, 1864-06-01
FROM VIRGINIA.,
A Rebel View Of Grants
Change Of Base.
An Ingenious Covering Up
Of Disaster.

An Ingenious Covering Up
Of Disaster.
ITrom the Richmond Examiner, May al
The intelligence already published Is con-
11ned In the most complete manner. The
chief army OF the enemy has abandoned Its
case on The Rapidan and upper Rappahan.
mock and established a new Rource of supply
on the lower waters Of the last named river,
at Pcrt Royal and Rappahannoek. His troops
are masaed In the country between tie Mat
tapon5 and the lower KappnhRnnock. His
front is ut Milford and the Bowling Green.
necessary corresponding change In the po-
6ition ofGen. Lee After ascert aiming that
no enemy was left to fight in Spottsy lyania.
he has come down the line he has held with
euccese from the first, and aeain planted
biuse1f between Grant and Richmond, near
Hanover Junction.
The Northern journals certainly do keep
up their game wonderfully well, though they
make no quotations OF gold. They persist
to the last In the noisy lie, the fagrant i'm.
posture, the. palpable sophism. the vulgar
boast demanded by their master at Wash
ingtop, With unabated vigor and perttnacity,
thoughthey do not quote the price OF gold.
they will, Of course, raise the yell Of triumph
louder than ever. The retreat of Lee-the
flight of the confede1ates! Have they not
abandoned Spottsylrania Court House? Is
not The junction twenty miles nearer Rich
nond? What an amonnt of gaseous non
expended on these themes 1t is irritating to
think Of The turn they will give to tho facts;
bnt we cannot help It. and can afford to des-
piEe what can do no earthly harm. We sup
pose Tint people hare sense In New York
and London as elsewhere, aud 1t will be diff
icult to make them believe that the Confed-
crate army is flying When it moves from q
position which Its adversary has abandoned
to place Itself full before him across the new
road on which he has determined to travel
When General Lee moves his army after
lost battle, for the purpose Of getting array
from his antagonist, because he tinds himself
unable to maintain q struggle Of brute force,
With him, he will have retfeated. But If either
party has done that, 1t is certainly Grant-
Lee followed him from the Wilderness; he
ls now the last 10 move, and is pursuer, not
pursued, from SpottsJ sJlyania. It ia true that
BY both movements these armies have been
brought nearer to Richmond; but for Lee 1t
Of The soil and the lines Of those rivers which
he had resolved to defend. They have their
sources remote from the city, approach It in
their course, md empty their waters in the
ueighboring York. But for Grant 1t was
choice. He Is where he now is because he
Guu4u uUL pA65 QfEl Lie IUAA u Lis ulhL AQA
second choice. He might have come to
Spottsylrania hy travelling along the straight
road from Washington to Fredericksburg
through Stafford, Without firing Shot OF
Losing man. He might hare arrived at
Milford and Bow ling Green from Port Royal
or Tappahannock without the slaughter of
bis troops in the Wilderness OF at the Court
House. he might hare come still nearer.
He might have come to tho Piping Tree,
within eleven miles Of Richmond, without
IN engagement with Gen. Lee. he might
have come up The Peninsula. perhaps, to
Fdir Oaks, and Joined hands With Butler on
the south side, Us some still expect him to
do, and this he sill doubtless proclaim, in
the end, to hare been the object of ali his
circuitols rsute. By each Of these ways of
advance be would have brought Gen. Lee
from the Rapidan nearer to Richmond. He
did not takc them, because there were dam
gers ind defects. IIc preferred the first and
the fourth. That he abandoned, after trial,
the two 6rst, il due to TWO clear defeats In
battle.
So far from losing ground Lee has -gaincd
manifest advantages br each change OF the
lince. 1t is easier to defend that portion OF
that which Fas removed from It. He Is far
better situated now than at Spottsylvania
Court House, and that WIS better than the
Wilderness. In either place his supplies,
stores and reinforcemcnts had to come up
from Richmond. The country has been long
since scared and beaten into desert By tho
d1uws and tranplleSs Of three invaslops.
Of redmud were always intcrposed By every
shower. His cavalry is nervously defective,
and htA nlHays proven inefficient to protect
his Communication at those moments Which
they we're most needed. While operating On
the lower river all of these troubles are over
fzHT f.sH rx3x III. L. n
roads can no longer be severed with 1mpuni-
ty. The difficulties under which he has 1a-
bored are transferred to the score OF the one.
NY. Perhaps q conviction that It would be
SO 1as the reason which made Grant prefer
to encounter Lee in the Wilderness, instead
Of coming straight to Milford.
Considering the wnolc faeta we think the
time has come when Confederates may ex-
chunge congratulations. No rejecting man
can doubt that the general situation Is very
much Improved since the day when Grant
crossed the Kapidan and Butler landed at
Bermuda Hundred. That was indeed critf-
cal moment The Confederate government
against Richmond. It Has half convinced OF
its reslity. But it was only half belief; an
idea rather theoretical than practical. It
was just enough moved to render 1t
active in recruiting the divisions which
Lee had With him on the Rapidan. It
WED u1k et HAkbNEA "a LII kEutX III ~ co.
lect all the divisions Of Lees army In their
1 place, or even in tho State. IT made no nn-
usual collection of material in Virginia But
| throughout the winter the enemy marched
| up bis mtn from every quarter of the United
| States to the outer lines Of Virginia. Fully
! determined to make the bl6w decisive he
| eTafed no cost Or mcans-acted without re-
gusl to further campaigns. Uninterrupted
by any disturbing cause, he placed his aruics
in positions whence they could be brought
upon vital points of attack IN few hours
| Of movement. When all was quite ready,
md The roads entirely dry, tho signal WIS
| given. and the two masses Of destructive
! material struck us, warned, but Ill prepared,
| ct the same instant, That was indeed crit
| ical moment. But the ship had m original
! strength EMF c1ent to stand the shock. Lees
! thin army beat the chief force of the enemy
| in The Wilderness; the second blow was
| dcadencd by the fortifcations near Drury,
| Every momeDl since elapsed has been gain
| TO us. Time was all VIC wanted to bring up
Beauregard, and We got time. when he
| forced the enemy from his tntrenchments
| and reopeDed Communications, and when
| Lee bad given final answer to the question
| whether be was able to stand up agliust the
| full weight Of Grant, the chief danger, the
| danger OF being cruAhed under the rush of an
avalanche, ceased to exist. It is true that
| tie chance Of battle may yet some day fall
| against us; but 1t Is certninly far less proba.
| bic Tow than then; and therefore, we thlnk
| there is convincing, solid reason to believe
! that the military situation ut this moment ie
| much more favorable to us than when Graut
! III Rav