The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1900-04-18

- " al ell Nohe appears 10 nave LETT
Splon kop at $3.50 p. m. for the purpose of
consulting with Warren. Up to that hour
the ldea of withdrawal had not been en-
tertained. Yet, almost Immediately after
Coke's departure Thorneycroft issued the
order, without reference to superior au-
thority' which u~set the whole plan Of
operations and rendered unavail.ng the
effect.
ON the other hand, it is only right to
state that Thorneycroft appears to have
behaved in a very gallant manner
throughout the day
Wherein Warren Failed.
1T is TO be regretted that Warren did
not himself visit the Spion kop in the
afternoon or evening. knowing as he did
that the state of affairs was very critical
and that the loss of the position would
involve she failure of the operations He,
consequently, was obliged to summon
Coke to his headquarters, and the com
mand at Spion kop thus devolved on
Thorneycroft, unknown to Coke, who was
under The impression that the command
deVolVed upon Col. Hill as senior officer.
Omissions or mistakes of this nature may
be trivial in themselves, yet they may
exercise an important influence on the
course of events and believe Butler was
justified in remarking There was want
of organization and system which acted
most unfavorably on the defense The
attempt to relieve Ladysmith was weu
devised, and 1 agree with Butler in think
ing it ought to have succeeded. That it
failed may in some measure have been
due to the difficulties of the ground and
the commanding positions held by the
enemy and probably also to errors of
judgment and want of administrative ca
pacIty on the part of Warren. But what
ever faults Warren may have committed,
the failure must also be attributed TO the
disinclination of the officer in supreme
command to assert his authority and see
that what he thought best was done, and
also to the unwarrantable and needless as
sumption of responsibility by a subordin-
ate officer"
The dispatch concludes:
1.-The gratifying feature of these dis
patches is the admirable behavior Of the
troops throughout the operation"
Gen. BuIIer's Side of 1t.
Gen. Buffers report, commenting on
Gen. Warren's reports of the capture and
evacuation of Spion kop, after disputing
the correctness of some of Warrens as
Fertions and describing the dangerous sit
uaton occupied by Warrens force, tells
how he saw the force at Spion kop had
given away before Warren knew of It, Bull
Ter therefore telegraphed to Warren:
"Unless you put a really good hard
fighting man in command on top you will
lose the hill. I suggest ThOrneycroft."
Gen. Butler continues:
81 have not thought it necessary to or
der an investigation. If at sundown the
defense of the summit had been taken
in hand, entertainments laid out and the
dead and wounded removed, the whole
place would have been brought under
regular military commands and the hill
would have been held, 1 am sure. But no
arrangements were made. Coke appears
to have been ordered away just when no
would have been useful, and no one sue
ceeded him. Those on top We're ignorant
of the fact that the guns were coming
UP, and generally there was a want of or
ganization and system that acted most
unfavorably on the defense. 1t is adj
mitted that all of Thorneycroft's COM
mand acted with the greatest gallantry
throughout the day, and really saved the
situation. But, preparations for the sec
ond days defense should have been or
ganized during the day and commenced a I
nightfall. AS this was not done, 1 think
Thorneycroft exercised wise discretion"
What Warren Has to Say.
Gen. Warren sets forth the fact that
the Spion kop operations had not enter
ed into his original plans as his instruc-
tons were to occupy a plain north of 1t.
On consultation with the commander-in-
chief, Jan. q, however when the ques-
tion of retiring from or attacking Spion
kop was discussed, Warren expressed his
preference for attacking. This was sue
cessfully accomplished by Gen. Wood
gate Then came the order of the COM
mander-in-chief to put Thorneycroft in
command on the summit. Meantime War
rem had sent Gen. Coke up to reinforce
him, with orders to assume command. In-
effectual efforts were made TO
helograph Thorneycroft, and ask
whether he had assumed command.
Toward sunset he was finally enabled to
get orders through and concluded the po-
sition could be held the next day if guns
could be provided and shelter obtained.
Both these conditions were about to be
fulfilled when "in the absence of Coke,
whom I had ordered to come and report
in person On the situat ton, the evacuation
took place under orders given on his own
responsibility by Thorneycroft. This oe-
CURED in the face of the vigorous protests
of Cokes brigade major and others"
In conclusion, Gen. Warren said*
1T Is a matter for the commandments
chief to decide whether there will be any
Investigation into the question of the un-
authorized evacuation of Spion kop."