As in the preceding August, the popular sentiment
of that army as an organization was again, in Mr. Lincoln's
estimation, too potent a factor to be opposed, and the result was
the superseding of Burnside by Hooker himself, though the President
declared in the letter accompanying the appointment that the
latter's conduct had been blameworthy. It was under these
circumstances that Burnside learned of the false statements in
Hooker's report of South Mountain, and put upon file his stinging
response to it. His explicit statement of the facts will settle that
question among all who know the reputation of the men, and though
unprincipled ambition was for a time successful, that time was so
short and things were "set even" so soon that the ultimate result is
one that lovers of justice may find comfort in.
[Footnote: The text of Burnside's supplemental report is as
follows:--
"When I sent in my report of the part taken by my command in the
battle of South Mountain, General Hooker, who commanded one of the
corps of my command (the right wing), had not sent in his report,
but it has since been sent to me. I at first determined to pass over
its inaccuracies as harmless, or rather as harming only their
author; but upon reflection I have felt it my duty to notice two
gross misstatements made with reference to the commands of Generals
Reno and Cox, the former officer having been killed on that day, and
the latter now removed with his command to the West.
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