評論
打印
And what did General Meade do? He did the very opposite. He hesitated. He procrastinated. He telegraphed all manner of excuses. He refused point-blank to attack Lee. Finally the waters receded and Lee escaped over the Potomac with his forces.
可是米德將軍是怎么做的呢？他做得正好相反。他猶豫了。他拼命拖拉，發電報給林肯，提出了各種各樣的借口。他直截了當地拒絕進攻李將軍。最后，河水退去，李將軍終于逃脫，帶著他的部隊安全越過了波托馬克河。
Lincoln was furious. In bitter disappointment, he wrote Meade this letter of great restraint:
林肯怒不可遏。他在極度失望中給米德寫了一封行文非常克制的信：
My dear General,
我親愛的將軍：
I do not believe you appreciate the magnitude of the misfortune involved in Lee's escape. He was within our easy grasp, and to have closed upon him would, in connection with our other successes, have ended the war. As it is, the war will be prolonged indefinitely. If you could not safely attack Lee last Monday, how can you possibly do so south of the river, when you can take with you very few—no more than two-thirds of the force you then had in hand? It would be unreasonable to expect and I do not expect that you can now affect much. Your golden opportunity is gone, and I am distressed immeasurably because of it.
我相信您不會懂得讓李將軍逃脫是多大的不幸。他已經落在我們的手中。如果當時緊緊將他包圍，再加上其他的勝利，就有可能結束這場戰爭。而現在，這場戰爭將繼續延長下去，不知何時才能終結。如果您上星期一都沒把握進攻李，那您怎么可能在現在手頭只有當時三分之二兵力的情況下，在河南岸再發動進攻？指望您這么做是沒有理由的。我也不指望您現在能做些什么了。您的天賜良機已經失去了。為此，我感到非常沮喪。
What do you suppose Meade did when he read the letter? He never saw that letter. Lincoln never mailed it. It was found among his papers after his death.
你猜米德讀了這封信會有什么反應？但是他根本沒有看到這封信。林肯根本沒有把這封信寄出去。這封信是在他去世后，從他的文件堆里發現的。
