Daily Richmond Whig. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1865-1869, 1866-01-16
The English Press on General Grant s
ReuOrt

hepOIL.
| General GRANTS report Of his hhiiIar!
operations is attracting large share oil "t'eh-
/ tion abroad. The English journals comment
On il very fayorably, and make the Lieutenant
General the subject Of many high compliments.
The London Times says :-'' What renders this
s.. report. too. the more remarkable, is that it
b. explains a Re,- and as the ereHt PrOred, a
6. successful SYSTEM Of tactics d,rised for the
' occasion" This system was that Of awaiting
himself Of his great superiority Of numbers,
attacking = variety Of points at once, and pre-
venting the concentration Of the Southern
troops Says the Times:
Man for man the SoutherEers lccre The best
ir1oRS. partly perhaps, from natural GpttuCcS,
bat mainly no doubt from the great military a6'Hty
IF their commanders. On q far field, and an any
lac battle the Fcdcraly could not pretend 10 reckon
,oqflcaty on Jr!HHiHg but there ros one thiag on
trhich they could reckon, and that raS on hiHing a
certain Number # COgtedercteS " course Mey
must NTcr cqgci or ercH greater losses tHeMSetteS
but that then could reit afford II crery GatIi-
itr South a., certa proportion .fs "S5tlSrl porer
Der If BATTLES must dcNtLW g, -, \, 'croyt
crer - mo- battle tr--s dt'tSte' V'.'y'y' '' ~ |
-, % -. only % fight but tight on, ir'thoEt
49, 5r vfqu come IrhGt might Hard 6HockS ana
nrcyyqpt 6olrv Constituted his strategy and tactics
a. he were % fare as Mcclellan and Hooker hau
Jared he would not do as Mcclellan and Hooker had
done. tie opened the new campaign resolved 10 go
ON fighting whether he won or loStrSind as he MN
self says, Ito hammer continuously against the
armed force of the enemy aud his resources until by
mere attritOn il no other way there should be moth
ing left 20 him but submission. The literal eNecu'
ton OF this policy IS expressed IN every line oil the
report. While accounting the events Of the Virginia
campaign the General represents one engagement as
virtually failure in these wOrdS:-'lt was the only
general attack made from the Rapidan 10 the James
which did not inhict upon the enemy losses 10 com
penSate for our own losses. would not be under
stood as saving that all previous attacks resulted IN
victories to our arms or accomplished as much as
had hoped from them; but they inflicted upon the
enemy severe losses which tended in the end to the
overthrow of the rebellion" How much these tao
ties cost the North we need not say
As far as plans can be Justified by events, that
Justification belongs certainly 10 Grant His sys-
ten was successful where every other system had
failed. His campaign brought the war To an end,
whereas every former campaign had left the contest
pretty nearly rs il stood before. Ii must be under
stood. too that wherever military science appears
more conspicuous than brute force, that merit l.
Grants also. The scheme of Shermans campaign
was dictated by Grant were Others less important
and less fortunate. The grand principle oil the Whole
system was cooperation, Besides the two great
armies of the East and West which, ON tins Occa-
dozen other armies in notion to distract, occupy
and punish the enemy az all points together.
That result is undoubtedly due 10 the military
arithmetic OF General Grant. He is not the FIRST
conqucror who has adopted the principle, though he
was the first 10 apply II TO the resources Of whole
people instead OF the divisions Of single army. He
is entitled, therefore, TO the credit which complete
success cOnters; and, indeed, terrible though the
cost was il may well be questioned whether an IN
definite prolongation Of the war would not have
cost both parties still more.
The Liverpool Post says:
General Grants report is about TO become Is IA
nous as Caesars Commentaries. Ii infinitely more
Important, for in the recent civil war in America
Greek met Greek and Grant encountered a more
formidable foe than Caesar. At first the report es
capped attention. IL came in bundle of official doe
uments, all figures aud few arguments; but when
the story of the campaign Of 1861 was looked into,
matter was found in it calculated to interest the
world at present and for all future time.
General Grant neither writes nor thinks like an
ordinary solder-he is philosopher, an historian,
profound statesman, and he sinks self IN ms nara
tive but never fails to praise Others with palpahe
consciousness which bcspeakS the utmost sincerity.
Ia perfect keeping with personal admiration and
friendship.
% The war had endured three years when he was
called TO the command of the army. The call made
hun the savior OF his country CnobtrusiNe anu
humble minded. though full of profound thoughts
his merits discovered themselves when the oppOrtuhl
" presented itself. lie was the man Tor Tue tiil5
and the place and he was the Ohly Iu'tS Co.
nns Events approved OF Lipcoln's sSi0'N'h' 'OI'
rG,r.. NrfI.ll-s. t'tvved an abortion, Grant alone
properly satisfied Judgment. Ten
trll Grants report viii forever occupy the attention
o.. soldiers, statesmen and nations.
The London Daily Ne,rS speaks Of General
GRANT ia the same complimentary terms, while
of Generals BUTLER and BANKS its language is
contcmptuous. II says
.' But able as the plan sSetched out by General
Grant was, and based As it was upon established
IA itlry principles, lis execution would have been
impossible if those who acted under the Commander
u-Chicf had been different men. In field of war
p extensive ~ that of the Tinted States it Is simply
Impossible 20 give detailed instructions TO each oil
MS .uborliuateS And so it was with General Grant.
When he is explaining his views TO such men as But
Ter and Banks he certainly deScendS into details be-
se il Is obvious he had no confidence IN tier mill
tlfv capacity. But in dealing with sherman Meade
al Sheridan he contents himself with the most gen
srll iustruy tons.