Marshall County Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1856-1878, 1863-04-16
THE CONDUCT OF THE WAR.
Conclusion Of the Committees Re.
.aN5H Dort iii"

\ !.
Conclusion of the Committees Re-
port.
WHAT THE WAR HAS ACCOMPLISHED.
Your committe will. however. briefly
call attention to the fact that, from the
commencement Of active military and ma
val operations in the winter and spring Of
1862. almost uninterrupted success for
eight months attended all our operations,
resulting in vast conquests.. The tIiumphs
of the navy at Hatteras. Port Royal and
Fort Henry were followed by the victor.
les and conquests Of the army at Mill
Spring, Fort Donelson and Roanoke Is
land Missouri was wrenched from the
rebel grasp. and the rebel armies driven in
to Arkansas. where they were defeated in
pitched battle at Pea Ridge. ~
By the capture of Fort Donelson. Ken
tucky was permanently redeemed. the cap
ital Of one ofthe largest revolted States
seized. her great rivers laid open to our flo.
tillas, and the war carried to the Gnlf
States. The rebel strongholds on the Mis-
sissippi. Columbus. Island No. 10. Fort
Pillow. together with Memphis. the most
important city Of the State. fell into our
hands.
The autumn of 1861 had witnessed the
important capture of Hatteras and Port
Royal by the navy. These successes were
followed through the combined operations
of the army and navy, in the winter aud
spring of 1862 by the capture of Roam
oke Island ani Newbern, Be eiufort and Fort
Macon. and hy the reduction Of the impor
tant fort, Pulaski, controlling the entrance
to the Savannah River; of Fort Clinch.
controlling the harbor and railroad depot
of Fernandins; of Fort Marin at st. Au-
gustine. By the first named operations
we acquired control of the spacious inland
waters Of Moth Carolina (Albemarle and
Pamlico Sounds. anil their adjacen:
shores. and one OF her two important sea-
ports--Teaufort. BY the last We made
ourselves masters of the rich sea islands
and important hsrbors exteniing along the
coast from Charleston to ST. johns: lea
wing in the possession Of the rebels, on
tine Atlantic coast but two harbors.
Charleston and Wilmington. - "a h
But the brilliant triumphs Of our arm y
| and navy elsewhere were surpassed by the
capture of the the great city of the Gulf,
the depot Of the great Valley Of the Mis-
sissippi New Orleans; AN achievement
which. estimated by the Importance OF the
conquest and the noble daring Of its exc
cutioa. is scarcely surpassed in history
By this important Conquest we otained
control Of large portion of Louisiana. and
accomplished the most important and diff
cult step toward obtaining the entire con-
troll of the Mississippi River, and caused
the surrender Of the harbor Of Pensacola,
with the forts yet held by the rebels.
In these hastily sketched military aud
naval operations. extending in the West
through the States OF Arkansas. Missouri.
:, Tennessee. and Kentucky, and on the At
lantic seaboard from Hstteras to Florida,
aud on the Gulf from Pensacola to the
mouths of the Mississippi. we really made
conquests as vast as it often tails to the lot
OF the most powerful and warlike nations
to make in so short q period of time
We pushed our conquests by land through
Missouri. Kentucky and Tennessee to the
very boudaries of the Gulf States; obtained
control of the Mississippi River. except
about 200 miles; occupied the coasts oI
North Carolina. South Carolina. and Gsor
gia-a large portion of Louisiana; seized
every impor,and fort and harbor in the
rebel territory. save three Wilmington
Charleston and Mobile reducing to .
corresponding extent the labors Of ths
blockading squadron: captured fourteen
permanent sea coast forts, among which
were the largest ON the Southern coast.
such as Pulaski, Rarrsncas,, McRae, Jack
son. and St. Phillip. Following these con
quests was the reduction Of Yorktown and
the evacuation of Norfolk. by which th,
waters of the James and York Rivers wer.
laid open to our fleets. and the rebels de
priyed Of the facilities furnished by a grea
navy yard. and compelled to destroy thei
only means of menacing our fleets il
Hampton Roads--the Merrimac..
/ ~ 81, WHAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN. - va
i Had the success Of the army of the Pc
tomac during this period corre.pondet
with the success Of our arms in other part
of the country there is reason to- believe
that the termination Of the campaign o
1862 whould have seen the rebellion vel
nigh. il notentirely. overthrown.! 's,rl
i Had Norfolk been captured during th
Q winter OF 186l-62. and the MefrimSc Ia
= ken posssssio on Of or destroyed. the way I,
klchrnond. by means Of the James River
would have been open. and the fatal delay
OF the PeninsaIa avoiled; or had the enc
5my when at Manassas. some time durin:
the autumn Of 1861 or winter Of SO l-l62
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