The new South. [volume] (Port Royal, S.C.) 1862-1867, 1863-11-28

SUCCESSIVE AND RAPID BLows.-The skill Of the
general in war is not unlike the skill of the fem
Ger. whose success lies not SO much, IN parrylng
his enemy's blows, and them simply sheitering
himself but in attacking him stroke after stroke,
wrenching the rapier from his hand, and ex-
posing him helpless to the mercy of the sharpened
steel. Nothing short of this can be called
success
The want of these rapid and successive blows
has been one great feature In the present war,
and characterizes not only our own Army, but
that of the rebels The noblest exception to this
charge is to be found in Grants series Of victories
at the Southwest, where our advantage have more
than once been rapidly and cleverly followed up.
Rut let us note the instances of the opposite
evil. After the taking of Roanoke Island, the
whole coast of North Carolina was at Burnsldes
mercy. and if Newbern and Beaufort had been
taken at such is the opinion OF reoel
general,-he could have taken Goidsboro ana
Weldon, almost without firing gun, have COM
,nonded the RAILWAYS, and cut the Army of the
Atlantic in two. And this is no atterthought IL
seemed obvious to many at the time.
After the capture of Hilton Head and Beaufort,
what but the unaccountable delay OF our troops
,trevented Charleston and Savannah from falling
into our hands? They were then defenceless.
Dnnont had given them glorious prestige those
cites had neither forts nor garrisons; we invited
ltben to build the one end procure the other,
We are credibly informed that if, after great
success at Malvern Hills, our Army, reinforced by
troops then lying at Newport News, had immedi-
atelv marched forward, we might have entered
Richmond in triumph, so great was the demoral-
ization of the rebel forces. Are not these plain
and stern lessons of future duty?
The cry has always been that there must be
time taken to resrganize and repose but Napo-
leon. the great master of the art of war, always
acted differently He pushed his men to the very
extreme of human endurance while the enemy was
before them, and let them enjoy very reVel OF
rest after the great work was triumphantly COM
pleted (; and his first organizations were always
made to feresee just such results, Next TO oo1d-
ness q a,dace), which he first fried, and akin to
it, indeed was celebrity of movement showing
itself in a succession of blows, as long as blow
remained to be struck His instructions to Aug
pereau in 1914 ars by no means doubtful on this
point: 60 You have NO .teams seize them any
where You have no magazine! This is oecom-
lnp too ridiculous. The country is menaced and
in danger. It can be saved only by alacrlty, and
not by vain delays. You must have nucleus OF
six thousand picked troops. 1have not so many,
and vet have destroyed three armies, captured
40 600 prisoners, taken 200 pieces OF artillery,
and thrice saved the capital" Oh, for such
spirit and such energy now, when our "country IS
menaced and in danger!
We are not among those impatient critics who
would counsel general to rusE headlong upon
probable defeat but in good faith, we DO desire
to see one single victory followed up to the cap
ture or dispersion of the enemys army, or the en-
tire reduction of his stronghold. An army orga-
nized for double blow, the second of which shall
finish the work which the first has fairly begun,
is the problem for our generals and great glory
to him who solves it. q
In war it is something more than the premier
pas qui coue.-Arney and Nary Journal -