The Athens post. [volume] (Athens, Tenn.) 1848-1917, 1863-07-17
Gen. Bragg's Retreat from Tulla-
homa.

The New York Ts@ss. of July 4th, has
the following editorial on the retreat Of
General Bragg:
The intelligent reader Of the. elaborate
expositions we have been enabled TO give
in the Timer correspondence from Senef-
al Rosecranz's headquarters of the militia
nv situation in Middle Tennessee, reniem-
Der that no very valuable results were
predicted from the advance Gen. Rose
cranz has just made. Gen. Rosecranz
himself doubted the policy of an advance,
and COR causes that his march, so far, APP
pears to have verified.
Our army has reached T'ullahoms, the
point to which Bragg's army fell back
after The battle OF Stones river; and Gen.
Bragg is found again to have retreated.-
This is precisely what Gen. Rosecranz
feared, and because of which fear he did
not see the military propriety of advanc-
ing. Bragg has abandoned Shelbyyiile,
abandoned Tullahoma and the line Of the
Duck river, and has fallen oack. it is sup
posed, upon Chattanooga and the line of
the Tennessee river. Our correspondent
with Gen. Rosecranz anticipating the oc'
cupqtion by the Union army OF the enc
my's Duck river line, in a letter written
June Sth. asked:
Where is Shelbyville? What is Tul-
lahoma! What Is the line Of the Duck
River? Nothing-sbsolutely nothing !
They are neither points of manoeuvre
nor geographical objective points. The
rebels are not brought step nearer de-
struction than before. They retire to a
new and stronger line along the Tennes-
see river. in the vicinity of Chattanooga,
and we have the barren victory OF thirty
additional miles added to the already too
deepline. If anything, we are worse off
than before"
In subsequent letter, written June "a,
our correspondent stated that the sound
heads" of Gen Rosecrarz's army had lit
tie hope of getting decisive engagement
out Of Gen. Bragg at Tullahoma, or on
the line of the Duck river, though an adj
vance upon that position was about to be
made. 1t was thought that Bragg would
fall back to induce Rosecranz to extend
his line by pursuit, and then would as
sumo the offensive by attacking the COM
munications Of Gen. Rosecranz, with the
hope OF driving the latter back even to
Nashville. But there was no danger of
our able and cautious commander falling
into any such trap; and it was clearly OBJ
served in our correspondents second let
ter that if Bragg did fall back from Tul-
lahoma, the country should not indulge
in expectations of much in the way Of
pursuit"
The plain reason was, Gen. Rosecranz
did not have army enough to guard his
extended lines of communication and
also attack Chattanooga, which is natural
ly one of the strongest points in the Con
federacy.
OF course, at this distance we cannot
predict what new developments the ac-
tual progress of the campaign will make
whether Rosecranz will be induced to
proceed in, or withdraw from the cam
pagn that did not at the start promise
him any definite results. But. judging
froh what our correspondent has COM
municated, the probability would seem to
he that Gen. Rosecranz will now hold the
line of Duck river till the grain crops of
Middle Tennessee are garnered and mar
keted, so as to deprive Bragg of their use,
and then he will adopt such plan OF
action as the exigencies Of the. case may
demand.