The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1866-01-03

there by the 0th Corps, part oil the 18th Corps,
under General Emory, and a part of the 9Th
Corps, under General Gilmore, had arrived. NY
force had then marched over hve hundred miles,
marching at least twenty miles each day, except
the day of tue fight at Monocacy, when 1t
marched fourteen miles, ,and fought and defeated
Wallace
At the battle of Winchester, or Opequau, as it
is called by General Grant, my effective strength
was about eight thousand five hundred (85O0)
muskets the three battalions of artillery and less
than three thousand (3000) cavalry. Sheridan's
infantry consisted Of the 9th, 10th, and Cooks
Corps, con posed OF one division OF the sth
Corps and what was called the Army of West
Virginia" Some idea may be formed OF
the strength of the 9Th CorDs when 1t is
recollected that the Army of the Potomac was
composed of three corps on the 1st OF May pre-
vious, to wit:--The I'd, 5th and 9th, and that its
effective strength then was, according to Mr..
Stanton's statement, 120,3S The same state
ment shows that the available strength OF the
forces in the Department of West Virginia" on
the lst of May was S0,7S2, and most of the
troops in this department were concentrated IN
the valley. Documents subsequently captured
showed the strength OF the 18TH Corps TO have
been, at the battle Of Winchester, not less than
$4,000 effective men.
The official reports captured at Cedar creek,
showed that Sheridan's cavalry, on the llth OF
September, two days before the fight, numbered
10000 present for duty. His artillery was vastly
superior 20 mine in number OF men aud guns,
The Gth Corps alone must have exceeded my
entire strength, unless it had met with such tre-
mendOus losses as TO reduce ITS strength at least
three-foulths. From all the information re-
ceived, and from documents captured at Cedar
creek | am satisfied that SherIdan's effective
infantry strength at Winchester could not have
been less than 1000 muskets, and it was proba-
bly, more. the odds against me, therefore, were
fully tour to one, and probably more His very
great superiority in cavalry was very disadVan-
iageous to me, as the country was very open,
and admirably adapted TO cavalry operations
and my cavalry, beng mostly armed with En-
field rifles without pistols or sabres, could not
fight his, whose equipments and arms were
complete.
At the fight at Cedar creek had been rein
forced by one division of infantry (KeTshaW's)
numbering twenty-seyen hundred (27OO mus
kets, one small battalion OF artillery, and about
SIX hundred (600) cavalry, which about made up
my losses at Winchester and Fishers Hll. |
went into this fight with eight thousand five
hundred (S500) musGets, about forty pieces OF
artillery, and about twelve hundred Q200) cav
airy, AZ the rest OF my cavalry, which vas guard
ing the Luray valley, did not get up in time
though ordered to move at the same time
moved to The attack. Sherdan's infantry had
been recruited FULLY up to its strength at Win
chester, and his cavalry numbered $780, as shown
by the official reports captured. The main cause
why the route of his army in the nornng was
not complete was the fact that my cavalry
could not compete with his, and the latter,
therefore, renamed intact. He claimed all
his own guns that had been captured in
the morning and afterwards recaptured as so
many guns captured from me, whereas /
lost only twenty-tbree guns, and the loss
OF these and the wagons which were taken was
mainly owing to the TACT that bridge on a mar
row part Of the road between Cedar creek and
Fishers Hill broke down, and the guns and
wagons which latter were not numerous could
not be brought off, Pursuit was not made to
Mount jackson, as stated by both Grant and
Stanton, but my troops we're halted for the night
al Fishers Hill, three miles from Cedar creek
and the next day moved back to New Market, six
miles from Mount Jackson, without any pursuit
at all. So far from its being true, as stated by
StantOn. anDp1re1
ley after this, the fact is that reorganiZed my
force at New Market, and on the 10th of Novem-
ber moved down the Valley again, and con.
tronted Sheridan on the llth and 18th IN front
OF his intrenchments between Newtown and
Kearnstown, and then retired back to New
Market, because provisions and forage could
not be obtained III the lower Valley. The ex-
petitions by which the posts OF New Greek
and Beverly were subsequently captured were
sent out also from my force in the valley. The
strong force which General Grant says was in
trencbed under me at Waynesboro, when Sheri.
dan advanced up the valley in the latter part of
February, 1855, with two divisions of cavalry of
5000 each no. 900 in ALL, consisted OF about one
thousand Q00O) infantry and few pieces of
artillery, most of my infantry having been re-
turned to General Lee to meet corresponding de-
tachments from Sheridan to Grant, and all of
my cavalry and most of the artillery having
been sent off on account of the impossibility of
toraging the horses in the valley Obvious Iea-
sens CT policy prevented any publication of these
facts during the war, and ii will now be seen
| that was leading forlorn hope all the time,
and the public can appreciate the character OF
the victories won by Sheridan over me.
The statements / have made are from facts
coming within my own knowledge, and they are
made to show the disparity between the Confe-
derate armies and those of the United States.
These statements will serve to give some idea of
| the dispartles existing in other lines l now
| ask which has retired from the contest with
more true glory, that heroic band OF Contede-
| rates who so long withstoOd the tremendous
armies and resources of the United States, or
| that "Grand Army of the Union," which, while
| being recruited from all the world, was enabled
by continuous hammering' to so exhaust its
| opponent "by mere attrition" as to compel a
surrender? The world has never witnessed so
\ great political crime that committed
in the destruction OF the Confederate Gov
ernment by armed force Other nations
| in ancient as we'll as modern times, have
/ fallen under the yoke of the conqueror
| or usurper, because their own iollies, vices,
or crimes had prepared the way for
| their sublugation. Many tears have been shed
over the fate OF unhappy Poland but we cannot
| shut our eyes to the fact that the Poles had
| shown their incapacity to manage their own
| Government ere they were consigned to foreign
rule. In our case, however, the civilized nations
| of the earth have stood aloof and seen brave
| and patriotic people politically murdered while
| maintaining an unUrecedented struggle for the
| right OF seli.goVernment, and manifesting at
| every step their capacity for it; and this, too
| when, under an assumed neutrality the re-
| sources OF men, money, and munitions of war of
those very nations were being freely used to
| consummate the monstrous deed, and thereby
Give the final blow to a genuine republican
| government in the United States.
On behalf OF my down-trodden country.
| make the appeal to those nations that they will
not commi. the further injustice of receiving the
history Of this struggle from the mouths and
pens of our enemies, but that they shall wait
| until the time shall come for placing a true his.