American citizen. [volume] (Butler, Butler County, Pa.) 1863-1872, 1864-07-06
NUMBER 90

Tennessee, They were masters Of all the
State of Mississippi, except little circle
around Corinth. They possessed uponthe
great river, the two important positions Of
Vicksburg and Port Hudson, and between
these places occupied a, regular liue of
transportation. They were masters Of
most of the territory west of the Nlissis
sippi, and from it obtained their cattle
and horses, as from the mountains Of Ten
nessee they obtained all sorts of minerals
iIon, sulphur &c.
In military and strategical point Of
view, the possession of the lower Missis
sippi and of the middle portion of Ten
nessec was of high importance. Masters
of the first, the Confederates spread dis
affection in the northwest, and kept their
Confederacy compact; masters Of thesec-
ond, they closed the routes leading into
Georgia, Alabama and North Carolina.--
The campaign of 1868 lost to the Con
federates the most of these advantages.
The movements of Rosecrans at Muir
freesboro, resulting in the retreat of Gen
Bragg, are then described, and are fol
lowed by an account Of the capture of
Vicksburg Due credit is given to Gen
Grant for the reduction of the place. It's
exceedingly strong natural and artificial
defences being enumerated, the move
ments and results of Gen Grants happy
idea of turning the place by the south"
are given. By these movements, as rap.
id as they were well executed, he succeed
ed not only in putting the Confederates
(Johnston's army out Of the field, but al
SO in establishing soldly his base of ope-
rations from Grand Gulf to the Yazoo riv-
er The final result of these stragetical
movements was ~the reduction of Vicks-
burg after an obstinate resistance"
:" In the month of May, Gen Hooker
decided to take the offensive. The plan
which he conceived appears irreproaclni-
BILE, and for time fortune seemed to smile
on him. lie passed the Rappahannoek
and menaced the rear of Lee, his cavalry
advanced to the James rver, and appear
ed one day before the ramparts Of Rich
mond. But the genius of General Lee
disconnected all his projects. The de-
feat of Hooker at Charlottesville is the
most handsome military exploit Of Lee,
The Confederate General has been re-
preached because he did not destroy the
army of his adversary, but permitted it TO
retire safe and sound beyond the Kappa
hammock, as he was reproached for not
having destroyed the army Of Burnside in
1862"
The critical remarks Of the Brcnch wri.
ter on the.campaigus of the Army Of the
Potomac, and on the conduct of the COM
mandcrs on both sides, are very interest
ing.
We should remark on this subject that
the Confederates have adopted, since the
commencement of the war, the defensive
system before Richmond and in front of
Washington The Confederate army has
always taken and will continue to hold an
expectant position, so that Richmond the
general centre of operations, may be al
ways safe; and if, as is probable, the Con-
federates make an invasion of the Federal
States, the bulk of Lees army will re-
main with arms in hand in face of the
Federal army Of the Potomac. If Gen.
Lee is blamable for not having followed
to the end of Hooker and Burnside, the
whole general system of war of the Con-
federates incurs the same reproach. 1t is
not the less true that fortune twice deliv-
cred the Federal army Of the Potomac
to the mercy of the Confederate General
and both times he allowed it to escape
The writer them gives history of tho
invasion which terminated so disastrously
for the Confederates at Gettysburg, and
traces the movements in the West result
ingin the retention of Knoxville and Chat
tanooga by the Northern armies In con-
clusion, he says:
"The year 1863 was, in 6ne, fatal to the
Confederate armies. The Federals cir
cumscribed and contracted more and more
the circle in which their adversaries were
enclosed, and the Confederaoy found it.
self cut in two by the loss of its grand
line of defence. The only point on which
the Federals obtained no advantage was
upon the Rappahannock, between Wash
ingtop and Richmond
-e>-<1r--<S--
BsA- The New York News, a. leading
Democratic paper, thus completely iustl-
ies the slaveholder's rebellien g No SEN
sible man can deny that the cause of the
1 Confederate States, in the present con.