The daily phoenix. [volume] (Columbia, S.C.) 1865-1878, 1871-11-16


common discernment Will beiievejtnemni
whereas; iia the absence OF the penninsr
co1ni the spurious issue OF the pseudo
historians and biographers OF the South /
passes current. especially among foreiRn1! (!
ers, and even some OF our own peonla !
are taken IN by IT,, We must weed ont i
all this trash. and ii can Ihs Ihs dione,sSl7 ~
cuncert and dunited action. Mary OF the
efforts OF our enemies to falsify the truthe
OF history, as they appear in their off,
clai reports, their histories, and the veryi,
voluminous reports of the committee. on
the conduct ofTthe war, with the accom-.
panying testimony, are very amusing:
and in their attempts TO avoid the dis
grace of the numerous defeats of their
armies, Federal commanders have, un-
Willingly, paid the very highest possible
compliments to the yalof OF our men.
Thora vas scarce g battle in Virginia. or Il
the West, or South in which, 'ac-i
cording to their showing, they did not
have TO encounter overwhelming nur,-.
bers. When the future student of his
tory comes to examine the documents
which our enemies ha We prepared for the
purpose of misleading him, and sees
tnat nearly everywhere the Confederate.
Government. with population of only-.
$1,000, 900 Of whites to draw from. could g
almost always put into the field OVER
wheimlng numbers. against the Govern
ment at Washington. which had popu.g
!ation OF about ~, 00O. 600 to draw from,
he must come to the conclusion that the
southern people were nearly all men.
ana the Northerners nearly oil women,
or that their men were OF very inferior :
order OF non-combatants; and ne will
doubtless arrive at the further oonclu.
9lOn-wIflOh
not be an unwarranted one--that had IL
not been for the Germans, irish, Cana. .
dians and negroes which the North en-
listed in its armies, it would have Jared
but badly in the contest. 1l,. IsGe -
10 illustrate the characteristic dis
tlctions between the Confederate and :
Northern officers and soldiers, as we'll as
to show how Northern commanders at
tempted to account for their reverses, T
will call your attention to some of the
operations Of the Army of Northern VirIg
einia, in connection with the statements
OF our opponents; and trust I will not
weary you by SO doing. confine N.Y.
self to that army, because was familiar
with it's operations. and not with those
OF the other armies. During the fall of
1861 and winter Of 1862, General John
ston's army, Mt the time of Bull Run,
was always under $4,000, and during
part of the time under 10000. at the
close Of February, 1862, his whole com
mand, including the troops in the valley. &
at Leesburg, and on the rotomao below. /,
amounted to Al, GIT for duty. Mcclellan. /
in his report, dated the 4th of August.
1868, gives General Johnston's force as
follows: Z
cat Manassas, Centreville, Bull Run.
Upper OccOquan and vicinity so. 600:
at Brooks Station, Dumfries, Lower
Oocoquan and vicinity, $4,000; at Lees
burg and vicinity. $500; in the shenan-,
doah Valley. 13. O00-total ! Is, 600; about
3OO field pieces and from 26 to 80 siege
guns"
He gives his own strength as follows:
'asth !. October, 1891 1aa. .2ol for dusy;.
1st ST. February, y, 1862. leo.sos; 1ss Marob.
1862, 1913. 49,
These figures included some troops in
Maryland and Delaware. but the great
bulk was on the Potomac, and all the re-
mainder in easy call. General. Johnston
evacuated Manassas on the 9th of
March. Mcclellan, in two or three
days, marched up and captured some
Quaker guns and the empty breastworks:
and then moved by water to the PENN
sula. where the bulk of bis army, after
leaving 10000 or $1,000 men Tor the de-
fence of Washington, landed in the first
part OF April. Magruder then had about
1000 men, with whom he fell back to
Yorktown and the line of Warwick River.
Mcclellan moved up to the front of this
position, and commenced siege by
gradual approaches. on a limo from
twelve to fifteen miles in length. held by
Magruder's small force. That force was
soon increased to $4,000. by some re-inI
forcements from the Sonth side of James
River. On the 7th OF April, Mcclellan
states that he had 85, 900 effective men,
and in letter Of that date, contained in
his report, he says: Gan the prisoners
state that General j. E. Johnston ar
rived at Yorktown, yesterday, with
strong re-inforcements. 1t seems clear
that shall have the whole force Of the
enemy on my hands-probably not less
LOO. 900 men, probably MORE"
All the force than confronting him on
that long line consisted Of Magruder's
II, 900 men. My division, the first from
Johnston's army, arrived on the 9th and
9th. and was 5000 strong. Some two
weeks afterward, two other divisions of
Toh ornou orsiyal oo 49,