Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1885-1890, 1886-02-20

the valley, hence the flag of truce
There may have been no flag of truce a
, all for that matter, but the belief wa
the Union troops were the victors
} This belief was short lived, however
J for early in the afternoon clouds O
dust were seen in the distance herald
, ing the arrival of Gen. Johnson!
army from the valley. Gen. Mellow
ell must have known then and there
that he was defeated, on the arrival O.
Gen. johnson that with the force a
his command it was impossible te
maintain his position, therefore tht
order to retreat was given. It was
rumored on our side that a large por
ton OF the troops were not engaged a
any time during the day, due te
wrangling about rank This referec
to Gen. Miles and Gen Richardson
that the latter was in command anc
the former came on the field intoxica
ted and insisted on bis II ght to com
mand, his commission dating a day
or SO older than Ricardson's. Gen
Miles here referred to was subsequent
| ly killed at Harper's Ferry, and Gen
Richardson at Antietam. Gov,
Sprague Of Rhode Island distinguish
ed himself as did the troops he com
manded. Col. Corcoran of the 69th
New York, was taken prisoner, and
the Lieut.. Col. Haggerty killed and
most of the company commanders;
Capt. Rickets of the artillery was Sc
verely wounded and taken prisoner;
Col. Wilcox Cameron brother of the
Secretary of War was among the
killed. Our losses We're considerable,
SO was that Of the enemy. There was
no such total route as that depicted
in the average mind of that period.
Beauregard was punished severely
and did not attempt to follow up the
retreat Of the Union army from the
field. The suppesition was that Nc
Dowell would entrench at Centerville
heights and await re-inforcements
from Washington. The stampede
such as it was, is due to the cowardly
action of the teamsters throwing the
rations and everything else along the
roadside, cutting the mules loose and
creating panic as they went home
ward.
The abuse heaped on DR.. Russell of
the London Times, ssBull Run Rus
sell'' as he is now named, was unwar-
ranted. The report he made was not
intentional Or designed to reflect dis
credit on the Union troops. The DR..
stationed himself in the road and
questioned all that came along as to
their company and regiment losses
The boys got onto the racket and
gave him anything and everything,
one would tell him there was only
three left of his company, another
only himself left, and so On. Possibly
rumors reached him in a correspond
ing degree from the field and from
certain Pennsylvania regiment who
turned homeward the day of battle,
claiming that the term of service,
three months had expired, they were
of course privileged to go.
Much undeseryed ccnsure has been
bestowed on Gen. Patterson for allow
ing Gen. johnson to elude him in the
valley and reinforce Gen. Beauregard,
thus ensuring the defeat of McDow-
ell. Gen Patterson's explanation is
clear and yindieatory-the men were
enlisted for three months, the term
had expired and they wanted to go
home; under such circumstances what |
could he do? With such facts within |
our reach it is suggestive that il Gen.
had defeated Gen. Beaure-
gard and got to Manassas junction,
could he hold it? Gen. johnson and |
his army were convenient, reinforce
ments were in easy reach, while Gen.
had none to expect other
Blenker's division, left behind at Cen
terville, Under such circumstances
Or capture only awaited
Gen. Mcdowell at the junction, had |
be b cen able to get there. It is the
opinion held by a great many persons
that if Beauregard had vigorously
followed up the retreat of the Union
army from Manassas, the Confederate
could have captured the cap
itol That he did not attempt doing
SO is presumptive evidence at least
that he did not think it practicable.
Besides the Notifications around
Washington, Gen. McDowell's army
was by no means beaten one. The
stampede as it was, originated within
itself, but it is useless at this time to
speculate on what might have hap
pened.
In the outset, the three months en-
Iistments were fatal error. At, or
about the time they became of any
real service, through discipline and