The daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1863-1864, 1864-06-28
IRON ETJARR
e. I'D ~ Should be taken,
3 What & fl1 e

= 80 III I'd Should be Taken,
What fllel7
Isl dftcn he Len5ss finss. atA-IA
Gen. Grant is not actually nearer Rich.
moh3 than Mcclellan has been he u, In
ALI probability, not 90 near at this minnte. =
after losing half sn arms, g Butler is; but
fSordh he ~, accomrlished gply thirty
miles ont Of the fifty, be has done TINS IN
spite Of the utmost resistanee which sns-
best army, and the best General of the Gen.
fedsr.tes eppQsS zig rs. . & ssss..j
Hsf4 sS8esS3 Npuises ahdaoSeS enough
to discodragex less Obstinate commander,
but he persists in disregarding thems and IN
pursuiag i1ig ceups st any cost The other
day, if hs sccopnts Of hs 6snkipg move.
ment be trne, he appears to have thought
that if he could but get to. Richmond ne
would be content to leave the whole Com
federate army in his rear, slough the re.
suit must have placed him between two
fires, with q strong city in front, and An ar
my as good as his own behind him. He
ssyS id plain words, but'withouti gasconAda
that to Richmond he will 60. He has
spent $4,000 of his men in getting half way,
but he does not haggls about cost. His ad-
sersary retires deliberately before him, ma
king preconcerted halts in chosen positions,
repulsing every assault, and then retiring
afresh. At this rate Lee will ultimately
find himself within the lines of Richmond,
and Grant before them.m Then what is to
happen2 s9i a'lil9 2"iieaic9gf Ca! ~
s fnstead Of specializing further on aques-
ton Involving so many uncertainties, Let US
seek information from another narrative
which has been rather excluded from the
notice it merits by the superior interest
attaching to the campaign IN sVirginis.-
Virginia has not yet been occupied BY the
Federals, but there lisa State of the Con-
federacy where an occupation of this char
acter has been established and matured IN
der circumstances more favorable to the in
vaders than would occur anywhere else =
Louisiana has been more or less in
the grasp of the North for some time.--
New Orleans fell early 10 the war. The
Mississippi and its tributaries, intersectlng
the State, have enabled the North to take
advantage to the utmost of its naval as
tendency. A. whole campaign was devoted
by Grant himself to the capture Of Vicks-
burg and the opening of the mighty river,
until at last the Federal gunbeass COM
manded the entire stream. Louisiana, in
short, was regarded as CONQUERED Gen.
Banks was appointed to govern the State,
and it was held to have recovered even it's
title to the Parliamentary franchise. The
capture of Richmond could do more--in-
deed, would not do half as much for the
conquest of Virginia as events had com.
biped to do for the conquest of Louisiana.
Well, in this conquered; Sta te, just two
months ago the Governor set out on an
expedition towsrds,a certain town within
his dominion. 1t tounds i'll for the tran
guilty of bis government to say that he
took with him on bis journey an army Of
SO, 900 men aDdaa strong force of gunboats.
1t sounds worse to say that even these for
ces have not saved him from complete
defeat in the field aud an ignominious re
treat. Yet sll this is' literally true. Banks,
within the limits of the State Under his
own command, has been beaten IN battle,
and forced to retreat how he can. In a
corner of his province there were rival au-
thorities rejecting his jurisdiction, and
owning allegiance to the Confederacy. 1t
was desirable to upset this rival Govern
nent, and, besides, it was believed that the
expedition might bring out large quantities
of the cotton supposed to be stored in those
parts. This exploit, if it could be achieved,
would urn the balance of trade in favor of
the United States, and this, again would
diminish the export of gold from New
York, and so relieve Mr.. Chase from por
ton of his embarrassments. . rs IS
With these objects, therefore, Gen.
Banks, having proclaimed rendezvous at
Alexandria on the Red River about the
end Of March, advanced on the 9Th Of April
from that town upon Shreveport, also on
the Red River, but at some distance up the
stream. He first fell into an ambuscade,
and lost upwards of ], 900 men; then retreat
ed, and sustained, with better fortune, q
regular attack; bnt in the end retreated
again, with the loss of 1900 or 5000 men,
twenty guns, and the whole of his trsin.-
uCu uio fClJ Nohopoie 70 WSio oVsoNhoui ouu
his gunboats could hardly protect them
Finally, the whole squadron was placed in
a position of the utmost peril, from which,
as we learn by the latest kilograms, they
sre only just now hoping to escape. Banks
himself is reported to have at last succeed
ed in reaching New Orleans. 1t was for
long time by no means certain that he, the
"Governor Of Louisiana" and the command
er of an army numbering almost as many
electives as Grants at Spottsylvania, had
not been taken prisoner in his own province
by Confederate force which was hardly
known to exist, Now, if this is the state
of things 10 Louisiana, what state of things
is to be expected in Virginia, even if Lee
should evacuate Richmond and leave the
city to Grant2 How are even "cohquered''i
provinces to be held if their "Governors"
fare like Banks2 Certainly, after such
forcible and timely illustration, we must
recognize the truth of President Davis's
saying, that, though Richmond might be
taken, the war could be continued for TWEEN.
ty years in the State of Virginia alone.