Dodgeville chronicle. [volume] (Dodgeville, Wis.) 1862-current, 1864-01-28
The Vastness of our Operations.

Those who denounce the heads of the
Government as incompetent, "slow-
coaches" &C., will do well to scan the
heads of the different Departments just
published. While mistakes have been
committed, and errors of judgment have
occurred, it is safe to say that no men
have worked harder, or served the interests
of the country with more earnest and con-
scientious zeal The wonder is, not that
more has not been done, but that SO much
has been done, and done so well. The feel
ing with which we peruse these docu-
ments is one Of absolute amazement over
the vastness of the operations of the Gov
ernment during the past twelve months
The world has never witnessed anything
like it. All the wars that have preceded
the one now on our hands, shrink into in
significance in comparison. The campaigns
of Caesar and Napoleon appear Lllliputian
beside the one we have been conducting
during the past eighteen months.
Take, as sample, the operations of the
War Department Over twelve hundred
thousand men have been raised, armed,
clothed and equipped since the war broke
out Of this vast number, the draft has
produced fifty thousand j; while fifty thou
sand blacks have been put in the field dur
ing the past year OF cannon, small arms,
accoutremcnts, and equipments for men and
horses, and ammunition obtained during
the year, we have the following summary:
i, ,337 field, siege and sea coast cannon,
with carriages, caissons, and other imple-
ments 1882, ,S41 muskets and rifles for
foot soldiers 2S2,3e9 carbines and pistols
for mounted troons. l, ,295, 900 cannon balls
and shells; 40,7l9,052 pounds of lead
and lead bullets 1,435,046 cartridges
for artillery 259,o22,2l6 cartridges for
small arms 347, ,276,470 percussion caps !;
1926, 369 fraction primers. 5,764,769
pounds gunpowder 919,676 sets of accou-
trements for men; 94,679 sets Of accoutre
ments for cavalry horses 1921 sets of ar
tillery horses, each set for two horses.
What an exhibit and yet this is only a
small item in the grand sum total of the
operations of theWar Department during
the twelve months past.
The operations of the Naval Department
exhibit an equally amazing result AT the
beginning of the war the number Of effec
tive vessels did not exceed 40; while the
number of vessels within the immediate
reach of the Government did not exceed ten
In December, 1862, the number of vessels
had increased to 427 while during the
current year it has increased to 5oS-a UNI
Der, says the President, believed to exceed
that of any other power" The following
is more comprehensive summary of our
naval forces:
No. of No. of Ton
vessels guns. age.
Iron clad steamers, coast
lou oZ,1lS
Iron.cad steamers, inland SER
vice Ioz ZV,iof
Side wheel steamers. IZ40 I2h.5I7
Screw steamers. ers.................l9S oIS IS7 ,S92
Sailing vessels. 1923 9o256
Total.... 4,44o 49I ,o6l
The operations of our vast navy have
been commensurate with its magnitude
Three thousand miles of coast have been
effectively blockaded 8 feet has been de-
tailed in search of rebel pirates the usual
squadrons have been kept on distant seas,
while over thousand blockade runners
have been captured.
| No wonder the Rebellion is tottering un-
der the heavy blows we have delt it. No
wonder foreign powers are becoming every
day more friendly in their disposition to
wards u.s. -AIbany Journal.