The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1878-01-04
Limit or Is DARK Story.

Itis more commonly believed than
acknowledged that the campaign when
/ began with the advance of :he army OF ine
! Potomac under General Grant, hay D,
| 1864. was unsoldierlike and unstatesmah-
! like. and resulted only in the squander'
! ing of costly human lives. Even the NTH
/ mate success at Appomattox mas never
reconciled the country TO that awfni series o'
battles lost and hopeless fiankipg marches
through which our army was moved from
the Rapidan TO the James, bafhcd oy zoe
il outnumbereC three to one and leaving on
its bloody way as many men as Lee COM
mapded. Those who have looked at events
with the purpose of finding thehf tfue
meaning, and not with the design OF III
terpretiug to fit partisan theories, long as .
perceived that the transfer oil the army Vi
the Potomac 60 the James was a cohiess'oi'
on the part of General Grant that thc over
land campaign was ialiure' anu nsr,ni
cation of the souudness of General McClei-
lan's original plans for the capture OF the
rebel capital aud the overthrow of the re-
beIlion. When Grant departed from the
course of Mcclellan he met with disaster
whom he mt himself in NcClellan's foot
stems he met with success. The superiority
of the former as fighting soldier has gen.
erany been conceded, but the superiority OF
the the latter in strategy is beginning 10
righteousness Of bis quarrel with the ad-
miuistration which recalled him from Rich
mond and insisted upon direct advance
from Washington, These are themes " whlch
now have chiefly historical interest, put
statement in some "Reminiscences OF Inc
Civil War; contributed by Gen. Richard
TAYLOR, one of the foremost of the Confed-
crate commanders, to the current NUMBER
of the North AmGricdn Retteao revlves tnein
as if by the incautation OF n "izaro. III
pnts them also we are sorry to say, In
new and most painful light. Everybody
knew that either the administration or Its
chosen general had blundered in that un'
fortunate campaign of the Wilderness, but
few have supposed that the responsibility
of either went any further. General layior
now clears the military reputation of Grant
by an assertion which involves the adm'nis-
tration in downright crime. tie states that
the overland campaign was adopted III the
facce of Grants explicit declaration that 1t
would involve the sacrifice. of 100, Ouo moIe
human lives. These are his words I:
"Aftsr the battle of Chickamauga in 1888,
Gen. Grant was promoted to the command OF
the armies of the United States and called TO
between him, President Lincoln and Secretary
stanton, the approaching campaign in virginia
was discussed. Grant said the advance on fticn-
mond should be made by the James river. IL
replied that the government required the
Washington and would not consent at that late
day to the adoption of plan that would be
taken by the public as a confession or previous
error. Grant UbSerN ed that he was lndlnerent
as to routes. but if the government preferred
it's own-so often tried-to the one suggested,
it must be prepared eor the additional loss OF
100000 men. The men were promised Grant
accepted the government plan of cam paiRn ana
supported to the end. The above came to
me well authenticated and have no doubt CT
it's correctness"
This is certainly horrible story. The
immolation of 100, 900 men to avoid con-
fession of error on the part Of an admins
tration matches anything in the annals OF
the most despotc governments on earth.
To believe that the long agony which the
nation endured in 1864 was borne to make
good the blunders of civilians involves so
much that is revolving that nothing but the
reputation Of the soldier who vouches for
the tale could make us entertain it. Gen
eral Taylor expressly and significantly says
that it came to him on good authority. No
authority for such an accusation can be
good which is less than that o. one OF the
men directly concerned. President Lincoln
was dead before Gen. Taylor came North
after the war. Edwin NJ. Stanton was
probably capable Of the atrocious ca alcula-
tion charged, but he is not likely ever to
have had an opportunity of municating
it. to Gen Taylor. There remains, there
fore, but one source from which it could
have reached General Taylor. This con-
sideration will make our readers shudder
with US at the probability of It's truth.-N
7. World.