Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1892-09-22

captured the line at % pm. leaving stin 90
least an hour OF daylight FOR further op~r'.
tons. Besides whios II L. shown By has mill
tary critics that IL was brigh; moonlight
night The rebels were moving al night An
advance Of another mile secured ground CON-
handing the town. IL was more than q failure
not 90 proceed. it was an absolute disaster TO
the Union cause. IL is bottles 20 speculate
upon results had he done 80, but Il is certain
the subsequent siege would not have occurred
and probably many thousand lives would have
been saved AZ - not imrrSDable that the war
itself would have ended within sixty days 10
next spring.
Iur Nys-~sT or IT
The military valve OF the city then. the man
ifesi anxiety Of Grant TO have i sccarrd. But
ler's urgent dispatches to push on with energy.
the paias that haS been taken TO bcsu;.e Lee
and II the arrangements OF details for the at
tGck-eyerythinc Rdia.nishea ten smith %
the gravity Of his undertaking and the great
expectations pred.cAtcd upon his energy and
ability. Yet with the coufedcracy IN his grasp
he halted for the morrow. And this is What
call the great mystery OF the failure TO capture
! Petersburg on the 18th OF June. lS64.
Gen. Smiths explanation OF has stopping
after tine confederate line carried is found
IN the following extract from las report 10 Gen
Butler, written the next day; by this TINS
darkness had set IN, and having learned sous
time before that rcia.Orccments were rapidly
coming IN from Richmond. aud dccming that
/ held important points Of the enemy's line of
works | thought Il prudent 10 make no fur
Their advance and made my dispositions 10 hold
what 1 already had"
Gen. Grant, in his official report written
more than year afierward, crIticiscs smiths
delays before attacking, as we'll as his failure
10 push on after the assault, but ~ L. never
theless a queer fact that at first no fault was
found with smith. IL was supPosed-and
Smith evidently shared thin opinion himself
that he had really captured the hey TO tho
town. Chas. A. Dana. then a close Trend %
Grants. autographed 60 Mr.. stanton the neat
day that smiths achievements gave general
satisfaction. This was after Grant and Meade
had looked the ground over. But when n WAS
demonstrated by the assaults OF the l6th, 18th
and 18th of June that IN .act he had really ac-
compllshed practically nothing there began TO
grow a conviction in high military quarters
that somebody had Numbered. A great con-
troversy cnsucd with which the Official records
now teen. Hancock felt Il necessary TO yIndi-
cate himself of the suspicion OF having been
dilatory in his march and derelict IN his duty
before Petersburg. and he is now held gen
orally blameless for that great fasco. HIS
movements appesr 20 have been energetic and
timely. Although the senior general he
waived his rank and offered his troops for any
movement Smith should deem proper TO order.
Hancock stated while this controversy was in
| progress that the town ought to have been cap
tured- Gen. Humphreys, chief of staff Of the
army has expressed the opinion that an adj
vance even as late as 3 O'Clock that night would
probably have secured the town. Gen. Hum
| phreys was one OF the ablest men IN the mill
| tary service.
BEAUREGaRD FoREsAw.
IL anybody was entitled to the credit Of saw
ng Petersburg to the southern confederacy
other than Gen. Smith 1t was q. I. BeAuregarA
Their only military officials who had q true
conception OF its value and realized partially
the extent Of its danger were Beauregard and
ID. II. Hill The former from the first had been
strenuous in urging that il Was the key 70