Delaware State journal and statesman., 1865-02-03
From the Public Ledger
GENERAL PATTERs0N'S WINCHESTER
CAMPAIGN.


Time, at last, sets all thint9 even. So gays
one Of our iayurite Engish uh escs. nni of the
sound philosophy contained in that brief SET
tence we arc constantly, in these dnys, rlceiyiur
convincing proofs How m icn iustgr IL the
Judgment We are now enabled so prcununoc On
many OF the General officers, Aul siauy of the
cam agnp, thai were themes Of excited Discus
SION III the earlier periods of tho war While
dtnernl VIM. y. Sherman was in comraul Of
the Department OF the Ohio, ia 1aGl, he cx-
pressed the opniun that "two Aund rcd thousand
men weIe necessary for ;hu wester ii camrnigu.
ahl Tor ihis ho was Hdjudgcd unfit +, I commanl
ani WAS hautshed to garris ou duty at st Louis
He was even reported 10 be crazy aud tho belief
that he was so WAS igI LONG leriod nxsi on
Tue popular m.nd' That uuJust and hasty
Judgment came near dcprifng The country Of
the services OF its most bniin 1t Gcu.rli. How
vastly different is The pullic Judgment today /!
Immediately after the battle ut Fort bonelson.
aud again after Shiloh itwf . positively assertel
/ thnt ueneral Grant was drunkArl and IN
! worthy Of bis high posilo ,, and for long time
he held only nominal co mmnnd. Nothing hut
the resolute Efforts Of 0Weiful friend in Goa
gress saved him from immeiied disgrace 1t
required the splendid hmpaien aRniust Vcks
burg to vindicate his character. J.; would be
easy to name great luany similar cases, for
they sum up by tine score. In some Of these
tue victim has had TO wait but few mouths for
justice, but others hsV hal their patience taxed
over long years Of hope deferred
We are prompted to these remarks by the m
pearauce OF II httle vo lume emitted "a narrative
9l the campaign in tn valley Of the Shenanl loah
IN leol, which for the first time places the
history oi General IN u,ersOn's operations fully
Dtlofe tic public. 1t is . ecAr and convincing
record and no man who is rightly made up can
read it without REPEATING the words Of President
Lincoln to ClaerAl Paftsrsun;--"l am unable tn
see that you could have donc anything else than
you d'd dos ur hand were tied; you obeyed
your orders nnd dil your duty, and am saiis-
/ htl Nl.h your conduct"
1t will be remembered that after the iran,
disaster at Bull Run, General Patterson was
very freely charged with large share of tho
responsibility OF That defeat lie was ferosio
assailed for failing to hold the rebel Johneton
at Nlnencs'eri Tor not attaching that General
III h's works there according TO order and for
permitting Johnston 10 slip nway to Manassas
Junction without Informing his superior o0icnr
II was further charged that ou aonount of these
military iaehfs OF General Patterson, Johnston
wa enabled to arrive at Manassas '.unexpee-
teuly, and TINT thus ihe battle was lost Ca nil
these points the "Narratiye" lust uubIished 10
clear aud full in General pnttersonis favor.
there is fact anu dale, and order, and report
ana document, ample for his complete viniica-
tion. 1t establishes first this fact TINT ienert
II
rauons where Has as impossible for him In
prevent Johnston from going 10 Manassas. MT it
would be Tor man In Baltimore To prevent !,
man IN FhiladelphiI from going to New York
IL was "lelse line" gal was ~ pronounced
W usreral Patterson and ali his rxperisuces
Iegulhr olhcers. Among these were the present
ueheras george II. Thomas, Newton, Aber-
cronlole' SSn"i and Negley. In lieu Of that
"lalse llhe,' he proposed as early as the 20tl
oil June to lortify and hold Maryland lIeigbts
Wlth brigade, and to move his main column IN
Leesburg, where he would have threatenej
Johnston more cIectually than at AIartinsbn,,,
anu at tie same time would have been naer
enough to Mcdowell tc assist him or to have rs.
Gelved ald from him, as circumstances might
demand. This plan, which has received ~
distinguished approval Of General lIall.ck H.
was not authorized to carry into ciIec. On t,,o
contrary ne was Kept on line which, rs q isncral
hnlleck observer, WAS "an exterior hpc.i ~,
miles from Manassas, with Juhust,n's r.,'y g
'between him and Mcbowell's" Ihf4 .t,,,ni3}
dispose Of the complaint that Patets1,, It u "a -.
hoIu Johnston but the taots make "a =. a.. st,,,,,,c
case than that Notwithstanding his .f.lsn,,
position, for which he was not aceountablo :,
aid so man~uYre his column as to hold Joins ~,
up TO the timo indicated in the order of az
ueneral-ln-Chicf md for several ,nvs hc,,o,i
that time. CCnrial Patterson yns inf,S,..,',
mat MeDowelVs attack could be madp on tbe
10Th OF July, and that he, Patterson, pbcnLi
demonstrate against Johnston on that DIV This
ne ului according 10 order keeping Johnston m
line 0i battle al tLnt day, aud Johuston iiJ ,,.,
move FROM Winchester until the aftornoon or H.
ION, at which time Patterson was led to belicve
from the tenor Of the General-in- Char dca-
patches that McDOwell's battle Ind b.s, 81,
liVered and the ''Junotion carried"
Tho NARRATIVE further establishes uat
~guel4i PATTERSON was never ordered to attack
minchester. Every despatch of the Genertlin.
Chlef enJolns great 'caution" and "cireulnenec
tloni they emphasize the injunction tbat ,.,Sc
must sustain no REVERSE" that IA check mr. n
drawn battle would be u victory to the enemy -
aud that there should bc no attack unlcs4 il 90.
clear to Patterson that be was in superior . or
at least "eqnal force" TO Johnston All tho
evidence goes to show that he never was in force
suineient tO disregard those positive, emphatic
anu repeated instructions. Information an ,be
| spot showed that Johuston had NOT less r.
2,OOO men and GOguns, some Of them of heavy
ealbre, aud that he was in u strong postio1
thoroughly intrenohed Johuston's own rennrls
prove that he had, eatly in July, not less tban
twenty one regiments OF volunteers, twcn,v.Gyo
hunorel militia in his works, sixteen field guns.
Ihu Other heavy guns in position. General
Patterson would nave been guilty of aagront
dlsobedience Of orders if be Ind attacked Winl
chester so defended, with bis thirteen tbousanl
available men, aRi his sic smucth-bsre gnno
But Notwithstanding this gfeat disparitv. a.
eral Patterson, On the 18Th of July, twelve hour
before Johnston commenced bi, march fra,,,
winchester, teegraphed the Oenoral-in Cbier
"Shall attack Z" and to that demand for in
slruotions he never got an answer. -
WIN respect to the "nuex pected" arrival oF
johnston at Manassas, the resoid is upanswoc'
hoie. un the Zuth ut July, the dav hsc,r -
battle Of Bull Run, General Patterson telesrarI
the GeneTal -iF-ChiN thit Johnston had marele,
from winchester on tbe afternoon of the IAN
| That Johnston would be et Manassas - 4o'l' M