The Burlington weekly hawk-eye. [volume] (Burlington [Iowa]) 1860-1876, 1863-08-08

y
to-day the nation received the first rude
lesson of the war. Two years ago to-day
j our Grand Army of the Potomac" as, in
childish imitation of European habits, we
called our little force of twenty-five or
thirty thousand men, came drifting back
over Long Bride, beaten, demoralized, dis
graced.
Then followed the most sickeninr folly
that had ever disgraced the Press of this or
any other country. 1t was q battle i'm
which our total killed were 4Sl, our total
wounded, l,01l; yet, according to our
newspapers, Waterloo, in all its disasters,
was nothing by the side of the carnage of
Bull Run. 1diotic drivel aboat masked
. batteries, aud Black Horse Cavalry. and
terrific charges, and fields of men mown as
by "a reaper, fille,. all our columns for
weeks; and at last, in the fiery frenzy of
our folly, we turned upon the man who
faithfully, and only too kindly, described
the panic and retreat, and sought to trans
fer our disgrace to him by giving him it's
name, and calling him Bull Run Russell.
1t is a period OF our history we NAV well
blush TO look back to; and yet the retro
spect is not discouraging.
| How WE STOOD AFTER BULL RUN.-The
war was just beginning. 1t was our first
conflict that approached the dignity of a
battle. AS our shattered little army poured
back, a terror-stricken rabble, the enemy
advanced upon our capital till his flag
toated over batteries planted in fair view
| from the PRESIDENTS windows. From
/ those batteries his lines stretched north
ward along the Potomac; all Virginia, .saye
half Of the section west of the Alleghenies.
was in his hands; in Kentucky he disputed
possession with us at Green River: at CO.
lumbus, on the Mississippi, he blockaded
the river and nlenaced Cairo: in Missouri
he threatened st. Louis; south of this line
urb .1e I,
possession; he held every port, and we'll
nigh every fort on the coast, and along the
lower Potomac he further disgraced us be-
fore the world by blockading our capital.
We have failed sadly to come to the full
measure of our possibilities in this war:
but look at the result of the two years
lighting since Bull Run, and say whether
quer the South
Two years ago the line ran through
North Virginia, Central kentucky, and
Central Missouri. To-day it runs-where9
Iwo-thirds of Virginia, the whole of Ken
lucky, Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana and
Texas in our hands, the rebel army of
! Tennessee driven from tour-fifths of the
state, ana East Tennessee, sorely persecu-
ted but faithful forever, ready at last for
deliverance; three-fourths of Mississippi
ours, and our army in possession of its
capital; foot-holds secured in South Caro-
lima and Georgia, and the chief city of the
South Atlantic coast, the nest of Treason
and Rebellion, admitting that its fall is
now but a question of weeks; Florida vir-
ttially ours; the coast of North..Carolina in
our hands, and the whole State already
debating an early return to it's allegiance,
VINO shall to-day trace the fieeting bounda-
rles OF the naughty Confederacy the trait
ors established, save that one who can
Z mark the lines of its retreating armies?
OUR ARMIES AND THEIRs.-But we can
not crush the rebellion as we crush its ar
mes; not as we overrun its territory
how stands the case here?
We are Just beginning our first con-
scription; the rebels have had none but
conscripts for eighteen months. Through
out the North every branch of labor goes
on as usual: thus far we have sent little
but our redundance of laborers to the war.
Though the South all labor is abandoned,
save the simple growing of grain to sup
port their armies; there are even no Ia
oorers in many places to gather their sore
. " needed harvests. The rebel President
has ordered a levy en- masse that shall
sweep, in one huge drag-net, eyerv man
above eighteen net absolutely decrenid
with age into the army. All are to 90.
Women and children are TO control the
slaves and gather the crops. We are hest
tating as to whether we shall need all of
mined to draft from the first class liable to
,onscription. 7g
Reinforced with three hundred thousand
.o,u armies, three-quarters of mil
non sn z, will sweep down in the Fall
Upon mpon tne remaining strongholds. To OPP
p a;1. tLen there is not single quarter of a
n miaiiion. In one word, their fighting mate
fr m is exhausted; we have hardly drawn
inn inn ours deep enough to make the drain
ofoonnveniently felt throughout the range
H. our industrial pursuits. Henceforth
nelr armies must decrease-they have
a,d resources whence to supply the constant
siss s ar ours may be increased to any de-
OF millions untouched. eio"' 1851 o
Two Two years ago we had twenty thousand
aeguiars scattered to the four ends of the
continent, and seventy-fve thousand vi
unteers, dissolving after the defeat ill.,
snow-drifts under a June sun. Apainst
US stood defiant and victorious armies. dis
Siplned long enough to be effective. and
now now held to service for shorter period
'iiah SIX months more. To-day our ar