It would have seemed to me then,
as it does now, to be less than was due to the energy and fortitude of
our troops, to plead a want of transportation and supplies for a march
of about twenty miles through a country which had not then been denuded
by the ravages of war.
Under these impressions, and with such feelings, I wrote to General
Beauregard as follows:
"Richmond, Virginia, _August 4, 1861._
"General Beauregard, _Manassas, Virginia._
"My Dear Sir: ... I think you are unjust to yourself in putting
your failure to pursue the enemy to Washington to the account of
short supplies of subsistence and transportation. Under the
circumstances of our army, and in the absence of the knowledge
since acquired, if indeed the statements be true, it would have
been extremely hazardous to have done more than was performed.
You will not fail to remember that, so far from knowing that the
enemy was routed, a large part of our forces was moved by you,
in the night of the 21st, to repel a supposed attack upon our
right, and that the next day's operations did not fully reveal
what has since been reported of the enemy's panic. Enough was
done for glory, and the measure of duty was full; let us rather
show the untaught that their desires are unreasonable, than, by
dwelling on possibilities recently developed, give form and
substance to the criticisms always easy to those who judge after
the event.
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