Posted on 06/26/2021 6:37:55 AM PDT by Homer_J_Simpson
WASHINGTON, Tuesday, June 25.
A Committee of New-Yorkers are here to tender to the Government a crack American regiment of riflemen, now ready organized, and ready for the war. Major BEN PERLEY POORE, of the Rifle Battalion of Massachusetts, now Major of the Massachusetts Eighth, has been offered the Colonelcy of this regiment, and holds the offer under consideration.
At the Relay House, the Massachusetts Sixth and Eighth are stationed. Their term of enlistment expires the last of July. They will return home at the expiration of their time. A new regiment will be formed out of these two, which will return for the war, with newly chosen officers.
Somebody cut the telegraph wires from Arlington to the Departments yesterday. A close watch has been instituted since.
The troops at Arlington are busily engaged in increasing their fortifications and defences.
The newspaper published two or three times by the Pennsylvanians, in camp, called the Pennsylvania Fifth, has been suspended. The typos have got orders, and have gone forward on more stirring business than type-sticking.
Mr. MARTIN, who resides at Uniontown, Va., opposite the Navy-yard, took up a colored boy yesterday, and sent him to jail here. The slave is nineteen years old, and says he belongs to AUSTIN GORE, who lives seven miles below Aquia Creek. His master has gone to the war, and he states that many of the slaveholders have given up their slaves to the use of the rebel forces. When he ran away, he knew of forty free blacks who had been forced into the secession ranks.
A spy was seized near the Fourteenth Regiment camp, yesterday. Maps and plans of our encampments were found on him in profusion, and his boarding-house was afterwards searched and more evidences of his character were discovered.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
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The Great Insurrection: Interesting Intelligence from the National Capital – 2-3
Affairs in Western Virginia – 3
The Cherokee Indians – 3
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Southern Mail Items via Louisville – 3
Military Matters in Ohio – 3
“A Crack American Rifle Regiment”… I like the sound of that.
Time for that again… way PAST time for that again.
Bkmk
What is crazy about these articles in this part of the war, is they don’t seem to comprehend the immediate danger the country was experiencing.
Major General Dix....as in “Fort Dix”?
Yessir
Most people of the time could estimate numbers & calculate the odds as favoring the Union over time.
So the questions were whether the Union could make good use of its resources and provide capable leadership.
There is also genuine fear over potential foreign interventions, especially British.
And so far at least, Confederates are still considered more bragadocio than serious soldiers.
That will change soon, and may produce temporary panic.
We’ll see how deep & wide the panic goes, but since in hindsight we already know the outcome, fair to say panic never debilitated Union leadership for long.
I think the South had a remote chance after Chancellorville. However, Stonewall was dead and the Gettysburg was a huge blunder.
Even if the Confederates won Gettysburg their army’s might would have never recovered.
Stonewall at Gettysburg might have brought Confederstes’ victory.
But remember, Union Commanding General Mead didn’t want to fight at Gettysburg in the first place, had to be compelled to by his subordinates.
And as Pickett was charging Cemetery Hill, Mead was in the Union rear organizing their retreat!
Mead expected Lee to win and intended to fight Lee again on ground Mead liked better — Mead didn’t like Gettysburg.
But a Confederate victory would have been as problematic for Lee as was defeat — think about it... what’s Lee going to do, chase Mead to the next ridge line and fight him again after suffering what was it, 30%+ casualties at Gettysburg?
What are Lee’s troops going to eat, what about ammunition?
I’m only saying, had Lee not retreated on Day Four of Gettysburg, he would still have retreated on day five or ten.
Bottom line: Confederate “victory” can be defined as Democrat McClellan’s political victory over Republican Lincoln in 1864.
And Lincoln himself expected a McClellan victory as late as September 1864, before Atlanta and Savanah.
History says that’s what turned the tide of Northern gloom & defeatism.
So I’d guess we’ll have a better sense of these things when we get there... three years from now! ;-)
Imagine if Picketts division didn’t make the charge, but rather put itself between Gettysburg and Washington. That would have been an interesting scenario.
Lee could not afford any victories that included 25K casualties without resulting in the total destruction of the Army of the Potomac. Where the North seemingly had unlimited manpower.
I agree, capture of Atlanta made the North electrified.
“Imagine if Picketts division didn’t make the charge, but rather put itself between Gettysburg and Washington.”
And that’s pretty much what Longstreet advised Lee, but Lee wouldn’t have it — he expected to beat “Maj. Mead” first.
Considering how Lee himself won at Fredericksburg it’s hard to believe he didn’t understand the perils of attacking up hill against entrenched troops.
It is easy to Monday morning QB that battle.
I think Lee would be better off if he let the Union Army just hang out up there while he marched away.
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