Richmond Whig. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1862-1865, 1863-07-07
Middle Tennessee.

deservings OF the PUBIC mAeiac.ors sSnue' "H'" !"
will be directed
Middle Tennessee.
No one can fail to admire the prudence and dP-o-
matic reserve Of ~ Press rgent at Atlanta On the
third of July he telegraphs that RosccrSns Is falling
back and Bragg reoccupyiug TulAhoma in heavy force
This was the first intimatiOR tnst Tulahoma had been
abandoned, True there were some items in Southern
journals which made General Braggs position Doubtful
bu as the regular teleg-aphc channels brought no ill.,
formation whatever and as it known that General
Bragg selected his position for its natural strength and
had been fOrtifyiDgt for sis months no one dreamed
IN : he contemplated retreat On the 4sh oil July,
one day after Bragg "reOccupied Tulahoma in heavy
force the reporter Atlanta informs Us that sit is con-
sidered certain that Morgan has played havoc with
Rosecrans rear !" nevertheless, ssh important move
ment is taking place in General Brsggs army but is
not prudent to mention particulars" In view Of Nor
CANS operations and the strength of General Bragss
position to say nothing Of his reOecupatiOn OF Tula-
homa the natural inference wosd be that Gen. B:aSg
wss about to advance his whole army and give Rose
cra,s decided battle THIS was the more probable,
from the fact that kilograms 10 Southern papers not
sent to the press III Richmond had informed " that
imminent
Il seems, however, that General Bragg's important
movement was hot an advance tu; retreat for later
in the day. the Atlanta reporter having given the Iue
lie an hour or of preparation, announces cOOly,
Bragss headquarters are at Bridgeport Toe Ten
nessee river will be the future line Of defence. 1t is
supposed that Huntsville and the Memphis and
Charleston Railroad will be abandoned" This an
nou cement might have startled the Confederate Ne.
tropOls If it had not been absorbed in anxiety about
the battle at Gettysburg, and had been better ac-
qu,ned with geography. Many people thought Bridge
port was in Tennessee, and if they thought that Bragg
had retreated all they supposed be had retired but
short distance, and that his movement was of lit i'm
portance To this hour, we venture to affirm thu. the
msjorty of cur citizens quite in the DARK the
great change that has taken place in Tennessee. Ger
tainly if not ignorant If the impO lance o. General
Bugg's late movement, they are Indifferent for the
Atlanta teegams have excited scarcely conment.
few words may place this matter in iif 5rent
light, and enable the public 10 appreciate the
queues involved in the Delphic dispatches from Allan
Ia. Bridgeport, Gen. Braggs present headquarters, Is
not in Tennessee, but in Alabama, fifty sixty
miles from Tullahoma Gen. Bragg's former position
Making the Tennessee river the future line Of defence
Is equivalent TO abandoning Middle Tennessee and North
Alabama, as may be inferred from the statement that
Huntsville and the Men hs and Charleston raj cad
to be given up The REIMBURSEMENT Of such breadth
of fertile country, just at this season, when wheat
crop has Just been harvested and the crop is in
tasstl, amounts to gift to the enemy Of supplies
enough TO last wnole army year, say no hing of
the outrage and the desolaon which everywhere fol.
low Yankee occupation Il is not certain that Rose
Grams will pursue Bragg to his base Of defence and
make permanent lodgment in the newly conquered
territory but shou1 he do So it will be no small Offset
10 Gel. Lees successes in the North.
We should be wanting in confidence and devotion 10
our truly great and noble Chief Magistrate if we per-
mitted ourselves To doubt for moment that General
Brage's operations meet his entire approval aud
not matter Of necessity although Roseeans declares
that our Presidents vOrite, Gen. Bragg, had been
nfOrced by Buckner previous TO his (Brsgg) retreat
from Tullahoma. Ths: Rosecrans was arul enough to
keep Gen. Bragg and the President in profound gno'
rance of everything occurring within bis lines that the
tag fate Of COL Oron and Msj. Peters the result
of frantic effort 10 obtain clue to ROsecrans in
tentons tina. in consequence Of that failure General
Bragg and the President abandoned all hope of fathom
ing Rosecrans' designs, and thus permitted him to
mount FIVE thousand OF the regular United States in
fanry, to surprise Wheeers cavalry at HoOvers Gap
thereby turning Gen. Brsggs pOsiiOn-that all or any
of these things true, many disloyal neWspa
pers and correspondents assert We cannot permit
selves to incur the Inconvenience of believing.