The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1875-02-04
Ieor the Dispatch.}
:. General Joseph 4. Johnston De'en.s
Htmsaafss

sundry criticisms made by Coionel CnaI'es
Norsha,j In his address before the society OF
the army of Northern Virginia AS 1ha.
lefter IL addressed to Society OF whicn tne
writer of this Ia a member be reels tnat' 10
common with alt other nemoer OF tnat oo-
cietv, he has q right to acknowledge us ae'
ceipt.. , ,,..,h.,ps. mr..
nose to intimate that Genefai johnston nao
made Ieft.handed and unjust attack upon
General Lee. II in his defence" IT was
General Johpston's intention 10 disclaim any
s,,ch attack be has signally failed in the PROOF
Of bis point. The language OF his hook, as
quoted In bis letter by himself,ls this (the
order of quotation being inverted):" Aher
uightfa.i Saturday the two bodies OF Federai
troops were completely separated from the
two corps Of their right beyond the Cnlcka,
hominy by the swollen stream, which haa
swept away their bridges; and sumner
corps, at Fair Oaks, was six miles from most
OF Heinizelman's aud Keyes's, when were
near Bottom's bridge. But The ConledeEat y.
forces were united In front and on the lett
fiank of Summers corp. Such advantage OF
no,i,;on and superiority Of plumbers Wouid
have enabled them to defeat that corps had
the engagement been renewed on sunda!
morning before aid could have come from
Hen,zleman; after which his (Helntzel'
mans troops, In the condition to which The
action of the day before had reduced them,
could not have made etfectual resistance
About noon" Sunday, June ISL!
"General Lee was assigned TO the command
Of the Army of Northern Virginia by the
President, and at night the troops were o.
dered by him TO return 10 their camps near
RICHMOND, which they did soon after day.
break Monday"
4, NOT tue lnsiDuation palpable and direct
that through the default of some one sue
cess .yhich might have been achieved By tol-
laying mn on the lat of June General John.
ston,s victory of the 31st Of May was not
achieved by reason of this success not being
followed upY And when this is taken in
connection with the statement that General
Lee was assigned to the command Of the
army on the 1st about noon is not the IN
situation equally palpable that 1t was Gene
raj Lees default?
It is hard to believe that an Impartial
soind. uninformed % to this matter from
other sources, would fail to draw the infer.
epce from these two passages that General
Lee was In default In not attacking the ene-
nv on the LIST Of June; and if General john
ston can say that when he penned these lines
chat possible Inference did not occur TO him,
then candid public must diminish that re-
spect for his intellectual acumen which has
heretofore been unanimously accorded to
him.
General Johnston, to refute the imputa-
ton that these passages contain reheclion
upon General Lee, argues that though the
enemy was so disorganized on the morning
Of the lst that he would have been routed II
airn1 huf
Qanjzed condition continued until General
Lee actually assumed commend. Ought not
fair play to have induced General Johnston
to state this possibility In his book, and
thereby exclude an inference which it was
obvious TO him an impartial mind was liable
TO draw,
The next passage quoted by Colonel Mar.
shall. md repeated in bis letter by General
Johnston, is as follows: "General Lee did
not attack the enemy until the 26th Of June,
because be was employed from the 1st Till
then in forming great army by bringing TO
that which I had commanded $4,000 men
from North Carolina under General Holmes,
$1,000 men from South Carolina and Georgia,
and above $1,000 men from the Valley IN
the divisions of jackson and Ewell, which
the victories Of Cross Keys and Port Re-
public had rendered disposable."
Colonel Marshall objects to this because
the inference from 1t is that General Lee,
having increased The army left by General
Johnston fifty-three thousand men, was very
nearly, If not quite, MsCellan's numerical
equal; and, thel eiore, that the brilliancy OF
his victories is very greatly diminished.
The real question to be considered hefe Is
whether or not General Lee increased his
force 10 this extent. Colonel Marshall as
serts, on the authority Of the official reports
that the troops from North Carolina, South
Carolina. and Georgia, claimed by General
Johnston to amount to $1,000 men, amount
ed In factto no more than H. 6G men. As
10 the question OF fact, General Johnston re.
asserts bis statements, and gives for authori.
tv statements that had been made to him by
the various commanders OF thesR3eIntOrce-
ments. 1t will occur TO every one that fleet
ing memory Is not to be weighed against
official records and Qt is said without any
disrespect being intended) few soldiers Of
the Army of Northern Virginia will fail,
when the two are put into the balance, TO
send General Johnston's memory to the
beam.
But the question is fair one for debate,
and all of us would have been glad TO read
whatever General Johnston could say TO slls.
however, that 1t will surprise every one
that, instead of his combining the discussion
TO this question: he should have given it the
turn which he has undertaken TO give If.
Abandoning the question Of fact with two
brief foot-netes, he devotes the rest of his let
ter to proving that 1t was the part of great
General TO delay his attack until he could get
such reinforcements as be General Johnston)
states that General Lee received; whereas
the argues) 1t really bellttles his hero for
Colonel Marshall to establish his proposition
that be delayed the attack so long to obtain
no more reinforcements than Colonel Marshall
shows him to have received, Mcclellan
largely increasing bis force In the mean time.
That he General Johnston) made his state
ments from confidence 10 General Lees mill
targ wisdom.
The question presented for discussion here,
and discussed through the remaining psrt OF
General Johnston's letter, Is whether or not
It Is. q compliment to General Lees military
wisdom for him to have waited for such re-
Inducements as he received. 49,.
Why Ia this turn given to the discussion
Why Is the issue as TO the numbers aban-
doncd, and the new issue raised rs 10 whether
or not It was sagacious to wait for the re-
Inducements received? TO justify himself
IN raising this new issue General Johnston
must make out the proposition that 1t was
involved In the first. If not involved in
the fret, then it is what the lawyers, In the
language Of their pleadings, cali inpertiaent
II General Johnston had 1t in view IN put
ting this paragraph into his book to pass an
eneomium upon General Lees military sa.
gacity he Is now justified In dropping
the question in dispute and taking
up that Of General Lees military conduct,