Daily State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis, Ind.) 1861-1865, 1864-08-22

IA falls, it will entirely disarrange General Lees
plans 10 the east. and to extent that may even
result 10 the fall Of Richmond. But there is no
reason to believe that Atlanta will fall Candor
requires the admission TO be made that the plans
of the rebel leaders for the campaigns of this
year have been successful up to this time. These
plans. however, require not only that General
sherman be defeated At Atlanta. but also that il
be such defeat as will prevent bis army, any
part Of il. from being brought to the east to re-
inforce Gea. Grant. or to capture Richmond. or
to finish up the campaign in Virginia, or even to
help defend Washington from espture. or to pro
tect the North from invasion.
FALSE ASSURANCES OF rHK ADMINISTRATIONS.
The public have submitted, up to this time. TO
be bamboozled aud deceived by the official bull
letins of the War Department, and by the 81
lence which newspapers and newspaper CORES
pondents have been obliged to maintain, in re
gard TO affairs, both at Mobile and Atlanta. IN
the same manner as they have formerly been
deceived in regard to Charleston and Petersburg.
The public are now assured, and have been Tor
days past, that everything was going well at Mo
bile and Atlanta. and that both of these places
very soon would be in our possession. The
same assurances were made u the case of Pc
tersburg and Charleston; and there is more
truth in regard 10 Atlanta and Mobile than there
was in those respecting Charleston and Peters
burg. The truth is, that there is no more prob
ability that Mobile will be captured than there ia
Of the capture of Charleston.
sHERxAs's SPLENDID CAMPAIGN
La regard to Atlanta, when the truth comes to
be known concerning it. the deception that has
been practiced by the Administration will be seen
TO be of the grossest nature. Unfortunately for
Sherman, there ia too much reason TO fear that
the good fortune which has attended him on his
long and admirably conducted campaign will
desert him now; and this not from any fanlt of
his own, and not from any failure on the part OF
his gallant army On the contrary history will
record that there never was campaign in Amer
lea conducted with so much good Judgment and
wisdom on the part of a Ger ersl, and much
gallantry and steady endurance on the part of
soldiers, as that OF General Sherman against
Atlanta. The successive obstacles that he has
overcome have been tIiumphs OF which the
greatest General might be proud. The army
which he has defeated and driven back from one
strong position to another. is large and splen-
didly appointed one And. il this army were all
that he had to spntend against, he would be vic
torious to-day, and to-day his flag would floa,
over Atlanta.
POSITION
But here is the secret of our reverses in Geor-
gia General Sherman finds himself confronted
to day. not by Johnston's old army alone, not
by the reinforcements from the Mississippi valley
alone, but by large reinforcements sent to Gen.
Hood from Mobile. and by still stronger rein
forcements sent TO the rebel General from Vir-
ginia. This is the secret of the critical position
which General Sherman now occupies. The
overland campaign Of General Grant in Nav and
June required every spare division of the Union
troops 20 he sent TO Virginia The frightful
losses OF that overland campaign, and the subse-
quent heavy losses entaied upon as by the gross
blunder of the sixty days siege of Petersburg,
have required every regiment that could be found
anywhere to be sent to the east. Consequently,
the government has not been able 10 reinforce
General Sherman to any extent; and his
losses have been heavy and those losses have
not been repaired as they otherwise would have
been he is at this moment too weak TO accom-
plish the brilliant results that were 80 fondly
hoped for by all who had watched with admira-
ton the steady progress Of his campaign But
this IL not all.
RESULTS OF GRANTS CAMPAIGN AGAINST RICH
NoND.
The utter and hopeless failure Of Grants cam
pagn against Richmond, and his confessed in
ability TO accomplish anything al all, either
agans, THAT city or Petersburg, has liberated
from duty there the main body of Gen. Lees
army
paign show that the rebel leaders clearly fcre
saw this result, ss a necessary sequence of the
folly of making an overland campaign. and that
they wero prepared to take advantage of ii when
the proper time should come. IL is amazing
that the President, who has directed all the cam
paigus himself, should have remained blind to
this palpable fact SO long. which ought to have
been evident to him early az the goth or 25th
OF June, and which no wayfaring man, even
though fool, could close his eyes against after
the lst of July.
Our armies in the East, however, during tho
last two months, have been managed in such a
manner as directly to forward and advance the
rebel designs in the West; and the fruits of this
short-sghted policy now beginning to reap
at Atlanta. Nothing could accord better with
the plans of the rebels than to have Gen Grants
magnificent army to spend sixty days, in the
heat of the summer. before Petersburg and to
wind up the aimless performance with such
finale that of July 80. The consequences Of
this siege OF Petersburg are, that the capture OF
that city, and of Richmond, are further off now
than ever before; and that the main body of
General Lees army. dsdaning to stay there and
watch General Grant any longer, has gone to
Atlanta.
THE REBEL FORCES AT ATLANTA.
Ii is understood at Richmond that the main
features of the rebel campaigns for the next six
WEEKS are as lOllOWS. ne TeOel leauerS eStl-
mate Gen Shermans utmost force at 75, 0U0 men
and they doubt whether OF these, be bring
more than 65 900 electives into the field. Gen.
Hoods army consists of the two corps of Gene
rails Hardee and Polk, reinforced by Ii, 900 newly
raised recruits from Georgia, making his whole
army. including 10000 cavalry, 55. 900 strong
He has besides a reinforcement of 5000 troops
recently brought from the Mississippi valley, and
5000 recently brought from Mobile. Besides ell
these, he is now joined by body Of $4,000
troops from Gen Lees army, consisting of Long
streets whole corps and two divisions OF A L.
Hills corps. This makes the whole rebel force
at Atlanta little over 100 900 troops This is
the force with which the rebels hope TO defeat
Gen. Sherman and to save Atlanta.
REBEL PLANS FOR THE NEXT SIX WEEKS.
When. this is accomplished General Lee ex
poets TO bring his sixty thousand troops back to
Virginia, to take them TO Gordonsyie, and from
thence to advance toward the north. Ii
pected that Gen. Early, with the reinforcements
that have been sent TO him, will be able to keep
Cen Sheridan at bay at Gordonsville. even with
the large force at the command of the latter. and
even il Gen. Sheridan deems Il prudent to pur
sue Early q far that point. IL my informa
ton is correct there is little probability OF a bat
tie at any point north of that. General Early is
too good n soldier 10 risk the fate of the whole
campaign, and Gen Sheridan cannot force him
10 stop and fight He will stop when he reaches
Gordonsville. That place is strongly fortified,
and there General Early will be strong enough to
make stand and olive hattie General Lee Of