Keeping in view all the facts,--that Sedgwick was on unknown ground,
with an enemy in his front, familiar with every inch of it and with
Sedgwick's every movement; that he had intrenchments to carry where a
few months before one man had been more than a match for ten; that the
night was dark and foggy; and that he was taken unawares by this
order,--it seems that to expect him to carry the heights before daylight,
savors of exorbitance.
But it may fairly be acknowledged, that more delay can be discovered in
some of the operations of this night and morning, than the most rigorous
construction of the orders would warrant. After the repulse of Wheaton
and Shaler, a heavier column should at once have been thrown against the
works. Nor ought it to have taken so long, under the stringency of the
instructions, to ascertain that Gibbon would be stopped by the canal,
and Howe by Hazel Run; or perhaps to organize the assaulting columns,
after ascertaining that these flank attacks were fruitless.
All this, however, in no wise whatsoever shifts any part of the
responsibility for the loss of this campaign, from Hooker's to
Sedgwick's shoulders.
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