The New York herald., 1863-10-13
The nInitary situntion.

4 Ahe ShtoaIOu.
BY way OF Baltimore aud Washington we re
ceve, from rebel sources, some exiravagan
statements of the present strength Of the South
ern armies. Lee appears by these allotments
TO haze one'hundred and twelve thousand men
| Kirby Smith and Beauregard to have between
| them about ninety thousand, while trife over
one hundred and fifty thousand are said Ia
hreaten Rosecrans in Northern Georgia. Such
re the rebel armies on paper. Generals in
the field and even colonels and captains. Will
give very different account of their respective
commands from any that are made up by
ardent supporters in either Richmond Or Wash
iugton. Lees army in Virginia. in all proba-
blity, never was as great as the above state
ment makes il now, and certainly does not at
present number fifty thousand men. Beaure-
gard may very likely have twenty thousand
men; but, as for Kirby Smith and his sixty-ive
thousand, we begin to believe, as was believed
of certain Mrs- Harris on somewhat similar
occasion, that "there AMT no sich person.
Bragg and Johnston may have two
thirds of their ono hundred and fifty
thousand. They cannot have more. and
we are inclined to doubt II they have
so many. Allow even for errors, and We do
not believe that : man over two hundred and
Rfty thousand Is available in tho confedaracy
at the present time for the practical purposes
of battle qolesst nsegHi u tolora So sbn it
Beyond question tbe largest single army Of
the confederacy is now concentrated on Rose
Grams front. After all these months of desul-
tory combat elsewhere the two governments
seem to accept that field. and indicate mutual
disposition TO join the final issue there But
the manner in which the two governments pre-
pare for this great issue differs. Davis & Co.
see that the struggle there, if decided against
the South. must be vital. and they prepare for
it with all their energies. Highly as they value
Richmond, they leave /. covered with fraction
of the force they have usually kept there, and
send the rest to Georgia Hill was reported
in motion on the right of the army Of the Poto-
mac yesterday. His activity has no other pur-
pose than to divert attention from further re-
duction Of Lees force. Longstreet's divisions
are good ones; but two OF them are not enough
to turn Rosecrans' left More have by this
time gone, and that is the Significance Of Hill's
present movement. Mobile also is stripped of
its whilom defenders; and Jenkins, with bis
South Carolina men, is required 10 defend
Charleston on the Chickamauga river. 4 ls ,,a
Butmovements at Chattanooga do not threaten
Washington, and the worst result they can
have is defeat. Now, our government can
stand defeat 80 it goes on in the old way and
takesi its ease. Once already, by its neglect Of
all that it ought to do. and its criminal inter-
ference with what It ought to leave alone, the
administration has caused General Rosecrans'
movement towards Atlanta to fail. At present
It looks on quietly, and while the rebel army
that was In front of Richmend is sent elsewhere
It makes no effort whatever to take advantage
of the weakness in which Richmond is thus left.
October is suffered to go by with the Army Of
the Potomac at rest, in the face Of the fact that
the three years men will all be out Of service
before another October comes. Mobile. un-
defended and important, is left alone, and men
and time are frittered away in North Carolina
without even the seizure Of the railroads by
which we could in some degree control the
country. ns1fit ~ Tf l- or.
Unless there is change in the action of the
War Department towards General Rosecrans
we shall not only not succeed in our attempt
TO crush the rebellion by q great blow at Its
centre, bat we shall hear of defeat in Georgia
again. General Rosecrans. with ono hundred and
City thousand men, would 60 10 Atlanta without
absttle, and be ought to have that number now
and be at IT,. Preparations should now be on
foot for the seizure of Mobile, and the Army Of
the Potomac should be in motion now to try
how thick she'll the rebellion has in front of
Richmond, and 10 relieve Rosecrans by the
prevention Of any further reinforcement of
Bragg from Lees army. oafrsa ~ta
These are the movements that will give US
success, and none others can. Let the divisions
and corps that are scattered in Louisiana, Ar
kansas and elsewhere be added to our large
armies and they will be Of some service. De-
feat Bragg, and Kirby Smith will not need to
be beaten; but let Bragg be successful and we
lose all the immense advantages gained in this
past victorious summer.