Western Reserve chronicle. [volume] (Warren, Ohio) 1855-1921, 1870-03-30

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This fourth proposition was substan
tiallv adopted by the Administration
as YOU will see by General POpe's al
reinstatement. He says-mark you
this was few days before he startet
on his memorable campaign:
"The mission Of the army under my com
hSu GbI ib 'front.' Of Washinrton and make 8
, cure the valley of the Shenandoah, an
so operate upon the enemy's lines Of com
munication 10 the west and northwest as {
force him to make such heavy detachment
from his main force at Richmond as woul
enable the army Of the Potomac to with
draw from its position at HarriSon's Land
ing and to take shipping for Aquia Creek q
for Alexandria. II. as was feared, the enc
my should throw his whole force in the di
rection of Washington, IL became my dut,
i to resist his advance at all hazards, and $
to delay and embarTasS his movements a
to gafn all the time possible for the arriva
Of the army OF the Potomac behind tn
Rappahannock.'
At this very time General Pope wa
begging to be relieved from the com
mand of his army. He says:
GNy circumstances, which il is not neces
sary here to set forth, induced me to express
10 the President, TO the Secretary of War
and TO General Halleck, my desire 70 De re
lieved from the command OF the army o
Virginia, and TO be returned TO the western
country
This reuue t was made over anC
over again by General Pope, but new
or was acceded TO. His object anC
his sole object in commencing thai
campaign, was to relieve and helL
save, if possible, the army of the PO.
tomac. A few days before he march.
ed we requested him to appear before
the Committee on the Conduct of the
War. The question was put to him.
"What is your fOrce?" and he said
about forty-twO or three thousand
men. He said precisely what is con-
tained in the statement L have just
read. Here 1 ought TO say that that
small force of forty-two thousand men
was scattered from Aqua Greek to
Harper's Ferry, guarding line per-
haps more than one hundred miles,
and scattered through western Virgil
mia: and il was never possible for Gen.
| Pope to concentrate more than thirty
/ thousand men at any one point and
keep up his line. asked him "what
/ is to prevent you from being struck
by a superior force of the enemy and
overwhelmed ?r Said he, "Nothing
on earth is more probable than that /
shall he struck by asuperior force and
shall be whipped but 1 will keep
my troops near the mountains, and
/ there are 10 ten miles where there is
not a gGlch up which can take my
men and small arms, and by aban-
| doning artillery and baggage, save my
men; shall probably be whipped /;
/ but it must be DONE" Any military
man can see and appreciate the diff
culties and responsibilities of so des-
perate campaign. Yet" said he,
''it must be done"
Well, sir, General Pope started on
that campaign. Had he announced
to the newspaper press of Washington
or of the North, the number of his
men or his object the object itself
would have been defeated. General
Pope did what l believe is allowable
in war; he perpetrated a ruSe de gneTT'e.
He sent his scouts all through the
mountains of Virginia prOclaiming
that he had an army of one hundred
and twenty thousand men. And, sir,
he fooled the newspaper correspond
ents of the city of Washington and of
the whole North. General Pope,
when he started on that campaign,
had no more idea of going to Rich
mond than he had of following Elijah
to heaven in a chariot of fire without
seeing death. He started with one
single object, and that was to save the
army of Mcclellan or to do all that
was in his power to save it. He mass
ed his troops, and that terrible battle
of Cedar Mountain was fought; and
h.-f 4, rpfn1nH
people of this country, but he fooled
the rebels. The rebels believed that
he had one hundred and twenty
thousand men, and that unless they
fought him and crushed him bef're
he could unite with the army of the
Potomac their cause was lost; and he
drew upon his shoulders with that
little free the whole rebel army, so
that when Mcclellan started for Y YOrk-
town there was not even a pOpgun
fired at his troops. Not q rebel soldier
was seen from the time he started
from Turkey Bend until he embarked
his troops. The ruse was perfect
success, and as / told Genereral Pope
then, II consider that your campaign
has been one of the most brilliant that
has been fought up to this time,
which was February, 1868; ''yOu saved
two armies; you first saved the army
of the Potomac, and then you saved
your own.n
Sir, General Pope fought for eleven
days, fought night and day, fought the
whole rebel army with his little force.
his force never having exceeded sew
enty thousand men, comprising not
simply his own army, but also Gener-
al BuTDside's forces and the twenty
thousand men who had in thirty days
been. brought up from the army of the
Potomac, and of whom POrter's corps
was part. The force which he had
met with these was that originally in
his front, but overwhelmingly aug
mented by that rebel force from which
Mcclellan, with his ninety thousand
men, had to be delivered by a demon
stration in their rear. He fought for
time. He defended every brook, every
barn, every piece of woods, every ra-
vine. He fought for time for the army
of the Potomac to reach himand with
him, so as to crush the advancing and
force of the rebels.
shall be very brief in reading the
extracts which propose to submit
Between the 9th of July, 1862. in
carrying out this plan, General Hal
leck, in his report, says:
ION the day OF my arrival at Harrisou's
General Mcclellan was OF opinion
thathe would drequlre at least forty thousand
additional troops. / informed him that this
number could not possibly be sent; that r.
was not authorized 10 promise him over
twenty thousand, and that could not well
see how even that number could be safely
from other places. He took the
night for considering the matter, and in I
formed me the next morning that ne would I
make attempt upon Richmond with the ad. I
ditiOnal twenty thousand. Butimmediate-
ly on my return TO Washington. he tele- !
graphed that he would require thirty-five /
a force which II was impossible to I
send without leaving Washington and Bal /
timOre almost defenSeleSS. The only alter
native now left was TO withdraw the army
OF the Potomac TO some position where II 1
could unite with that of General Pope, and |
cover Washington at the same time that il /
operated against the enemy.
AFTER full consultation with my officers /
! determined 10 attempt this junction on the 1
by bringing General McClel- !
lan's forces to Aqua Greek. Accordingly, |
on the S0th Of July
And here permit me to say that |
dates are very important in this mat
tel
ION the S0th of July telegraphed to him /
10 send away his sick as quickly as possible, I
to movement OF his troops" /
Mark you, this was the Both of July.
Pope having marched upon
his campaign on the 29th, Halleck
to Mcclellan to send away
the sick as soon as possible; and he
says:
"This was preliminary to the withdrawal
Jf his entire army. which was ordered by