But, remembering that time was of the essence of his
orders, it may be as well to quote the criticism of Warren--
"It takes some men just as long to clear away a little force as it does
a large one. It depends entirely upon the man, how long a certain force
will stop him."
"The enemy had left about one division, perhaps ten thousand or twelve
thousand men, at Fredericksburg, to watch him. They established a kind
of picket-line around his division, so that he could not move any thing
without their knowing it. Just as soon as Gen. Sedgwick began to move,
a little random fire began, and that was kept up till daylight. At
daylight, the head of Gen. Sedgwick's troops had got into Fredericksburg.
I think some little attempt had been made to move forward a skirmish-line,
but that had been repulsed. The enemy had considerable artillery in
position."
"My opinion was, that, under the circumstances, the most vigorous effort
possible ought to have been made, without regard to circumstances,
because the order was peremptory." But this statement is qualified,
when, in his examination before the Committee on the Conduct of the War,
to a question as to whether, in his opinion, Gen.
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