Litchfield enquirer., 1863-05-14
&teklIsI0 Gaanlrlr.
lEigIniislg Joe Hooker.


 fnURsnArnMAY. l4, 1888.
 FlgIating Joe Hooker. .
 Scarcely was the iak dry on our impression of last week wi.sa the nsws dashed along th, wires that Hooker had re-crossed the Kappa bannock, ,sus1 the array ol fhe Potomac .wers occupying their oldscamp. The intelligence at its first reception, ,caussd m almost uaivsrsa depression among tue loyal masses of ths North, aHa, ~sete sorry to add, correspon ding sxdlialisn among the few synpathiser. with ttsisbsls, scattsred throughout our town. and villagess Pfeyioas expectation had been % high. dnd hope Of certain success for ou, main armSs under fighting Joe Hooker, 90 gen sral, thatathe seeming reverse he had sustained and the necessity which must have forced him to withdmw his army this side the river, was the nossasuuoying and dsplorabls.
 Furthsr news, however, put brighter as. pscs upon affairs. Y was found that in spite of the terrible loss of life our army had sus. tained, sips spite of the disefaceful action of one of onr army corps, in spite, even, of the ylthdrasal efour forces across the river. our brave arny had sustained no downfall or de- ncralisaticn; certainly no defeat. The strat. sgic movement of fighting Joe had been On. tirsly sbccessfal,the enemy bad been complete y surhsissd, their loss was far greater than ours.s.their discontinue and defeat in their many attempts to break our lines and put our srmy tp rout had been entirely unsuccessful, and prudential reasons, in view of the heavy fall ofrsin and the rapid rise of the river had alone induced our brave General to recross the. river, which he did in perfect safety to his men, and in perfect order.
 Meanwhile the cheering news can,o of the entire success of Gen. 4Stoneman,s expedition which the Richmond papers call .'the most au- dacious and successful raid of the war;, The gallant cavalry psdstrated to within two miles of Richmond, scut solfsthe snemy,s lines. of eommu6ication with Lees army, and might easily have penstratedinto the rebel capital itsslf had thsg heeip passessed of artillery and infantry to holdits q kass .ss,s. .,s ,.as Rumors next came thick and fast of the ac- tuai occupationaof Richmond by Gen, Peck army. whicH at last accounts W IS moving on from 6a6olks .Sopossible was this event, that the community received this report with strong coHddsnse inits truth, and though it has since lacked confirmation, yet the belief is strong that the downfall of that prominent nest of the coaspirators cannot be long delayed. o 2 s
 Itnag easily bo supposed that,in the midst of thsse movements, nghling Joe would not long 1 ranain idle. Though he had fe-occupied his old canRhs conld not long remain listless aud inac tivaahsrss Hence he is reported sgain beyond tho Rappehansock, and. at this writing, wesars wsiting, with all the anxiety we experienced laat xsek, for the news Sf his movements. It seems certain enough that the enemy have heen compelled, ,to withdraw from the banks of the Rsppphapnock, and form new base Of opera-l tions. The success of Stoneman. and Lee $ movements siace, show that the rebel is not as. wsllssssiSHed with bis position as he was even sNssk sko. The odds seem now to ba deei- dsdly Hith v. And not1with the enemy. On ssss5 stde hs lis hemmsd is, and must show agbt q bs lost irrssrissably. Our army is in hs bsst Of sheart their confidence in their gallant General increased, rather than dimin. ishsd by the battles Of week ago ; the coun, tsy feels that Fighting Joe is the man for the plassithey dosnot believe he can be out-gen. stslsds and ws arc csrtaia our army cannot be osafen. sls \ iss s,a. N Escm ssvev quarter the light of day is tssaaiugs We believe that this campaign i. to prove decisive of the fate of the country nand xe wait in patience, in confidence and it hope ier the result.
 ..;. Our latest intelligence from the Army O tAs Potomac, up to Wednesday evening, il that there had been no general movement O Gsa Hooksfs army up to Monday noon.5 Gv Tsrything, however, was ready for k
 Con. Hooker has issusd a brief congratula- iery order to his army. He says if it has no lsacconplished n that was expected, the reason. E 5l ssExfe ssll kaewn toit. The obstacles were of | ~ shsrsetsrsnot so bs forescan or prevented D, as Hmm sagAcity or resources, New laurel, . have been added to its furmA renown. Lon, ssi6nsehas hare been spads, rivers have besr p s&<6pd. the enemy has been surprised in hi and, wherever the army ha, 2 sf1usht t las inflicted heavier blows than i ~ isss rsCsisel. It has en-from the enen,. Ire thousand prisoners and fifteen colors, cap 4 tqrsd apd brought off seven pieces of artillery md placed hors du combat eighteen thousan, Y of his ehosen troops. His dcpots. filled witl ". ist snloants of stores,. have sbeen destroyed eospunIcasions have bssn damaged. priso- ne1 hass bsen capturEd within the fortifca- tions of his capital. and his country has been N 1llse Nith fsafand seonstsrnation. # t6ftbel Gen stonewall Jackson has gone