The daily Green Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1861-1865, 1862-03-18
The Spirit of the Southern Press.


There is much entertaining, if not profitable
reading in the rebel papers, they exhibit such
ssaarveous ingenuity in accounting for their de-
Eeats without confessing its real source in the
weakness of their cause. The remedies proposed
Nsre"arous, and the less feasible and practicable
Che more are they enlarged upon and masnifed.
Il correspondent from Richmond thinks the War
department needs recognizing. lie says
%'Fe our Government really desires to rid Rich
Anond 81 Llncolns spies, let watch be placed
upon thu only men who can possibly possess in
sIrma tion OF intended military movements. the
employees of the Confederate Var Department.
1eadc the President and Secretary of War. and
s,cNha.ss another member or two Of the Cubine.
gione ther than these men can posSibiv be in any
at The secrets of the War Department, and
@hrough them, and through them alone, is con-
veyed 70 Washington whatever information of
$nT etierWto Aatiltlry movements that reaches
&hr urdt'rM Government. a complete recon
structlon OF all the Departn ents, particularly
she War Bureau, is what is wanted, and those
w5o desire to catch Abolition spies must look
st's them in the persons Of men filling high posi-
%lons, and not Of secdy chaps who cannot even
eat%in Il long range view OF either the President
ar bis Cabinet"
Here is another bit at Secretary Benjamin:
"1 Mr. BenjAnn may possess ali the qualities
vi an ttole War Secretary, bat he has not lately
srouoied the people with exhibitions Of them,
An9 the belief thus gains currency that his DO
si'Son could be better filled by some one who mas
'aade war not politics, i study
:5cnfe Southern man of an inventive turn of
mind, really an original g.nius, has propounded
che following startling interrosaiory
While Buel's reyeillo is heard at Nashville,
tvhy should not our armies beat q tattoo on the
t,s4ls ot Clncinnati?'
The answer was not given, but is probably
reserved for " our next" 1t is unquestionably a
Sonandrum.
Somebody is hit by this paragraph:
Z" man who had seen the inside Of military
school, and was therefore qualified for an ythng,
located Fort Henry in mud hole, and the Tn
aoaists obtain possession Of the Tennessee river
bridge. These acls have thrown the line of de-
fence far back into Tennessee, and Buell. holds
Nashville"
And also by this:
Floyd ran like i moral coward from the field,
aud by his dsgraceful weakness caused the ca
pitulation and surrender he lacked the honesty
~ share, and ny his example sull.sd forever the
reputation of Pillow, by inducing him to forget
duty and remember but number One.'"
A correspondent writing from Nashville to
MemphiS paper, works himself up to this terri
ale thre.t:
Eo feel that we are in the hands of the hated
Hankee, that We are no longer treemen, that We
age bound under the same odious despotism that
caA disgrace Gods creation, is sore trial IN
iced, and could believe that our present con-
dtuon is to continue without any form of relief,
would pray to God in his mercy to strike us
froin existence. But do not despair--we will
soon drive the accused creatures back 70 their
E1ens, there "a der0ur each other.
Ehere A-7e te,n II, arrcss as yet, but we are
~ be terribly oppressed, how Or ia what way
4rnow noy.
1t must be dreadful thing for those Nash
vile rebels = to be terribly oppressed and not
Ausw how it is done. They could mt be ex-
greeted to grin and bear any such tyranny as
Ghat-
On the whole, real, live, rebel paper is nv
entertaining reading in this March weather.