The New York herald., 1863-11-30

creeds and politics have also volunteered tnei
services, thus promising to render the ceieora
ton bot brilliant and'impressve.
Th. progress OF the Wharf.-The Faiisrr'
of the Rebellion.
Ths recent magnificenty successful opera
tions of General Grants forces in the West, an(
the irresistible advance Of General Meadei
veteran army Of the East, promise us thu
| speedy subjugation of the rebellion In the
language of Quartermaster General Meigs,.ir
\ his graphic report from Chattanooga, "the
strength of the rebellion is broken in the cen
| ire; Burnside is relieved from danger in East
Tennessee; Kentucky and Tennessee are re-
covered" and Georgia and the Southeast are
threatened in their rear" The left wing Of the
rebellion-the rebel army of virginia-is in
fact now all that remains between JEFF. Davis
and the complete overthrow of his dismantled
and crumbling confederacy. Nor do we sup
pose that General Meade has any idea Of going
into winter quarters this side of the rebel capi-
tai, making all allowances for the rains and mud
of Virginia winter.
We congratulate the country that we
have advanced at length to that impor-
tant point in the progress Of the war
from which, with an army amply
sufficient for the purpose, we have only
one more decisive battle to win to bring us
substantially to the end of the war. Under
better management it might have been ended
long ago; but, notwithstanding all our military
blunders and disasters, the Union armies and
naval forces have steadily advanced from the
beginning. Our defeats have given no solid
advantages to the enemy, while our victories
have been crowned by our recovery Of whole
tiers of rebellious States. Let us briefly glance
leading conspirators in the rebellion, and we
shall see how signally and completely they
have failed.
With the news of the bombardment Of Sum-
ter the rebel Secretary of War, at the pro-
visional rebel capital of Montgomery, Ala
which within month he predicted the crown
ing triumph of the confederacy in the occupa-
ton Of Washington by jeff Davis. How this
was to be accomplished, and how all the vari-
GUS plots looking to this object were nipped in
the bud, will some day form the most curious
and interesting chapter of the war. From his
victory at Manassas, in 1861, Beauregard was
for advancing upon Washington; but Davis,
fearful of the consequences Of Northern
wrath, stayed his hand. The rebel Command
er-in-Chief said, 1--WE will rest upon our
victory; we will establish defensive line from
ho az fo fho Woat nd kho fad
racy. We will hold it, and, in the event Of a
federal blockade, King Cotton will bring Eng
land and France to our rescue
The defensive line was established; but with
in the month it was broken in Western Vir-
ginia by General Mcclellan; and next, some
months later, at Somerset, Kentucky, by Gen.
Thomas; and next in the terrible swoep of Gen.
Grant upon Fort Donelson, Kentucky, which
carried US down to Nashville, and which, to-
gether with Burnside's capture of Roanoke
Island in the East and McClellan's movements,
precipitated 10. JOhnston's retreat from Manas-
sas to Richmond. The rebel programme Of q
defensive boundary was thus broken up. Ex-
perience had proved that there was no defen.
sivs position along the borders of the ''confede-
racy" which could not be turned.
The rebel leaders next adopted the plan OF
immense movable armies, operating from the
centre against any exposed Union forces on the
outside of the great circle which they occupied.
This plan was first tried at Shiloh, in Tennessee
where it failed, and next at Richmond, where
it was successful in dislodging and remov
ing the army Of Mcclellan. E!ated and
inflated by this success, Davis mex,
resolved upon carrying the war into Africa,
upon an invasion Of the loyal States from
Missouri his invading legions were beaten and
driven back hundreds of miles. Lee retreatet
to the heights of Fredericksburg, Bragg Il
Murfreesboro, in Middle Tennessee; and to ss
| cure communications with and the supplies o
| Arkansas, Western Louisiana and Texas, PEN
berton, with powerful army, was assigned to
the duty Of making an imprcguable fortress o
Vicksburg and Gardner to u similar task al
Port Hudson three hundred miles below.
Against Vicksburg all our movements were
for months successfully bafiied or repulsed. ant
in the meantime two unsuccessful advance
ogdiuSt Tue army VI Lcc EoVVcu cs hiCuMVue
tho old idea of the capture Of Washington BY
way OF the back door through Maryland. Thi
brings US down to the last Fourth Of July, OF
which ever memorable day, while the shattered
army of Lee was packing off from Gettysburg
the rebel army Of vicksburg was laying down it!
arms to Grant, and Bragg was packing up il
Tennessee for his terrible retreat into Geor
gia. But thore was soon another chance Offered
to Davis which he quickly seized upon
Grants victorious army was FILTERED away il
secondary expeditions; Mesde's was heavily
drawn upon to secure the draft in New York
and Rosecrans, without reinforcements, wa
advancing into Georgia Let us, said Davis
send the valiant Longstreet to the help Of
Bragg; we can do it with safety; let us destroy
Rosecrans, and then bring forward Bragg to a