The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1879-01-02
GEN. BURNSIDL'S BALAKLAVA.
The BIunder hat Made Fredericksburg
Memorable Charging snto In" Gates or
Death The Potomac Army Lea Into
Siaughier-Psn-The Famous aiormipg
GfMnrye'E Reighp.

New YORK star.
On the removal of Mcclellan in No
vember. 1862, one of his CORPS command
ers, General Burnside, was placed in
command of the Army of the Potomac,
then near the little town of Warrenton,
and occupying the same ground from
which General Pope had been driven two
mouths previously. General Mcclellan
remained over three days for the purpose
of initiating the new General in Chief in
the pending plans ard operations, after
which he babe farewell to the army in a
formal address. His departure was
greatly regretted by the soldiers, who
had learned through the most trying
ordeal to put the most implicit conf
dence in his military management, and
they could not re'rain from Tistrusting
the inexperience of his successor, espe~
cially in view of the disastrous episode
furnished in Pope's jumping career.
General Burnside had listened, appar-
emily with approval to the plan to
advance on Richmond, along the Cor
louisville Railroad route, but being
extremely ambitious to raise noise i'll
the world, he himself had from the first
planned an attack, and he manifested
the greatest eagerness to execute 1t, res
garuless even OF HallecE's influential
suggestions from Washington. His plan
was to concentrate the army in the i'm
mediate neighborh0od OF Warrenton, to
make a small movement across the Rap
pabannock as n iGint, with view to
| divert the attention of the COnlederates,
and lead them to believe that he was
going in the direction of GordonsvIle,
and then make rapid movement OF the
whole army to FIR, fredericksburg, on the
north side Of the river, in order, a. he
contemplated, to surprise Lee ard gain q
foothold at a point nearer Richmond
than he would be with his forces even ii
he should take GOrlonsville. At the
same time Washington would be we'll
covered to the satisfaction of the military
impresario in that city, and moreover his
base would be safer and handler whcn
established only ten miles away,
Fredericksburg, or at the commodiOus
Acquia Creek landing on the Potomac
This plan was most faulty in conception,
and furthermore, was most blunderingi y
carried out. 1t was based on the super
cial idea of getting away from and around
Lees army, well on to Richmond, with
out a battle. This absurd notion, by
the way, had never for a moment entered
McClellsn's head, but it did prevail
with every General in Chiei the a my
VI the Potomac had, excepting Grant AND
Mcclellan Both on the peninsula and
in Maryland, Mcclellan started straight
to meet his antagonist, and from his frs
great fight At Shiloh, Grant had haC
sufficient perspicscity to see that there
was no use trying to win victories by
stealing away from the enemy anr
making show of covering vast territory
and capturing material spoils, but by
going right at him wherever met, ant
killing off his soldiers This reasonin.
correctly located the CJnf-deracy ia il
men under arms--it was and could h
nowhere else.
In accordance with the new plan o
cam paign, the Army of the Potomac wa
hastily massed ard mNchoi to Fal-
mouth, a picturesque little village Oh
the north Siie ot the Rippshannocs
nearly orpI-iic the town At FndencT'
bu,p. AZ Falmouth, Con RAJ Burn if'
: arrived Outing Lie Closing days ol NJ
} yerpb,r e, find with dismsy, ou looking
; from tie Stafford II lights across
IN. river. that lie bad b e. ahead nl
him, and had already stationed q sum
cient force at the threatened point