The daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1863-1864, 1863-12-15

Louisiana ana on tue coasts VI leAoo' Oe
sachments oftroops and active bodies OF
,artisans kept up so effective war on the
J Mississippi river as practically to destroy
tkTalus g an avenue Of commerce /.
!, The determined and successful defence OF
Charleston against the joint land and nayal
operations Of the enemy afforded an inspir-
ing example of our ability to repel the at
tacks even of the iron-clad feet on which
they chiefly rely, while on the northern
frontier our success was still more marked
The able commander who conducted the
campaign in Virginia determined to meet
the threatened advance on Richmond, tor
which the enemy had made long and costly
preparations, by forcing their armies to
cross the Potomac and fight in defense OF
their own capital and homes. Transferring
the ls-held to their own soil, he sue.
ceeded in compelling their rapid retreat
from Virginia, and in the hard-fought bat
tie of Gettysburg inflicted such severity OF
punishment as disabled them from early
renewal of the campaign as originally pro-
ected. Unfortunately the communications
on which our General relied for receiving
his supplies of munitions were interrupted
by extraordinary floods, which so swelled
the Potomac as to render impossible the
fords by which his advance had been made,
and he was thus forced to withdrawal,
which was conducted with deliberation,
after securing large trains of captured sup
plies, and constant but nnaceepted tender
of battle. On more than one occasion the
enemy has since made demonstrations of
purpose to advance, invariably followed by
a precipitate retreat to the entrenched lines
on the approach Of our forces
The effective check thus offered to the
advance of the invaders at all points was
such as to afford hope of their early expul-
sion from portions of the territory prevl-
ously occupied by them, VIXEN the country
was painfully surprised by the officer in
command of Cumberland Gap had surren-
dered that important and easily defensible
pass without firing a shot, upon the sum-
mons of force still beloved to have been
inadequate to its reduction, and when re-
Inducements were within supporting dis
lance, and had been ordered to his aid
The entire garrison, including the comman-
der being still held prisoners by the enemy
[ am unable to suggest any explanation Of
this disaster, which laid open East Tennes-
See and Southwestern Virginia to hostile
operations, and broke the line of commune
cation between the seat of government and
Middle Tennessee. This easy success of
the enemy was followed by an advance of
Gen. Rosocrans into Georgia, and our army
evacua ted Chattanooga and availed itself of
the opportunity tlus afforded ofwinning on
The field u Ouickamauga, one of the most
brilliant and decisive victories of the war.
The signal defeat Of Gen. Rosecraus was
followed by his retreat into Chattanooga,
where his imperilsd position had the imme
date effect of relieving the pressure of the
invasion at other points, forcing the con
centratien for his relief Of large bodies of
troops withdrawn from the armies in the
Mississippi Valley and Northern Virginia
The combined forces thus accumulated
against US in Tennessee so greatly outnum
bered our army as to encourage the enemy to
attack. After long and severe battle, in
which great carnage was inflicted on him,
some of our troops inexplicably abandoned
positions Of great strength, and by dsor-
DERBY retreat compelled the commander to
withdraw the forces elsewhere successfully,
and finally to retire with his whole army to
a position some twenty or thirty miles to
the rear. 1t is believed that if the troops
who Welded to the assault had fought with
the valor which they had displayed on pre-
vious occasions, and which was manifested
in this battle on the other parts of the line,
the enemy would have been repulsed with
very great slaughter, and our country would
have escaped the misfortune, and the army
the modification, of the first defeat that
has resulted from misconduct by the troops.
In the Cieantime the army of Gen. Burnside
was driven from all its field positions in
Eastern Tennessee, and forced to retreat
into its entrenchments at Knoxville, where,
for some weeks, it was threatened with cap.
ture by the forces under Gen. Longstreet.
No information has reached me of the final
result of the operations OF our commander,
though intelligence has arrived of his with
drawai from that place. e..
While, therefore, our successful driving
the enemy from our soil has not equalled
the expectations confidently entertained at
the commencement OF the campaign, his
further progress has been checked. If we
are forced to regret losses in Tennessee and
Arkansas, we are not without ground for
congratulation 90 success in Louisiana and
Texas On the sea-coast he is exhausted
by vain efforts TO capture our ports, while
on the northern frontier, he has in turn felt
the pressure, and breads the renewal of in
vasion. The indomitabls courage and per-
severance Of the people in the defense Of
their homes have been nobly attested by
the unanimity with which the Legislature
of Virginia, North Carolina and Georgia
have recently given expression to the pop
ular sentiment; and like manifestations may
be anticipated from all the States. What.
ever obstinacy may be displayed by the
enemy in his desperate sacrifices of money,
life and liberty, in the hope Of enslaving us,
the experience of mankind has too conclu-
sively shown the superior endurance of those
who fight for home, liberty and independ-
ence, to permit any doubt of the result.
+, FOREIGN RELATIONS.