The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1872-07-05
CHANCELLORsvILLR.
The War Among the Generals.

Francisco Chronicle, in which b
reflected severely on several Unio
generals, III attempting to explai
the reasons of his failure at Chan
cellorsville. Last week we pub
lished General Averill's version @
the affair, in which he came back o
General Hooker savagely. An
now we find the following reply t
General Averill's article in tn
Kansas City Times. In order tina
all sides may be heard we publish
it. 1t is signed by ga. c. b." wht
seems to be we'll posted about tn
matters in controversy. 1t is datet
june 18th. General Averill suffer
as much at his hands as did HookeI
in Ayerilps article:
observed in a recent number o.
the New York Herald an interview
of one of its reporters with Gener'
al Averill, who commanded one o.
the cavalry regiments in the army
of the Potomac, which has also
been copied into the Chicago Tri.
bune and the Journal of this city
AS far as General Hooker is con-
cerned, Averill is not far wrong in
his criticism. There is no doubt
that Hooker found a bigger thing
ON his hands than he had bargained
for when he got down in the woods
about the Chancellor House, with
Lee and Jackson in front of him.
He was outgeneraled from the
start and Outfought all the way
through. But I am not disposed to
let all the blame rest Oh his shout
ders without uttering feble pro-
test in the name of the truth of his
tory. He had fine army; an army
from whose minds a winter of rest
and of reorganization had effaced
the bloody memories of Freder-
icksburg, the second Manassas and
the Peninsula; an army outnum-
bering its antagonists in the pro-
portion of at least five to three ;
weIl-armed, well-fed, superbly
clothed, and miserably Differed.
Among those major. generals who
helped to impart this last character
istic to the army of the Potomac
under Hooker, none was more con-
spicuous than Averill. He was q
Murat in camp and an Anna Dick
enson in the field. None exceIled
him at draw-poker; no officer kept
better whisky in his tent, and none
could excel him in Intellectual fight
ing and Intellectual strategy. He
was about the longest retained of
that magnificent array of supreme
frauds who assisted the Confeder-
ate army in butchering the army of
the Potomac during the first two
years of the war.
Another of the same class was
Howard. Time has shown where
Towards forte lay. He was too
good q man, too loyal, and too de-
Vout a Methodist to command an
army corps-but emincntly fitted to
plumber a Freedmen's Bureau. But
this list is too long to recount here.
It began with corps commanders
and ended with second lieutenants
of infantry. 1t permeated the
whole organization. On the other
hand the stfh that rose on Chancel-
louisville saw the finest army in ev-
cry respect that the Confederacy
ever had on foot and in the saddle
in the whole course of its history.
1t had General Lee to direct and
Generals Stonewall jackson, Hill
and Longstreet to act. Hooker
boosted that he chad the finest army
on the planet" Lee never boosted.
But the midnight that saw HooPers
broken columns stealing back across
the Rapahannock, bleeding, demon
allied and utterly routed, knew who
had the best right to boast. But
Hooker, nor Howard, nor Sedg-
wick was to blame for the defeat OF
the Federal army at Chancellors-
vile. The result of that fight was
the work of a man who lay dying
ing to its CHASE of safety" behind
the Rappahannock. Thomas John.
athan Jackson, the man who whip
ped Howard and turned his GcheLoRS
into flying rabies at the Chancellor
House in tie morning, aud then
whipped Sedgwick and the Sixth
corps at Marye's Heights and Salem
Church, eleven miles away in the
evening.
AYerill says that Hooker was
EE'hard on his cavalry" If being
hard on the cavalry means trying tC
make it accomplish some service
the charge is true. But in thii
sense it was no use for any com
mander to abe hard on" any cavalry
that Averill might command. NJ
army commander could have pre-
vented cavalry under Averill from
having an easy time as far as fight
| ing was concerned. Ayerill says
| he ''drove the enemy on the left
Where Averill was, away out neal
| the Rapidan, there was not thous
and Confederates in line. If Averil
| ever drove anybody, it must havl
been women and children whom he
drove into the woods with what
ever valuables they might have ha6
about the house.
The fact is that no Federal troop
ever did any fighting worth the
name at Chancellorsyi lille, excep
Sedgwick, with the Sixth, and Da1
Sickles with the Third corps. Blu
for the latter there would not hav'
been enough left in Towards corp
the Eleventh-to be worth re-or
ganizing. Sickles stopped the ad
vance of the Confederate troop
long enough to accomplish two
things: first,..to check the pressur
| on the retreating columns of tn
rest of the army; and second, Il
| give the Federal reserves time tt
establish cover under which oul
broken divisions might recross tn
Rappahannock. This was desper'
ate work, and Sickles-blathersklt,
and demagogue in time of peac
though. he may be-wore hero
stars that day.
Sedgwiek's photographic wit
Jackson and Hill, up among tn
bluffs behind Fredericksburg, in
volved that rare sort of battle wher
infantry and cannoneers fight owe
a battery with dubbed muskets an
sponge-staves. But all this heroisL
went for naught, except IS it wen
to reduce the proportions of tn
disaster. 1t is q noteworthy fac
that all this splendid fighting wa
done by corps commanders on thei
own hook, and Independently Q
the commanding General. 70
Sedgwick's movement was alto
gether an Independent one, while 9
the time Sickles was trying to saw
the wreck of the army, Hooker WIS
lying insensible near or at the Char
cellor House.
Charlottesville was q mi ght
failure. Itwas the result of con
bination of faults on one side, and
combination of excellencies on th
t other, and it is the merest tom-foo
, cry for any man to set himself q
) in judgment upon any other ma
as the one alone responsible; niue
ran-a ia iS IN fha laaaf do~roo ,