Opportunities of crushing him in detail were neither sought for nor
created. As General Sheridan said afterwards: "The trouble with the
commanders of the Army of the Potomac was that they never marched out
to "lick" anybody; all they thought of was to escape being "licked"
themselves."
But it is not sufficient, in planning strategical combinations, to
arrive at a correct conclusion as regards the objective. Success
demands a most careful calculation of ways and means: of the numbers
at disposal; of food, forage, and ammunition; and of the forces to he
detached for secondary purposes. The different factors of the
problem--the strength and dispositions of the enemy, the roads,
railways, fortresses, weather, natural features, the morale of the
opposing armies, the character of the opposing general, the
facilities for supply have each and all of them to be considered,
their relative prominence assigned to them, and their conflicting
claims to be brought into adjustment.
For such mental exertion Jackson was well equipped. He had made his
own the experience of others. His knowledge of history made him
familiar with the principles which had guided Washington and Napoleon
in the selection of objectives, and with the means by which they
attained them.
Pages:
1409
1410
1411
1412
1413
1414
1415
1416
1417
1418
1419
1420
1421
1422
1423
1424
1425
1426
1427
1428
1429
1430
1431
1432
1433