The rebel politicians who are playing Congress at Richmond
are wroth because after the battle of Manassas, the Confederate army did not
take Washington and invade the Northern States. – Gen. Joseph E. Johnston, the
Commander of the rebel army of the Potomac, concludes his official report of
the battle of Manassas with these observations:
“The apparent firmness of the United States troops at
Centreville who had not been engaged, which checked our pursuit, the strong
forces occupying the works near Georgetown, Arlington and Alexandria, the
certainty, too, that General Patterson, if needed, would reach Washington with
his army of thirty thousand men, sooner than we could, and the condition and
inadequate means of the army in ammunition, provision and transportation, prevented any serious thoughts of advancing
against the Capital. It is certain
that the fresh troops within the works were, in number, quite sufficient for
their defence; if not, Gen. Patterson’s army would certainly reinforce them
soon enough.
– Published in The
Burlington Weekly Hawk-Eye, Burlington, Iowa, Saturday, March 8, 1862, p. 2
