fhe
camp, mile and II half in rear of our
main force.
II should also be added, that. SO
strong was the impression that our
column had met with disaster in the
conflict mt the Gap, that General NIc-
4 Clellan sent his Chief of Staff from the
front back to the camp to arm all the
i teamsters, lest the enemy, after having
. destroyed my brigade, should fall upon
and cut the main body to pieces.
AS tits probably known to some
members of the committee that sundry
reports of this battle, at variance In
; many material points with its true his
tory as here given, were in circulation
IN Washington during the latter end OF
1851 and the early part of 1862, have
7 been careful to enter into details civ
. ling all the facts of importance in rela-
ton to the actions of the General com
J manding, his staff officers and those
who served with me in the affair.
By Mr.. Gooch:'
q. Do you know any reason .yhy
General Mcclellan did not make an at,
tack, with the force Immediately under
MIN, in his front, as was CONTEMPLATED
when You left himP
a. know of no reason why he did
not, and of no reason why he should
not have done so, TSfT7
z: II he had made TINT attack, as was
contemplated between you and him. in
Z Your opinion what would have heer
s the result? ~
yiI. a. lhe enemy, having made no at.
lack on MS front, had dfspatGhed to the
, gap one half Of his artillery and a con.
4 sl1eraple force In addition to that usu.
eAttS st1tlUhe1 there. The probabilities
are that, had the attack in front beer
MAJ mace we S should -Ily have beaten the enemy
his entire force that day, instead. of nj.
lowing them to run away through the
WOODS individually or in squads. durfiIS
: the night subsequent to the capture oi
8 the gap, as they did. AT all events
General Mcclellan was bound, as 4
military man, to have made the attack
lin his front. for the DurpOSfA Of f,,.E,y-s,1t
} ing the enemy from falling on me with
: too heavy force. =
: @. Do you know whether General
! McClellan has ever ASSIGNED any rsasnr