Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1862-05-01
From the Philadelphia Inquirer, IS h inst:
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From The evacuation Of Manassas down TO the advance Of
General McCelans army upon YorS town it consider
ed very dou0u! question whether the rebel leaders would
make ano her stand TOR tEe defence q their Confederate
capal would draw oil their goyeTrm their armies
ordnance and munitions OF HctmoDd aAj Eorf@k.
and leave Virginia 10 her tate without t1r5hr re2ltauce
Upon his polnt however, all doubts may dismissed
General DC CeUans march toacards Kicn0nd has 6esa
arrested at l0rk0Un by fOTmtd466 0Ep0Sng army, rem
dered d0uby strong By tines Of Ted0UbS dd 1nrtlceatS
et8adng the peninsula from rlUer to rU6r and
C9led 10lt Thops, jUe hundred gums including large
pr0D0rjo Of the ReaUst pieces from the great 0g0ze
Of the Norfolk Macy Yard.
AT Yorktown then. the rebels have reen ed upon das
perae struggle for the defence Of Eih II they
defeated Richmond and Norfolk will douUtess be PIE ipi
tateg abandoned, Nashville and Goluubus with the
tal! Fort D0neson for with tn capture Of YorSt0Wn
the way Richmond will be opened to army, aud Nr
folk viii be in position TO be easily turned. All these
tinaencs and the general despair ana denor ton
winch 4houg the rebeous South, will follow the loss
OF Richmond thoroughly understood the rebel lead
and hence may ec III good reason anticipate he
gost desperate Struggle Of the H0r for the posesSa1" Of
IN this connection, looking al tt8 eres0e and toTnda
b6 3oorS iCh readiness 50 tie reception Of Cen
eQi Mcclellan 0pPearance IOYt00n tce
aU0id the CONCLUSION that The enemy t0r n1ay gefks
hoUC 2hre!rAy d0lted J they hGUe not poS}tUey knonE.
bcdg OF Potomac LTnly, In way can ne account
for these formidable detentes Jh ow he OEk
peninsula tur the amy discovered behind
them the approach OF General Nc IelIap. "e
have here evidence show first, thl1 he r2be!
ch efs have not been aud are not dependent n on
ondy that Cen 6IcC rIan with frc~s which We eznect
viii sufficient tor the work, charged with the duty
fsrded ard in Greater force than in v o nsitio vrrl
they have held since began. With their ron-c
monster the eTTmaC and her clad satellites,
rebels not onv command the James liver on the one side
but ley render the other side the neni1
sua, SCeChdt unsafe to oar tc0OJe hG sports dad gun
boats All this from the continued occupation O
Norfolk by tie enemy, and without interruption for whole
year.
yided he surrender the rebels Norfolk &av3
Yard, immense stores OF ammunition three
tloas nd pieces of artillery ard the fleet oi o2on.vsse
Of ia
last prl. he schemes OF the COpsElGatos wei
laG TO he fully discovered and ayered Y President Lincoln
ihe navy yard buildings incl, o IL,
hut The an munition magazines tnd hose To r three thon
sand pieces OF artillery, with hurried abaLd DEuen
Norfolk fell into the possess Gu Of the rebes We Eav
since recovered num0er OF those guns at Haeras
Roanoke Iea d, NewBeru, away Fart Done
Columbus Island HAD we ptured Norfolk
as we might lily have done ANY time between Auaus
and December last, should have had very ties
rebel deences overthrow, mounting from fifty seVera
hundred heavy guns, and 40 difficulty whatever th
Why then, has Norfolk been permitted long to remain
n possession OF the enemy hen It's eporzeddetences
the top, like those Of hattoras and Roy
al, could have been shelCd out by at any time b.
oyerW hamng bon baIdneDt? We cannot this quea
ti0D We turn over the LqrrEg readeT ia Mr. Eecret1
Wei es who can, perhaps US for hi
mastery inactivity tIs matter fo the late escop
it. be denied that neglect Of Norfolk has give
brth TO that rebel mouster the MeGimac, aud that th
MerrDac while she remains intact and ahoat worth
array Of fifty thousand in the defense Of Yorktown
preyentiug she does any naval diversion part
the James river III support u GelefaI E+ctIeI!an
Ii c0ICusiJn this siege Of Yorktown under all the cir
cumstances attending it, puts phase upon the bel
on. Our general advance is suddenly arrested, anG tn
hottest work OF the campaign face to face Leiore
is 1t very encouraging in this aspect OF the ld h5
Gen. NicC elan with formidable enemy IN front, is sti
subject to " ire IN the rear fom cur malignant and II
trie uaing abolition politicians xous for his defeat
must therefore, be patient ana trust TO the skill OF McC
Ian, the bravery OF his troops, and wise cooperation
the administration, make Yorktown the OF th
cr0wning victory Of the terrible struggle .at tia
polt ineytabe ana while the careful preparations
Mcclellan are now fully justified bJ tie obstacles b
fore him, they put rest ali those late abolition brC
toas that his plans contrveG that when he di
move fIom the Potomac he could forward Bjcl
mond without fading anything his line Of march but
ker guns and abandoned FORTH cations.