The New York herald., 1863-12-25
General Averiirs Late Expedttio0 an
Its Imp pDrtant Results


| Its Important Results
The late expedition of General Averil into
Southwestern Virginia. considering the inclem-
ent season of the year, the wild, rugged, in
hosptable mountainous region traversed, and
the numerous detachments of the enemy ope-
rating to capture or destroy his column, we
think may be set down as the most delicate,
difficult and dangerous, and yet the most skil-
fully executed, raid of all the daring ones Of
the war.
The results achieved may also be considered
as of the very highest importance The
destruction of three well filed depots Of sup
plies of all kinds, intended for the rebel army,
will be felt by the haf-rationed soldiers of
General Lee; but the destruction of fifteen
miles of the Tennessee and Virginia Railroad,
midway between Lee and Longstreet, including:
the demolition of five bridges and several cul-
verts, will be apt to prove fatal disaster to
Longstreet. The rebels will be occupied seve-
raj weeks in repairing th ese damages, and in
the meantime the only line Of communication
between Longstreet and Lee is completely
broken. In the interval supplies to Lee, on
the one hand, and rsinforcements to Longstreet
on the other are interrupted; and L0ngstreet
il he has not made the best possible use of his
time since. last heard FROM is at the mercy
of the pursuing legons of General Grant. Even
ifbeyond i'm mediate danger, this cutting Of his
only remaining line of communication with
Richmond will admonish him of the necessity
of abandoning the last corner of East Tennes-
see in order to save his army.
The Importance Of that section, including
the interlocking corner Of Southwestern Vir-
ginia, to the rebellion at this stage Of the war
was very frankly disclosed by several Loading
rebel journals after the failure Of Bragg to
demolish General Rosecrans or to dislodge him
from Chattanooga. Thus it was confessed that
the grain, cattle, sheep and swine Of East Ten
nessee were indispensable to the subsistence of
the army of Bragg that the nitre caves Of
those mountains were just as necessary for the
powder mills of Augusta, Rome and Atlanta;
while the salt springs in those moantain
valleys, extending into Southwestern Virginia,
had become the main dependence of the Davis
confederacy, army and people. for the essential
article of salt. The holding Of the country and
the sources Of oil those invaluable supplies
now depends upon Longstreet Bragg's late
army has been driven too far down into Geor- |
gia to be able to help him. Thus Longstreet is
much in the same position as was Joe John |
ston after the fall of Vicksburg. He is detached
from his supports, his lines of travel are inter-
rupted, and he is enveloped by combinations
from which he can hardly escape
In this view the strategic value of General |
Averill's masterly raid upon the Tennessee and
Virginia Railroad will be readily comprehend
ed. As movement against Longstreet, it 10 as
valuable to General Grant as was the famous
Grierson Mississippi raid in reference to the
campaign against vicksburg, or as was General
Carter's dashing foray into East Tennessee in
support of General Rosecraus at Murfreesboro,
or as would have been the splendid Stoneman
expedition, in view Of the destruction of Lees
army, had General Hooker only succeeded in
dislodging it from the Rappahannock. Or, had
the War Office only thought Of 1t, General Stone
man might have turned even the defeat Of
Hooker into the.greatest triumph of the war,
by the capture of the defenceless rebel capital
and the destruction of its foundries, workshops,
factories, mills and magazines Of military sup.
plies of all kinds-to say nothing of the probs-
BILE capture Of JEFF. Davis.
Such is the importance, and such are the |
opportunities sometimes offered by a we'll d. |
gested and bravely executed raid within the |
enemy's lines. Such we consider the value Of |
General Averill's late expedition, in reference
to the expulsion and dispersion Of Longstreet's
forces from East Tennessee; and We dare say
that General Grants movements will, before
long, fully sustain this opinion. Let US await
the issue OF the game.