The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1867-04-04

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enemy from the field, finding their pursuit
Intellectual, soon abandoned 1t.
Page 23l 1T was expected that the Con
federate commanders would At least pursue
the enemy 10 the gates Of their entertainments
before Alexandria and Washington; and 1t
was hoped that II might not be impracticable,
IN the agony Of their confusion, to recover the
Nirginian city, TO conquer the hostile capital
with its immense spoil-, and to emnncipau
oppressed Maryland 10y one happy blow.
These expectations and hopes were cX-
pressed at the time, not by military men
who understood the state OF affairs, but Dy
the same military critics of the press VINO
had but a little while before heaped de-
nunciation on me for the measure whlch
ayertcd the capture of our army IN inc
Valley. and enabled it to preserve the
Confederacv at ManasSas-the ABANDON
ment of Harper's Ferry. Such pursuit
would have been fruitless. We could not
have carried the entertainments named ny
assault. and had none ofthe means to beslege
them. Our assault would have been re-
pulsed, and the enemy, then become the
victorious party, would have resumed their
march to Richmond. But If we had cap
tured the entertainments, river mile
wide Law between them and Washington,
commanded by the heavy guns of Fede-
raj feet. If we had taken Alexandra,
which stands on low and level ground,
those Guns would have driven us out oil IL
in few hours, at the same time k'liing our
friends the inhabitants. We could not
cross the Potomac, and therefore IL was
impracticablc to" conquer the hostile capl-
tai" or "emancipate oppressed Mary
land" The failure Of our inVaSlons IN
1862 and 1863, with far greater means,
might convince the southern people, l
think, that the authors expectations were
extravagant.
Page 23l. The toiing army. which had
marched and fought along the mus OF bui,
run through the long July day, demanded
with enthusiasm to he led after the IyinE Zoe,
and declared they would march the soles OIL
their feet in so glorious IN errand without Il
murmur."
Nv information OF the disposition of the
army was very different. According to 1t,
the troops believed that their victory had
established the independence of the
South-that all their country required OF
tbcm had been accomplished-the war
ended. and their military obligations full
filed. They therefore left the army IN
crowds to return to their homes. Such
was the report of the generals, colonies,
staff officers, and railroad officials. The
exultation of victory cost us more than the
Federal army lost by defeat.
Page 2Sl q" But more than this the morn
ing after the battle SAW an aggregate OF ten
thousand fresh men, composed OF the remain
dor of the Army of the Valley, who had 1T
length reached the scene, and OF reinforce
mcnts from Richmond, arrive within the en-
trenchments At Manassas Junction, who were
burning with enthusiasm, and expected no
thing else than 10 be led against the enemy al
once
have no records; but, according to my
recollection, the Sixth South Carolina re-
giment constituted the only reinforce
ments from Richmond at the time referred
TO. On page oil the Army OF the valley
is estimated at | 900. So that less than
2. 700 men of that army must have arrived
the day after the battle, as more than S,3OO
were engaged in il. / am confident that
if we had marched few days after the
battle to conquer Washington" and
{" cmancipate Maryland we should not
have brought 10000 men to the banks OF
the Potomac. Oar men, as has been
already said, believed the contest decided,
their objects achieved, and were more dis
posed to go home to enjoy the indcpcnd-
ence and glory they had won than to re-
new the war on northern soil.
Page 23l-S2 "ln few days the patriotic
citizens of Alexandria sent authentic Intelll-
rpucn of the condition of the beaten rabbie
There and in Washington. which 4 true mill
tary sagacity would have anticipated, as jack
son did, without actual testimony.
No such intelligence was sent to me
nor were the Federal troops south OF the
Potomac rabblc. ManStield's, Miles's, and
Runyan's divisions, a larger force than We
could have brought against them, had not
been beaten nor engaged, and the reports
of the commanders Of the brlgadeS en-
gagged show that they entered the en-
trenchments organized, except those who
fed individually from the field. These
latter undoubtedly gave an exaggerated
idea OF the rout to the people OF Wash
ington as those from our ranks met by
the President before he reached Manassas,
on his way to the field, convinced him
that our army had been defeated.
| Page 49, For days there was neither or.
ganiZation or obedience, nor thought OF resist
| ance on the south side of the Potomac.
This assertion is unfounded. II is dis.
proved bv the reports of the Federal gene
raj officers, and the fact that General
Scott, who had near $4,000 men idle with
in twenty-four hours Of Washington
brought up none Of them; and that the
President, Cabinet, and members of Con,
gress, seem to have been unconscious Of
danger-or such state of things as that
he describes.
| Page 233 Now, then, said the more re-
| nectiR was the time for vigorous audacity
| Now, Il Napoleunic genius, were he present
would make this another Jena III its splendid
| fruits. He would firmly press upon
the disorganized masses he would thunder 4
the gates of Washington; and, replehishlhe
| his exhausted equipments with the mighty
spoils, rush blazing, like the lightning thai
shineth from one part under the heaven TO the
other, through the aifrightened North
The author surely does not expect ra'
tional readers to believe that this bombaS'
was really uttered in the army, or that
our soldiers condemned their General tol
not being ga Napoleonic genius" when
but one is found in all history. The
"splendid fruits" Of the battle Of Jena
were due to the fact that Napoleon, with
about equal force, turned the PruSslaI
army before defeating it. Had it been able
to take refuge in entertainments covering
the passage of river mile wide, those
"fruits" would have been less than ours
which were the preservation of the Con
federacy for the time.
The masses referred to were less disor'
ganiZed by defeat than our army by tn
umph. BY "gates OF Washington /:
meant, | suppose, the Notifications up0r
which skilful engineers, commanding the
| uo,o,r,o, of tba I-nital StafaS we're on