The Pulaski citizen. [volume] (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-current, 1874-04-23
THE LATE WAR

AhE LA IL " All.
Interesting Extracts from Gen. Jos. E,
JOhnstOn's Book.
SUMMARY OF THE RESULTS OF THE BAT
TILE OF ''BULL RUN.
The preceding narrative shows how
great were the odds against which the
southern volunteers contested in the
early stages of this action their num-
bers engaged, gradually increasing.
amounted at its close to about thirteen
thousand men of all arms. But two of the
superior officers of General McDowell's
army gave in their reports the numbers
of their troops, General Heintzelman and
Colonel Porter; the former led nine
thousand five hundred men into BATTLE
that day, in his division, and the latter
three thousand seven hundred in his
brigade. From these indications it may
reasonably be inferred that the three
federal divisions on the field were two
to one compared with the cOnfederates.
at four o'clock, aud four to one at noon;
at eleven o'clock the disparity of num-
bers was much greater.
Considering the length of time in
which the troops were engaged at short
range, the losses were small in relation
to their numbers. That of the confed-
crate was In the army of the Shenan-
doah, two hundred and seventy killed,
nine hundred and seventy-nine woun-
ded, eighteen missing in that of the
Potomac, one hundred and eight killed,
five hundred and ten wounded, twelve
missing. Total, three hundred and
seventy-eight killed, fourteen hundred
and eighty-nine wounded, thirty miss
ing.
That of the federal army could not
be ascertained by us accurately. In
Guiding prisoners, it must have been
about four thousand. Twenty-eight
pieces of artillery, four thousand five
hundred muskets, almost half million
cartridges, a garrison-hag, and ten reg
imental colors were taken on the field,
or near it in the pursuit, besides sixty
four artillery horses, with their harness,
twenty-six wagons, and camp-equipage,
clothing and other military property.
The southern infantry had great ar.
vantage over the northern in their
greater familiarity with firearms. I,
was The reverse, however, in relation to
the artillery for that OF the south had
had neither time nor ammunition for
practice, while much of that of the
north belonged to the regular service.
Still, ours. directed principally by Col
Onel Pendlet0n, was more effective even
than the regular batteries of the United
States army, in that battle.
The pursuit was pressed as long as it
was effective. But when the main col
umn of retreating infantry was encoun-
tered, after the parties in its rear and
on the hanks had been dispersed or
captured, our cavalry found itself too
weak to make any serious impression,
and returned with the prisoners already
taken. The infantry was not required
to pursue far from the field, because by
doing so it would have been harrassed
to no purpose. It is we'll known that
infantry, unencumbered by baggage
trains, can easily escape pursuing in
fautry. The victory was as complete
as one gained by infantry and artillery
only can be.
If the tactics of the federals had been
equal to their strategy, we should have
been beaten. If, instead of being
brought into action in detail, their
troops had been formed into two lines,
with proper reserve. and had assailed
Bee and Jackson in that order, the two
southern brigades must have been swept
from the field in a few minutes, or en-
veloped. General Mcdowell would
have made such formation, probably,
had he not greatly under-estimated the
strength of his enemy.
DIGEST OF EVENTS OF THE YEAR 1861.
The confederate troops fought bravely
and well wherever they encountered
those of the United States, In 1861. At
Bethel, under Magruder and ID. II.
Hill at Oak Hill, under Price and Nc
Oulloch on the Gauley, under Floyd;
on the Greenbrier, under II. r. Jack
Anderson; at Belmont, under Polk and
Pillow; on the Allegheny, under Ed
ward Johnston, and at Chastenallah, un-
der Mcintosh. On all these occasions
they were superior to their adversaries,
from greater zeal and more familiarity
with the use of fire-arl s. The thor
ough system of instruction introduced
into the United States army gradually
established equality in the use of fire.
arms, and our greater zeal finally en-
countered better discipline.
Had the confederate troops in Arkan-
sss been under q competent, or even a
merely respectable commander, their
fighting would have been effective, and
valuable to the southern cause. It
might have gained the powerful state of
Missouri to the confederacy, and
brought sixty thousand of its martial
inhabitants into the southern armies.
Such an accession to the southern con-
federacy might, and probably would,
have made the northern and eastern
borders of that state the seat of war,
instead of Mississippi and Tennessee.
Among the measures to hold Tennes-
see and gain Kentucky were entrenched
camps, made at Columbus, Island No.
TO-. Forts Henry and DonelsOn, and
Bowling Green, each of which required
an army to hold it; and, consequently,
q respectable army divided among them,
gave each one force utterly inadequate
TO its d fense. Regular forts, each re-
curing a garrison of one or two thous-
and men, and constructed with much
less labor than the entrenehed camps,
would have held the ground much bet
ter. and made it practicable to form an
active army at the same time, capable
of facing those of Buell. and Grant,
one after the other. AS it was, the con-
federates were alike weak at every point,
and, when the federal armies advanced,
they were captured. or abandoned the
country precipiiately, after much mis-
directed labor had been expended IN
preparations to defend If.
JoHNsroNs AGGRESSIVE PLAN ovERRuLED
IN CONFERENCE.
At the conference IN Richmond, at
which we're President Davis, Secretary
of War Randolph, Generals Lee and
johnson, and Major Generals w. G.
Smith and Longstreet, General John
ston proposed that instead of only de-
laying the federal army in its approach,
it should be encountered in front of
Richmond by one quite as numerous,
formed by uniting there all the avail
able forces in the confederacy IN North
Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia,
with those at Norfolk, on the peninsula,
and then near Richmond, including