The Lancaster gazette. [volume] (Lancaster, Ohio) 1863-1886, 1863-07-23
IMPORTANT FROM THE SOUTH.
The Rebels Gloomy and Desperate.
w xx.. I'll on

vatlon OF the Southern ContederaCy is
in calling out q levy en- mass. A proc
lamation ofmartial law to the whole
country as in state Of siege The alb
solute control Of all trading, especially
in drinks, as within military lines
The abolition Of substitution exempt
ion and foreign protection, and the ma
terial enlargement Of the Presidents
power to revise the election Of officers
make appointments, and got rid Of in
competent officers. A proclamation
by jeff Davis appears, calling out, un-
der the Confederate conscription act,
all white men between the ages Of 18
and IS to serve for three years, under
penalty of being punished for desartion
in case Of disoboying the call They
are offered the privilege ofjoining vol
unteer organizations before the enroll
mont. The Enquirer says;
=" "An official dispatch from Charles
ton. received yesterday morning. states
all was quiet The enemy are throw
ing up works on the South corner of
Morris Island"
Two Federal irnn-olada a-. s-> tl.~
AppomatoX river, but the river ia OBJ
struCtod above, and it hopes the fall of
tho freshot will catch the iron-clads
aground.
Tho Charleston Mercury, received
in Richmond on the 10Th, has the fol-
lowing on the situation:
ut appears to us useless to attempt
to disguise from ourselves the situation.
By whose fault we got into it, it is vain
now to inquire The Yankees have got
ten possession of the southern half Of
Morris Island.
"There is but one way to save tho
city Of Charleston, and that is the
speedy and unninching use Of the bay
onot. If the fight on Morris Island is
to be fought by engineeringand cannon
merely, the advantage is with the emo.
my. With their iron. .clads on the water,
and their men in occupation of the
land. it is likely to be a mere question
Of time The fall of Fort Wagner ends
in the fall Of Charleston and Sumter,
like Wagner will then be assailable by
both land and sea, and the fate of Fort
Pulaski will be that Of Sumter
General Gilmore, Commander of tho
Department, is q man who reduced
Fort Pulaski. Charleston must be saw
ed as Richmond was. For six days our
forces stormed the successive batteries
Of the enemy, and saved Richmond -
The greater part of tho soldiers who
achieved those triumphs by the bayo-
net had never before been in charge.
The Yankees have as yet few or no
formidable forces. They have but Il
few thousand troops, If our soldiers
and officers here are not equal to the
kind Of fighting fought by the army of
Virginia, and tried by the Yankees
against such strong works as Fort Wag-
ncr and SccessionviIe, then Charleston
falls This itNppcars to us is the only
course Of safety, and We may add too
for economy Of lives. No other means
may prorOct the fighting to days and
weeks and postpone the termination of
the struggle No other means in our
opinoin will save the city We believe
it can easily be saved with promptncss,
energy and DASH 1t is too late for en-
gineering. Hesitation and DELAYS are
fatal" The Mobile Advertiser say
the Conicdcracy has seen darker days,
and emerged from them, II is not dark
enough to justify it to the prudence OF
those who are ready to submit, anxious
for peace and the security of their pro-
perty on basis OF submission to show
their hands Yet there have been some
signs Of this white feather tluttering
during the past gloomy days, Let us
warn them that it is base to feel, and
dangerous to be premature in the ut.
terance ofsuch sentiments. The land
has made too many sacrifices for its
freedom to falter ut the last hour The
timid and lhithless must not be allow.
ed to ttttcr the footsteps Of revolution,
1t must roll on to triumph, although its
whools have to roll over them and their
fortunes. Instead of the fall of Vicks-
burg being absolute, it is now plain that
has fallen with the least possible harm
to us, lit had held out only twenty
four hours longer Johnston's army
would have, without doubt, been cut
to pieces. Johnston was on BigBlacll
and on Saturday night his army BIZ
vouacked with orders to move on
Grants intrenchments at o'clock in
the morning Before the hour arrived
the news of Pemberton's capitulation
was received, From what has been
learned OF Grants position it is now
known that itJohnstons force had been
doubled and tripled it could never have
got through the Works of Grant. The
country for miles was defended by fell.
ed timber, and every gorge and ravine
was q fortified work, bristling with
cannon and converted into a slaughter
pen, We are credibly informed that il
took some Of our parolled officers al
Vicksburg fifteen hours to ride fifteen
miles through the felled timber and
around the excavations and enbank
ments made By the enemy,