The daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1863-1864, 1864-03-25
What MIR. LincOln'sriRFesinosi
tiaI schemes Cost the Nation

The revelations which have Just been
made touching the recent unfortunate f.
male of the grand campaignriRthaISgEh
west are another instance1 10f, ,h6F htsl have
been the political aspirations Of Mf IfAcolu
to the conduct of the war for the Union. It
now appears that the csmpaigpa whieh had
been planned by General Grant, and which
required for its success operating move
ments by, Generals Thomas, Sshofeld,
Smith, Sherman, Banks and Admiral Far
ragut, was spoiled because Of the election
which was being held in Louisiana during
the progress of the various aimoVemehts. In
our New Orleans correspondence, published
Yesterday, aud the extracts We published
from the Mobile ne wspaPsrs, twill be seen
that an important part Of the programme
was the marching of General IBSnks Army
to the rear Of Mobile, with view itoSeap
ture that city in conjunction with Admiral
Farragut's shelling from his mortars and
punboats. 1t was also expected thstl Sthis
movement of General Banks would distract
the rebel forces still nrther, and make
General Sherman's progress toward Selma,
his objective point, comparatively easy
Generals Scho6eld, Thomas, Sherman and
Admiral Farragut each performed thspart
allotted to them skillfully and we'll. Gen
Smith did not do so web, owing to bis dill
atoriness, and his allowing Forrest with his
twenty-four hundred men to drive back his
eight or nine thousand. But the chief
trouble was with General Banks Instead
of marching to the rear of Mobile and cap.
turing it, as the newspapers Of that city
now admit he could have done, he was com
pelled to keep his army in Louisiana during
the election in order to forward Mr..
Lincoln's presidential schemes. a,Of this
there can now be very little doubt Il is
true, Mr.. Lincoln has succeeded, He has
restored Arkansas and Louisiana alter q
fashion, to help his fortunes in the June
convention by an array OF bogus delegates
from these two states and perhaps, though
the military machinery now in play, he may
succeed, should he be candidate, in Sc.
curing their electoral votes also. But at
what cost? But for Banks compulsory
inaction, Mobile would have fallen Selma
would have been captured, and probably
retained permanently in our possession !;
the Alabama and Tombigbee rivers would
by this time be patrolled by Union guns
boats Alabama and Mississippi would
have been severed from the confederacy,
while an Union srmy in the heart Of the
Gulf states would have been in . position
to outflank Atlanta. That these were the
designs of Gen. Grant. who projected the
campaign in the Southwest, is very clear
from the articles which " ere published IN
the Times and the other administration
papers whea General Sherman's expedition
set out. General Grant unfortunately for
got the political situation in providing for
the military, and hence the cooperating
movement of Ban6's, column, upon which
he depended, was stopped; in its, career 76y
the political necessities Of Mr.. Lincoln. so
we go thousand men slaughtered in
Florida to give Mr.. Lincoln three electoral
votes great campaign lost in the South
west to advance a weak Presidents politi-
cal spirations.-World.