The New York herald., 1862-12-06

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Beckbene OF she Rebellion.
We gave an account In our yesterdays pa
per Of the parting ovation made to General
Banks on his departure from our shores at the
head of q great and formidable armament.
Yesterday this great expedition, on which
are founded so many hopes and expectations,
took its departure for, at presents parts un-
known. 1t is singular, and we deem it fortu-
nate, that hitherto the destination Of this OK
pedition has been kept q profound secret II
has now set sail, either for Richmond, or
Charleston, or Mobile, or Texas, but to which
of those places no one can tell 1t can only be
told whore 1t Is not going. The remarks of
Governor Curtin, Of Pennsylvania, at the
leave-taking referred to, if not indicative of the
destination of this expedition, ara at least
significant and suggestive. He observed that
ito crush this rebellion it was necessary to strike
at the heart of their rebellious country, to
purge the viper's nest; or, in short, to take
Richmond, the capital of the so-oalled Con
fedsrate States. An expedition to Texas could
do no good at the present time, and until
Richmond was taken we could not hope to put
an end to the rebellion or expect the restora-
| tion of The Union. This Is no triHing affair,
and heretofore we have failed because
we have not a. steadily and earnestly
| engaged in the work as we should"
For our own part we have all along be-
| lieved that It's destination is Richmond. At all
events If it is not we think that it ought to be.
When Commodore Vanderbilt rose to speak,
General Banks is said to have remarksd:-"He
Is the only man who knows where the expedi-
ton is going"
But the mystery will soon be cleared up, and
we have confident hopes that when the clouds
which environ it are dissipated 1t will be by
the rising of brilliant sun of successful ex-
ploits and great results, bringing glorious sum-
mer' to the dark horizon and wintry aspect of
| our political hemisphere.
| We entertain great hopes for the results Of
| this expedition, from the known and proved
character of the General in command. 1t has
been said Of General Banks, by those compe-
| tent to Judge, that he is the greatest general
officer that has been taken from the ranks of
civil life. He possesses. also, what the Romans,
in their superstition, deemed the highest and
most necessary quality of a general-"good
luck" He has been hitherto eminently felic,
or lucky, in all his undertakings. At Cedar
Mountain, during the short and unfortunate
campaign of General Pope, he successfully
wthstood with his division the furious on
slaught Of the whole of Stonewsll Jacksons
rebel army; and his prudent and successful re-
treat on previous occasion along the valley
of the Shenandoah, in which he brought off his
army safely, even to its baggage, is worthy of
being compared with the famous retreat of Mo-
reau, and is equal to that Of Xenophon and his
famous ten thousand in ancient history.
We heartily join in the general feeling of the
public in wishing unalloyed success to this, the
greatest expedition which ever left our North
ern shores. We look for solid results from its
action-no less than the taking of Richmond,
while Lee and his army are quietly detained at
Fredericksburg less than out1anking the
enemy taking them in their rear, while Burn
side is in their front, leaving them no chance of
retreat or escape, and obliging them to surren
der. and thus efectually breaking the very
backbone of the rebellion. Who can tell whe-
ther General Banks may not turn out after ALL
to be the Napoleon of the age whom the nation
has SO long been looking for!
LITERATURE OF THE AMERICAN WAR.-Under
this head an Edinburg contemporary Cham
bers' Journal for the People offers the first testi-
mony that we have met with, either in our own
or in the European newspapers, to the extra
ordinary energy and enterprise exhibited by
the American press in connection with the war.
1t says
The NEW YoRS HERALD has had thirty
pondents in the several departments OF naval aud military
operaticn each provided with horse, field glass and
camp elupsge II has launched three boats 10 haul
lass veseis anu mas estaosheu courier system tnss
dees the interference OF government or the mutations OF
steam, wind and tide
II is singular enough that journal published
at such a distance should be the first to give
description OF tue extensive organization re-
quired to keep our readers posted on the events
OF campaign carried ON over such an immense
extent OF territory. But. correct as it is in some
particulars it has undcrstated the magnitude Of
the undertaking. The number of our CORES
pondents now largely exceeds the figures at
which it estimates them, and our weekly
expenses under this head alone are two
thousand dollars. without including the
cost Of the telegraphic correspondence
, furnished us by the Associated Press
Every new military and naval expedition adds
to this expense; for IL is impossible 10 leave i'm
portant points uncovered by transferring cor
respondents from place to place as fresh exi-
gencies arise great fuss was at one time made
about the enterprise Of the London Times, and
one or two other leading London newspapers
in sending each a correspondent to the Crimea;
but it il reserved for the candor Of an Edinburg
publication to pay a scant tribute to that Of a
New York journal which maintains = whole
army Of correspondents and spends princely
| revenue in keeping the world informed as to
the progress Of events in which the European
nations feel almost as deep an interest as our
/ own.