The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1863-06-02

ne Rod Force on nc Rappahannock Red.ced to FORTY
7Aousaaa 7roaps, and IN Az Nrgi.ia 10 Eish4yf
Jhousaad-Nosv Is Rcssr's CancS 10 Take Richn1nd--
HNtt Attacked BY tie Aillls u Jans, Lee Wv h"rs
y one Rantsvea and Fifty thousand 1roeps-i"porfaM
I1cs Abosa the Southern overwhelmingly OF the
Reconsideration in Not Compelling Hook, 10 Fight Lee
No~-6 snsrs, Price Aaesspn~g 70 on ~ esm Grants
iSrpIts, dc.
have como into possession To-Day OF the following
facts in regard 10 the present actual condition Of the
Southern railroads and The rolling stock them, which
have important bearing the present military opera
tIOns both al the West and in the East
When the war broke out the Southern railroads
in perfect order and their equipment rolling stock
In amount and Of the best possible constuc
ton. With few trInng and unimportant exceptions,
mono Of this equipment has been lost or destroy.
cd during the progress OF tho war. On the
other hand, il has been considerably increased. At
Macon and Atlanta, in Georgia; at Fayetteville, in
North Carolina at Knoxville, and at one other
point, there are extensive shops where both
locomotives and arc built and where they taken
for repairs Tho railroad from Memphisto Chattanooga,
running along the north Of Mississippi and Alabama is
very much broken up and damaged except tho fifty
miles between Chattanooga and Beefontc which are In
perfect state But the railroad from Tuahomato vcks
burg by the way OF Stevenson: Chattanooga, Atlanta,
Montgomery, Meridian and rackson-a distance Of 673
mess in perfect order and has abundance Of rolling
stock The may be said Of the great Southern rail-
road from Gordonsyle TO Chattanooga, by the way Of
Iynchburg and Knoxvlle-a distance Of 526 miles and
Of he two railroads from Charleston TO vcksbnrg by
the way Of Atlanta and Opeka, and The other by tho
way Of Savannah and Montgomery Tho distance by the
latter route Is 1877 miles; by the former 7oa mica.
These facts show that although troops in largo nambers
have been sent from Charleston and from Braggs army
at Tulahona 70 reinforce Gen. Johnston before
ViIksbsrg, Jet nust require some lime for them
10 reach him. They show also that while il
would probably be inpracticable for any OF
General Lees troops 10 be sent 70 take part in the
operations before vcksburs che distance being eleven
hundred mles) would be quito practicable for twenty
Thousand Of General Lees troops 10 DO sent to Tullahoma
only six hundred miles TO aid General Bragg in holding
in check while Bragg sends 6fty thousand Of
his troops to General Johnston Thoy will show also,
with the aid or good map Of the United States that all
The lines Of railroad have mentioned constitute interior
lines OF military operations over which troops can be
transported great deal rapidly troops
be either from Charleston reinforce Banks
from Washington 10 reinforce either Grant Rosecrans
Besides which, the two railroads leading north from Nash
yillo pretty much broken up and destroyed The
Louisville and Nashville Railroad particularly, one
hundred and eighty vo miles long, built trese work
almost entirely has been demolished TO extent that
renders IL utterly useless
From a very different from that from which
have derived tho above facts have also learned the follow
ing which shows how great bundor Hooker committing
in keeping his army qucscent, and how criminal tho ad
maisisaton Is in not compelling him TO attack Lees army
AZ once. 1881
Aud nowfor ny facts. General Loo has the line
OF the Rappahannock just coo troops AZ sho time
the battles Charlottesville being fought there
600 Of General Longstrecis troops near suok
mill M III In Rorf1
those 20 troops there yet Gen. Lee had IN those
battles 30 600 OF General Lonssrects troops 900 OF
General H. His, 40 900 under General Jackson, and
10 600 OF General Stnarts cavalry, in all l00 900
These the troops ard The only troops with which
no fought dceatsd Hooker whether the latter had
no to leave Richmond entirely deouceless and 70
draw troops both from suffolk and from North Carolina.
after the battles no noh Is 900 troops Rchmond and
the peninsula where they And between the Goth
and 25th inst ne sent 900 troops 10 Chattanooga to
reinforce General Bragg and 70 help him hold Rose
Grams in check This leaves him just 10000 troops, and
with these he is holding the line Of tho Raipahan-
mock This comes direct from Richmond, and IL
states that the idea OF the Confederate authorities there II
that Hookers late battles amounted only to
9s 600 men, that his losses in hattie were oo and BY
subsequent expiration OF the time Of old regiments 900
more, making 5000, and reducing his army now 20
10000 or IS 600 NOM that he might possibly DO rein
forced from Washington up to 900 strong, but that
the utmost figure at which he could attain and that with
that he win not dare 10 again the odensve that
no viii therefore lie still Falmouth until the
conscripton has filed his army. which they think
therefore, that they have nothing fear from Ho ker
during the two MONTHS have turned
their whole attention and sent almost their whole strength
towards yickshurg and therefore II is that General lee
now has only forty thousand the me Of the Rap
through dmsy artinco OF GEN. lee in making few
days ago such parade OF strength and bnste-such a
beating OF drums and blowing Of rumpcts-it does
speak very well for their sagacity.
II Gen. Hooker, then, with his hundred thousand
veteran troops should make sudden movement against
Gen. Leo he could either certainly defoat the latters
forty thousand else drive them 20 Richmond In
the meantime his thirty thsssand reserve, under
Hentzelman, could keep between him and the capital
Even II Leo should design and bring up ali
his reserves he could only ger the twenty thousand
from Richmond and the twenty thousand from sulTIIk
and North Carolina making eighty Ave thousand in all
And to do this Richmond would again DO left dcgencoless
and Gen. Dix Gen Reyes and Gen. Peck ,oitl noiIwe IN
aeiy Duy could march straight into the rebel capital
whi'o HOOVER and Heintzeiman, with hundred and
rs % wers s Lee with eighty
Rat II Hooker does not r,ise ,h,s golden norman.
the siege Of vicksbnrg viii be decided by the 6th
Of june, and tho fate O. Rosecrans By the Ioll.
And result o. these battles may tho middle OF June
will both Besuregards and Lees troops (now In the
wesi again back in the last and then, indeed tho des
by General Hooker, will take place. only then General
Lee will move with one hundred and nfty thousand
troops.
have news from v,cksburg up to May &C. This
account states that two general assaults the enemy
Grants armycne on the 2ad and one ON hs ya,n bs
they both complete failures both having boon re-.
pulsed with terrible loss the Union sde that General
Grant was occupying strohg position which he had M
trorchod In the OF vicksburg where believed 10
could maintain himself against General Johnston; that
General Johnston hal nj Canton besides his original
70 COZ troope, 10000 from Mobile, 80 600 from Bnsggs
army at lullaht ma aud 2s 900 from Charleston with
these 90 900 troops believed that General Johnston
would attack General Grant on the 9Th.
was understood that General Price and General
maduke had rs 600 troops Helena and that move
mont on their part foot towards Memphis with
the ultimate object IN view OF either gaining possession
OF that place else Of sezng Point on the
Mississippi which would enable them cut OIL all SUP.
plies intended for General Grants army. According 70
this account renfOrcements had reached General
Grant, and none we're expected
Tue LATEST.
II s stated here to-day the authority Of officers just
from Washington, that General Hookers headquarters
at Alexandria, and that his army has fallen back TO