Evansville daily journal. (Evansville, Ind.) 1863-1866, 1864-05-05
Rebel InhllaiIan.

rom ths httAiAouu hAAMiEaff APfi stAA
From the head waters Of the Red River
to the coast Of North Carolina, the hori-
zon is fairly radiant Sith Confederate
victory Forcing its way through ibe
darkness Of Yankee coneeaiment,
Bankss defeat tells that all is we'll in
the Trans Mississippi Department For
rest, at Fort Pillow, undoss IN an hour
he year s ioork Of Grant, and obstruets
in very inconyenient manner the free
navigation Of the Mississippi. Confed-
crate horsemen career eonhden tly IN
Western Kentucky, and white Gags are
hanging out at Columbus
II was proper that these brilliant
affairs in the West should be furnished
with pendant 10 the Fast, and nobly
has it been done by Hoke at Plymouth.
There, too, has storming been the order
Of The day. aud success has been as com
pleie as at Fort Pillow. Hitherto, though
often led against field works, the Con-
federate aoldiers have always been called
upon 10 assail permanent Notifications.
These two brilliant examples fully attest
their proves in this trying mode Of war
fare, and eyiace that striking superiority
of elan which most signally elevated
them above the Yankee soldier. Not an
instance IN the tear can be mentioned Of
the Yankees haring drieea our men
from fntrenehsd positions
These cheering victories, coming In
such rapid succession from so many dit
ferent quarters, are auApicious of final
success. They resemble those minor
combats which so often, on the eve Of
great battles, have seemed to cast the
shadow Of coming events before them,
aud TO give an earnest Of future victory.
While the two great armies are collect
ing their strength and preparing for q
decisive spring, these hopeful auguries
cannot fail to inspire the one aud to
threw a gloom over the ojaer Thus far
the year has been marked by series Of
unbFoken triumphs for the Confederate
arms. Should The stream continue to
set little longer IN the same direction,
it will sweep away all impediments in
the course OF our youthful Republic.
The facility with which we have achiev-
cd these .riumphs is encouraging in an
other point Of view. The enemy must
have weakened his armies Of occupation
in the various districts he has oyerrun.
His garrisons are mixture of whites
and blacks, enough, probably, Of the
former 10 prevent the Africans from fol-
lowing their own inclination and surren-
der Mt the first summons. By such. a
disposition II was thought that their con
quests might be retained, and the negro
soldier be made TO serve useful pur.
pose. The event has disappointed these
expectations They have lost their hard
wen conquests, and as yet have failed TO
strike any compensatiuE blow by means
OF the concentration. for the sake of
which they have weakened themselves
elsewhere
The details OF the affair at Plymouth
are not vet fully ascertained. Il is, how
ever, safe to pronounce it one Of the
most brilliant affairs ofthe war Its i'm
mediate fruits are important. Those
which may ultimately flow from il, the
possession Of an abundant country, and
the possible command OF the inland wa
ters of North Carolina (though as yet
subject of uncertain speculation, J may
well excite high hopes Tor the future.
Gen. Hoke, judging from the large
number Of his prisoners, does not seem
to have made such thorough work as that
by which Forrest has so shocked the ten
der souls; aud frozen the warm blood Of
the Yankees. The resistance be en-
eountered was, probably, not 50 desper-
ate, and the blood of the vietors not so
heated though in fertilization carried
by storm, the loss Of the garrison must
inevitably be large.
The strict laws of civilized warfare
acknowledge the power Of the victor TO
I put all to the sword in such cases How
ever severe such an example might seem,
1t would strike a salutary terror in the
! Yankees, which will be useful to them in
the end, and their melancholy whine at
meeting a part Of the punishment their
/ barbaritiss merit is absurd
In the rapid fall Of those positions
which the Yankees gained so easily. we
see something like revulsion Of the
gunboat mania. At that period they made
r1ost Of these acquisitions which they
have since held apparently in a firm
grasp. The refux of the tide il no less
sudden than its advance. The year 1864
may undo the work of 1862, and suggest
solution of many difficulties which
seemed almost insurmountable.