Brownlow's Knoxville Whig, and rebel ventilator. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1863-1866, 1864-03-12


..ssh ksl.I Il 9Istshn. Il klefled isula Eprs
ilIIt and 1lDil4 Springs An ibfansfs 80
s.i'st.. eosISss al the l,ro eul.pa ef Iai1hat
afsf Hef fFenn nnslgf eeintliand ~ that
able ulI.eef. llrsl. NhefInaa, = eaaaf Mef
lsom Tlnhtisafa 4 s0an1iAea mnd nissl
nafal oxpsdltlsls 4 lAeylng fspiti Sew Or.
ieanA.
Tl.kre Is not The slighleet officially Ia ~.
sIasslan the.ol,Ieet n which the latter bFce
aaIins. III 4 M0hslp. Of roafss. The cavalry
eelamH + for grand raid tlsrough Msssis-
nlupi. AlAha0la ard 6eofgia But what ~
The object 81 Ellermaas ealnsanl
The llsst and saost Obvious answer to thc
aapati0ls 4, that Shefathus fusre h Alsosies.
flnesi for MohtIe but tbs query isninedi.I
Ately suggests itself why has Il taken up lis
march ID 4 dine eaeleFly dfreeliufs ainng The
s0atkern Mississippi fnilfoad, instead Of
dropping slewn the river aud E,yiiing q
junction with Hank fbsces : Il Is even q
question whether It would be possible FIR
Sherman TO lssake al overland march from
fiekshar9 10 Mobile -abent tltree hnRsired
miles, and II this BE anxsaerca n che affirm
alive, wG.Asv still Iiet with the puzsi;ng
! proposition that there i 10 adequate rv,tsoil
why he kfeaid undertake the predlgioas
difficulties of the march. !
shsrmau's corps undeahtcAly i not DIES.
tilted for Mnblis Where, then, is be goineR
A careful cxaminatioa OF q Qvod map with
out which military discussions sre uccessa-
riiy 50 mitch blind yer'biagcl should answer
this question. Let Us suppose that sher-
man continues his present eastcriy march.
fblluwing tho ilfIe ~ the Southern Alssis-
sippi railroad, which he puts IN working
/ order as he goes, and that he advances NJ
/ far ~ Meridian, enc hundred and f,ity
miles from Yicssburg. Suppose that while
this operation Is nnsleF way, Rfnks and
/ Farragdt strike q successful blow III Mobile.
I This accomplished, aud NE havp the i've
forces plapteslai strategic points OF the high
/ est Importance, aud eoines4cd hS the line
of the Mobile and ohiu railroad lf nov,
! from Meridian, Sherman 5sishes ON his tsd
vance still due eastward t,p Sclnti, .iln.. II
will he seen that the result Of those CON.
bined operations Is to giye Rs a'feginl uf
enormous Importance. straiegeiicRlly and
! materinlly-~n region whose possession, 10
: fact, wenld settle the fate of the rebellion.
The region into possession Of whitii We
shall come by the sRcccssful ISSUE Vt the ops.
ratios now on foot forms q grand strategic
triangle, whereof Meridian, Mobile, Selraa,
are the threc points. Its value Is thrcefold:
First, the great facility for intereommuniea-
: lion II presents sccsndly, the material val
/ ne OF the district OfeOuntry Of which IL ~,
sarcs Us possession; and, thirlly, the mill
! tary bearing of this region on the whole
theatre Of war. We eau do no more than
glance at these three points in succession.
And first, ct the communication, il Is 10
be said that no region ia ahe S0atlr il 80 al.
mirabiy situated beth naturally and artii-
J eiaily, rs that Just indicated For in the
FSlistFiet between Fieksbarg SELMA and Mo-
bile, we have no less than twu wafcr-bases
!, On the Mississippi and on the Calf; and
+ four lines of eommaBieation--Bame two
j railroads. and two rivers, From FiekxbaFg,
we hare the I'ne ef the Southern Mississip-
ri railroad from Mobile, Ne have the Mo-,
/ bile aud Ohio railroad, together with the
+. To,niigbce and Alabama rivers. Tho Tom
| blglee OPENS che State Of Mississippi ap 10
Columbus and abeFdecn; The Alabama
opens the State of Aiabama up 10 Selma.
Montgomery and begond. These points
will all be held and made powerfully fhrti-
fed deposs of supply. They will f6rsn pre-
eisely tlsc secondary base Cen Grant must
have III an advance into the Gulf States
The material importance of the region
arises from the fact that its river bottolns
form the richest Gotten district in the South.
and il Is there, also, that the mnss of the
distribution Of the slave population shows
It's darkest hue.
i We now come 10 the strategic bearings Of
the region in It's relations with the present
disposition Of the rebel farecs iH the South
west The value Of t. In this virw, cannot
be ovcrestimated First OF all, il win give
as the grand secondary line Of rebel COIL
J munieations. With the possession Of Chat
tanooga and Knoxville, we tapped the first
4 Of these Tines, aud tho confession of the
rebels themselves show how terribly this
cIsbarasscs them. Well, we shall now seize
the only remaining line. In the next place,
j, must galloway a considerable portion. ut
least, of the rebel army from Grants front,
and enable him 20 advance.
Supplies viii soon be accumulated to make
, this possible, hut finally, and Must haIor-
tant Of all Il anticipates the relels In the
possession of The oslly rcsnaihlag line Ut do
fence which II was possible for the rebels 10
take up, when Grant shanid once advance
from Chattanooga. Military men have long
recognized, that IL the rebels were once
. turned ut Atlanta, the line Of the Tombigeee
was the only available position icit them.--
The other line leads directly into n eaf he ser,
ending in Florida, IL therefore, the pres.
ent movement Is snceessial. il eihtches this
single position at which the rebels could
| have hoped to make any prairaeted stais'l
Il We diaefrn IN these moves thc marks III
. q bold, brilliant. original conception, Their
very initiation must utterly discomfort all
the rebel plahs Of invakion isrsthe Vest
There Is very little doubt that, as their A,st
/. result, we shall hear Of Johasson's prompt
retreat to AtlaRta.-F. Y 7aacs
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The Rseaped CnIen elIleers.