The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1861-06-17


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Here we have an aggregate Union force, in
and fanking Eastern Virginia, of less than one
hundred thousand men, to cope with the forces
Of the rebels amounting to one hundred and
forty-four thousand. Granting, from the impos
sibilities of obtaining accurate information Of
the strength of the enemy at this
point, that point or the other, that
their forces srs exaggerated full one-third
beyond their actual ration lists, we have still O
grand total of one hundred thousand men to
overcome, scattered about in good defe nsive
positions, strongly fortified with heavy artillery.
We can understand, then, why General Scott
has not advanced tho column of GeQe-
raj Mcdowell upon Manassas Junction
Strongly intrenched as General Mcdowell now
is on the range Of heights extending from Ar
lington to Alexandria, ard with the enemy re.
moved from the upper Potomac, Washington,
we think, may be considered secure. Even if
the rebels below Washington had force Of
two hundred thousand men they could not
cross the river without boats, dnd single yes
eel or two, such as the Fawnee OF Freedom,
could soon knock to pieces any movement Of
that sort.
What, then, is our plan of the campaign sug-
gested by the map and the facts before u.s. Is it the
concentration at Alexandria Of sixty thousand,
from our army of the East of hundred thousand
men, and an overland march straight on to
Richmond? We might do this, from our superb
ority in small arms, if the rebels would accommo-
date us with open field lighting all the way.
But they have adopted another and totally diff
ferent defensive system. From the twenty
five hundred pieces of artillery, great and
small, seized by them with the Norfolk Navy
Yard, and from their two or three riled and
columbiad cannon foundries at Richmond, they
have drawn for their defensive purposes not
less, perhaps, than two thousand pieces Of
artillery. Our map indicates how these
cannon are distribute, and the late affair
at Big Bethel has indicated how they
are to be used against us. From Fortress
Monroe up the James or York river, or from
Alexandria or Aqua creek overland, to Rich
mond, our progress will be OBJ tructed at every
available point, not by an army in the open
field, but by strong earthworks bristling with
riied cannon and heavy columbiads.
We must, then, depend loss upon our MIME
and Enfield rifles in an onward movement to-
wards Richmond than upon superior pres
sure Of artillery; and so good supply of riled
cannon, heavy mortars and bombshells are the
instruments required for the work in hand
They should be obtained before any regular
advance is attempted from Fortress Monroe or
Alexandria; and meantime reinforcements to
the grand army of the Union Tor Eastern Vir-
GINA, to tie extent Of one hundred thousand
men, should % distributed along from Wash
ingon to Fortress Monroe without delay.
The men are ready and anxious for q call.
Let them be summoned to the field.
Washington being pretty well secured
against any capabilities of the enemy and
Fortress Monroe, with the sea and surround.
ing waters in our absolute control, being as
safe as Gibraltar, we can afford to wait now
till we are ready to move from both points,
while the rebels from delay are consuming
their scanty supplies of provisions. When our
armies, well supplied with riAed cannon and
n,ortars, are prepared to move, they can, BY
their superior weight of metal and numbers,
capture the batteries of the rebels in detail up
to and around Richmond and down beyond the
boundary of North Carolina. There is a
volume OF truth and instruction in the apo
thegm Of the first Napoleon, that Providence is
always on the side Of the heaviest artillery.
WHAT OUGHT TO BE DoNE WITH THE BALTr-
MORE AND OH1o RAnRoAD?-The boulder at
Point Of Rocks has been blasted, and the Balti-
more and Ohio Railroad is now tree from OBJ