New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1913-04-04
IF A WOLSELEY MET A GRANT
The English Army Would Have It's
Hands Full

To The Editor of The Tribune
Sir The publication OF i'iell Marshal
Wolselcys letter by The Tribune brings
.uto question the Justice ~ his opinion of
General Grant His estimate of Jackson
and Lee is not new. since il seems 10
have been the fad with many writer's TO
place Lee al the head Of the Confederate
generals. and some of them consider him
10 be the ablest military leader which
this country has yet produced.
While the writer makes no p.etension
To the lofty position Of professor of ethics
assumed by the "disinter.sted student of
military history" it still remains our
opinion that his expressed opinion will
not survive analysis.
Lee was not the dblest general which
the Confcderacy produced. On SO many
occasions was he at fault in the point Of
strategy that he cannot be considered To
have attained marked proficiency in that
department of military science. For oX-
ample. In the first campaign in West Nir-
ginia he was decisiyely outmaul"uvred by
Rosecrans In the single point of STRAIT
egy Rosecrans eXcelled Lee. In the An
tietam campaign the iinprope- division 81
forces by Lee came near being fatal 10
the Confederacy. and would haze been 50
had the Union commanders shown the
enterprise expected Of them. Ills move
ment against the Union centre on the
third day of Gettysburg was not merely
a blunder. but was executed in the face
of vigorous protest from his ablest
corps general
Let us not however. deny him the
able general, If we consider him from the
angle of his defensive operations; he was
q good general on the held, despite his
mistakes. His defence az Richmond IN
the last campaign was oi a high ORDER
but In this connection We should consider
the quality of the troops under his com
mand and OF his corps and division gen
erals not losing sight Of ;he presence of
natural obstacles surinountcd by no other
army than his adversarles before or
since.
We have alluded to his subcrdinates.
No Union commander could boast Of a
group Of such men as Ewell. Hill and
I.ongstreet Outside cf Hancock. there
was no other corps commander on the
Union side who can be ccmpai ed with
tncln. w ME Gtant ldu the EItI1 OF ih'
Tennessee, he had something very much
on the same order. bur he also had Me
Clernand 10 stir up dissenson.
On his own side we believe that Lees
geDeralshp was inferior 10 that of john
ston. The blow which the Latter attempt
ed at Fair oaks was OF "A higher order
of conception than anything v hch can be
credited to Lee In his whole career and
failed only because II the ahlosr equally
inspired move by Sumner. Johnston's de-
fence Of Atlanta was better conducted, on
the whole than Lees defence OF Rich
mond. though less spectacular. Actual
historical record places Johnston above
Lee. in our belief, and there also would
we place Longstreet How long would
Lee have lasted without him?
When we come 10 the silelt general.
who was just and generous. as he was
great intellectually. what shall we say?
His campaign against Nicksburg Is the
one great campaign o. he war. executed
I'm the face of almost msuperable obsta-
cles with provision that oxcelled the
mind of sherman, who protested against
it, There is nothing in Lees entire career
to he for a moment compared with IT, We
say nothing OF Chattanooga, since Grants