Cleveland morning leader. [volume] (Cleveland [Ohio]) 1854-1865, 1862-02-18
FORT DONELSON Is OURS!
Fifteen thousand Prisoners.
PILLOW, JOHNSTON AND BUCK.
RER TAKEN.

NaU aEAaA6ue
HallslpjlAl Let us rejOlos and be s1-
ossdins glad, for we have triumPhsd glOE.
Iously. Fort Donelson is ours and the
Stars and Stripes wave in ell the pride Of
victory over the fifteen thousand rebels
captuisa By OuR brave western boys. Pill.
low has again dug his ditch on the wrong
sids and buried himself in it, JOhns-
ton haB migrated from the inAetiOn Of ca
army of the Potomac to hnd himself un-
equal to the contest with Gen. Grant and
OOunodorO FOote, while Bueknsr aed from
tie extended armies Of Buel only to find 3
IOagnsns within the grasp Of HallsOk. The
stronghold has fallen and to day the whole
country Is Wild With e1ulting excitement
end hoarss in shouting for our victories
sqh ths name Of Continental Congress And
the oz&a4 SenoNah-
Fihssn thousand pris0nsFsl an army Of
themselves, and with them, three Of the best
generals the rebels can procure. General
Johnston was, with the exception perhaps Of
Boaursgard, the ablsst General in the rebel
army. When the war in Kentucky became
serious and the Mississippi valley was
threatened, Gen. Johnston was sent out as
the Napoleon before whom the ''cowardly
Yankees would fee like sheep, or be cut
down like grass. Johnston was at Fort
DOnslson Is the grand point Of dsfsnse.-
Bowling Green could be evacuated, Fort
EsnFy could be given up with comparative
sass, but Fort Donelson must be held at all
hazards, and 50 three Generals, all brave, able
and popular, were there to inspire their men
and to bring all their military skill to bear
in It's defense They fOught veil, and the ter
rible havoc they made in the ranks of the
Fsdsral srpy win send dssOlAtiOn 70 tens
Of thousand Of loving hearts in the unhineh-
ing Northwest, bat all their strength could
not uphold them against the attacking force
There was another creature in the fort
who was dubbed q General, but who is
bstass known to our readers as Floyd the
Thief True to his OOvardly and thieving
nature, he snsahsd away from his share in
the fghs and stole syay with his
WhoEs brigade. It is pleasant even
in the modification of his having es-
capped the clutches of our justice
loving soldiers to know that the rebels in
tie Fort who fought bravely to the end, de-
nouneed bin as black-hearted traitor and
coward. We can only hope that If be is not
esPtursd By our troops, hsEill be compelled
to creep ignOminiOusly over mountains, and
through valleys, and into dark caves, with
tbsss eny applied words forever ringing in
his ears, 90 that no cotton which he may steal
from some poor negro may shut out the
sound
We are absolutely startled as We think Of
the victories of the past month. So closely
have they followed upon each others track
that We can hardly give the details Of one
before The announcement of q later one makes
the former stale. Garfslds victory, the Mil
Spring rOut, the Fort Henry capture, the re-
occupation Of Springfield, the capture Of
Roanoke, the advance upon Savannah, the
evacuation of Bowling Green, and the
capture Of Fort Donelson make up a chapter
Of victories which We are proud to inscribs
upon the historic page. And what must be
the tsrrible dsspOudsncy and despair of the
rebels who thus see and feel the sysnging
arm Of an offended government.
No danger of 8 foreign interference, if We
sOOn ct this rate. Each one of these sue
es.ss for the Federal arms is more OOnrinc-
ing than = dozen manifestOs or score Ofar-
Eumsnb upon international policy, as to the
hopes Of the rebels and the justice Of the
Federal cause.
Arsbel report says that Floyd was taken
with the Uthsr Generals. If this is 80, we
may venture to offer the aag-staR upon our
Square as q suitable place on which to hang
the 'black hearted traitor and coward