The National tribune., 1890-07-03
TRIBUNE: WASHINGTON THURSDAY,

OF the 10000 men under Hookers COM
mand $4,000 did not fire shot. All that
was necessary to win the battle was to give
the word forward" u Hooker, for no real
reason, and against the advice of his best
corps commanders, decided to retreat. This
gave the rebels the victory, though, with the
exception of tho stampede of the Eleventh
Corps they had been o,,tfought OF all points,
and were driven back with loss when they
attempted to pursue The Army Of the
Potomac was not driven back to its old
camping-ground," but moved back there
with the greatest deliberation.
Speaking of Gettysburg, the writer says:
Whether had Jackson lived two months longer
10 net as the unerring executor of Lees plans MT
Gettysburg, that battle would have had different
termination, Is one of tho problems which will
always puzzle tho student OF military history.
What we know Is that on the first two days of the
three days of carnage the Confederates were, to all
appearances, successful. and that, although on the
third dry their magnificent assault on Cemetery
Ridge was repused by cyclone Of fire beyond
the power OF human beings TO Withstand. thoy
were not pursued by Meade in their retreat, but
were suffered to leisuroly recross the Potomac.
In reviewing this tremendous battle 1t should
always be remembered that, while there has been
much dispute about the numbers engaged on both
Sides 40 competent military authority has assigned
TO Lee more than LOCO men, to Meade less than
$1,000.
The writer must admit the Comte de Paris
is both competent military authority"
and an impartial judge That gentleman,
after careful study of the whole matter,
comes to the conclusion that Lee had with
him. May 81, 1868, an effective force of g.
| 754, and that lie was able to put into the
battle of Gettysburg from G8,0O0 to 5000
men, with $50 cannon. On the other hand,
Meade had on the field from $4,000 to $4,000,
with 300 cannon, of whom between $4,000
and 10000, with large number of cannon,
did not get into the actual fighting. This
would make slight preponderance of the
forces engaged in favor of Lee. The stu
! dent of history" will not "be always puz-
zled over whether the presence of Jackson,
as on executor of Lees plans, would have
changed the issue of the battle. A dozen
Jacksons would not have given Lee the vic
tory at Gettysburg for the reason that his
campaign was essentially faulty at the in
| ception, and his tactics were bad throughout
1t was simply impossible, with the men at
his command, to have whipped the men
under Meade in the position that the latter
had taken up. Lee might have foughta much
more skilful battle than no did-he could
not have fought much worse one, but the
result would have been the same. On the
other hand, as at Antietam, fredericksburg
and Charlottesville, he was great gamer,
without any merit on his part, from the
msmauagement Of the commanders opposed
to him.
Lees campaign against Grant in 1864 will
pass into history rs able but not at all bril-
liant In its main features IL bad been du-
plicated in a hundred defensive campaigns
in Europe, conducted by commanders many
of whose names are scarcely known. At the
beginning of 1864 the rebels concentrated
in front Of Grant and Sherman every able
bodied man that n relentless CONSUMPTION
could draw from the States of Virginia;
North and South Carolina, Georgia, Florida,
Tennessee Alabama, Mississippi, and Louis
lana, which had population in 1860 of
7,059,5s3 When the oft-roferrcd-to "stu-
dent of history compares the defense which
was made with this vast number OF people
at JEFF Davis's back, with the defense that
Frederick the Great made with less than
100000 against over 100 100000 on the side
of his assailant, or OF William of orange,with
less than 100000 Dutch, against the over
whelming power Of Spain, he will be forced
to the conclusion tiat either the manage
ment of the defense fell far short of those we
have cited or that men of vastly-superior
Great and William the Silent directed the
operations against Lee and Johnston in 1864
The student of history will also find tina,
the rebels entered the struggle with nearly
100000 people on their side, while 30 .OO0,-
900 supported the Union and that the rebels
put every available man into the ranks. Still
further, he will decide that never in the
annals of the world was so many as 10, 900 ,00C
people of European blood been overcome
fighting on their own ground, by one having
80 small preponderance as two to one. The
conclusion he will arrive at is that the lead
ers and soldiers of the Union were, mar
for man, better commanders aud fighter,
, than were mustered on the rebel side TIL,
! verdict of history will be that Lee has nj
right whatever TO place among the really
; great Captains, but only to be considered {
} fairly able commander, who was favored a
( the outset of his career by being matched
: against some astonishingly incompetent
Union commanders. and who made only
respectable showing when matched agains
men of decided genius foT war
, TAKE ADVANTAGE OF EXPERIENCE.
. In nothing is long experience of NOR