Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1863-05-26
GRANTS VICTORIES.


Grants victories are the rebeliio death
blows. They involve the almos' ire de-
struction OF the great rebel army of t south
west, with its vast accumulated msi Il. As
the success and preservation of tn army
intact, was necessary to prevent our csN '-ol Of
the entire Mississippi river, its destr ton as
explained above insures that to us, Wit all its
nomentous consequences both to the Union
cause and that Of the rebellion.
Without the use OF the railroads OF Mississippi
and Louisiana, and unmpeded other lines Of
communication and transportation across the
river, further resistance to our arms in Arkan-
sas, louisiana, Southern Missouri and Texas,
must speedily cease, and the millions on mil
lions worth of vitality necessary supplies from
the southwestern section of the Confederacy,
will no more reach the armies of Bragg, Lee
and Beauregard.
Chief among the mOmentous consequences OIL
Grants victories is one in yolving vast series
by-the-by, that yet has attracted little public
attention. With the armies Of Pemberton and
Joe Johnston virtually destroyed, as they prob
ably have been, the authority Of the United
States IL re-established over the territory Dor.
dering the Mississippi from its mouth to its
sources. From New Orleans to the Kentucky
line, that region for twenty miles back on each
sugar producing belt, contains the aggregation
OF the slaveholding interest in whose nominal
behalf this atrocious war was conceived and
is being waged. That interest now lies hope
Iessly powerless there, at the feet of the Gov
eminent. The result of this fact will be the
enlistment either in active regiments or the SER
vice Of our Quartermaster's and commissary's
departments, of three or four hundred thou.
sand blacks in q very brief period of time
thus subtracting SO many human elements of
the wars successful prosecution from the side
of the rebellion, and transferring them to our
side, to the dismay of the oligarchy and the
eventual total prostration of the rebellion
Months ago we ceased to have fears of an
aTchy aud universal ruin to grow out of the
violent change in the status Of society in the
South, which at the beginning of the war we
thought we clearly foresaw, if the contest be-
came pretracted one Southern society, hap
PLY, itselfinyented a fortunate solution of that
difficulty the moment it realized the awful
consequences of the success of the Oligarchy's
conspiracy to the extent it had succeeded. We
mean to the extent Of the initiation of the de-
struction of the institution. We here refer to
the plan sugges ted by the planters of Louisiana
to Major General Banks. for the employment
OF the freed negroes not required in the mill.
-tary service CT the Government That plan
guarantees fair wages to the late slaves, to be
paid by their former owners and also guaran-
tees fair labor on the part of the negroes, to be
enforced by the power of the United States
Government.
No three other elements calculated to have
as much influence i'll eXpediting the terminal
ton of the rebellion could possibly enter into
the contest as these three explained above-that
OF giving the Government an unlimited supply
OF troops; that of .aepriving the rebels of the
services of their millions of slaves on the Mis-
sissippi; and that of demonstrating to the salts
faction of the loyal everywhere, that freeing the
slaves does not result in instruction, universal
murder OF non -combatants and utter democrat
lza1ion OF society, as was so generally anticipa-
ted, and that it promises as valuable industrial
results to the whole country as were enjoyed
before the war began under the system of sla-
very destroyed by the madness of those who
were its chief heneflciar1es.