The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1861-07-17

while her own population are but sparsoly
represented. Yet, II she could conquer TIE
South, she would claim IL ~ . triumphant
demonstration Of the superior prowess Of the
Northern over the Southern people.
kcvsrses IN War.
We must expect occasional reverses In war.
We have never heard Of war yet in which the
tide Of victory was uninterrupted on either
side Certainly, il there ever was such war,
il was not the war Of the American Revoiu-
ton. For seven long, hard, dreary years, did
he storm Of battle roll above their heads, with
alternate clouds and sunshine. The war be-
gan brilliantly, then the sky became chequered,
then came some encouraging victory, to be
followed by an overwhelming defeat, until at
une time, so deep was the surrounding gloor,
scarcely human being save WASHINGTON re-
,aiued confidence uudiminished and hope un-
limmed. His great, steadfast soul, like that
ef COLUMBUS, saw land ahead when all others
had despaired, and by the inspiring power of
bis faith and courage turned midnight into
day dawn. But, undeniably, there never was
a more disheartening war than that Of the
Revolution destitute Of money, and often OF
men, the whole land, in all its length and
breadth, infested with tories, who were almost
as implacable and interruptions as those OF
Northwestern Virginia; in our own ranks
.ro;.ors like ARNOLD, as bad a man as CARLILR.
and large portions Of the very population which
had gotten up the war, that of New England,
unwilling to assist in carrying it on. Gen.
WASHINGTON, Gen. GREENE, that illustrious son
IF Rhode Island, and other distinguished Off
GERS, bear testimony to the extreme and insur-
mountable difficulty of inducing the New
Enclanders to enlist in war which they had
gotten up for their own benefit. Moreover, our
forces were mostly militia, commanded by in
experienced officers, and opposed by regular
British and Hessian soldiers, besides the tory
levies and hostile Indians. For years defeat,
desertion, treachery and disappointment seemed
the order of the day. But the cause was in
the hands of men who had profound trust in
Providence, in the righteousness of their cause,
and whose souls were even more remarkable
for constancy and steadfastness than for a
valor which was certainly never surpassed IL
history. The successive roverses which they
met were but opposing waves making the ship
ride the ocean more bravely and buoyantly, or
like gales which strip the oak of its dry foliage,
but cannot lift it from its immovable roots.
The South has entered upon the present strug-
gle under great disadvantages, and our only
wonder is, when we consider the disparity Of
numbers, gold, and all the equipments and ap-
the Federal Government and in working order,
that We have been able to hold . single foot of
ground in Virginia. When we consider the
state Of things before General LEE assumed
the control of affairs, and the mighty energies
of President DAVIS were bro ught personally il
this quarter to the support of the war, we
stand amazed at the amount which has been
accomplished in so brief an interval. There
was a time when the Federal Government
could have struck blow at Richmond which
would have involved almost irreparable injury
to the cause in the South. But that time has
passed by. Our rivers and estuaries, so long
without single battery for their protection,
are now bristing with guns,which have beaten
back the foe in every attempt he has made;
the peninsula below US has become one vast
entrenched camp; the important position of
Manassas, which seemed at one time to invite
attack, is now so strong that ScoFT hesitates
long, as well he may, before he attempts an
assault the Navy-Yard at Norfolk, with its
immense supply of arms, which might have
been retaken by half-dozen regiments, is now
impregnable the Valley is defended at one
extreme by Gen. JOHNSTON and au army OF
force which the enemy dare not come
out of his entertainments to fight and our
only weak point is Western Virginia, which is
weak because of the treason within it. Occasion
al reverses have their uses also, if we will turn
their lessons to account. They teach US the
necessity Of vigilance, of energy, Of discl-
pline. They impress upon us the importance of
always valuing an enemy at his own estimate
of himself if you would be sure of doing all
that you can do to defeat and destroy him.
The war has thus far demonstrated that the
enemy dare not attack US with any thing like
equal numbers. He must have at least four or
five to one before he goes forth to win laurels
which, gained under such circumstances, would
be, to sensitive brow, diadem of thcrns.-
Even witt those odds, he was overwhelmed at
the battle of Bethel ~ the most glorious and
wonderful achievement In ars.s which this
continent has ever witnessed. If Southern
men had failed in like enterprise; if five
thousand Southern soldiers had attacked twelve
hundred Yankees, and been repulsed with ire
mendous slaughter, whilst our opponents es-
capped with the loss Of q single life, there
might have been some reason for grumbling.
But we cannot always expect to whip, in the
proportion of one to four or five, and we should
not be Discouraged if, before such odds, we
sometimes fall back TO position where we
shall have better luck next time.
The Norfolk Navy.Yard.
The Secretary Of the U. s. Navy has a good
deal to say in his late report Of the "unfortu-
nate calamity" Of the loss Of the Norfolk
Navy Yard. His evident modification over the
disgraceful ahaudonment of this valuable es-
Enlistment by force of eighteen. hundred