Daily State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis, Ind.) 1861-1865, 1864-12-10
DRUIDpS LETTERS.
Rsbd Reports 81 SAermas's ETBedifisa--C onfed
crate designs IN Teansssee-B 70
Join HOod--Joinf Attack 10 Be Made on Ncsk
rIle-Ecrly Reinfoseinc Lee. &c.

Join HOOd--JOinf Attack 70 Be Made on Ncsk.
eHie-Eerly RenforeiRe Lee, &c
BALTIMORE. December }
SHERMAN EEroRrrD MOVING DIEIcT OF SAVANNAH.
/; is reported % day that General Sherman
did not 90 10 Augusta. bat lett that place on bis
-eft, ard Il now trying 10 reach Savannah This
report states that he met serious accident In
crossing the Oconee river. being confronted by
strong Confederate force; but that he sue
ceeded ia getting bis army cross the river. after
suffering some loss. This Is only report. and
may not prove true. But the reports that sent
10 you at the time that sherman had left Macon
on bis right. aud that he had been delayed and
impeded on his march. proved true. although
those facts hsd not been made known at the
time. IL this report proves true il will Indicate
plainly enough that the ConfederMes have sue.
ceeded in concentrating a powerful force at
dear Augusta, and that they are determined 10
compel Sherman to fight before he reaches the
sea coast.
rEroRTED REFUSE OF sBsnxsx At Tnr ocoNEE
Another report which prevails here to some
extent IL TO the effect that General Sherman was
repulsed in attempting 10 cross the Oconee river
and that bis armv Is now moving down on the
right bank OF that stream. This is by far the
worst report about Sherman that has reached
here lf it's true. he will still have TO cross the
Ocmulgee river which j. another and "a larger
branch Of the Altamaha and even then he will
still be on the west side of the Altamaha. and
can only reach the sea coast at Brunswick sew
enty five miles below Savannah. The only
favorable feature about this report if true, is
that a Confederate army, to get at Sherman,
must also cross the Altamaha
THE EEsr THAT cAN Nv goPED.
Although. from all that can be learned Up TO
this time, IL seems clear that the best that can be
hoped OF Sherman is, that he may reach some
point on the coast without having suffered great
loss the hope that he can reach the sea with his
army intact must now be abandoned.
THE WHOLE or WESTERN TENNESSEE ~ rossEs:iox
Oh THE CoNFEDERATEs.
The accounts which | have received OF the
battle at franklin, south of Nashville, and the
/ preceding and subsequent movements of Gen
eral Thomas aud General Hood. certainly do not
/ look as IL the latter had been defeated Gen.
! Thomas was lett TO hold Hood in check on the
/ Tennessee river lt cannot be denied that his
failure to DO so has been most signal, snd that
the result Of this failure has been that our forces
/ have been driven from no less than six strongly
fortified positions. and that the whole OF West
ern and Middle Tennessee is now in the POS.
session OF the Coniederates
kErRocApE MOVEMENT OF GENERAL THOMAS.
When Hoods army crossed the Tennessee
! Thomas forces fell back from Decatur and
Huntsville and occupied Shebyville and Pulaski
Hood drove hun from both these places and our
forces then fell back TO Columbia, and took posi-
ton there Columbia il on the south side OF
| Duck river. A dispatch from Nash vile TO the
Cincinnati Gazette. dated November %, SAYS
4" We still hold Columbia MI statements 10 the
contrary notwithstanding. AMI all our fortified
tons on the south side of the Duck river are still
| in our hands. But we have abandoned Shelby
vile, and the rebels occupy the town"
RESULTS oil THE BATTLE At FRANKLIN
Hood attacked our forces AT Columbia. how
ever, defeated them, and then Thomas retreated
across the Duck river. and took post AZ franklin
on the Harpett river. eighteen miles south o
Nashville This place was then strongly forti
fed. and our strongest works here were ON the
north side of the stream. The accounts of thi.
battle that have reached me say that Thomas
was defeated. and retreated 20 Nashville. and
that Hoods army has crossed the Harpeth river
and has advanced toward Nashville OF one
thing am confident. The forces under General
Thomas are not acting AS victorious army
would act. and Hoods army is not acting az 9
defeated or crippled army would act.
rHE coSFEDrRATEs DETERMINED TO REGAIN POS
SESSION or THK WHOLE or TENNESSEE
infer. from what / learn to-day, that the
Coniedera,es seriously design to re possess them
4 selves of the whole of Tennessee, aud in order
70 do so, that they will really attempt the cap
ture OF Nashville. Hoods army alone is said to
be sufficient for that purpose, but il is said now
that Breckenridge, instead OF marching TO Au.
gusta, ia marching directly west to Nashville.
His forces were said TO be NJ Narysvile. south
of Knoxville, on the Goth ult and It was said
they 10 leave Immediately for the west, to
join Hood Even if they did not leave till the
I'D. they could have joined Hood near Nashville
bv 10 day. But, however this may be- a glance
AZ the map will show that by the defeat of Gil
lem and his retreat 10 Knoxville. and by the. re.
treat OF Thomas TO Nashville, the whole OF Ten.
nessce, except those two cities, il already in ac
tual possession OF the Confederate This. IL
must be remembered, is one of the forced aban.
Comments of Atlanta by sherman and OF his
march through Georgia
THE SITUATION Of THE LINE on rHK UPPER 20
ToMAC.
! have some later intelligence from the Shen.
andoah Valley TO day. 1t is of high Importance
as explaining the motive which impelled the re-
cent rebe attack on New Creek and Piedmont
but more particularly 50 in it, relation 10 the
events now taking place in Georgia and Tennes-
see IL will be remembered that by the middle
of November. len. Early's forces. as re organ
zed and recruited, had embraced twenty. eight
| thousand men. and that between that time and
the goth ult., he sent down 70 Richmond, in ODE
dienee 20 Lees orders, ten thousand OF his best
troops. IN two divisions, one of them being ker-
shaw's. IL will also be remembered that when
Sherldans reconnaissance made 60 Wood
stock, on the 22d ult., our forces were driven
back by force of fifteen thousand infantry and
followed on our retreat 20 Winchester by three
thousand rebel cavalry Now, although the con
federates have too often succeeded in having on
decisive fields, or in bringing upat decisive mo
ments, troops in superior numbers 10 ours, vet
they never have any troops to spare.
EARLY HAD MORE TROOPS THAN HE REQUIRED.
IL requires the exercise OF great generalshr
ON the part Of their military leaders to accom-.
plish the results which they seek to bring about
with the really. comparatively, small armies that
they have 10 the field. They have, in word
no troops TO spare The rebel leaders have Ger
tain designs which they wish General Early 10
accomplish in the Valley. and on the line of the
upper Potomac. this winter Eighteen thousand
troops are not required TO accomplish these re
suits They can be accomplished. the rebel
: leaders think. with even less than $4,000. The
recent capture OF the strongly fortified positions
Of New Creek and Piedmont, and the dssiruc-
ton OF The forts. redoubts, outworks, and public
property there was accomplished by force OF
not over 500 men. although thew were dis
posed tha; there seemed 10 be 900 cavalry, sup
ported by 5000 infantry, with few batteries o.
light artillery : capable OF doing
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