The national Republican., 1861-07-15
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PROGRESS OF THE WAR.

PKOuhBSS Or lhE WAX.
The brilliant successes Of General Mcclellan
have confirmed the Impressions created by the
career OF General Lyon in Missouri, that
promptness and vigor are the true qualities 70
be displayed in putting down this rebellion.
General Mcclellan has wasted no time in
preparing himself TO resist imaginary assaults,
but correctly apprehendng the real temper aud
resources Of the enemy, has himself assumed
the offensive, and at Philippa, at Buckhannon,
at Laurel Hill, and at Beverly, has overwhelmed
the rebellion with ignominous routs.
These events in Western Virginia and Mis-
souri, ought to dispel the delusions which have
been SO industriously propagated as to the
numbers, courage, and efficiency of the troops
opposed to us. With all his bravado, the
enemy has, so far, attacked no position which
was tolerably defensible, and his best display
of vigor has been in the propagation of alarms,
which have prevented attacks upon himself
Whenever and wherever he has been pushed,
except under circumstances Of special advan.
tage to himself, he has trusted, not to guns, but
to his heels. And so it will prove to the end
of this end. In no stage Of it, to repeat what
we predicted some days since, shall we encoun
ter such resistance as we did from the Mexi
cans. There will be no such desperate battles
as there were in Mexico, and no such proper
tionate loss of life by our troops. Indeed, it
has become doubtful whether there is to be any.
thing which can properly be called battle,
anywhere or at any time. The alarmists, who
have only just ceased to insist that this capital
itself was in danger from the fabulous hosts Of
General Beauregard, are now compelled so far
to postpone their prophecies, as to fix upon
Richmond as the locality of the American Wa.
terloo. This deferred prediction gives them, at
any rate, heightened respite before the event
comes to demonstrate the folly Of their fears.
The secession armies, Of which the numbers
are invariably exaggerated, are made up of the
worst possible materials for soldiers. The
men may be individually brave, for bar.room
aud street fights, but they are incapable of that
discipline, without which masses of men are
mere mobs, and not armies. They are re.
cruited largely by impressment, lily provided
for, and are paid, either very irregularly or not
at all. The efervescence of political passions
soon subsidies, under the pressure Of the drudge.
ry and hardships Of camp life. And they must
have serious misgivings that they are engaged
in dangerous attempt, which promises nothing
if it is successful, and in which the couse-
quences Of defeat are fatal
Considering the enormous disparity Of the
forces srrayed against each other, but one re-
suit seems possible, under any method of man.
agsment But nevertheless, the rebellion
needs to be put down speedily, and with the
least possible strain upon the national finances.
We are not unaware that there are persous the
nsgui6cence Of whose ideas disdaius any such
ordinary considerations US those Of time and
money; and still other persons, who see sd.
vantage to themselves, precisely ss this war is
made more protractsd and more expensive.
But every days delay is the ruin Of thou.
sauds, aud even the national credit is not AL
exhsustless mine Of money.
Those who talk SO aippantly and bravely of
spending five hundred or q thousand millions
Of dollars in suppessng this rebellion, and with
apparent and probably real indifference as to
which sum may be required, talk Of a matter
of which they know nothing. 1t is easy enough
to vote appropriations and to vote loans, but
hundreds Of millions are not obtained by rhet.
orical Aourishes. Even the annual revenue OF
eighty millions, which the Secretary of the
Treasury shows to be indispensable for the cur.
rent year, is SO large a sum that Congress will
be hard pushed to agree upon the ways and
means Of raising it.