Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1864-05-27
4 Review

feat OF our armies, unless tlley see AZ
all times telpgraphic dispatches or
newspaper bulletins Of our continued
.succt IS. A weeks delay in obtaining
news from the front is all that is nee
cssary to transform them from their
tad pole condition to that Of q small
sized croaker. They expect Gener-
al to hHrl an adversary from strong
positions, defeat his army or put it to
ignominious rout in less time than a
squadron of cavalry would advance to
q charge. There ere no Generals ex-
tant who could equal the expectations
of such persons. For all such we feel
that it is a useless task to write. 70
those who have no depression because
Of the tapping Of a railway by q raid
ing party nor are unduly clatcd by o
minor success we wonld say, in an
swer to the question at the lead of
this article, that there is every reason
TO believe that we will win in the
present campaign. The campaign is
not Immediately confined, as regards
it's commencement, to tire Spring, of
which time it opened here, but may
be considered as begun in the series Of
movements made ia Texas, Mississip-
pi and Florida, all Of which had more
or less bearing on the impending strug-
gle in Virginia, being the mere move
ment Of pawns in the great game Of
chess to be played out on another part
of the board between stronger pieces,
to which these lesser ones but aided
the initiation. Let us take o recur-
sery view Of these movements The
movement in Texas met with disaster
and was forced to take new direction
into Louisiana and Arkansas, although
we have it distinctly stated that the
armies making the latter movemer.e
were positively ordered to reinforce
the army of Tennessee. In Wf,ssissip-
pi the forces under Sherr ian, with all
their parade and Dragging. failed to.
accomplish any thing further than the
destruction Ct few bridges and the
tearing up Of twenty five or thirty
n7nes Of railroad track, and hastily re-.
treated also to reinforce the army of
Tennessee. The expedition into Flor
ida was speedily repelled by the gal-.
liant Finnegan, being driven under the
protection Of their gunboats and Of
which only few are left in that State
the remainder coming to the east to
|engage in the great game there. Afa
ter laundering at the walls Of the de-
tested city, Charleston for such a
length of time with but little effect,
the men and ornaments Of that local
ity have also been Withdrawn to par
ticipate in their expected success.
Thus is it narrowed down to the two
great fields Of Georgia and Virginia,
the former Of which is now being used
by the enemy as distraction from
their grand aim-which involves the
destruction Of the army of Northern
Virginia, the seizure Of the capital end
ultimate overthrow of the Confedera-
cy. In our immediate proximity we
find that the contest is measurably
narrowing down to the conflict be-
tween the armies of Gems. Lee and
Grant. Ayerill and Crook essaying to
make movement on what might be
termed Gen. Lees extreme left flank
have been signally chastised by the re-
doubtable Morgan, the gallantJ enkins,
Jones, Jackson, French and McCaus-
land, while, Siegel, who tried the route
Of Banks in the Valley, came as near
being routed by the brave leaders off
the talley, Breckenridge and limbo
den, as did commissary Banks at the
hands Of the lamented StonewaIl jack
son. On the extreme right Butler,
reinforced by the forces from of
Charleston harbor and Florida, would
fam have reached the city Of Rich
fnond before his great superior Grant,
but unaocountably and unfortunately
found in his way the ever present and
invincible Beauregard, and, report
says, is endeavoring now to join his
superior with the remnant Of his de
noralized crew. Thus wesee that the
armies OF the North have rapidly con-
verged to the grand centre under
Grant, where they have already met a
s'lfiiciency of obstacles, as achnowl-
edged by their own rulers, to have de-
tered any save Grant, whose stub
bornness, for which he has been pro-
verbal for years, seems to have been
intensified by his desire to obtain pow.
er Ia the North, Of which the failure
to endeavor to proceed now would de-
stroy the last shadow of q hope.
He asserts that he Will fight 1t out
in the line he has selected if it takes
all summer, and we believe he will do
SO If he can muster the men sufficient.
Then to sum it up although, Aver
Ill and eigel may either attempt to
distract BY movements, which will
most surely be repelled, or Butler
may leave small force to annoy by
disturbing communications below
Richmond, yet the contest if decided
now must be done by the two great
armies in Virginia. With vast pre-
ponderance of numbers they have
failed most signally thus far, having
been defeated with immense loss
+ T. ~