The National tribune., 1907-08-29

says in his report to his commander al
the close of the campaign:
'At the time the Army of the Poto-
mac landed on the Peninsula the rebel
cause was at its lowest ebb. Its armies
were demoralized by the defeats of Port
Royal. Mill Spring. Fort Henry. Fort
I Donelson, Roanoke Island and Pea
Ridge, and reduced by sickness. loss in
| battle, expiration of period OF service.
etc, while the conScription law was not
yet even passed. 1t seemed as II 1t
needed but one vigorous grip to end
forever this rebellion, so nearly throt-
tied. How, then, happened it that the
day of the initiation of the campaign of
this magnificent Army of the Potomac
was the day ef the resuscitation of the
rebel cause, which seemed to grow pari
passu with the slow progress of its op-
erations?
However I may be committed to any
expression of professional opinion to
the contrary q certainly did suggest
i), my opinion now is that the lines of
Yorktown should have been assaulted.
There is reason to believe that they were
not held in strong force when our army
appeared before them, and we know
that they were far from complete. The
prestige of power, the morale, were on
our side. 1t was due to ourselves to
confirm and sustain it. We should
probably have succeeded. But if we
had failed it may well be doubted
whether the shock of an unsuccessful
assault would be more demoralzing
than the labors of siege.
Our troops toiled a month in the
trenches, or lay in the swamps of War
wick. We lost few men by the siege,
but disease took a fearful hold of the
army, and toll and hardship, unredeem-
ed by the excitement of combat, i'm
paired their morale. We did not carry
with us from Yorktown SO good an
army as we took there. OF the bitter
fruits of that month gained by the enc
my we have tasted to our hearts con-
tent"
The Evacuation.
Apparently Mcclellan was looking for
ward to May as the date upon which
he was to do something decisive towards
the reduction of Yorktown, and he kept
up a constantly increasing fire upon the
enemys works, adding to it some 100
or 200-pounders which he had brought
up, and succeeded with infinite labor in
placing in battery. The trial shots
showed that these guns would land
their projectiles in the middle of York
town, and this helped start the eracua-
ton which had been determined upon
April 80, at council of war held in
Yorktown by Jefferson Davis, Robert
r. Lee, Joseph E. Johnston and J. B.
MagruGer.
Gen. Johnston managed this move
ment with the brilliant thoroness which
characterized his retreat from Manas-
sas. He kept up a strong and vigorous
fire upon the besiegers. increasing it
very markedly on May 3, so as to de-
ceive his enemy very completely. In
the meantime he had been sending out
everything portable and establishing
magazines on the line of retreat, so
that the troops would find supplies at
convenient points upon their march. All
that he left behind We're II pieces of
heavy artillery mounted in the works.
AS to the value of these there is the
usual discrepancy of statement among
the Confederate leaders. Jefferson Da-
Wis, who never loses an opportunity to
land on Johnston, says that they were
guns of superior value which the Con-
federacy could i'll afford to lose while
Cen. Johnston claims that they We're
mostly guns of obsolete pattern which
the Confederates had little use for, and
Cen. d. II. Hill, whose rancor against
the Yankees was unfailing. agrees with
Gen. Johnston's statement that the
fruits of the Yorktown victory were un-
important. He says: "The heavy guns
abandoned were all of the old navy pat
tern, taken at Norfolk. and of little
more use than so much cast IRON
The discovery on the morning of May
4 that every man in Yorktown had been
quietly withdrawn out of reach of the
powerful guns placed to wreak destruc-
ton was as bitter revocation to the
army as the discovery of the Quaker
guns at Manassas had been two months
before.
ITO be continued