, 1862-07-17

The Necessity of an IfnmcdIate Alli-
auce With tlc Slaves OF the Rebels,

Correspondence Of the New York Tribune.]
SEVEN Pines, Va, June9, 1s6a.
To whatever of reason and justice sensible
mcz' have to justify this alliance, I uuaesita-
tingi5 add the testimony Of 4 quarter Of a
Year's experience in our Peninsular war, that
it is utterly impossible for US to subdue the
rebels, without an alliance with their slaves.
We demonstrated before Manassas that We
needed the aid Of the slaves. The history Of
war does not present an example Of such
chronic ignorance Of the enemy 5 strength and
movements as NE camped stolid undsr for six
1uonths, within ten miles Of the foe. Wnan
they began to evaeuate 3 corndeld, which only
our thick ignorance had converted into j Sc
yastopol, we knew nothing Of it. They
marched away With cannon, wagons, fooa,
baggage, eycrJ:hing-no: leaving .dollar's
worth Of property behind making & fAultless
retreat We knew uothing Of it. 4 peddter
iron, New England State, driving horse OF
the baTebones breed, Has the first mauto enter
lis wagon-front, gripping his clothes-line rcius,
vas the first man to wonder at the pue1i.e
character Of the school-yara dirt works before
which an army Of over 200, 600 men lad been
kept at bay. Nay, not kept at bly By the
chi]dfen's dirt-wcrks-but by the cousequen-
ces Of an ignorance, which could not possibly
have been nursed and maintained, had the
right hand of bToth rhood been stretched out
TO the negroes in Richmond, and had the pres
l1ent or commander in-chief said: 'sTeIt us
what your war department does; where the
rebel forces are; how many they are; and tell
us this daily and you shall forever be free"
Wells, BGtterfield Il Co. never ran a surer
express between Buffalo aud Albany than
the underground military express that
would have been run between Richmond
and Washington on this initial alliance
between the white Union men OF the North
and the black Union men OF the South. 1ai-
tial alliance! Why, Ee have every 4lare ecu
helpless without these blacks, or exposed to
hap-hazard. Landed at Fort Monroe, and
ioundereu through the main road up to Hanp-
ton and above it-*here were We2 Without
maps, without guides. The country Was
wilderness. We had not scrap OF survey as
big as the hand, that showed the coa1ses of
the innumerable wood-road5 that wound
through it. The old coast survey chart of the
souadicgs Of the York and Jau1es Rivers, with
The single turnpike to YORKTOWN, Williams
burg and Richmond, was the guide over which
generals, compass in hand, guessed where this
| road led tom what that ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
| this would strike the Warwick Ri7er-and If
Where are the cnenys No one
knew. It was safe to conclude that
they were brhind their line Of de-
| fenees which stretched across the peninsula.
Where are their defsnses? No one knew,
| save that when We got to Yorktown We would
posed 10 but on to, Forward! Oh, hor
| must the Geni1s Of rebellion have grinned,
| from her outlook. at the unguided wands sr;ng
| in on unmapped wilderness of an army Of in
vasion! Maps! Useless works Of the eagi-
neer:rg art, when negroes, live maps, that
| the iudex finger crowds Of them-stood
txpectant within reach Of our army, and
| iungered and thirsted to be ennloyed
to conduct US TO the enemy by the 'driest
and best paths-maps capable Of leading US,
with uneHing certainty, through the woods
to the lowest aud weakest parts OF the line Of
iptrenchments the rebels had thro*n up be.
| tween the York and the James Riyers-1ged
maps, sold from plantation to plantation,
| through the Peniusula, and familiar from au.
wandering, with every road and swamp IN It.
Hl0, turning their backs upon those accursed
cords Of shoyel5 and Pickaxes docked al
Fortress Monroe, and walking away from
them with salvation speed, would have led oul
army right uP to the PLACES Of weakness, 5ns
"Ds am de place, Massa, where de army O.
de Lord and freedom can burst fu, Just as fri
garden fence. Glib ZEN de bsyonet, aud leaFs
Dc rest wild de Lord!' knew los, 600 men II
such God:speed, would have stormed tht
gates of hell.
How selfeyident it is that this alliance viii
the. slaves would have saved the precious
time wasting preparations to- besiegc York
toEn-have avoided The l3zar-ho5se curse Q
j, ayerted that slaughter Of the iunocents Of th'
Vermont regiments at Lees Mills, WHOM
Ayers steel. .gauntletted hands stretched over
and dripping with flames and shooting
shot and shell, could scarcely pluc'
from tie bloody ruin upon which i'm
; bec:Ity had hung them. YOU, who's
Grape and tears date from the sacrifcial day o
Williamsburg, will it comfort You to kno9
, , that our attack there ia front was uunecessa
ry-tbat roads cfrc1ed the enemy's position
| rhat e1ayes could have conducted US througl
! them, and that By flank attacks ne could has
+ bsgged or crushed the entire enemy We wer
pursuing. Inere Is no dou1 uhaseuer abou
, Ills. Unfortunately, there is Just as Httl
| slave. The ret1ibut1ons Of onr military erro
: was terrible Was it not jUst9