The Athens post. [volume] (Athens, Tenn.) 1848-1917, 1862-01-31
The Crisis and It's Demands upon

The Crisis and It's Demands upon
Us.
The next fortnight will In Ill probabili-
ty witness series Of important battles in
Kentucky, and along the line Of the Mis-
sissippi. The fortunes Of war, says the
Richmond Dispatch, are proyerbially I'M
certain. mere accident may convert
victory into defeat; the loss OF single
man may lose battle. Much depends
upon the courage and steadiness OF troops,
much upon the forethought and address
of Generals; but after all a great deal de-
ponds upon accident and chance. The
leading feature Of the war in which we
are engaged is the fact that the troops on
both sides are raw ana inexperienced
Few on either side have been under fire;
and defeat is more than apt to prove a
disaster TO one or the other side.
There is no doubt Of the fact, loo, that
the enemy outnumbers us in Kentucky,
and they have great advantage over US
in the quality Of their arms. Unless we
can get at them with the bayonet, this
disparity in arms is greater than we have
any conception of. We believe that the
superior proves and endurance Of our
soldiers more than compensate these dis
advantages; but an untoward accident Or
unlucky chance may happen to the most
brave and resolute, and throw them into
panic.
1t becomes us, therefore, 10 be prepared
for uniavorable news, as well as good. We
cannot expect to fight through war; of
the proportions of this one, with uninter.
rupted success. 1t is well to cherish con-
fidence in our star, but not to an extent
TO incapacItate us for enduring reverse
and discontinue. An occasional defeat
even conduces to our permanent triumph,
by nerving us 10 duty and teaching that
reliance upon exertion, which we are too
apt to lose amid continued successes.
We do not anticipate misfortune in
Kentucky; but inasmuch as reverses may
happen to all, it is meet that we should
contemplate the possibility of their occur
renee in our case. War is at best a lotte-
J ry, in which there are many blanks and
, few prizes; and it would be as unphilo-
sophical as unmanly to so exalt our i'm
agnation with expectations of fortune as
to be unable to encounter disappointment
with composure. The safest sentiment in
times of war is that of constant wariness
and apprehension. The most fatal blun-
that of depreciating an adversary, and
treating lightly and with indifference a
serious crisis. If the South were but
thoroughly alarmed for her safety, she
. would be absolutely uncomfortable. We
spoke the other day of the wholesome Of
feet upon the enemy of the battle of Ma
nassas; the effect upon ourselves has been
as injurious TO our cause as upon the enc
my it was beneficial, by relieving us OF
that salutary alarm which in fact provided
the victorious army and gave us the vic
tory. If the enemy should succeed in
gaining advantages in Kentucky, unless
they put him in positions permanently
hurtful to us and impregnable, the result
in The end would be favorable to us. We
should be reused from the lethargy that
has come over us; and we should be star
tied from the game Of busy self seeking in
which we are enlisted into a sense of the
necessity OF sacrificing more to the com.
mon cause.
That it is the interest OF, the South to
fight this war through to the bitter end
admits of no doubt. The enormous war
! debt of the North would crash as entirely
If any portion of the taxation it will entail
9 should fall upon the South. The great
/ object Of the Yankees now is to get pos
! session of the South, and by wholesale
: confscations build up fund to discharge
their debt. They have shown in the past
t history Of this war that in this work oil
| plumber they will pay little regard to the
distinctions between Union men and Sc.
. cessionists. Their object is plumber, and
it is property they are after without re.
gard to ownership. Those regions of the
, South have suffered most severely which
have by divisions among their populations
invited the enemy in. The fact is that we
are all embarked in one adventure upon
5 one bottom, and, whether Unionists OF
Secessionists, are all to share alike the
advantages of success or the woes Of sub.
, .ugation. We are fighting against the
tax-gatherer and the courts of con6sca-
ton; we are fighting for property, indie
pendence, and honor
A few reyerses under these crcum-
} stances would prove Of infinite service to
us. They would nerve us to cxertion.-
They would re-awaken the fires of patriot
ism which brought out so many volun-
teers and so many noble popular contri-
buttons last summer. Let us all awaken
to new sense of the necessity for activity
and OF the duties required of us by the
crisis.
Gen. Felix X. Zoliicoffer.
One Of the most sad and serious Incl
dents connected with the late disaster in
Kentucky, is the death of Brigadier Gen.
Felix X. Zollicoifer, pure patriot, intre-
pid soldier and devoted leader. 1t was
his hard fate to fall on n field where no
peans of victory s6laced his dying mo
ments. But he lost his life in heroic
effort TO drive back the plunderer and in
vader from the soil Of the South His
country will embalm his name in grateful
memory and his countrymen will forever
cherish the recollection Of that calm cour-
age, that devoted heroism and pure patr.