Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1866-01-06
Nwspaprr all Subjects aucIiac 81


sra,ons attributed 10 me which are in
consistent with The above statement, are
entirely without foundation, and hope
Ihere will be no further misrepresentation
as to my position.
The reports OF the campaigns Of 1864
and 1865 by Secretary Stanton and Lieut..
Gen. Grant. recently published, contain
many erroneous statements which do
great injustice TO the Confederate arEies.
The press in the Southern States is al
present sGecrual'y muzzIed by military
rule and The Confederate Cause has no sp-
propriatr organ by which The ears OF the
world can be reached. The time will ar
rive, however, when d true history OF the
warfare can be written so as 10 enable
foreign nations and poslerity TO do us'lce
to the character OF those who have sus-
tanned so unequal a struggle for all that
is dear TO man. In anllcipali"n OF thai
TIME. | will call attention 10 some facts
whlch will show the tremendous odds the
armies had tn encounter.
Mr.. Secretary Stanton's repor, slows
,hs, the available strength present for du-
~ in The army with which Gen. Grant
commenced the campaign OF 1864 was,
on tie Ii of May, 1864, IS follows:
The A'mv of the Potomac (un-
der Gen. M4ade) l2O,3s6
The NInlh Army Corps (under
Gen. Burnside) 2O.78O
Aggregate l4l, 1856
Beside lhi., he Gays the chief pari o!
the force designed TO guard the Middle
Department and the Department Of Wash
Inglon, "waS called 10 The front 10 repair
losses in tie Army Of the Potomac. "
which doubtless was done before that ar
my left the vicinity of Spoiisylvania
Courl House. as General Grant says ,
The 18Th. l4Ih. 18Th, l6Ih, l7lh and
lsIh (oi May, 1865 were consumed in
msnGuvring and waiting for reinforce
menls from ashlnglon,' " and Mr.. Stan
Ton tays the sending Of these troops 10
The front caused The detaching from Gen,
eraI Lee's army Of the inrce under me 10
threaten BdInmore and Washington. The
a,ailehle strength of the forces in those
on The Isl of May, accord
ING 10 Mr.. Sanicn's report. was as fol,
lows:
Ia the Department Of Washing.
ton 42,l24
In the Middle Departmen, 5,627
Aggregate 47,751
Of which il may be safely assumed that
at least 10000 men were sent 10 the
front. as General Grant says that, when
approached Washington, the garrlsons Of
that place and Balumore were "made up
Of heavy artillery regiments, hundred
days men, and delachmenIs from the In
valid Corps" and hence it became neces-
sary to send troops from his army TO meet
me. This. therefore, made an army Of
over 10000 men which General Lees
army had TO meet before. as | will show.
it had received any re.enforcemenis what
ever. This estimate does not include the
re-enfnrcements received in the way Of
recrui,s from voluntary enlistmen,s and
ihe draft, which were entirely going on.
nor does il include re-enforcements from
the Northern Deparlmen. and the Depart
men,s of the East and the Susquehanna.
where there were, by Mr.. Sian,on's
showing, Is. .344 il is presumed. were
.enl to Grant. as. otherwise, they might
have been brought 10 Washington to meet
my force with more ease Than troops from
his army.
General Lees army, at the beginning
Of the campaign, consisted OF two dlvis.
ions of LongsIree,'s Corps, Ewell's
Corps. A. p. Hills Corps, three divls.
ions Of cavalry and the artillery. com
manded, at different times during the
csmpsign, Hills and Ewsll's Corps, and
am, therefore, stle to state very nearly
the entire strength Of the army. Eweli's
corps, 10 which belonged. did moi ex-
ceed fourteen thousand ia, ,OOO) muskels
al The beginning Of the campaign. When
| was placed in command Of Hills corps
on the 9Th Of May, by reason OF General
Hlll's sickness, It's effective strength was
less than thirteen thousand $4,000 mus
ke,s, and it could not have exceeded
eighteen thousand (ls,000) in The begin
ming. Longslreel's corps was the weak
es, of The three when all the divisions
were present, and the two with him had
ius, returned from an srduous and exhsus-
ling Winter canpsgn in East Tennessee.
II is effective strength could not have ex-
ceeded eigh, thousand $4,000 muskets.
General Lees whole effective infantry.
did moi exceed forty thousand
(4O. .00O) muskets, il it reached that nun.
Der. The cavalry divisions were all