The Sunday herald. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1866-1887, 1880-03-28
MORE pERvERsIoN OF HISTORY.

One of the most pernicious OF the literary
phenomena of the day the tendency to sacrifice the
merit of the article to the celebrity OF the writer
The highest class OF periodically at least those the
public expects aim at the highest excellence, seem
Just to be running race with each other to see
which shall pander most successfully to the mere curl
osty Of their readers see what noted person
Will say upon some much mooted topic. The crude
Ideas OF savage like Cctewayo or barbarian Ike the
Shah worked up by the magazine hack. and emil
nent advocates, intriguing politicians, celebrated
actors, and youthful noblemen are hunted up by
editors who doing their best to destroy their call
Ing, and paid high price do III a sort Of work they
have been trained for, and which would lie far
better done by obscurer men. one OF the worst
offenders In this direction is the North Americdn
Reufe,c, which seems Wiling to print the most utter
trash conceivable, II 1t only has noted name to II.
The April number contains u garing example OF
this bad practice in an article Mcclellan Last
"Seryice TO the Republic, by Mr.. George Ticknor
Curtis. who to write military criticism with
out the remoest idea of the art Of and the history
Of the Civil War without any better knowledge than
the camp and oneslded reports OF fifteen and |
eighteen yeatsago Wccannot remember when man |
of any celebrity has made discreditnbe exhibit
ton Of Ignorance and prejudice than Mr.. Curtis has
In the present lnstanse. lie opens by proposing to
write the ''h,story Of General McClean's services
''to the country, from the time 'ohen he led TIE
irmv Of the Potomac 10 position IF sdtety
con the James river at iiarrison's Landing to the
transfer of that army to General Pope's command -
etc. ON his first page Mr. Curtis makes the absurd
assertion that Mcclellan relieved finally tafter
Antictaml "at the moment when his preparations
had been so made that nothing could probably
hare stayed his entrance into Richmond" a
few lines further ON Mr.. Curtis gives the equally
Ridiculous dictum that Mcclellan bad "sayed the
"Captal.'' Nothing but the supreme Ignorance
which Is only equalcd by the superatve conceit of
tt,..l t,r
| Clellan's splendid army the ground OF encomium
upon the generaship which had 'lcd 1t TO position
90 OF safety 1t would he fairly stating the
facts TO say fled with 1t to position of safety
| The first documentary evidence which Mr.. Curtis
produces to sustain his laudaon furnishes the key to
| the frame of mind which made McCiean's campaign
In the Peninsula aborve and led logically to retreat
which was unnecessary-whlch was really flight
| from the phantom hosts which the excited imagina-
ton of the commanding general rushing TO over
| whelm him. In his despatch OF june Is, 1859,
| General Mcclellan says:
Incline TO think jackson will attack my right and
rear The rebel force Is stated at 600 ooe two hun
of numbers, but feel that am In no way RESPONSE
ble for 1t, as | have not failed TO represent re,
pcatedly the necessity Of relnfoicements.
will do all that general can do. with the splendid
army have the honor to command and, II 1t Is de-
with /: and share Its fate. But If the result of the
action which will probably occur Tomorrow OF within
thrown on my shoulders: 1t must rest where 1t be-
longs.
| President Lincoln and Secretary Stanton must have
known that 1t not possible for the rebels to have
In the Held such force Mcclellan reported. The
evident fright which the letter breathes was little
likely to inspire confidence In the general commanding
"the splendid army " while Its captious, complain.
ing spirit toward his official superiors drcrcn
as possible from that which should actuate a zeal
Gus subordinate. Mr. Curtls's feble pen is assailinl
Halleck, Stanton, and Lincoln, three actors In
great drama who longer living. of Halleci
! and Stanton hold good opinion. But tn
efforts TO mudde history In which the adherents o
all the unsuccessful or dissatisfied Union generals
engaged, Indirectly assail the good and wise Lincoln
and deprive OF their true need Of glory the ncompara
ble volunteers who paid with their blood for all thes
: failures and jealousics and finally triumphed not on
over rebel valor, but the faults of their owl
leaders, 1t is astonishing that Mr.. Curtis can
e not see that such despatch he cites must hav
l. seriously impaired the confidence of Lincoln In hi
general. That lie gles past, as II 1t were true. TIL
monstrous overestimae of the rebel force. must q
q least excite surprise But at later point in his mar
II rative historian shows that he does not regard til
two hundred thousand as far out of the way, fo
he says:
e Everybody knew that Mcclellan had handled hi
, army with consummate skill, on that flank move
10 mcnt, and had sored from rdsty superior fore
p of the enemy,
Patience is sorely tried In dealing with such stuff
this. Everybody who knows anything about wa
N knows that Mcclellan invited the disaster of Fa
N Oaks by scattering his troops both sides of I'll
80 Chickahominy. Casey's isolated position was an In
> vltation to attack which 1t is wonder Johnston 1t
n sisted long The Army astride river, divide
le Into segments by impossible swamps, and, In such
dincult country the nature Of which multiplied iii;
. tances, extended a semi-circle than TWEEN,
l. miles In extent. Mcclellan estimated wide. Cou,
te lie Paris, VOL H. p 5o that 1t would have taken Nv
=, days march for Frankns division to reach Case,
~. The newest regiments in the whole Army tbid.l ha
le been put in the most exposed position. The Cone'
as occupied the chord of this and could mena
90 flank aud then throw themselves upon the 9th
by march of seven or eight miles. The rebels We
~ not In overwhelming, but in considerably inferi
as | numbers, but they Were commanded by Gener
Joseph +. Johnston, officer of great skill and
luton. and whose wound just as lie had fair
H. begun his onset was most fortunate accident +
at Mcclellan. That the disaster not greater
- TO the fact that the old hero Sumner, hearing the
Of battle exceeded his Instructions and had the he
his columns already the bridges when he receiv
the order to and take part-a sort of alacrity
q rarely found among the Union generals.
,c The lesson which Johnston's attack should la
taught Mcclellan was not needed, and he kept
Ia army In the false position from the LIST OF Ju
res until jackson had returned from the Valley, n
IA. Lee had had time to collect all the available rel
forces and prepare for the attack which McCiell
"i became aware was impending when he penned
ise despatch of the 25h the lugubrous tenor Of whi
IN has already been noted In anticipation of the sto
which burst upon his right ut Ganes's Mill.
~" that this faulty position improved by the
cellent resolution to shift the base to the James,
the General committed the error of permitting n
gruder and IIuger to deceive him and keep seveI
thousand idle on the right bank Of the Chcl
., homny while Lee and jackson crushed the Infer
w. force opposed to them on the left bank. And Ii
again We find Summers soLdierly instinct stemm
w the tide of disaster. When the other generals on
right bank consulted by Mcclellan, and all y
n, tested that they could only hold their own. this
in volunteered to send two brgades In answer
the Porter urgent call for So French
~ Meaher arrived Just IN time to stop the final
eso which threatened II daylight lasted, to entirely
OF stroy the already badly shattered Union right
er Mr.. Curtis does not quote McClellan's despatci
fs- the 27th Of June, breathing the rankest spirit of
St subordinaon, in which he tells Secretary Stanton
sses III save this army now, tell you plainly that
op owe thanks to you any other person In WASN'T
by ton You have done your best 10 sacrifice this
axe axe lie does, however, quote McCiellan's letter on
,ns political conduct of the war; In which defeated
tone erai, writing from his refuge under the guns OF
tls- Navy at Harrison's Landing, undertook to lect
.he the President and Cabinet to the policy for vi
lad they alone responsible to the country. And
,on- cause the President when this remarkable product
eral placed In his hands, during his visit to the Al
s the James, read and put II In his pocket with
lirs hihPie ieh'"h' '"h r'sh', an" he'ci "Ba'" ""
ular to It, Mr. Curtis seeks TO create In his readers mi
iu- the impression that Mr., Lincoln was guilty Of
IAN, nIio,,y ,,,ya,d Ncri.,an cpe wouid tt,uk 81
eur the best course with regard to such an mperfiI
you eausio, at least long seemed best to rei
do author In command. Nor can agree with
like r,,,s ,,o, ,, v,n. of ,b,s I.,t.r "a, ,a nross
n?'' N"''' ' ~ b''"h - ' ~ " w i
raj selueht, "heh u peeaho necessary ta' 'e cou
pied should know all the reasons which dictated the co
sing of the Administration toward this general In
'isy sense a violation OF confidence.
live Mr.. Curtis tells that at this time the rank
the file OF the Army elt that after all their exert
that and endurance, they ought u he reinforced
yes .,Iow.d IN ,osums the oGons,ya Tar witch
n 1 -. -, =, 80
Il IN 'hfhehUy iohseh' h"W oiieh wiz 'he "sn'7
ucks write on subjects they know nothing about need
Evil told that sllIers do NOT '.lonp for battles