The weekly pioneer and Democrat. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. Territory) 1855-1865, 1863-07-03
SAINT PAUL. FRIDAY JULY j. 1863.

man the Notifications. His object is by
manpuvres to draw Hooker sufficiently
far away from Washington to enable the
rebel army to reach it by forced marches
and storm the works before Hooker can
arrive for it's relief; or to lure him into a
battle at some point in Maryland or Penn
sylvania, or in the valley of the Shenan-
doah, and, defeating him, cut off the rem
nant of his army from Washington, thus
rendering the capital of the Union an easy
prey.
All rebel movements towards Pittsburg,
Harrisburg and Baltimore may be regarded
as feints. No doubt if detachment of
four or five thousand men eouldeby a coup
destroy the government property at Pitts
burg and retreat, it would be regarded as
a very good enterprise; and Wheeling
might be visited at the same time. But
that Lee intends to go there, or to send
any large number under present circum-
stances, is simply absurd. 1t serves Lees
purpose to menace several cities together.
The citizens of Harrisburg, the citizens of
Pittsburg, the citizens Of Baltimore, and
the citizens and residents of Washington,
seem all equally alarmed at the move
ments of Lee, and at each city the in
habitants are led to believe that his de-
signs are against them. lie will do what he
can to keep up that terror by occupying a
central position. But it is evident that,
considering the difficulty of capturing
Harrisburg, with the wide Susquehanna
between him and it, and how little that
city would repay him for the operation,
he has no serious designs on the capital Of
Pennsylvania Neither is at all probable
that be will attack Baltimore, as it is very
certain he could not hold it, with Fort
McHenry in possession of the Union
troops and the city accessible to our
gunboats. He might destroy it; but, as
at least three-tourths of the population
sympathize with the rebellion, he could
have no adequate motive for striking such
a blow. But what he is far more likely
to do is this to cut the railroad commu-
nication between Philadelphia and Balti-
more, and between Harrisburg and Balti-
more, and also between Baltimore and
Washington thus isolating the two latter
cities from the North, while the cutting of
the Central Pennsylvania line, between
Harrisburg and Pittsburg, would isolate
Maryland and Washington from the West,
the Baltimore and Ohio railroad having
been already destroyed from Harper's
Ferry 10 Cumberland. And it is proba-
ble that this is the real object of the
raids in the direction of Pittsburg and
Harrisburg. Without taking man from
the army under his own immediate COM
mand which, it is said, numbers one hun
dred and twenty-five thousand men, he
can employ in this business the indepen-
dent force which rOamed over Western
Virginia before he arrived, under Jones,
jenkins and Imboden, numbering nine
thousand men; and, III point of fact, it is
a small part of this force that, under the
protection OF the army of Lee, has hither-
to created all the CONSERVATION in Harris
burg and other parts Of Pennsylvania.
Lee himself will probably soon occupy
Frederick or some central point between
Baltimore and Washington, thus compell-
ing Hooker to come out and fight him,
under pain OF being isolated from East,
North and West-every point of the COM
pass except the sea; and from that, too,
no doubt, he would ultimately attempt to
cut him off by establishing heavy batteries
on the Lower Potomac. Meantime we
shall probably soon hear of the capture of
Maryland Heights and the inadequate
force which holds it.
Thus does the second campaign in Ma
ryland develop itself. Its crisis cannot be
far distant. The most tremendous conse-
quences are involved. Lee has again
crossed the Rubicon. Should he be again
defeated, and that decisively, it would be
the death blow to the rebellion, and the
whole concern will suddenly collapse. But
if Hooker should be defeated, and Wash
ington be captured, the hopes of the con-
federacy would be revived, and no mortal
man can predict what grave results might
follow such catastrophe.