The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1863-11-12
Tfae Rebel Organ sat Richmond De-
cIsares that They VIII Soon RE-
cOvea. East Tennessee.

From the Richmond Examiner October 81
For long time the importance of Eas
Tennessee to the Confederacy seemed to b.
unappreciated. Not anstdJ that country fell
into possession Of The enemy ooGS its dncaicuIn
bic vGjue realized. Except what was furtive
ly obtained from Kentucky, the whole army
supply of pork came from East Tennessee anc
the contiguous counties of adjoining States
The product of corn in that region was very
heavy, and no portion of the Confederac1
equal i'll extent, afforded as large supply
of forage and winter pasturage
The occupation Of East Tennessee by our own
armies acGS not only important in ITSELF but d
arGS important also IN respect TO the contiguous
country pltjch 1t protected. A great line Of
railway was secured, continental in its di-
mansions and i'll its value. The salines and
lead mines of Virginia, which produce all the
salt and lead used in the Confederacy, were
protected so long as East Tennessee was ours.
But the evacuation of that region, and its
surrender without single battle to the enc
my, has lost all these advantages The rail-
way is broken up, and there can be no COM
munication between Gen. Jones' at Bristol.
and Cen Bragg at Chicamuga, who are less
than one hundred and fifty miles apart, except
| by a circuit of twelve hundred miles, through
Petersburgh, the Carolinas and Augusta. The
hogs Of East tennessee, affording twenty-five
millions of pounds of pork, are now slaughter
ed for the Yankee armies. The vast corn crops
and forage supplies of that department, suffi-
Gent to winter all the live stock of the Con-
federate armies are being fed to the so, 600
horses and mules belonging to the forces of
Grant The salt and lead works of the Con-
federacy, and the numberless caves of South
western Virginia, from which immense sup
plies of saltpetre are obtained for the Ord
nance Department, are now imminently threat
ened by the close presence of hostile armies,
requiring the presence Of heavy forces of our
own for their protection.
The task imposed by the loss of East Ten
nessee upon General Samuel Jones, command
ing in Southwest Virginia, is onerous Be
tween the Yankee Generals, Averill in the Cii-
rection of Cheat mountain, and Burnside
threatening from Knoxville he has line of
more than six hundred miles to guard The
task is rendered dOably Grduous Mr0ugh the
thorough djsorganization Of the Kentucky and
Tennessee caUairB a0h0 hare been carOuSjng, pill
feTing and SkatJki9ag IN Southeastern Vjryiafa,
under the non-discipline ofthe Kentucky Gen
erals, to whose tender mercies the people of
that country have been turned over ever since
the war begun.
Though the Kentucky Generals who: were
intrusted with the protection of that impor-
tant country, gave it to the Yankees without
a battle, and although Cumberland Gap was
without shot by Mississippi |
Brigadier, of West Point training the country |
ne are glad to beLieoe is not lost. ut the last |
moment the Government seems to haze apaken-
I'd to some sense Of the Importance Of East Ten
qesSee :; not merely as the back door, in the
Yankee phrase, of the Confederacy. but as the
only adequate source of supply for meat, and
Is very important one for grain and forage.
We believe that in q tetO aoeekS more the enc
ny acM haUe been drirsn out Of East Tennessee
indeed, it is highly probable that the work
would have been accomplished by the present
ime if the movements of our armies had not .
'een retarded by the want of shoes While
ur brave troops are waiting, as late as Octo- :,
er, for shoes, the enemy is consuming 0 times !;
ne value of these necessary articles in corn, Il
ork and forage; Bat aoe hare reason to belieUe E
rat East Tennessee CiU soon be recouered. even
Though this should be after all its supplies are =
chaaSted By the Yankees. 7