New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1884-07-08
NEW PUBLICATIONS.
THE BULL RUN CAMPAIGN,

.-,I I'm rvIER IN THE CAMPAIGN OF
BULL RUN. BY JAMES b. Fly Up 20 ~
Nostrand. 49,, D;,
Tyler. recently published, contains IN ".'o Coi
the Rnll RIM campaign of1S61, in which Generai
MoDoweu who commanded in that campaign Is
.ovarev criticised As General Tyler was second III
command under General Mcdowell, it was perhaps
ouite natural that his statements on the question
shonld have been regarded by those who hid ho'
the whole subject at their fingers ends as
ING an important contribution TO the history VI '"T
war and IN particular as h1ng upon
Mcdowell n responsibility for the Bull Kun oeie"''
&c which earlier historians had for the most Par .
acquitted him. In this pamphlet however Ooi'' -
FRY who was McDowelPs Adjutaht-uen'i" -,
10, ond who cannot endure that his CHIEF should
be uniusty assaed. has succeeded III
that General Tyler wrote with astonishing NAY
80, tho matter that his later version oil the
f,o oortrod,cts his own official reports maze
an;, tbe campairn that tine failure OF the Plah VI
,bocomnaicn was largely due to bis own disIcs"iu
&c cooroI NcDovelrs orders. or to his lne&pilcaoi'
ailatorincss in carrying them out tha' III i"'t Az
onnears 10 have written ms maj account VI ",''
occnrred twenty years previously "I'ho"'
,,g his memory by any reference 10 '"'
rocor1s Of the war and without making any "'''"'P'
tocbeck or TO eliminate the errors oil ueiec"'
lection. ,o-., ,r,.,o, did
If is pity that the friends OF General ll,ci VI"
not bestow more care upon ms h'rI"'''o '''"
Id dome for rs is lac is put the position oil nav
,ng left behind him inexcuSahly erroneous
tel unon General Mcdowell: an attack INC
a,;,,ns of which is so manifest that the uhchh-
tell may conclude some of the blnndeIe "lVn
alone rive il plausihility 10 have been so"''"'"e
,,ore than the consequences of defective he'nUi'
ta his account General Tyler attributes the failure
of the BnI Run campaign IN part To inc ialIu'' VI
McDoveu ~ follow mp the ahar OF bla'Nnu'i
Ford which took place on July - lNoI' ~ ,s
noticeable that General Tyler has ms dal's an
wrong. 10 begin with. Thus he puts the a1''i ~
.ho Ford an the 18th Instead of the 18th, and he
,uisdatcs scvctal other occurrences, though aIeI'i
once to tl,o official record would have been easy ana
,t. o,,, orders of the time would have corrected
49,. f., the sniuo careless way lac speaks ol the
,,i,d ol,used since the huttc of Sui l'uii' anu
,h,,giont his narrative the effects of hasiy wri-
iny nfc npuarcut in many places Nh''h''' "'
roinnei nv IMPLIES General Tyler wna i'allN oH.
Affected toward Mcdowell because the laii'''
,hough a much younger officer. had been pm over
him. il Ia mncccssnr, 10 inquire Inc m''''I az
is.ue "a one of facts AID mot 81 toiu'clni'' "" u
can only be- rightly determined h' nh lhp"'' 90
animation Of these facts Colonel J ~ IN warm
1ofo,d,, or bis old commander but hc produces
COMPARISON Of the official records with "cf'l''
r,lcrs narrative that the n1ccupcy OF the latter
isproycd ,...u..,i.
There oppcars no ground for doubting the SUD.
,tantinl truth of the sketch presented by '"Ion'i
Irv. which shows that General Tyler 10y ms SLOW
movement seriously il not fatally delayed the u"nN
march MANNED by Mcdowell. that lac allowed NM
,clf to Ice held ia check at BhckbuinS foid py e
Confederate force ~ light that he coud nave swept
uovav bvn forward movement, though lac Suhsc
oucutly accused Mcdowell of what was clearly MS
own fault; that ON the day of iul Kun he ia''d To
do VIVA, Mcdowell expected OF him. r's'iNhR MS
force when he should have pushed II I" the Ir'u''
mud Tins ncuraliIug the effect of the iahh mal'h
tbat be boosted OF having been IN Il position I"
s,yccp the rebels from in front of hun AT im'
when hc WAS really far outuumbcrrd by the enemy ;
chat in his testimony before the Examining Com
uitteo hc denied having received orders from
Mcdowell on the morning of the 2lst, but was
oftcrwa1d Obliged to correct his testimony ana 10
admir- that he's had received such orders; that
throughout the Bull Run campaign, in short hr
arropatcd the night to independent action, vet never
acted indrpcndcntly without making some serious
thunder. and that though charging his commander
with sluprlshncss ne himself delayed the rest oil the
orp,y by his dIlatory movements, and declined To
utlizc the OPPORTUNITIES TO close with the enemy
which were ahundanty afforded him.
These positionsaarc very clearly maintained and
demonstrated 10y Colonel Fry. whose brochure is a
finely and important defence and vndcaton OF a
brave and capable soldier whose cher misfortune
vasdne 10 inefficient subordnatcs and UdiscipIhcd
support.
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