Ashtabula weekly telegraph. [volume] (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1853-1873, 1862-03-01
From shadow to sunshine.
DY HORACE oREELEr.

For nearly six mouths, counting from the
day after the Bull Run discontinue a
heavy load has rested upon the heart of the
Nation. That defeat was so needless, so
unexpected, SO utter---it eyinced such in.
competency or insincerity on the part of
our military leaders, such Inconsistency and
mutual distrust among our soldiers, and
evoked such exhibition of cowardice and
baseness among the people, that its Incl
dents and fruits might we'll have driven
hero to despair. The sudden disappearance
Of the National flag from nine.tcnIhs of the
dwellings which had ill then proudly dis
PLAYED II, the downcast gaze aud bated
breath of the great majority Of loyal citi-
zens, the uuconcealed or thinly disguised
exultation of those who in the loyal States
at heart sympathzed with the traitors, the
gloating zest wherewilh every shameful de-
tail of the panic and flight was blazoned in
the leading European journals, the eager
and confdant deduction Of aristocrats aud
reaclionists that the Union was irrevucably
broken up, and that we were far more likely
to dissolve into FIVE or six nations than 10
be reunited into one, the slowness (for
tme) of recruiting, the meagerness of our
pecaniary resources, aud the narrow limits
of our public credit, all pointed to our Ma
[ onal dissolution as inevitable and all but
accomplished. The check at Wilson's
Greek, the abandonment of Western Mis-
souri,, the surrender of Lexington, the re-
pulse at Belmont, the stupid sacrifice at
BulTs Bluff, formed q succession of dis.
heartenng incidents which wCll.nigh broke
the National heart. Impartial observers
were led to esteem the slavcholding Con
federacy fixed fact--nn ugly one, indeed
but none the less certain or stable on that
account To European authorities and
journalists OF despoiic or monarchical ten
denotes, it seemed as absurd to talk OF re.
storing the Union as of resubjugatIng South
America to Spain.
True, the clouds were not altogether
without a silver lining. The capture of
Hatteras, the defeat of 1000 rebels at
Springfield by the heroic charge of FIRE.
mont's body.guard of barely 500, the re,
duction Of Pot Royal, the brilliant affair
Of Dranesville, and some minor successes,
contributed to save the dropping spirits OF
the people from sinking into utter despair.
Yet, TO superficial glance, the rebellion
seemed as strong, as compact, as defiant,
on the lst Of the current mouth as it had
done the day after Bull Run, or at any
former period. Aud the popular dssaiS-
faction with the torpor and ineffectiveness
of our vast armies was impclled quite as
much by despair of success and desire
speedily to know the worst, as by con6dcat
aud joyous hope that active aud earnest
warfare would soon terminate the rebel
lion.
The victory Of Mill Spring. near Somer
set, Kentucky, first broke the spell which
was fast paralyzing the National energies
For this victory VIC are primarily indebted
to the rebel chief, who, finding his supplies
running short in barren, destitute, thinly
inhabited region, aud misled by a spy's as
surahce that we bad bnt two or three regi
meuts in front of Somerset, resolved to
advance and suddenly attack rather than
brave the certain evils of either standing
still or retreating He made his dash aud
was badly routed, which only proves, not
that he decided unwisely, but that he was
misled by false information. Zolcoifer fell
Crittenden aed, their force lost its tents,
magazines and guns, and was all but de-
stroyed; SO Crittenden is stoutly accused o.
treason and leproached IS an incapable
commander beside being an incurable soti
Had he retreated without fighting, hG
would probably have been accused still more
roundlY Of betrayIng the rebel cause bJ
> imbecillty and cowardice. Hard is the lo
Of tho unlucky, but especially of the IN
lucky in war;
The victory Of Mill Spring was the vir
tual destruction Of the routed army, uum