The Nashville daily union. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1862-1866, 1863-09-20

Letter from Hon. W. @. IEives of
Virginia, ON she Prospects OF the
tho Rebellion.
Our readers will be interested in the
perusal of some extracts from letter Of
Hon. w. c. Rives, formerly United States
Senator from Virginia, in reference 10 the
prospects, and condition of the rebellion.
The letter is addressed to Francis b.
Deane of the Virginia House Of Dele
gates, and begins:
Mr. DEAR SIR: learn from you with
great regret that sons of our felioc citizens
are good deal discouraged Ly recent events in
oar military operations, while you yourself
am glad to see, retain your accustomed
ereotness and buoyance OF spirit. Are
we not in some degree the spoiled chill
dren Of that marvellous good fortune
which, by the gracious Providence OF
God, has, for the most part, attended us
since the commencement of this gigAn-
tic confetti And have not our very sue
cesses, long continued az they have
been, unstrung our minds for the discip-
line of those occasional reverses which
none can hope to esoAps amid the mex
orable vioissitudes of war9
He then recounts the history of the
Virginia campaign as giving great en-
enlargement, aud proceeds;
In the valley of the Mississippi the
course of events has been more checker
ed by alternate good and bad fortune.
0,rsnrH.IA f,lnr., kna G,sfnh "A
Murfreesboro', were noble successes for
us. Fort DoRelson Oorinth Nei0 Orleans
recall tho remembrance Of sad d sasters; and
10 these has beea recently tho l0s5of KcksbUyg
aud Port Hudson 1 have no disposition
to extenuate the gravity OF any Of these
disasters; but, looking at them in their
very worst aspect, there is nothing In
any or all Of them to give rise 20 feel
ing Of despondehoy. The enemy 10 as
far as ever from the object he had in
view-the free and unmolested navigA-
ton of the Mississippi for commercial
purposes. rs bIaks are still accessible Jor
hundreds of miles ioithin our Territory to our
sFayp hooters and moucabie batteries, int
can and iOiH prevent The use Of a's riUer by
trading vessels, and e6eotaally iHterdic, %
all practical commerce The inhabitants
OF the country are more reused than ever
by the outrages OF ths enemy, aud re-
doubled efforts will be made TO render
his local successes boOtless 10 him. We
have too powerful aud noble armies IN
der Johnston and Bragg on the eastern
side Of the river which are strengthen
ed daily both by the Confederate con-
scription and by the Jealous co-opera-
ton Of the adj AGENT State governments,
while on the western side Of the river
are the enterprising and indomitaole
commands Of Price, Of Kirby Smith, OF
Taylor, and of Magruder, TO strike
wherever the enemy aypresent himself
All history proves that a brave aud
interrupted people, determined 10 be
free, never can DO subdued by the inso-
lent superiority Of force and numbers,
however disproporlioned What avAiled
the countless Persian hordes Of Darius
aud Aerxes, when confronted in many
a field made classic and holy ground by
their discomfl iure, with the proud spirit
of freedom and the noble self-devotion
of the small, but undAunted, common
| weAlths of Greece II ever q people
| had apparent cause for dependency II
was the people Of Rome, when Hannibal,
with his Oarthegenian hosts, after three
successive victories on the TiobinO, the
Bfescia aud Thrssymene, in bis triumphal
march towards the capital, almost ami
hilated the Roman army In fourth at
| Gamma, leaving more than forty thousand
Roman citizens dead upon the field, in
GLIDING one Of the cOnsuls 10 command,
many senators, eX-oohsuls, pretors, % lilies
aud others Of the highest rank aud con-
Alteration. But, amid the CONSERVATION
Of 90 terrible a calamity the spirit Of
the republic never blanched. When the
surviving consul, whose rasbness even
4 had been the cause OF the disaster, APP
preached the city with the wreck Of his
army, the Senate aud all ranks Of the
people, we are told by one Of their great
| historians, went out ~ meet him, aud
thanked him for not having despaired u
the commonwealth. And In the end, il
was not Rome but Carthage, that PERISH
| cd 10 the conflict
50, too, when we come down 10 the
period Of modern history 10 il posi-
BILE 10 conceive q struggle more unequal
] 10 numbers, armament and every mato-