Says a writer whom few know, "Forty years after a battle it is easy for a non-combatant to reason about how it ought to have been fought. It is another thing personally and under fire to direct the fighting while involved in the obscuring smoke of it. Much so with respect to other emergencies involving considerations both practical and moral, and when it is imperative promptly to act."
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Notes from Wikiquote
This statement is usually attributed entirely to Melville, but the way he presents it in the story indicates that he might be quoting a lesser known author.