The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1879-04-09

successes are atupendous, and in point OF
act they compare favorably with what les
been done elsewhere. He comes to WISH
ington in June, and the politicians who
consult him find in him a man after their
own heart He out-talks them all. He Is
selfconfdent audacious and Tightly. He
criticises and condemns McClellan's plans
with the freedom of . loyal" congressman.
He processes contempt for the
of supplies" no ''lines Of protection. = no
reinfofcements. He asks only that an
army shall be detached from the Army of
the Potomac, to be known as the Army of
Virginia, the command gwen to him, and in
few days, perhaps in a few hours, he will
destroy or subjugate the enemy. 1t is
brave programme. and it awakens (for such
is the state of public opinion) responsive
cheer throughout the North Mr.. Lincoln,
who, seeing his duty as it is given him to
see it, reflects and follows public opinion,
stories, which the new commander does not
comprehend, and tells John Pope to go
ahead. ~ That clustering braggart
issues general order" headquarters in
the saddle"-which is an insult TO his supe-
riors and sneer to his subordinates But
month passes-two months. 1t is no longer
the end of June, but the end of August, and
nothing has been done. One brief engage
ment at Cedar mountain, on the 9th of
August marks the only occasion when the
fire of the enemy has been provoked. Pope
has already consumed more time than was
given to McClellen in the summer of 1862,
and he has recklessly wasted his opportun
ity. He has neglected all the conditions O:
success; he has not attempted to establish
friendly relations with his brother officers.
He has kept up his line of communication
with Congress. In July be is made -briga,
diergeneral in the regular army. II Mcclellan
would resign they would make him major
general without the necessity of his striking
q blow, and he tries his best to freeze out the
beloved commander of the old army of the
Potomac. To this ignoble work he directs
MS attention, neglectlng his official duty.
Meantime the enemy waits in calm confidence
for the onset. He has been told that Pope
will make the advance, and he is prepared
to meet it. The skirmish at Bristoe Station
on the 9th of August preeipitates chance
night of the 2Sth Pope decided on a battle.
He sends a hasty order to General Porter to
advance his corps-the Fighting Fifth. This
is at o clock on the morning of the 29ih-a
dark, cloudy morning. Porter gets his men
in marching order as quickly as possible.
and is on the field in the early forenoon,
long before the fighting begins. The day
wears away in skirmishing, and in the after
noon Porter, becoming aware that the main
force of the enemy is massed In his front,
makes demonstration which holds Long
street, and prevents him from going to the
AT 6:30 in the evening Porter receives an
order from Pope TO advance. The order is
| dated 80, but the aid who was sent to de-
liver it lost his way Nor is this to be won
dered at. During the whole of that day
General John Pope was in dense ignorance
of what was going on. He had takes his
headquarters out of the saddle and put
! them into a wall tent, where he was study
ing wildly inaccurate war map. which
located the enemy several miles from his
true position, gave Porter an unobstructed
! front, and made it appear that fierce battle
was raging About the time that
| he ordered Porter's advance, Pope sent an
astonishing dispatch to Washington, setting
forth that tremendous conflict was going
on, and that while the Union troops had
sustained heavy losses, the decentralization
| of the enemy was complete, But in reality
| there had been no battle. Fairness as we'll
as charity leads US so add that IN all human
probability Pope was not guilty of falsehood,
but trusted to his imagination for his facts
because. of his ignorance OF actual occur
rences- Returning to Porter, we find that,
Notwithstanding the lateness of tho hour he
makes brave endeavor to carry out Pope's
order. But with only 1000 men, with the
whole Confederate force in front of him,
srd with darkness coming on, he Is soon
compelled to abandon the unequal contest.
The morning of the Both of August dawni
and General Pope begins to comprehend the
situation. He is not yet aware that there
was no battle on the previous day, but he is
painfully aware that there is to be battle
on this day. As the sinking Cesar called &c
Casslus to save blm from the rough embrace
of the Tiber, so John Pope. knee deep in the
sluggish waters OF Bull Run .(where Other
regulations were drowned there before ap
peals to Fitz John Porter for assistance. And
that knightly soldier and his trusty men re
spond right calamity. Through that terribi'
day they held the victorious enemy in check
losing by death or wounds every fourth mar
in the corps but enabling John Pope to re
tire from the field of his dire disaster ant
saving his shattered command from annin ~
alton. And that is the true story of thu
4 Second Bull Run. out of which were evoked
the charges on which General Porter wa
cashiered.