Year: 1862

expressed upon the subject, said the at
tack was a surprise that was the resul
of the gross negligence Of the com
manding officers.


You charge me with relying on the
opinions of the fugitives and towards
who took shelter under the banks of the
river.


Whether any with whom 1 conversed
were Of that number, l do not know,
but do know that many of them were,
at least your equals in intelligence, in
tegrity and coursge, and some Of them
in rank; and that their statements are
entitled to the most implicit con6dencs.
1t is very evident from the manner in
which you assail me for not coming to
you for intelligence instead Of obtain
ing it from men in subordinate positions,
that you have greatly mistaken your
position, and the character of the men
under your command. You should
remember that you are not now COM
manding an army that was recruited at
the Five Points, and in Mercer street,
New York, "Ths cankers of a calm
world and long Freeze" and fit only
for food for powder, but an army whose
rank and file is composed of intelligent
and educated farmers and mechanics,
who in every thing but mere military
rank, are the peers Of the Generals and
Colonels by whom they are comman-
ded.


They have gone into the military
service, and placed themselves under
your command, from motives of the
purest patriotism; and while they obey
your commands, and submit to the in
diguities which you may heap upon
them as your interiors in rank and po-
sition, they are nevertheless capable OF
comprehending the movements of an
army, and detecting the blunders Of
the officers who command them.


They are abundantly capable Of OBJ
serving and stating truly, facts which
come under their observation; and L
have no hesitation in giving full credit
to their statements.


And now for a few facts. A scar
worn veteran from Michigan, who was
wounded in the battle. came up with
me in one Of the hospital boats which I
accompanied TO the battle field. He
had bullet through his leg and his
clothes were riddled with grape and
canister. He was a man of intelli-
gence, good sense and undoubted cour-
age. He was in Gen. Prentiss' divis-
ion, and bis regiment. or considerable
portion of it, cut their way through
the enemy's ranks after they were sur
rounded. He told me that the first
notice they had of the attack, the ene-
my was upon them while they were in
their tents, and that before they were
drawn up in order of battle, they were
surrounded by the enemy and their re-
treat cut off.


You say, and you say that Gen.
Beauregard concurs with you, that the
Fifty-seventh Regiment occupied the
key to your whole position. As an
excuse for putting raw and undisci-
plined troops in front to receive the first
shock of battle, you say "it was where
they wished to be-" As to the 57th
you say, at was in the very front, the
place Of honor, to which Col. Mungen
or his men could not object" "Their
front was guarded BY themselves, and
if negligence is justly charged it be-
longs to themselves" 1t is to be pre-
sumed that every regiment in the army
desired the post Of honor. They could
not all have it. Whose business was
it then to determine what regiment was
best fitted for it, and was best entitled
to it? Was it not yours, as the Com
mander of the Division?


And then you say their front was
guarded by themselves, and if there
was negligence it was chargeable TO the
regiment. And so you considered your
self justi6able as the commander of
the very key to our position, in putting
a perfectly green regiment commanded
BY a Colonel taken from civil life, who
had not been one month in the service,
in the post of honor and of danger, and
suffer him to station his pickets and
guard his front according to his judg-
ment of the e1igencies of his position.


Do you not see that this is full con-
fession of all, all and more, than 1 ever
charged you with?


| An Assistant Surgeon or Hospital
Steward of the 57tb, we'll known to
me to be man of unimpeacbable char
acter, told me upon his deatb-bed that,
so sudden and unexpected was the at.
tack, it was with the utmost difficulty
that they were able to hurry their sicE
into wagons and start them to the land
ing, before their camp was taken by the
enemy.


know the facts which I have stated
are denied by the officers in command
and that they say our army was drawn
up in line of battle before the attacl
was made, and, therefore, they say
there was no surprise.


}, AS the prosecution of the controver
sy would probably result in an endless
conflict Of testimony. will not pursue
it any further at this time.


There is, however, facts about which
there can be no controversy, that estab
fishes the charge of negligence on the
part of the officers in command, beyonl
cayil or controversy.


1st. The General In command wa