The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1864-09-26


MoNnAY MORNING So. SEPTEMBER %. 1864.
That w are arpro.ehinea very critical period Of
cur existence as q people Is certain Within enc
month fsom the prrscat time we shall once more BE-
a,eytsl 10 one ef those periodical trials to which
- have now become accustomed, and which have
,se., ~ oitcn repeated that they have lcst all
ts.ss ,er4ors The eneny isaboutto make anotheron-
slaught, with the sws-sold object Of crushing the
rsbsillono ana rc-eleeiing Abraham Lincoln. The
,asses il much tbs more important 81 the two; the
,sr,ner Ii but secondary, and designed to aid in
bringing about the latter The opening Of the
DRAMAS not very encouraging, we admit yet Il Il
quite as much Il was last spring, when jones
had been defeated, and Hunter, victorious and with
cut opposition, was making his way tfumphanuy
20 iyaeiburv. II is not on the TANKS OF our army
tast this matter is 10 be decided. Whatever may
napr>n there Is OF seccad-inte importance. !. 's
here, before Richmond and around Petersburg, th1'
the decision Ct the question is TO be made TOT
ourselves. wc entertain no doubt whatever of the
manner i'm which it will terminate We place he
ussuost confidence in the genius OF General Lee ana
The yalor of his unsivalcd army. We believe that
they win be again victorious, they were last sum
mer in crisis Gar periioas than this Bat they
.,ust have all the assistance that can be seat to
them, and tiis we doubt not they will have. Let
our friends, thcn possess their minds in peace and
place their firm reliance that Providence which
has so often shielded them from calamity when 1t
appeared ON the point of overwhelming them For
what bat the nterposition Of Providence could have
protected our causa.thus far against an enemy so
far exreIliu. US in numbers and in all the appll-
snccs OF wari
We are GLAD 10 see, at this critical moment, thai
sle spirit OF the people is high and defiant. Let
disaster come they prepared to bear it with for
ttaae Let triumph come, they will receive it with
moderation. Unlike the degenerate race beyond
the Potomac and the Ohio, they neither run mad
with exuttion ut every trifling success, nor sink
Into abject fear whenever defeated. Success and
defeat they bear with the same equanimity. Let
them be defeated Tomorrow; let Petersburg be
taken and Richmond RACED to the ground or con-
signed to the flames; still, they are as far from
being subjugatel as ever. They do not intend to
submit, lot their disasters be what they may.
But we have not the least fear that either of the
eatastrophes alluded to viii take place. As we have
already said we conde in General Lee and his gal.
LIANT army b, bring safely out, and we feel no ap-
prehensions of the issue. If Grant failed last May
with an army much larger than that which he has
now and every way its superior, We cannot sec any
reason why he should succeed now, when the bulk
Of his army is composed Of the very offscouring Of
mankind; the scum of all the nations; the refuse
Of the human race, substituted Tor the tens upon
tens of thousands of disciplined veterans that have
fallen since he took command. That the job he has
undertaken is a most difficult one, he himself makes
evident by his call for one hundred thousand fresh
troops after having already expended double that
number in the vain attempt to complete 1t. In all
modern history there is record Of any enterprise
against a single position having cost so much
Three hundred thousand tried their hands last sum-
mer. To these Grant now wishes to add one hun
men in a central position, an enterprising mon
areh who was likewise a good soldier, could over.
whelm any monarchy in continental Europe. Yet,
with an army of that size, the Yankees have been
thus far utterly unable to take this city, far less to
conquer Virginia
AS for the reverses of General Early in the Valley
that they serious inconvenience to us, will
not deny But we do deny that they are of such a
character that they should discourage create a
doubt as to ultimate success Even though tina:
ARMY were captured destroyed, and we feel no
apprehension upon either score, it would not decide
the question, as long as Lee was in the field and
had gallant army under his command That
army, at least, has fear of the issue, SO long
the life of their commander is preserved There is
NO instance in modern times of greater devotion to
chief than that which the Army of Northern
Virginia feel and profess to General Lee. They
believe that while he is with them they cannot be
beaten. They are proud of his high renown. They
know that the laurels which encircle his brow were
placed there by their ands and they will shed the
last drop of blood rather than suffer the impure
hands of mercenary leader of banditti- as
Grant, the tool of tyrant remorseless and as
careless Of humn life as himselfto tear them from
HIM Now, this is the feeling which renders soldiers
imvincible7which made the troops Of Hannibal
believe that victory was chained to his standard
and could not be divorced from (which enabled
Cesar to say, ON critical OCCASION when his army
murmured and refused to go forward in certain
expedition, If you will not 90, I will take the
Tenth Legion and go with them alone (which in
duced Wellington to estimate Bonapartess presence
on field Of battle as equal To ATTY thousand men,
No index of great commander IN so little liable to
mistake this capacity Of inspiring with conf
dence. As long as that army and that general ex-
ist the enemy will not only conquer the Con-
fsderacy but will not even enter this city con-
queror. Blood, it is true. must How like water; but
is blood shed in the hottest of causes every drop
OF which is sacred in the eyes Of whole people.
It is the general belief that this will BIO the Last
great trial Of the enemy-that if this fail he will
become tired of throwing army after army into this
yawning gulf OF ruin and death-that if he be
beaten now he win not repeat the experiment.
Whether it be not, think there is very little
doubt that the present onslaught is dictated by the
near approach a the election, and is, in effect an
effort What the result Of defeat
may be, we do not undertake to say hut that the
attempt to take Richmond viii be again defeated,
We no more doubt than We doubt our own existence.
John w. DAVIES & SONS.