Year: 1863

Especial Correspondence of the Chicago Tmes.l


WASHINGTON, May s.


The forebodings expressed in nv last three
letters, in regard to the issue of Joe Hookers
fool hardy attempt to reach Richmond have been
more than realized by the event. The gallant
army which had been placed, by the caprice of
Abraham Lincoln. under the leadership Of a vain
booster, has been led bv him to "A slaughter com
pared to which even the slaughter at Fiedericks.
burg in December last appears trihe, and the
result of which has been terrible defeat and an
uglorious retreat Yes. after the lapse of ten
days. the shattered and bleeding remnants of the
Army of the Potomac are back again in their old
camps at Falmouth. having accomplished literally
nothing During that period many battles have
been fought, in all of which every division and
regiment engaged covered themselves afresh with
glory and proved that. in the breasts of the brave
men comprising them. the old fires that burned
on the Peninsula aud at Aniietam are not yet ex-
tinct But all this of no avail Tine most
heroic fighting of the war was rendered utterly
useless and irutleSs solely on account of the lack
of generaIshp in Joe Hooker The whole plan
of fighting Joe" was 80 iull of defects that it
proved very easy matter for Gen. Lee to cir
cumvent it. The Administration newspapers are
trying to throw the blame of the failure upon the
clements. aud say it was the rain storm which
caused HOoker'S retreat But it is easv to show
the absurdty of that assertion. particularly the
order to recroSs was issued on Monday while the
rain did nor been till Tuesday afternoon. Hooker
has always been unsparing in his ridicue of every
thing that Gen. Mcclellan did, and particularly
Of the long trains of wagons that accompanied the
army in the Peninsula, carrying the provisions
and ammunition.


In order to avoid taking wagon trains with him
u his march To Richmond Hooker devised and
organized his string OF pack mules, which he in
tended to perform the same service but which
have proved q most ridiculous failure Half the
mules fell down dead, and were lett sticking in
the mud Half the remainder laid down from
exhaustion and all efforts tailed to get them up.
And all the rest proved so nageable in
crossing streams, that their loads, both of ammu1
milton and provisions became wet and spoiled.
SO shall hear more of pack pules


Then. again. the men became so exhausted by
long marches and fordng deep streams with
eight DAYS provision on their backs that many
of them had To throw away their food in order to
keep mp. and the men who had kept their ratons
had to share with those who had none. The con
sequence was. that at the end of four davs the
eight days raiions were ali gone, and the men
had to resort to the pack mules But, of these
the loads of only quarter of the whole number
were found available. that. by the Sd inst,
Hooker found his army out of provisions Ii the
usual wagon train had followed him, even if the
wagons had been parked on the north side of the
Rappahannock (as is customary he would not
have been compelled tn retreat. In that case his
pack mules fresh and vigorous could have been
profitably used in transporting light loads of pro
visions and ammunition from the river to the
camp at Chancellurville


The same remarks apply with even greater
force to the matter of ammunition. By the Sd
INST. Hooker found his army well nigh out ofam
munition None had been brought except the
little that in the caissons, that which the men
carried, and that which the mules had wetted and
spoiled a train of ammunition wagons on the
north side of the Rappehannock would have kept
him supplied. and have avoided the necessity of a
retreat


These. together with the facts that he had sent
away all his cavalry, and that mis- army was divi-
ded into three separate parts, and together with
the defects of his plan mentioned in my letter of
Nav 6, were the causes of his failure. and they
were the circumstances which rendered his
treat necessity. These causes had all operated
before the rain begun, which was not till Tuesday
evening If these causes had not existed-in
other words If Hooker had been good General,
and had avoided these errors-the rains might
still have occurred, and still Hooker would not
only not have been compelled to retreat but
more than that, he wonld have gained great
victory. l shall demonstrate this proposition


1t has been ostentatiously published TO the
world that Hooker had l59 900 troops Make the
statement more moderate. and say he had $780,
600; and know he certainly had that, He had
seven army corps, averaging l7,O0O men each.
and Stoneman's cavalry corps of $4,000 men.
General Lee. even after Longstreet and Hill had
ioined him, had not over 100 900 at the outside
and probably not over 100000 All that would
be necessary, therefore, was for Hooker to have
massed his whole force at Chancellorvile. He
boosted himself, and the Administration boasted
that his position there was impreenable With
100 900 troops there, well supplied with provis.
ions and ammunition, and with Stoneman's cav
airy on his fanks TO keep off the advancing ene-
my, he could have waited there till to day The
storm Is now over. and the sun is shining brightly.


During the last four days, all the troops at
Baltimore. Washington. and indeed in all the
North, as 900 could easily have been mustered,)
would have been moved up the north side of the
Rappahannock and down to Falmouth to support
Hooker and act as bis reserve. To day or to-
morrow at farthest, Hooker. thus powerfully
backed aud knowing it, could have renewed the
battle and surely with success Why, then, did
he not remain in his "impregnable position?'
Because, when the time came for the exercise of
the qualities of great General, il was found that
Hooker did not possess those quilities. great
General, or good General. would have
kept his army all together: would have provided
a reserve force; would have had an ammunition
train and provision train safely park led in an
accessible position the north side of the Rap
pahannock would have kept his cavalry to use
In making charges, and would not have detached