The National tribune., 1907-10-17

ting that 1 did not send them as fast as
I could. / feel any misfortune to you
and your army quite as keenly as you
feel it yourself II you have had
drawn battle or a repulse, 1t is the price
we pay for the enemy not being In
Washington. We protected Washing
ton, and the enemy concentrated on
you Had we stripped Washington he
would have been upon US before the
troops sent could have got to you Less
than week ago you notified us that
reinforcements were leaving Richmond
to come in front of us. 1t is the ma
ture of the case, and neither you nor
the Government that is to blame"
Davis, Lee and stonewnH Jackson Mys-
tilted.
When on the morning of June rs
Jefferson Davis and Gems. Lee and
Jackson looked over the dearly-won
battlefield of the day before, they real
lied they had gained very little to COM
pensate them for all the blood so Law
lshly expended. They had expected to
catch Mcclellan in a trap. They were
entirely at loss as to McClellan's
plans, and remained so during the day
at least. They believed they had been
fighting the greater part of McClellans s
army, which they had crushed and
driven from the field, yet they found
rear of badly beaten army. Substan-
TALLY all the stores at White House
had been removed, and their captures
from Porter's force We're confined To
the % field pieces which he had lost
All his heavy guns, wagons. ambulances,
ammunition and other stores had been
safely removed across the chickahom-
iny For awhile Lee supposed that
Mcclellan had drawn back to the rail-
road and the Williamsburg road 10 re-
treat to Yorktown, and he SET his col
umns in motion down the left bank o.!
the Chickahominy. Stuart went on
ahead to follow a small party of our
cavalry. This confirmed Lee in his be-
lief by retiring towards New Kent Court
House, whittier Stuart followed il. and
thus was thrown clear out OF the sub
sequent campaign. Eweli went down
the left bank of the. Chickahomi;iy as
far as Bottoms Bridge. finding, 30 his
astonishment, nobody on th9t side Of
the river nor any movement in that
direction, which was the first decisive
information given Lee and Jackson o.
their mistake. This confusion of mind
on the part of Lee gave Mcclellan near
ly two days Of valuable time TO carry
out his designs.
MastcrIy Movement.
II Mcclellan had made his change
Of base to the James before the battle
of Gaines'S Mill, il Would have passed
into history as one of the abiest oi
military manuyers. it was we'll planned
and admirably executed. doing more
than almost any other act OF McCiel-
lans to confirm the high estimate that
had been made of his ability. Unfor-
tunately for the reputation of the move
ment came the battle of Gaines's Mill
which gave to the change of base the
aspect Of Il retreat under severe press
ure. The country thru which McClel-
Ian had started his army was singular
IL unknown, and the Comte de Paris
has well said that the journey was a
voyage of discovery, as much as mill
tary movement. AS has been previous
ly explained, the White Oak Swamp is
q great morass about 10 miles long and
railroad nearly to the James. Its char
acter is such that cultivation is impos.
sible, and the country on either side oi
it was sparsely cultivated and inhospita-
ble Only here and there had little
farms been cleared up on such parts
as rose above the periodical submerg-
ence. All the roads leading out OF
Richmond ran around it. There were
occasional trails and woods roads lead
Ing thru it, upon which short cuts
:. could be made in the Summer when
the sswamp had measurably dried up.
0onle OF these roads were old paths
for getting out timber; some led to the
miserable little farms, and many were
mere paths thru the dense thickets