Clarksville chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1857-1865, 1861-11-15

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nn- a glance at the map Of this State,
Keeping in view, at the same time, the va
rious railroad connections, win satisfy any
one that Knoxville and GAINESVILLE are the
keys-the enc of the South, and the other
of the Southwest The enemy knows
this as well as we do, and hence the effort
he is making to reach the one through
Cumberland Gap, and the other by means
of the Cumberland river. In view of these
undeniable facts, it is matter of vital inn
portance that every possible precaution
shall be taken to make these points secure
against the most vigorous efforts of the
Yankees to possess them. As before re-
marked, Knoxville is the key to the South,
andevery indication leads to the conclusion
that the movements of the enemy in Eas-
tern. Kentucky and on the coast Of South
Carolina have for their ultimate object a
union at the latter point which is to be
made the base of winter operations and the
destination of the forces now marching up
on East Tennessee. In the beginning of
the Revolution, Gen. Scott marked out the
routes through Western Virginia end
Eastern Kentucky, converging to point
ut Knoxville, as the means of penetrating
the heartfelt the South and forming june
-tion with the feet on its coast This OBJ
ject has been kept steadily in view, and
now it is apparent that the enemy is at
tempting to accomplish by the Kentucky
route alone that which he has failed to do
in connection with march through Yves
tern Virginia. What the probabilities of
success may be, we do not know, but feel
assured that powerful effort is necessary
to beat back the invader and avert from
this State the horrors of war like that
: now raging in Western Virginia,
As ia part of SCOTS original programme,
the Southwest was to be penetrated by an
other column of The enemy along, or par
allel with, the Mississippi, and as we can
not believe him capable of the folly of at
tempting descent by water, to New Or.
: leans, we are bound to infer that the in
tention is to ascend the Cumberland and
Tennessee rivers until they can avail them
selves of the railroad to Memphis and its
connections which lead to New Orleans and
Mobile In this line of march, GAINESVILLE
is, by far, the most important point, not
merely because it is on that line of rail
road, but because the large number If flour
ing mills in and around it, the quantity of
grain, pork, beef, iron, &C., which it can
ship, make it indispensable to the South at
this trying juncture A knowledge of its
Importance prompted the N. Y. Herald, at
an early period of the war, to urge upon
the North the importance of possessing
GAINESVILLE as the key to the South west,
and as we can not doubt that such is the
settled purpose of the enemy, or, if this
can not be done, to render it as valueless
as possible to the Southern Confederacy by
burning the bridge, destroying the mills,
and, as far as practicable, stopping the
valuable supplies, it can otherwise send
forward to any point where they may be
needed. That which is so well worth
holding is surely worth defending; but the
approach by the river is still undefended.
Fort Donaldson is mere trap in which to
catch those who man it, and nothing pre-
vents the gunboats from passing it but the
apprehensions Of the enemy that they may
be caught above it by low water, or some
obstruction of which they are ignorant.
We do not intend to impugn the mo-
tives, or question the intelligence of the
"powers that be, " nor do we desire to med
die with matters so delicate and intricate
as the dcfonses of the country but it is
possible that there may be little common
sense outside of the military Circle, and if
there be, its verdict is that Cumberland ri
yer ought to be so effectually blockaded as
to prevent the possibility of its being nav
igated by the Lincoln gunboats The
wealth Immediately upon its banks is very
great, aud moro of this may be destroyed
in one day than would suffice TO pay three
fold the cost of impregnable Notifications,
TO say nothing of the moral influence of a
successful foray and the hazard of the en-
mys obtaining a permanent toot-hold on
so important point as this There may
be those in authority who will laugh az
these suggestions as The offspring of fear /;
but sneors are not arguments, nor Is over
weening confidence protection against
Gl.pouudcrs; and II neither the State nor
Confederate authorities will take measures
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