The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1913-02-09

A well written article by General
Nelson A. Miles appeared ~ the DC
tobcr number Of the Cosmopolitan,
on the battle Of Antietdm. which was
fought on the nth day Of September.
1862.
General Miles went into the battle
as q lieutenant-colonel OF an infantry
regiment. and from his own account,
because Of the wonnding o. h up 10y
regiments the last day of the night.
The position which General Miles
held should have enabled him 70 take
ia a correct judgment OF the battle and
its results. but the illustrations Wnlch
appear with his article show plainly
he partisan character Of his deSsIlps.
ton since only the Confederate dead
are photographed, and no view what,
ever II presented OF the plies OF dead
and wounded Of the fedierai Troops
which were left on the ba tlehcld aiter
the repulse Of the fcderalS, ana from
he illustrations presented. stranger
would think t5ai the "o 'i e,d.gs o, ah1
But General Miles has told in a kino
way. probably as true story ~ TINS
battle as nc could Ten undeI thS III
etIrnstanccs but The facts that cenefai
Mcclellan army. Wnlch htfnDtItI
fully two TO ono. as compared win
General Lees army, had been rushing
- davs To mead OF General Lee. after
he battle lay IN ldlon"ss Tor weeks IN
lfs crippled condition. and the further
Mcclellan. az shown by his official re
forfs All 20 10 snow how signal was the
defeat Of the Fedcrals IN THIS battle.
The capturing OF General Lee courier
before no battle. who carried General
Lets east general order. had inspired
General Mcclellan and his oficers
With tho thought that With the aGyaa-
itge Of this Information beforehand.
that they could destroy General Lee
army and with this intent they rushed
lntc, the fight. with the result that they
Oh
and no doubt General McCiei.an stnc
every other officer and man OF Ms en-
tire army felt greatly TsiISy; ,,S -. @t sba
10Th. that General Lee had Withdrawn
his ARM General Miles gives the cx-
ACT words OF General Lees dispatch.
and the reading OF which shows how
perfectly informed the federa4s were
OF Lees movements.
AZ the conclusion of General Aiiles's
..~-fics, he sa.s while the war was
not inaugurated 20 disturb the insti-
tuition of slavery. az IL progressed siav-
nrmiv did President Lincoln become
convinced OF this that ne registered
solemn vow that II the l Mon forces
rucceeded in driving the invaders from
The soil OF Maryland he would issue q
Urocia nation giving freedom to nearly
600 900 OF slaves ana, @ccofoing 70
General afilesH statement mere. b how
the emancipation prccisiia tioh "ts
issued Oh September p, ist2-
~ this statement a. d hirtoricaI tact
no writer believes and knows that Cen
rral Miles has made two grieVous
errors. In the FIRST place, II the WAY
OF iss2 was not wagcd for the purpose
Dose vas the war wageds II u true
mat the questions OF Union. secession,
coercion, etc. had al % be consIa-
of all these lay the slavery question.
which was the foundation stone OF
our national trouble. The writer VIII
=
truth of history 10 procure ana read
carefully the twenty-Odd dispatches
sent by this same man; General NJ G
CIellan, in April and May. 1851. from
his headquarters az Cincinnatl, ONO,
10 MIR Lincoln and General Scott at
Washington, and see Ma CSnsTSI
before ne crossed the Ohio River 10
invade the state Of Virginia. In those
plain that one Of tho chief missions
he had 70 perform IN me invasion OF
Virginia was to free the negroes
Then. again. let IL see how Mr. Lin
coin looked at the Institution OF slav-
cry years before he was ever thought
Of for the presidency of the United
states. and we 5Peeiariiyb rSisr re 70 'n of
IIuciOn." the best and most compre-
hensivc biography that ever has been
ngbli-hed OF Abraham Lincoln A spe-
OF ~ merit il II absolute fairness 70
So, n people. and II Miss TsrbelI
n.
she done it perfectly. Abraham
Lin .a.l looked upon himself as the
ore man who was 10 utterly anc for
ever destroy the institution of African
slavery az IL existed in America prior to
Nmong the incidents related by Miss
TarbeIl 70 establish the truth S Oh tnls
al New Orleans when Lincoln. but
youth. for the FIRST time saw the negro
traders buying and selling slaves on
mo wharf on the Mississippi River. and
Miss TarbelI related how. that after
looking al the scene OF the traders buy
ing and selling, that young Lincoln sol
emmy exclaimed If / ever get 10 hit
This thing fmcaning slavery | am going
To- hif II hard" And in - number of
other places IN the book equally strong
cxprcssions against the institution OF
riavery escaped the lips of Mr. Lin
coin long before ne became . national
character And II the inc, resaeT M, mas any any
'Tarbeu's Life Of Lincoln. beginning
after the hrst election OF MI Lincoln
and read down 10 his inauguration.
removed.
Al tho Hampton Roads Conference
in February. 1Se5. a. a condition pre-
cedent 10 that conference, Mr. Ian
coin declared 10 the conference com
uissioners that ia the event peace was
then and there concluded. that he.
H.incolnl a. President OF the nifed
states. would not receGe one step on
the slavery question. and further dc
ciared that IL the American people
demanded this recession. that An
other. and not T. would have 20 do u -
So H. D. now clear 10 any intelligent
student Of Lincoln biography That
Lincoln meant what ne said prior 10
HE arst election IN his many spccchcS
that our country could not exist
half slave and half free" And. a. tho
conclusion OF this argument. the writer
feels safe m making tho broad sS-cr-
ton that a. tho States existed IN 1891
there could have been no War between
them. except and because % tho in
sfitufion Of slavery. and now. ffty
wears afterwards. common sense
view r. that slavery was the "cussus
hell" and ~ the war was not inaucu-
rafcd 20 destroy IL. for what purpose
was the war wagcdy
In the sentence quoted from General
Nfiioe's article o. IL seen that he at
tributes the issuance 81 the Euancf-
nation Proclamation 90 the result Of
Inc battle OF Anfictam. which had
occurred i've daye before the Issuance
Of The proclamation. In this General
Miles II again mistaken. and. ~ Mr..
T.frcoIr would have said. n was en-
ffrsfv TOO big a bcncdiction for 80 small
"A meal 10 h. % historical coincidence
thai The two occurred within I've days
Of each other but n H. The opinion Of
fhs writer that the Emancipation
Proclamation would have been issued
nbouf this time y the battle % Antietafl