The New York herald., 1863-09-26
Tho hsn'nisfrntion eui he war-iicw
10 EuG IL Au ,asrtr.


however, and. with all its losses from its late
terrible three days struggle, we congratulate
the country u"on the final result ~ equivalent
to = victory. Why' Peoause the rout and dis
persion of that army would not only have
placed Tennessee and kentucky at the mercy
OF tho enemy, but would have endangered the
Army Of the Potomac and TIE rnticne' capital.
from the junction Of Bragg's powerful forces
with tho army of Lee.
Such Is the Importance Of the central position
occupied by Roseorans that the destruction Of
bis army would have imperil'ed The cause of
the Union, through foreign intervention, while
decisive victory on his part would have vr-
tua',y ended the rebellion. Tho opportunity
and the advantages for an overwhelming in
crease of the army of Bragg were thoroughly
understood at Richmond and theoretically
seized upon but the consequent daocer to
Rosecrans was evidently but little apprchendod
at Washington Assuming that the eyes Of
the administration are row open, chat the
drowsy heads of the War Office are awake
again, and will not relapse into slumber until
Roscerans is master OF his situation against all
possible contingencies, we may nroftab'y re-
vert to the broad ard general question: What
is tho 81 stem OF warfare by which The armies of
the rebellion may now be most speedily subiu-
gateds The final issue is in the hands Of the
administration, ard it is for President Lincoln
to determine whether the war shal he euced
within six months or GO over unfns''od to bis
successor.
The system OF warfare now dovolvinr upon
the government may hc stated in ore word
concentration. From the first battle Of Bull
run down to tie present day the rebels have
never failed, where II has been possible to avail
themselves Of this great ADVANTAGE Of conceN-
, tration. II was by concentration, first in The
! Shenandoah valley, aud next at RicNmond,
and tlen on the Rapnahannock, tNat they
successfully drove General HAMS back
into Maryland General Mcclellan from
the gates of Richmond. ard General Pope
behind the fortihcations Of Washington. II was
BY concentration OF their side that the rebels
gained the first day of the battle Of Shiloh.
and it was hy concentration on orr side that
they were defeated and put to fight on tie
second day. Concentration has given us tie
great victories Of Gettysburg, vickshure and
Port Hudson; and il the enemy in this late
terrible struggle in Georgia have temporarily
turned the tide Of battle against us, il has been
by the simple common sense rule Of abandon
ing all secondary points to make sure of the
main point at issue by concentration.
Concentration. then. is the infallblc secret of
ha fvof of ho
the year 1851, from the compact and extensive
area of the Southern States held by the rehe,-
lion, all the facilities for concentration were on
the side of the enemy, including their absolute
occupation Of thousand miles OF the Missis-
sippi river. And so operating around an i'm
mense circle, oursuccesses from April to Decen.-
ber, 1861, were few and far between. During
the year 1862, breaking through the eneny's
exterior lines and penetrating by way OF the
Mississippi and its tributaries into the heart of
their country, we gained many essential
advantages Of concentration, which contributed
greatly to extend our successes. Now, having
cut off the rebelious States west Of the Missis-
sppi, we have also driven the main bodies Of
the enemy from the east side of the river back
upon Alabama, and from Tennessee down into
Georgia. Hence the ready concentration Of
these elements in the army of Bragg,a contir-
gency which should have been roresecn ard
amply provided for at WASHINGTON.
But still, relying upon Rosecrans and his
reinforcements to maintain fer the present his
important position at Chattanooga, the despe-
rate situation Of the rebellion has not beer
materially improved by the late indecsivc
victory OF Bragg. There are two points (apart
from Charleston, which we leave TO its fate)
upon which the tottering fabric Of the Davis
confederacy depends-Richmond and Atlanta.
The loss Of Richmond, in sending adrift JEFF.
Davis ard his rebel government, and in
scattering his rebel scrip and Its moon
shine secur ties TO the four winds Of heaven,
gives the finishing blow at once to the coneede-
racy; while the loss of Atlanta and its occu-
patton by powerful Union army, in cutting Off
Richmond from Georgia, will almost as
speedily end the war;
1t is hardly possible that oil the rebel forces
east of the Mississippi, regular and irregular,
guerillas and home guards, included, can ex-
ceed three hundred thousand men. II ia hardly
possible for them to swell Bragg's army and
Lees army each beyond one hundred thousand
men, with Wilmington, Charleston, Savannah
and Mobile to look after. We believe, at all
events, that one hundred and fifty thousand
men under Rosecrans, and the same number
under Meade, will be ample to demolish and
disperse the armies Of Bragg and Lee; and we
have at least six hundred thousand men in the
field.
We call. therefore, upon the administration
to strengthen the army OF Meade and that Of
Rosecrans to the extent indicated, from our
veterans elsewhere in the service; and, to supply
their places, and to "make assurance doubly
sure" and to do away with the expen-
sve dribblngs OF the conscription, we
earnestly hope that President Lincoln will
try tho experiment OF q call for three hundred