Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1892-01-23
WAR "REMINISCENCES.
QUEER THINGS IN WAR.

Mistakes.
No participant in the first battle of
Bull Run was able to tell how the men,
ora BILE panic started. 1t should never
have been. There wasn't the slightest
reason for panic Although the fed
eral troops were outnumbered when
the confederate reinforcements came
from the valley, they could have fallen
back in good order and formed a new
line to the rear.
Burnside should never have attacked
Fredericksburg. Every soldier of prom
inence in America and Europe has SO
declared. There weren't an even hun
dred private soldiers in his command
who believed an attack would be sue
cessfuL
Gen. Hooker went down into the
Wilderness to take Lee in rear. Be-
fore he was ready Stonewall jackson
was almost in his rear. Word was sent
to Hooker early in the day that Jack
son was passing along his flank. He
preferred to believe that the willy Con-
fcderate was in full fight toward Rich
mond Had he not put his own opinion
against facts as stated by prisoners cap
tured he might have bagged Jackson
and Lee then and there.
All military students believe that
Lee made mistake in ordering the
memorable charge at Gettysburg in
stead of flank movement, while Beau
regard rested an hour too soon to COM
plete the disaster at Shiloh.
When one knows how thin Lees
right was ut Antietam, some of the bat
teries having no support whatever, he
can reason that had Burnside charged
at the hour ordered by Mcclellan the
result of that battle would have been
far different.
Thousands lay in camp at Shiloh for
days without protecting their front in
the slightest A great army marched
over the country to attack, but there
was not even a cavalryman out to see
and hear and bring in the news. The
biographers have furnished plausible
excuses and the historians have sought
to cover up mistakes, but one needn't
to have fought in the ranks to realize
that it was a war in which many queer,
strange things came to the surface.
They used to be called blunders, but
that term is too harsh for these piping
days of peace. There are old histories
which tell of Gen. Butler being bot
tied up" at Bermuda Hundred. The
new ones refer to his position there as
an error Of judgment
One of the stupendously queer things
of war was Banks great move on
Texas, and the queerest thing about it
all was the fight at Sabine Pass To
reach Sabine City a fort at Sabine Pass
had to be captured. The federal force
comprised four gunboats and about four
thousand infantry 1t could plainly be
seen that the fort was n small affair,
and it was just as plain that infantry
could be landed below it to make an as
sault Prisoners captured in that
neighborhood gave the strength of the
defenders at less than three hundred
men, although there was another force
manning three or four river steamers
above. Half regiment of infantry
could have carried the fort at dash,
but not n man was landed 1t was de-
cided to let the gunboats go up and
knock the fort to pieces before any men
were put ashore.
1t will hardly be accredited bat it is
fact surrounded by hundred proofs,
that there were less than fifty confed-
crates in the fort. They did not ex.
pect victory, but We're determined not
to leave without fight. There were
twenty-seven guns on the three gun
boats which finally moved up to the at
tack, while the fort mounted only
seven. At the very first discharge of
the latter two of the gunboats were
disabled by shots penetrating their
boilers. The third fired half doze q
shots and then got aground and drew
out of the fight as soon as she could
pull out of the mud. The fourth took
no part Seventeen minutes after the
first gun was fired the confederates had
possession of two of the gunboats, and
the other two, together with the trans
ports carrying 1900 men, were in full
retreat down the river.
1t was the quickest queerest victory
of the war. In the fort not man was
scratched, while the federals lost ovel
two hundred in killed and prisoners
and two crafts armed with fifteen rifieG
guns. Each one of the defenders wa.
subsequently presented with a media
by the confederate president and wa.
afterwards known as Davis guard.
have seen half dozen of these med
ais here and there, and perhaps one OF
two can be found here in New York to
day.-M. Quad, In n. Y. World.
a FRIEND IN BLUE.