The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1897-03-11


The pursuit, which became wild and
exciting chase, was maintained to the
suburbs of Lynchburg. Hundreds Of
prisoners and four pieces of artillery
were captured. The sun had gone
down and darkness was rapidly coming
on before the Union lines could be re-
formed. Gen. Crook, when this was
done, was preparing to make the second
attack, when Gen. Hunter directed that
he wait until next morning. This was
another grave error of judgment, as
subsequent events proved.
There is no doubt but that second
attack that evening would have put
LYNcHBURG IN HUNTERS HANDS,
and that the entire object Of the expe-
dition would have been accomplished.
During the night the remainder of
Early's Corps came in by trains from
Richmond, and when the morning came
the inner line of works was manned by
force larger than Hunters, and it was
manifest that the opportunity had been
won only to be lost by delay. Early
became the aggressor, and all day long
until its close he made desperate efforts
to break the Union lines, but each time
he was repulsed with heavy loss, and
night closed the battle with Hunter
holding all that he had gained.
But while his lines were strong in
front, and he might otherwise have con-
tinued to hold and even advance his
lines, there was fatal weakness, and
dire necessity for retreat, in a wagon
train almost empty of rations and filled
with wounded.
Criticism has been made of the gen.
eralship of this expedition because of
this failure of supplies In SO far as it
was due to one or two days of unnec-
essary delay at Staunton and Lexing-
ton, the criticism is just; otherwise, it
was made in ignorance of or overlook
ing the fact that the army was hum
dreds of miles from any base of sup
plies-in the enemy's territory. To
have increased its wagon-train would
both have impeded its progress and
weakened its force.
To have established any base of sup
plies would have required an army of
many times its strength. If, therefore,
the expedition was to be made at all it
had to be made on short supplies
barely sufficient TO enable it to reach its
point Of attack over the long distances
it had to be made.
Every soldier in the ranks understood
this perfectly well, and hence there was
not then, and there never has been
since, any complaint or criticism from
that quarter. The soldier did not limit
his duty to fight to conditions of full
stomach, much as he preferred such con-
ditions. He regarded it as duty to
risk suffering from hunger as well as to
BRAVE THE DANGERS
of battle, and when he was subjected to
it under conditions that involved it
there was no complaint from him.
Unless, therefore, supplies should be
captured, retreat followed the advance
as necessity, and was contemplated
from the beginning. Only the line of it
depended on the result of the advance,
and the situation it developed.
Again, this criticism overlooks the
fact that it was never in contemplation
that go small force should be able to
hold SO important and vital a point to
the Confederacy as Lynchburg. But it
was contemplated that an attack upon it
would produce the precise result that it
did produce, viz, to compel Lee to de.
tach from his own army sufficient force
to insure Lynchburg from any perma-
nent occupation, and thus to weaken his
lines at Richmond.
Therefore, so far as the main objects
of the expedition were concerned, they
were fully accomplished, and the things
that it had failed in were comparatively
trivial.
With this necessity to look for sup
plies upon the army, as soon as darkness
came the retreat was begun. Silently
and without the least confusion its lines
were withdrawn, and long before the
enemy was aware of its movement the
army was speeding back over the road
to Liberty, through the darkness, with
all of its wounded in the wagon-trains
and all of its prisoners well guarded.
Only its dead, reyerently buried as the
evening shadows We're falling, were left
to their long and peaceful slumbers.
TO be continued
Every lady should read Mrs. Hudnut's free
| offer to Invalid Ladies on page G.