Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1872-02-06
Verdict on Washington's General
ship.


=
"lndecision and timidity" were The
sole charge urged against Washing
ton by his enemies and his would be
rivals during the war. 1t was ther
believed in, even by some of hi:
friends, and is still believed in to 9
great extent at the present day.
Seen in the full light which history
now sheds upon all the events of the
war, the only substantial basis fol
this charge appears to be his uniform
practice of referring every important
movement to the decision of coun.
Gil of war, to whose opinion he gen.
orally, though not always, deferred,
however much it differed from bis
own.
The fact is beyond question and
it must be admitted TO derogate some
what from that independence of judg.
nent which is an important element
of generalship. But it is only just TO
state, in explanation, that in regard
to councils of war, he simply follow
ed the practice of the age that ii he
had been selfshIy ambitious he would
easily have been tempted to bold
venture of every thing for the glory
he might chance to obtain bat that
his pure and lofty conscience as a
patriot, which increasingly oppressed
him with the deepest feeling of re-
sponsiblily, forbade him to risk bis
small force, upon the preservation OF
which his country's cause seemed to
depend, except in the most urgent
cases. We must undoubtedly add to
this the natural modesty of the man
and especially his conscious want of
. technical knowledge of the art of
war, without which even a Napoleon
could not feel entire confidence in his
own judgment.
OF his audac ty when opportunity
offers, and of that true military au-
dacity which is not rashness, Tren-
ton and Princeton gave sufficient
proof,
Take the most cautious handling
of his little force to be found on rec
ord, and compare it with Mcclellan 8
hesitation and delay at Yorktown
with we'll appointed army of one
hundred thousand men, and Gaming
for forty thousand more; and if
WashingtOn's conduct was timid aud
undecided, what language will furn-
ish a word expressive enough TO
characterize the conduct of McClel-
Ian? x =
OF Washipgton's strategy there is
not much to be said simply because,
apart from the difficulty of achieving
any important stsatege success with
so small force, the enemy scarcely
ever ventured to take the field and
"a, with their command OF the water,
their lines ofsuppiy and of re-enforce-
ment could never be even threate.ed,
they rarely gavo him an. opportunio
ty of practising that wonderful art
which teaches how to win campaigns,
sometimes without even fighting
battle. When such az opportunity,
however, was actually offered, we
have seen how promptly and boldly
be awaited himself of il. Tne little
campaign Of Princeton was strateg
ically as brilliant, though on . small
or scale, as the famous campaign of
Marengo and would have been as
decisive in its results, had Washing
ton had force large enough to await
the enemy at Princeton, and there
beat him in battle, as Napoleon was
able to do at Marengo. The decisive
movement ia both campaigns was
the samo,-.he sudden masslng Of
the principal force on the enemy's
rear, thereby threatening his COM
muniaations with his base The at
tack at Princeton made Corn wallis
fall back TO Bruins wick and the adj
mirably strategic position that WASH
ington 80 promptly took up on Nor
ristown Heights completed the sue
cess OF the campaign, by compelling
the enemy to abandon their march
upon Philadelphia.
To The question, "What did Wash
inetoa accomplish 2" the answer is
that from 1775 to 1881, with a force
always inferior to the enemy in mum.
bers, and still more 50 in efficiency,
BE succeeded in keeping them shut up
in cities and in prolonging the war
unti the French re-enforcements en-
abled him to end it by the capture of
their principal army; and that DUR
ing all this time the enemy had the
great strategic advantage ola numer-
Gus feet which gave them the com
mand of all tho water communicas
tons.
The inference we venture to draw
from the facts stated is this Woiga-
ing the results obtained by him, in
connection with she means at his
coatroI, Washington loses nothing in
comparison with the most illnstrious
commanders in history; and if the
true test of generalsAip be a wise
choice of objects, and the use Of the
best means to effect them, he may be
Justly ranked among the great gener.
ais Of the world
R1UGH ON CHICAGJ.-From SER
mon delivered in the First Babtist