The National tribune., 1908-12-03
CORPS COMMANDERS.

|
| Army of the Potpmac. but am surprised
| at your stficturrs of the various Cen
| erals who commanded that army at
| various times. And now comes IN
Meade, who was one of the really eI-
fective Generals of the war; also Couch'
who was we'll thought of. enough SO ne
was offered the command of that army,
| and whosen services were ranked with
Hancock's and Sedgwick's by those
properly Instructed as to his service.
| No doubt you wen know we often speak
of Grant as the special undertaken or
the old veterans of the Army OF the
Potomac, which Halleck, Stanton and
Grant fully carried out in that murder
GUS overland campaign to the James
| River. Now, please give us history,
tand not so much personal criticism OF
| those who, as q whole, helped to put
down the rebellion and were well
| thought of at that time, before our
second Cesar had arisen to forever and
| finally place the military status of the
Generals who collectively reduced the
Southern States to constitutional au-
thority
| In the East we give Grant his just
need of praise for bulldog tenacity,
but as for brilliant strategy and tactics
we fail to see him emulate Napoleon.
Gen. Couch was the true Havelock OF
| the Union armies, and it was beneath
him to scramble for pelf and power as
| others did in that historic time.
No doubt If you keep on you Will
| come to the conclusion that the line
and file closers ended the war in the
/ East and only the Generals in the West
did any successful fighting, and perhaps
with an amount of truth.-Nelson v.
Hutchinson, M. D., North Arlington,
Mass.
Our comrade is In error in placing
Gen. COUGHS services on the same plane
with those of Hancock and Sedgwick.
The trouble with Couch, as with so
many other officers of all grades, East
and West, was that he was not big
enough for the place. He was undoubt-
ediy good man and an excellent SOL
dier, and there is q seeming cruelty in
pointing out how such good soldier
failed to measure UP to his highest op-
portunities. But these things are the
constant law of life, and were particu-
larly evident in the army. A splendid
Colonel was only too likely to make
| poor Brigadier-General. 1t is cruel in
a way to judge of his poor performance
| as a Brigadier-General rather than his
splendid work as Colonel. But if a man
accepts position beyond his abilities
we must criticise him. The position Of
corps commander was one requiring
the most exceptional abilities. Not one
man in scores who attained General
rank was competent to command
corps. All the armies had a severe
time in developing good corps com
manders. In the Army of the Potomac
very many were tried and found want
ing before such magnificent leaders
were found as Meade, Hancock. Hooker,
Sedgwick. Reynolds. Doubleday. War
rem, Wright and Humphreys.
We have absolutely no prejudices or
prepossessiCns for one commander over
another. The only test that we apply
to them is as to the fidelity and ability
they displayed in the positions to which
they rose. There is constant tempta-
ton to denunciation of men who sought
to be Captains. Ccfonels. Brigadier and
Major-Generals. and then wasted great
opportunities and. the efforts and lives
Of their men. The cases of this kind
are at times so fragrant as to make it
difficult to restrain the Indignation.
There is enough to be said in praise
of the splendid officers and men of the
Army of the Potomac, without indu1g-
ing in any comparisons with those of
the Western armies. There simply
never in any country or age were better
soldiers, better Colonels, better brigade
division and corps commanders than in
the Army of the Potomac. Rarely has
there been as good. History does not
show more magnificent leaders of
masses of men than Hancock, Sedgwick,
Reynolds. Wright, Doubleday and War
rem. The others who were dropped out
from time were men of much more
than ordinary ability, but they failed to
measure up to the standards of these
distinguished corps commanders. They
had limitations, and limitations could
not be endured when great issues and
lives of thousands were at stake The
Corps, division and brigade command
ers, Colonels and Captains failed to
meet requirements, and had to be re-
placed by others.
The only difference between the East |
ern and Western armies was that while |
the Eastern troops fought with unsur.
passed courage and devotion, and gem
orally overcame that part of the enemy |
Immediately opposed to them, the irres- |
olution of their army commander pre-
vented them from reaping the fruits of |
their victory. The Peninsula, Antietam,
Charlottesville and Gettysburg were |
conspicuous instances. At each of those |
places they had beaten their enemies to !
a standstill, and only the failure of |
their Commander-in-Chief to give the /
order Forward" cheated them of as
complete victories as any that the West
ern soldiers achieved.
Nor was this confined to the Army of |
the Potomac. Buell. allowed the beaten
enemy to slip away from him at Shi-
loh and Perryville as badly as did Nc
Clellan at Antietam.