北方在布尔朗进行艰苦的阻击

自内战暴发以来已经度过两个夏季，然而，北方至今还没有在维吉尼亚地区取得一场重大战役的胜利。波托马可军团，这支北方号称实力最强大的军队试图攻占南方的首都雷切蒙德，麦克莱伦将军所率领的这支部队都已经兵临城下了，但就在此时，南方军的罗伯特.李将军率领南方军向他发起了猛烈的反击，粉碎了麦克莱伦的进攻，并使麦克莱伦远离雷切蒙德。本周，我们继续向你讲述美国内战的故事。

亚伯拉罕.林肯总统和他的最高指挥官亨利.哈勒克（Henry Halleck）决定组建一支新的军团，他们将这个新军团命名为维吉尼亚军团，他们将这个军团的指挥权交给了约翰.鲍博（John Pope），约翰.鲍博在西部是一个非常成功的斗士。鲍博开始率领他的军团向雷切蒙德进军。哈勒克命令麦克莱伦率领他的军团与约翰.鲍博的军团会合。两大军团会合在一起就能突破南方军在雷切蒙德的防线。李将军决定在麦克莱伦与鲍博会合之前打击鲍博军团，他只留下不足千人的队伍守卫雷切蒙德，而他带领主力向北进军。李率军度过拉帕汉诺克河（Rappahannock River），与鲍博军对阵。

李将军派斯通威尔.杰克逊将军带领24000人，以急行军的速度绕过鲍博军，到达其防线的西部尽头。杰克逊率领他的军队在两天内急行军80公里，他们来到了鲍博军团的背后，并占领北方军位于马纳萨斯的一个重要的补给中心。鲍博派兵要消灭他们，他们就焚烧了这个补给中心，然后撤退到距此不远的一个狭长低矮的山岗，这里正位于一年前南方军击败北方军的战场――－布尔朗战场的西北。杰克逊将他的军队沿山岗埋伏在茂密的森林之中，等待李将军带领其余的南方军与他会合。

在李将军到达此地之前，一支数千人的北方军来到了杰克逊埋伏处的下面，杰克逊决定对其发动攻击，将这些北方军拖在此地，以等待李将军的援助。这场战斗打得非常激烈，双方谁也没有退缩，这场战斗一直打到天黑，杰克逊将部队撤回到埋伏的位置，他将部队沿着山岗一侧的部分铁路线展开。

从杰克逊在山岗的指挥部上，他可以看到北方军为战斗所做的准备。许多北方军正向这里进军。鲍博统率着他所有的军队，另外在华盛顿附近营地的军队也在往这里赶。麦克莱伦下面一支由波特（Porter）将军指挥的数千人的部队正从南方往这里赶。向他这里汇集的北方军非常强大，远远超过杰克逊所率领的军队。杰克逊为此深感忧虑，他派一名军官到后面去寻找李将军，他送去的信息是：李将军必须马上过来，杰克逊面对一支庞大的军队。

鲍博的军团的确很庞大，但却是一支缺乏有效组织的部队，这些军队贸然进入战斗位置，进攻的命令是在他们还没有准备好的情况下下达的，所以，北方军的进攻很缓慢，而杰克逊却是一位非常善于作战的指挥官。尽管如此，越来越多的北方军加入到这场战斗，双方在炎热的阳光下激战数小时。杰克逊的部队眼看就要被击垮了，大家都在祈祷，这漫长的一天赶紧结束。然而，太阳仍然高悬在天空中。

最后，太阳终于落山了，整个战场逐渐变黑，杰克逊终于顶住了，但他们付出了惨痛的代价，有数千士兵伤亡。北方军的损失更大。绝大多数北方军作战很勇敢，他们一次又一次冲击南方军的防线。但有一支规模很大的北方军在一整天始终都没有投入战斗，这支军队就是来自麦克莱伦率领的波托马可军团的由弗茨.约翰.波特（Fitz John Porter）率领的那支部队。鲍博命令波特进攻杰克逊右路防线，波特率领他的军队到达距杰克逊右路防线几公里的地方，并在那停了下来，他的军队一整天都停留在那。波特后来说，他认为相对他所率领的军队而言，南方军实在是太强大了。

麦克莱伦所率领的波托马可军团的其他军队到达亚历山大，距战场东30公里。麦克莱伦接到命令是立刻前往战场增援，但他拒绝这么做。他说，他们还没有做战斗的准备，而且他也不想将军队投入战斗。鲍博将军仍然认为他现在所面对的仍然只是杰克逊军队，他不相信李将军已经带领三万多南方军投入战斗的消息。鲍博认为李将军还遥远的马纳萨斯西部。

鲍博认为，在过去的两天的血腥的战斗中，杰克逊的军队已经进行了惨烈的战斗，因此他确信杰克逊将在明天撤退，向西逃跑。当天晚上，鲍博将他的军队分开，他留下数千人的部队摆放在杰克逊防线的正面，其他军队向后移动，这些军队接到的命令是做好准备向西运动截断杰克逊逃跑的后路。鲍博犯了一个严重的错误：杰克逊并不准备撤退，他正等待与李将军会合以便粉碎北方军。而这就是第二天所发生的一切。

北方军向杰克逊防线发起进攻，战斗非常激烈，鲍博的军队眼看就要突破杰克逊的防线了。但就在此时，李将军命令他的部队向前增援杰克逊。南方军的炮火粉碎了北方军的进攻。当北方士兵开始逃跑时，李将军和杰克逊尽一切所能向北方军发起猛攻。鲍博的很多士兵还没有准备好投入战斗，他们还只是站在一起，准备向前推进。他们无法阻挡南方军的进攻。南方军将鲍博军赶回到老布尔朗战场。

将近到天黑，北方军终于成功地组建起一强有力的防御阵线。南方军的进攻放慢了脚步，随后停止了。李将军派杰克逊绕到北方军的北面，试图切断北方军逃跑的后路。李将军不想让已经被打败的北方军逃走，他想就此歼灭这些北方军。然而，暴雨阻碍了杰克逊的步伐，北方军发现了杰克逊的企图，杰克逊受到一支强有力的北方军的阻截。杰克逊没能再前进，他无法阻止鲍博军逃到森特维尔（Centreville）和华盛顿。北方军跑了。

北方军虽然逃跑了，但却留下大量的尸体和伤兵，南方军的医生在治疗他们自己的伤兵的同时，也在帮助北方军的伤兵。李将军同意北方的医疗车回到战场，将他们的伤兵运回森特维尔。从亚历山大来的麦克莱伦军团在森特维尔遇到了鲍博军队，他们对着这些疲惫、失败的士兵大声的嘲笑和喊叫，许多麦克莱伦的士兵说，他们很高兴看到鲍博的失败。有一个麦克莱伦手下的军官叫塞缪尔.斯特吉斯（Samuel Sturgis）在森特维尔向鲍博致意说：“我一直对你说，鲍博，如果他们给你足够的绳子的话，你应该自己吊死。”

布尔朗战役激起了北方人强烈的愤怒，这些愤怒直接指向军队的指挥官们。北方人觉得这一年白白的浪费了，而且还有数以千计的人不明不白地就死了。一年前，南方军在布尔朗给北方人带来了这种感觉，现在这种感觉再一次向北方人袭来。波托马可军团回到了他们出发点。当布尔朗战役的结果广为人知，北方人的愤怒之声就更大了，人们需要答案：为什么麦克莱伦军团行进得如此缓慢？为什么麦克莱伦拒绝增援鲍博军？为什么鲍博会让杰克逊绕到他的后面？为什么会有14000名将士阵亡。

林肯内阁的绝大多数成员认为麦克莱伦应该为此负责。

财政部长萨姆.蔡斯（Salmon Chase）说，麦克莱伦应该被枪毙。战争部长爱德温.斯坦顿（Edwin Stanton）说，应该立即解除麦克莱伦的职务。他和其他三位内阁成员签署了一份请求，要求林肯总统解除麦克莱伦波托马可军团总指挥的职务。林肯承认麦克莱伦所做的一切令人震惊，他说，很明显，麦克莱伦希望鲍博失败。但林肯说，他不会解除麦克莱伦的职务，他说，他知道麦克莱伦不是一位进攻性的指挥官，而是一位非常优秀的组织者，他能够组建一支强大的防御型军队。

然而，南方的李将军不会等待麦克莱伦重建他的部队后再进攻，他决定将战争带到北方。

简评：

麦克莱伦犯下如此重大的罪行（不是错误）却不仅没有被枪毙，甚至都没有被解职。真不知林肯是怎么想的。难道林肯所说的，就能成为免除麦克莱伦罪过的理由吗？还是另有原因？林肯与麦克莱伦之间有什么别的关系？

第二次布尔朗战役，麦克莱伦必须为北方军的惨败负责，正是由于他和他的手下的观望而导致了整个战役的失败。也许正如有很多人说，麦克莱伦就是想看到鲍博的失败。像这样的指挥官，就是再有能力，也不能成为其不受处罚的理由。

由此可知，美国内战，之所以打这么时间，林肯有不可推卸的责任。

At Bull Run, a Terrible Defeat for the North 

Two summers had gone by since the start of the American Civil War, and the North had not yet won a major battle in Virginia. The Army of the Potomac -- the strongest of the Union armies -- had tried to seize Richmond, the Confederate capital. General George McClellan moved the army up to the very gates of the city. But then, General Robert E. Lee led his southern forces in a fierce attack. It smashed McClellan's army and drove them away from Richmond. This week in our series, we continue the story of the Civil War.　　

President Abraham Lincoln and his new chief general, Henry Halleck, put together a new northern force. They called it the Army of Virginia. They gave command of it to General John Pope, a successful fighter in the West. Pope began to move south toward Richmond. Halleck ordered McClellan to bring his army up to join Pope. Together, they could smash through the Confederate defenses around Richmond. Lee decided to hit Pope before McClellan could join him. He left a few thousand troops to guard Richmond, then took the rest north. Lee moved up to the Rappahannock River, across from Pope's army.

Lee sent Stonewall Jackson, with twenty-four thousand men, on a quick march around the western end of Pope's lines. Jackson and his men marched more than eighty kilometers in two days. They got behind Pope and seized a huge northern supply center at Manassas. Pope moved to smash them. They burned the captured supplies. Then they moved a few kilometers away to a long, low hill just northwest of the Bull Run battleground, where southern forces defeated a northern army a year before. Jackson hid his troops in woods along the hill and waited for General Lee to arrive with the rest of the southern army.

But before Lee could get there, Union troops -- thousands of them --marched down the road below Jackson. Jackson decided to attack, to hold them there until Lee arrived with help. The fighting was furious. Neither side broke. The fighting died down at the end of the day, and Jackson's men moved back to their positions on higher ground. They made their lines along a partly-built railroad on the side of the hill.

From his headquarters on the hill, Jackson watched the northern forces prepare for battle. Many thousands of the enemy were marching into position. Pope brought up all his soldiers, and others were on the way from bases near Washington. Several thousand of McClellan's troops, commanded by General Porter, were arriving from the South. It was a mighty force, much larger than Jackson's army. Jackson was worried. He sent an officer back to find General Lee. He sent a message: Lee must hurry. Jackson faced a big army.

Pope's army was large. But it was poorly organized. The men had been rushed into position. The order to attack was given before all the troops were ready. So, the attack began slowly. And Jackson was able to fight it off. But then, more and more northern soldiers joined the fight. The two sides struggled for hours in the hot summer sun. Jackson's men almost broke. Men prayed for the long day to end. The sun seemed to stand still.

Finally, the sun went down, and the battlefield became dark. Jackson's men had held, but they paid a terrible price. Thousands were killed or wounded. Northern losses were even greater. Most of the Union troops had fought bravely. They had hit the Confederate lines time after time. But one large group of soldiers did not get into the battle at all that day. This was the group from McClellan's Army of the Potomac, led by Fitz John Porter. Pope had ordered Porter to strike at the right end of Jackson's lines. Porter took his troops several kilometers past Jackson's right and stopped them. His soldiers remained there all day, out of the battle. Porter said later he believed the Confederate forces were too strong for his men.

Other groups of McClellan's men were arriving in Alexandria, thirty kilometers to the east. Pope asked that they be sent to help him. McClellan was ordered to send them immediately. But he refused to do so. He said they were not in condition to fight, and he would not send them. General Pope still thought he was facing only Jackson's army. He refused to believe reports that Lee had arrived on the battlefield with thirty thousand more southern soldiers. Pope thought Lee was still far to the west of Manassas. 　

Pope knew that Jackson's army had taken a terrible beating in the two days of bloody fighting. And he was sure that Jackson would try to withdraw the next day, to retreat to the west. Pope divided his forces that night. He left thousands in place in front of Jackson's lines. The others were moved back. They were ordered to get ready for a march west to block Jackson's retreat. Pope made a terrible mistake. Jackson was not planning to retreat. He was waiting with Lee to smash the northern army. And that is what happened the next day.

Northern troops attacked Jackson's lines. The fighting was bitter. Pope's forces almost smashed through. But then Lee ordered his men to move forward to help Jackson. Confederate artillery broke up the northern attack. When the northern troops began to retreat, Lee and Jackson attacked with all their might. Many of Pope's men were not prepared for battle. They were standing together in groups, ready for marching. They could not stop the southern attack. The Confederates pushed Pope's army back across the Old Bull Run battlefield. 　

Near the end of the day, northern forces succeeded in organizing a stronger defensive line. The southern attack slowed down, then stopped. Lee sent Jackson around the north end of Pope's line to try to stop the northern retreat. Lee did not want the defeated Union army to escape. He wanted to destroy it. But heavy rain held up Jackson's troops. They were discovered and attacked by a strong northern force. Jackson could move no farther. He could not stop Pope's retreat to Centreville and Washington. The northern army escaped.

But it left behind thousands and thousands of dead and wounded. Confederate doctors treated their own men, then tried to help the wounded soldiers of the other side. General Lee permitted northern medical wagons to return to the battlefield. And they began to carry the wounded back to Centreville. Groups of McClellan's army, arriving from Alexandria, met Pope's men in Centreville. They laughed and shouted at the tired, beaten soldiers. Many said they were glad that Pope had lost. One of McClellan's Generals, Samuel Sturgis, greeted Pope at Centreville: "I always told you, Pope, that if they gave you enough rope, you would hang yourself." 　

What happened at Bull Run created bitter anger among the people of the North -- anger against their military leaders. People felt that a year had been wasted, that thousands had died for no real purpose. The year before, southern troops sent a northern army fleeing from Bull Run. Now, it was happening again. The Army of the Potomac was back where it started. As the facts of the battle became known, cries of anger became even louder. The people demanded answers. Why did McClellan and his men move so slowly? Why did they refuse to go to Pope's aid? Why did Pope let Jackson get behind him? Why were fourteen thousand soldiers lost? 　

Most members of Lincoln's cabinet believed McClellan was responsible.

Treasury Secretary Salmon Chase said McClellan should be shot. War Secretary Edwin Stanton said he should be dismissed immediately. He and three other cabinet members signed a note demanding that Lincoln remove McClellan as Commander of the Army of the Potomac. Lincoln agreed that what McClellan had done was shocking. He said it was clear that McClellan wanted Pope to fail. But Lincoln said he would not remove McClellan. He said he knew that McClellan was not an aggressive general. But he said McClellan was a good organizer who could build the defeated army into a strong force. 　

General Robert E. Lee, however, would not wait while McClellan rebuilt the army. He decided to carry the war to the North.