The Evansville daily journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ia. [i.e. Ind.]) 1848-1862, 1862-01-14

judges. There has been for a long while a
so-called artillery camp Of instruction oppo-I
site this place, on the right bank Of the
Cumberland, which afforded me fac OPP
portunity for Observing the mode of school
ing and. the progress of the recruits They
lay for months in camp without even a sin
s-Piece wherewith- ~leaEn-the manual
Latterly they received a few guns, but |
have yet to hear of their practice at the tar
get 1 ascertained- but a few days age from
an intelligent Kentuckian, who spent near
II the whole of October and November at
Bowling Green, that save few salutes in
honor of arriving generals and Southern
victories no exercises whatever we're had
in all that time by the @artillerists" at that
point The craftsmanship of those at Coz
iumbus was strikingly illustrated by the
battle Of Belmont al which the only damage
done by them, according to their own Off
GERS, was the bursting of their biggest gun. s.
i D. Because there is no necessity whatever
for a direct attack by the Union forces upon
any of the fortified positions of the rebels.
a. knowledge of the topography of South
ern and Western Kentucky and of the vast
latitudinal extent of the rebel line of de-
fence, from Columbus to the vicinity efSom-
erset. near the Upper Cumberland, will bring
any one 10 that conclusion, 1t would re-
quire an army of at least 10000 men to
cover effectively the front of I25 miles from
Columbus TO Somerset, while the rebels
have hardly 10000 for that purpose. Their
armies at Bowling G-een and Columbus
really represent twosWings with nothing for
center beyond a brigade at Hopkinsville
and the forts on the Cumberland and Ten
nessee, to the right and left of which there
are, entirely unprotected, gaps of from 40 to
go miles. If withsa force at Birds Point,
Cairo, and Padgeah, sufficient to check any
aggressive movement by Gen. Polk, a
/ Union corps of %, 600 men should advance
| from Green river upon Hopkinsyille, or be
/ carried up the Tennessee or Cumberland
! under the protection of gunboate, and take
a position near tie State line, it would at
once isolate the army at Columbus from
that at Bowling Green, while it would
/ threaten the rear aud could be made to cut
] oil the Means OF supply ana retreat of
either. The right of Columbus at Bowling
Green could easily be hanked, menacing
them with an attack on 'front.' while passing
d column down the turnpike from Mum
tordsvllle 10 Glasgow, from which point il
could also geE into their rear aud entirely pre-
vent ali communication with Tennessee
Saeh distribution OF the Union forces
would inevitably result in an abandonment
OF Columbus and Bowling Green and falling
back, on the part Of the rebels, ia the di.
rection OF Memphis and Nashville, or il eu-
clreling them with Gordon of Union col.
umns that could either separately destroy
them by attacks In front ana rear, or sLarve
them into surrender by isolating them from
the South
Should The Bowling Green army fall bach
into Tennessee 10 escape that dilemma, the
battle decisive Of the fate of Tennessee will
| probably be fought along the base of hill.
already alluded to further above If disas
trous to the rebels, Nashville will fall, ant
the job offreeing the Mississippi Valley from
rebel rule be more than half finished. Polk,
army will be readily dispersed, and an,
other army, for the second stand against tht
Unionists, the rebels will never be able tt
collect. Their Generals know this full
well, and henee they are. now novins
heaven and earth to increase their means 0
defense. .