Daily State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis, Ind.) 1861-1865, 1862-02-03

editorial article in tie Richmond Dispatch Of Jan
unry p. SAYS that lie has been appointed % take
Command OF re Coafeders;e iorcesat Columbus.
Kentucky y. aud will tr0ceed ;hither without ieiay.
While be viii be succeeded in the command Of the
army OF the Potomac by Gen Gustasus " Smith.
These statements may or NAV nof be true. II
the hrst one i true IL indicates that the Coniede
rates are in possession of accurate Information
% the destination Of the Burnside expedition and
that they wish To avail themselves of Beauregard's
skill in operating againstit If the other account
j. corect there Is little probability that any oper
ATOMS Of the Unfon troops against Columbus will
be attended with success If neither be true. or
70 beauregsrd has gone % Richmond or elsewhere
temporarily, II l. doubtless strategic movement
on his part. intended 20 lure Gen Mcclellan 10
an attack on Manassas. ! am satisfied that there
y nothing Beauregard desires more than at
tack on his lines at Manassas. In the present
state of the roads and the weather both OF which
have been literally terrible for the last ten DAYS.
and Will continue 50 for the next two weeks, Il
would be impossible for the Union columns to be
put IN motion and 20 advance 20 the Centerville
forts before General Beauregard could be APP
prsed of that fact, and be on the way back. if it
was desirable
You know at Chicago, better than We do here,
the real facts of the recent demonstration to-
wards Columbus. and subsequent return of the
Union troops To Cairo. Ii is spoken of in mill
tary circles here a simple reconnaissance But
il Is stated also that the information that has
been gained by il warrants the belief that Colum-
bus Is Justly entitled 70 the apDelaton of the
Manassas of the West. Ii Is well understoos
that. while the Cohfederates hold Columbus the
Union forces cannot descend the Mississippi; and
IL ~ said here that the facts ascert anei by this
reconnaissance warrant the belief that the Con-
Tolerate position at Columbus can neither be
forced nor turned with less than 100000 men
and plenty of the most powerful siege artillery
One thing is very certain: The suppression of
this rebellion IS no holiday task. People begin
to see now that the Southern people are "terrby
in earnest" Even If foreign nations do not in
tertere, it will require a million of soldiers, and
fully three years from the time of its commence
ment, To conquer the armies which it is in tile
powerof the Southern States to bring into the
field This is a disagreeabe fact but it is a fact
nevertheless sBI.s gM
Foreign Intervention would of course make
the difficulties in the way greater still. And it
looks very much now as ii We should have some
trouble with foreign powers The papers have a
great deal To- say just about the probability
that England, France. and Spain will recognize
the Southern C0niederacy. The grounds upon
which this recognition VIII be made were stated
in one OF my letters some time ago. II the re
cogniton does take place, it will probably be
immediately followed by the breaking OF the
blockade OF the Southern ports, on the ground
that it has always been ineffective, and that an
effective blockade alone can be recognized by
the laws OF nations.
Some of the Southern newspapers, represent
ing, no doubt, a considerable portion OF Southern
sentiment urging upon the Confederate mill
tary authorities the propriety OF changing the
tactics they have hitherto pursued, and OF making
the war their part offensive, and not defensive
alone But there is no probability that these
views will prevail Ii has been stated that Gen.
Beauregard strongly in favor of offensive
action from the first. and that his report of the
battle of Manassas. which the Confederate War
Department refuses TO publish, contains plan
for carrying the war into the Northern States.
But there is authority for saying that this Is a
mistake: that Beauregard's report is to Toe sup
pressed because he shows therein that he could
and would have taken Washington within three
days after July Dist had it not been for Jeff.
Dayiss order TO the contrary There is Off
Ger IN the Confederate army so unc0mmunicative
to his plans Gen. Beauregard But those
who have c0nyersed with him are of the opinion
that since then his views have undergone con
siderable modification, and that he strongly
supports the defensive policy. His views, what
they are, will have great weight in deter
mining the future conduct of the war on the part
OF the South From all that can learn, he is
perfectly satisfied with the results of the war up
to this time He considers the line of deiences
from Goose Greek 10 Norfolk perfectly impreg
nable. even ii defended by half of the force now
there and there is nothing improbable in the
theory that he has now been sent to do at CO.
lumbus and Bowling Green what he has done on
the Potomac.