Daily national Republican. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1862-1866, 1864-08-10

They are quarreling in the South about the
wisdom Of those raids across the Potomac In
which q part of Gen. Lees army has been en-.
gagged ever since Gen. Hunters army was
driven from before LynchburR. The Charles.
ton Mercury Is Of opinion that Early could have
done much better service in Georgia than in
Western Virginia; the Richmond Wing replies
that he did the most important and necessary y
work In defending Lynchburg. From this dis
cussion we can gather something OF the mill
tary necessities which rule the insurgent gen.
erals. The Richmond Wig says:
"If Early had gone to Georgia instead Of
Lynchburg, Hunter would have taken quiet pos
session Of that city, and would been have In a
position to cut edectually and remedilessly all
Lees communications. This done, nothing
short OF q miracle would have prevented the sue
cess Of Grants strategy. To save himself from
the necessity Of cApitulating, or moving of to-
wards the south and abandoning the Confeder-
ate capital and the State of Virginia, Lee
would have been compelled, while so weakened
as to be capable only Of defensive action, by
the absence Of Early's corps In Georgia-and
the Mercury much undertakes the strength oi
that corps-either 10 sally out from his own
works and attack Grant In his strong defences,
and rout and scatter his army, or to have de-
tached not less than twenty thousand more men
from his command, already heavily depleted by
EArly'B absence In Georgia, to drive Hunter
from Lynchburg, and keep him away. With
the force then LEFT to Lee, could he have re-
sisted an onset from the immense army oi
Grant, Possibly; but it would have been
madness TO have invited the risk OF 1t, II 1t
could be avoided. II Early had gone TO Georgia
there would have been no escape for Lee from
the necessity OF trying one or other of these
frightful experiments, by which he might have
lost his army as well as the capital, or other.
wise OF giving up the capital to save his army,
and with the capital the whole, virtually, of the
state Of Virginia"
To this the Charleston Mercury rejoins:
at appears 10 us clear that after Hunters
disastrous and rulnous retreat from Lynchburg
down the valley Of Virginia, instead of Gen.
Early, with his corps, being sent on a raid into
Maryland, II would have been far better to have
sent him 10 Georgia, TO fight one battle at least
at Atlanta, and to return to Virginia. This
been spared In Georgia as in Maryland, so far
as the safety ofRichmond Is concerned, Will c
the results might have been far different"
The meaning OF this is that Lee cannot spare
Early, and that Heod cannot beat Sherman
without Early's help. But that is not all. We
learn from this discussion how correct was the
plan OF Gen. Grant, which only failed through
sheridan's failure 70 unite with Hunter, and
now VLsily necessary to Lee 10 the possession
OF Lynchourg. We discover, too, that he can.
not spare any uoops from Virginia at present;
ana also we nave revealed to us the reason WhV
Eariy ana brecklnridge so rtnaciously hover
ABOUT the fotomae. II the Government would
put al' the troops In Maryland and Pennsylya.
hlA uuuer an onerBeuc commander, there Is
reason TO believe that he would be ,trong
enough 10 begin an offensive campaign m ths
Valley against Lynchburg, which would quickly
recall the rebels from the free stst.s and
might, with care and vigor, have a most i'm.
Portant, perhaps decisiYe, result upon I'M,
whole war In Nirginia.-N Y. RVe. Post.