The Ohio Democrat. [volume] (Canal Dover, Ohio) 1840-1900, 1863-06-12
From the N. Y. Herald.
NEWS FROM REBEL SOURCES,

The Rebel Force on the Rappahannock
Reduced to Forty Thousand Troops,
and in all Virginia to EtghtyJfue
Thousand-No1O is Hooker'S Chance
to Take Richmond-f not attacked
by the Middle of June, Lee Will
Haue One Hundred and Fifty Thou.
sand Troops Important Facts about
the Southern Railroads CriminGl
tn of the Administration in not Com
peliinq Hooker to Fight Lee No,O-
General Price Attempting to Cut off
Gen. Grants Supplies, dc.
BALTIMORE, 1861 have come into
possession to-day of the following facts
in regard to the present actual condi-
tion Of the Southern railroads and the
.rollingstock ou them, which have an i'm.
portant bearing on the present military
operations both at the West and in the
East. ...
When the war broke out the Southern
railroads were in perfect order, and their
equipment in rolling stock was enormous
in amount and of the best possible con-
struction. With few tri6ing and un-
important exceptions, none of this equip
ment has been lost or destroyed during
the progress of the war. On the other
hand, it has been considerably increased.
AT Macon and Atlanta, in Georgia; at
Fayetteville, in N. Carolina; at Knox
vile, and at one other point, there are
extensive shops where both locomotives
and cars are built, aud where they are
taken for repairs. The railroad from
Memphis to Chattanooga, running along
the North of Mississippi and Alabama,
is very much broken up and damaged,
except the ffty.on miles between Chat
tanooga and Bellefonte, which are in
perfect state. But the railroad from
Tullahoma to Vicksburg, by the way Of
Stevenson, Chattanooga, Atlanta, Mont
gomery, Meridian and Jackson-a dis.
tance of 673 miles-is in perfect order
and has abundauce of rolling stock
The same may be said of the great South
ern railroad from Gordonsville to Chat
tanooga, by the way of Lynchburg and
Knoxville-a distance of 526 miles and
of the two railroads from Charleston to
Vicksburg, one by the way of Atlanta
and Opelka, and the other by the way of
Savannah and Montgomery. The dis
tance by the latter route is 1877 miles, by
the former 1853 miles.
These facts show that, although troops
in large numbers have been sent from
Charleston and from Bragg's army at
Tullahoma to reinforce Gen. Johnston
before Vicksburg, yet it must require
some time for them to reach him. They
show also that while it would probably
be impracticable for any of Gen. Lees
troops to be sent to take part in the op.
erations before Vicksburg (the distance
being eleven hundred miles, it would be
quite practicable for twenty thousand of
Gen. Lees troops to be sent to TulIaho-
ma, only six hundred miles, to aid Gen.
Bragg in holding Rosecrans in check,
while Bragg sends fifty thousand of his
troops to aid Gen. Johnston. They will
show, also, with the aid of good map
of the United States. that all the lines
of railroad l have mentioned constitute
interior lines of military operation, over
which troops can be transported great
more rspidly than our troops can be
sent either from Charleston to reinforce
Banks or from Washington to reinforce
either Grant or Rosecrans. Besides
which, the two railroads leading North
from Nashville are pretty much broken
up and destroyed. The Louisville and
Nashville Railroad particularly, lS0
miles long, built on treStle work almost
entirely, has been demolished to an ex.
tent that renders it utterly useless.
From very different sourcefrom that
from which Ihave derived the above facts
I have also learned the following, which
shows how great blunder Hooker is
committing in keeping his army quieS-
cent, and how criminal the administra.
tion is in not compelling him to attack
Lees army at once.
And now for my facts. General Lee
has now on the line of the Rappahau-
mock just 10000 troops AT the time
the battles near Charlottesville we're
being fought, there were 10000 of Gen.
Longstreet's troops near Suffolk, and
10000 Of D. Fl. Hills troops in North
Carolina; and those 10000 troops are
there yet. Gen. Lee had in those bat
ties 5000 of Gen. Longstreet's troops
10000 of Gen. D. II. Hills, 10000 un-
der Gen. Jackson, and 10000 of Gen.
iStuart's cavalry, in all 100000 men,
These were the troops, and the only
troops, with which he fought and de-
feated Hooker, whether the latter had
100, 900, 100000 or 100000 men; and
and in order to get them he had toleave
Richmond entirely defenceless, and to
draw troops both from Suffolk and N.
Carolina. His losses in those battles
were $4,000 men. Immediately aftey
the battle he sent 25, 900 troops to Rich
mond and the peninsula, where they now
are. And between the Goth and 25th
inst, he sent 10000 troops to Chatta-
nooga to reinforce Gen. Bragg and to
help him to hold Rosecrans in check
This leaves him just 10000 troops, and
with these he iS'now holding the line of
the Rappabannock. This account is
direct from Richmond, and it states that
the idea Of the Confederate authorities
there is that Hooker's forces 10 the late
battles announced only to $4,000 men
that his losses in battle were Is, 900, and