The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1864-07-15
REVIEW OF THE REBEL RAID.

WASHINGTON, July l3.-The siege Of Wash
ing on not quite rs long In duration - the sieye
Of Troy, and hardly as glorious rs Derry or Sara
gossa, has been at lspg raised. and there is now
n restoration of communication with you of tho
outside world, whose fears and anNioues regard
ing the fate of the capital we have been able 10
imagine. This morning IL was found that the
enemy had Withdrawn from in front of the d.
ftnses OF Washington, and though they still
show pickcts at BladCnsOUrg and on the raj road
there is good reason 10 believe thai the main
a.. force is marching towards The Potomac 20 m axe
good heir retreat with all th loot tina, u week OF
uninterrupted plunder has afforded them
II.
II s too carly yet FOR us to make up our minds
whether we ought TO laugh over the denouemcut
Of an affair more farcical tnan tragcal, whether
We should feel deyout thuukiuluess for n great
1deliyerance. There Is enough that is drOll to
justify the, former, we're it not checked by tire
reflection of how much there is mortifyiug aud
Illuminating in the circumstances Of this Rebel
raid.
A great army is planted before the lines of
Petersburg, where the vital interests of the war
ceutrei but the Rebels, bya movement of match.
less DoldDess, are able for time To transfer the
seat of war 10 the north OF the Potomac, are per
mitted TO roam through and rayage u loyal STATE,
/. and are able finally 70 throw the capital of the
nation INTO siege, aad inspire Others than the
faint-hearted with fears and fOrebOdings for its
. safety.
Now that It is over, one can speak with more
freedom than wss errwhile allowable, and heuCe
It Is nor improper to confess that Washington
has, for two or three days pdst been more really
"ihyesitd" than Richmond ever has been. 1t is
true the PO'Omac river, great natural ue OF
Conmuhicat Oil, has been open to Us; but our
direct uBd customary Communications with tue
/ orth ind West bave been ana now remain
NtNered; and this not merely by the dam lge done
by the II ountod raiders, but by the fact that the
en' my placed hmself on our communications
which, believe, is mole than General Grant has
y I done 18th respect OF the communications OF
RiatmoEd.
Never ye', in all their nvasions, have the
Rebels attempted anything 81 bold ; and although
there can Ire no douDE that Washington has De-
fore been in far more real danger of capture than
lat any time during tnis late affair, yet never be-
fore have the Rebels been able TO make the ca 1i-
tai seem 10 be in 50 much danger; aud for the
first time they have won the echqt, whatever this
may be worth, of an actual investment of the de-
fcEses OF Washington. Cheap glory, but they will
NO doubt, make tue most OF it.
Three opportunities the Rebels have had OF cap
: turing Washington; the first was Immediately
Rfer Bull Run, the second was after the defeat
OF Pope, and the third Is the present occasion.
But The latter they st before even they re tchei
the front of Washington. Hat tney Concentrated
Ann arChId directly ON Washington, without
waiting lUr plunder, there is telling what
might have been the result of Il vigorous blow;
but when they arrived 1t WAS too late. Wash
nPtOu was safe, only in its circle of fJrtidca
tions, but IN the veteran defenders who stood
behind them,
But this, and all other questions arising out OF
the raid, Cepend for Their determination on the
one capital point 10 the dcsigu of the Rebels in
she movement into MARY lAnl. Aud this aglin re-
duc,s Itself 20 a single alternative Had the in
YAsi, strictly military ain, or WAS IL under
tsRen Tor TIE purpose uf puuder, together with
such in,idCntal military advantages as might be
gained Although from present appearances,
th,Ie is very liule 10 indicate that the Rebels eas
teiiaiued the former design, aud nm lst every
thing to INDICATE tnat they limited theiramDiti)n
10 tie latter, yet There WAS much, even rs late
yesterday, 10 lead 70 the conclusion thar they
were aiming az nothing shout OF a tr1ustcr of tue
wer 20 tie sO OF the 10y N States, and tie cap.
ture o. IT, capital. The force 10 May lIud WAS
estimated even by military heads, nc nothing less
than thity thousand mrn, while it wa, asserted
Lbat anoher column, clu,i,tlng OF the wl1le of
Longsheets Corps, was o. Us way from Cor
doLsyii.e. This view OF the m tier wa taken by
the Washington S'1r Of NJ day when lhaJ
I5al er made he following declaration
w The Ryool Amy I. iA ioGm%ehvd down the valley,
inHage, kansoa lnb,dcr, ua Ne 'lu,ia1i ~ ,,.r5 I
ha,es 20 ON trc Oe Arnv Invasion, ~ purpose
fthit ann, was an 9t"m"t az tns couture IT Wlsluy
pslred, ana running from lchm9ud to sauntan.r
The theory Of column Of Renel reinforce
mcuis moving up from Gorulonsville seemed
mort over, to acquire the weight of fact by the
testimony Of a Union scout who yesterday
ayerTed 10 Secretary Stanton thai he had the
r previous night slept IN LOngstreet's Clmp and
that his forces were eucampod near NJ tnlssas
Junction.
Now if these estimates could be taken as re-
il bic, they would seem 20 Indicate on the part
a OF Lee, the most serious designs. It was rsck-
oned that there were already in Maryland tle
comm and Of BrecHinridge (two dyisions) the
whole OF Ewel's old corps under command of
General Early, while nc least two br.gades OF
HIS corps were understood TO have been with
dawn nom Grants front more than fortnight
before.
These with the superaddition OF LongstreoPs
command would constitute a force much too
formidable for a mere raiding party, while it
would be fair 10 iufer that the detachment of so
large portion OF Lees army from In front Of the
Union force would indicate q purpose on the part
OF the Rebel General Of giving up PETERSBURG
and even Richmond.
n am one Of those who have always held the
|, opinion that when the worst came 20 the worst
with LeC-when he should feel It impossible
Y much longer 10 hold on 20 RchmOnd-he would
play The last remaining card-attempt 20 eX-
change the Rebel capital for the capital Of the
UT ted States And though il has generally been
fpted that movement on Washington by the
II lels, with the Union army observing them so
cl sely as II now does would be nothing short Of
mddhess, and must result in their utter destruC-
tlon yet the success that has attended the present
invading coUinn, the secrecy with which the
movement was conducted, aud their nearness TO
cuIehlng even the highest prize itself, suggest
the prudence Of modifying somewhat the GER
tAihy or The dictuR that the Rebels never could
J .moIt on Washington with the Union army watch
ing them.