The weekly pioneer and Democrat. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. Territory) 1855-1865, 1862-12-12
THE DKFENSE OF RICHMOND.
THE REBEL PLANS AND PREPARATIONS.
Number and Disposition Of their Forces.

nishes the New York Herald with informa-
ton (some genuine and some guessed
in relation to the plans and operation
Richmond cOnspiratOrs, writes, No
as follows: '....r
The rebel leaders are impressed with the
belief that the United States government is
putting forth in this expedition it's utmost
endeayors; that the whole power of the
north will now be precipitated upon Rich
mond; that Burnside's army is only one
part, and that small part, of the forces
that are soon to be launched against their
capital; and that all the other expeditions.
about which so much noise and parade are
being made in the northern papers, includ-
ing Gen. Banks expedition, the expedition
down the Mississippi, Gen. Fosters expe-
dition, and the expedition against Charles
ton, are all nothing more than feints on
our part, got up with the intent to distract
their attention away from Richmond, and
to divide and cut up and scatter their for
ces to such an extent that there will be
none left to defend Richmond. Rich
mond, they believe, and Richmond alone,
is now the point to which the whole en-
ergies of the north will be directed.
Acting, therefore, on this belief they
have for the last two weeks been max
ing the most extraordinary exertions to
defend their capital. These exertions have
included, of course, the concentration of
troops in Richmond; and, in order to do
this, they have been obliged to draw as
many as eighty-five thousand troops from
points in the south and west. This has
left many points in the extreme south and
in the western part of the'O ontederacy al
most entirely destitute of troops.
1t was stated as one reason why Gen.
Randolph left the office of Secretary Of
War that he was dissatisfied with the result
of the CONSUMPTION laws as whole; that
he expected the Confederacy to have in the
field by this time fully 100000 Troops
and that he does not expect the contest
can be maintained successfully on the part
of the South with less number than that,
particularly now that the North has evil
IDENTIFY in view an extensive plan of cam
paign, which will, at period not remote,
require on the part of the South three
armies of 100000 men in each at three
widely separated points. Instead of these
forces being now in the field, the most i'm
portant paper found in the rebel War De-
partment by Gen. Randolph's successor,
shows that the total available military
strength of the Confederacy does not ex-
coed $4,000 troops, and of these but
100000 were in Virginia.
Owing, therefore. to the recent cOnaid-
Grafton of troops in that State there are
now in the valley of the Mississippi, inclu-
ding the troops at Vicksburg, those re-
Gently at Holly Springs and those in Ar
kansas, under Gen. Pemberton, General
Price and General Hindman, only $4,000
troops. At Mobile and Charleston and at
Savannah, under General Beauregard only
10000 each, or 10000 in all; and on the
line of the great Southern railroad, from
the Cumberland Gap and Knoxville to
Chattanooga under Gen Bragg, only 3d.
600 troops This makes only 145, OOO
By examining map of the Southern
railroads it will be seen that it is impossi-
BILE for any one of these bodies of troops to
go, in very short time, to the assistance
of any of the others; and such is the plan
that will be adopted whenever the North
makes an attack upon any one point in
overwhelming force. If all the points are
attacked at once, of course this assistance
cannot be rendered.
| may remark here in passing that it is
stated that the troops who contributed the
most to the recent repulse of Gen. Foster
in North Carolina, came from Knoxville
and Petersburg 10.
The $50, 200 troops thus left have been
all distributed In Virginia as follows The
main body of General Lees army at Cor
louisville and Culpepper has been reinfor-
ced by twenty-five thousand troops. His
right wing-now extended along the Rap
pahannock river from the Sulphur Springs,
near Warrenton, to Fredericksburg
been reinforced by ten thousand troops
His left wing, under General jackson,
with headquarters at Winchester, but with
strong detachments pushed across the She
nandoah, and now encamped close to Ma
nassas gap, Ashby's gap, and Smokers
gap, has been reinforced by twenty thou
sand troops. Thirty thousand more. troops
have reinforced those at Richmond, Fort
Darling and Petersburg, and there are
twenty-five thousand further down the pc
ninsula. This makes the forces in Virgin-
ia as follows: 5.s-'.n9 i-f H
"a 2aI Pc .agni Troops.
vile, along the Rapidan and Culpep- taa
per:.;........:....;::..........,.12 $4,000
nock... .... ..I...... ............... $4,000
His left wing under jackson. ........ 10000
AT Richmond, Fort Darling, Saxon's H3Tijnl
Junction and Petersburg $4,000
On the Peninsula. :. ~. 25,0O0
Total in Virginia .......,.... .i.. $50, 900
have spoken in recent letters of the
defences of Richmond, SO far as regards
Notifications, distractions ID James River,
additions to the extent and armament of
Fort Darling, &c. The rebels believe
those defences to be of such q nature that
it will be physical impossibility for our
iron-clad vessels to pass Fort Darling or to
reach Richmond. And there is reason to
believe that they will leave that city to the
defences of the troops Immediately around
it-those on the Peninsula and those ON
the Rappahannock, amounting together to
one hundred and fifty thousand troops.
This would give General Lee his main body
and Jackson's troops-in all 1860 men
for offensive operations. And there is
I