Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1889-02-05
MILITARY GENIUS.
The Theory Of War Useless When an
Enemy is at the Door.

From the National Baptist
Recently the editor called on an old friend, a
former fellow soldier, who is Justly held in the
highest honor as an able and successful COM
mander, as blameless patriot a man Of STAIN
less honor, and as most intelligent and COM
petent military critic. The editor took the OPP
portunity to ask several questions, which with
the substance Of the answers, are subjoined.
Q. Have you read the article by General Wis
count Wolseley, in a recent Fortnightly Review,
on military genius?
A. Yes, have read it, though care very
little to read anything from General Wolseley.
l do not know any man in the history of war
who has secured a reputation on so small a
basis. He became first known by his conduct
OF the campaign against the rebels in Winnipeg
region, In the revolt excited by Riel. There
were some obstacles to be overcome in landing
the fooops on the shore OF Lake Superior and
In making way through tue woods: but there
was nothing more than would have been sur
mounted by smart captain or quartermaster
In our army. At the battle of Tel-el-Kebir,
Gen. Wolseley was fighting a mob of half
muskets, whom it was no glory to overcome.
AS to the character of the fighting, he lost 500
men out of his entire army of $4,000. At the
battle of - (Which did not rank at all as
one of our important battles). lost 1,5O0 out
of my single division of five to six thousand.
His campaign in the Soudan was disastrous
failure. Wolseley is a charlatan and an ass;
he has won his promotion by being a toady and
lickspittle to the royal family.
q. Wolseley gives the names of the five great
est generals in the history of war: Cesar. Ham,
nlbal, Marlborough, Napoleon and General Lee.
What is your opinion of General Lee?
A. A capable man. an able man; what he had
to do he did well. But then he had merely to
act on the defensive; it was the first war in
which arms of precision were ever used. and
arms of precision are all in favor of the de-
fenslve. who are stationary and can get an aim.
while the attacking party are on the move and
cannot use their arms of precision to any adj
vantage. Then he was holding a country
which he and his generals knew perfectly, but
OF which we had no military maps and no adj
equate knowledge; it was a country, too. sin
gularly fitted for defense; l do not mean by
reason of mountains, which are often very hard
to defend, but by reason of the rivers, large
and small, and rolling country forming nat
ural lines of defense. Then the entire pop
ulation of the south excepting the timid
negroes) were jealous and united. and the
troops were animated Gas ours were not) with
hatred of their enemies, and they were enthu-
| siastic for their cause and their leaders. When
people are disposed to exalt Lee at the expense
of Grant, pose them by asking what grea,
thing Lee achieved. At Fredericksburg he
was purely on the defensive. At Chancellors-
vile he had to contend with an incompetent,
general who had lost his head. Lee made a
| successful movement Contrary to all the rules
of war;, making flank movement in the face
OF the enemy. This flank movement under
Jackson, was directed against the weakest corps
generals. His Antietam campaign was fail
ure; so was his Gettysburg campaign.
@. The charge of Pickett has been criticised
Do you think there was anything else Lee