The New York herald., 1864-12-22


states-rhs Collapse.
Hood Is utterly crushed, has lost all his
artillery, twenty thousand men, aud has TO
get his disorganized rout across swollen river
without bridges, and with an energetic and
victorious foe at his heels. Thomas is master
OF the whole country from Nashville to the
Gulf, between Macon and the Mississippi and
in eli that country it is not possible for the
rebels to raise or concentrate force that could
resist him for an hour. In Georgia Sherman is
now at the first OF o series Of operations that
will divide the rebel territory on the Atlantic
coast just as the opening of the Mississippi cut
the original oonfederacy in two. And to this
operation the rebel authorities are net able to
offer any resistance.
Sherman will capture Savannah and the men
that are in it. Then the enemy wiu have no
armed force in that part Of the country worthy
Of mention. Augusta will fall next, and no
defence Of 1t will be made. Sherman
will then hold the line Of the Sa-
vannah river. This stream takes its rise
in the mountains in the western extremity
of North Carolina, and, as it empties into the
Atlantic 1t crosses entirely the strip of plain
country that lies between the mountains aud
the sea, and forms q practical strategic line for
The separation Of the Gulf and Atlantic States.
From this line Sherman can operate for the
capture Of Charleston, Columbus, Raleigh or
any point between the Savannah and the
James, and can, in any other way necessary,
assist the operations against the rebel capital.
And while Sherman initiates this grand scheme
the Richmond rebels seeing it all, and knowing
that now is tho time to strike against it, are
utterly powerless to put any impediment in the
way Of the great soldier. They have not man
to hurl against Sherman, and can only look
on and groan AMI curse.
Admiral Porter goes meantime to close up,
apparently, rebel port, and, as there is but
one rebel port open, his destination is suff
cieutly obvious. We doubt not that he will
deprive the rebellion of the last harbor that
has enabled it to &c: supplies OF war materid
and to keep an army on foot by means of pur
chases in Europe. 1t can hardly be premature
to say that the last Enfield rife for the rebel
armies has been issued, and the last percussion
cap that the rebel ordnance officers will ever
get from England, Germany or France is now
in their hands.
Outside Of the trenches that protect Lees
army the confederacy has no military power
no army, no material Of which to make an
army, and no means to equip An army. Such
Is the military situation Of the confederacy
oA,o 10 nh 10 lork 80 %hc
lately boasted. And what does Lees army do
for it 1t holds Richmond city, eats its ra-
tions and stands still. The presence Of Grants
army controls 1t, and 1t stands still and looks
on, unable to interfere, while the fate Of the
confederacy is decided at other points. Vir-
ginia was the frontier line of the confederacy,
and that army held it. Meanwhile our armies
have gone round and conquered the country,
aud Lees army still stands there to defend the
frontier. The frontier is oil that is left, and
Lees army clings still tsaaciously to that
shadow.
Lees army has yet got to learn that there is
nothing left Of the confederaey but that froutiet
Strenuous efforts are made to keep it in igno.
rance. All the wild lies Of the Richmond
papers are told for that purpose. So are those
Of the Ne,os In this city. The remarkable
:alsehoods Of the latter sheet are printed pur-
posely that it may be circulated in Rich
mond and in Lees army, as 90 Northern
paper that says Hood has not been
beaten" But the army will learn the truth in
spite of all this, and 90 will Richmond and its
citizens. And when Lees army learns that
Hood has been snnihilated, and that Sherman
is in Georgia with sixty thousand men, and
when Richmond knows the result of the wild
goose chase on which Davis started Hood, the
reaction will be terrible against the rebellion,
and especially against Davis. The grand rebel
lion will collapse like big balloon with all
the gas let out at oace. So soon ss what is left
Of the Southern people and the Southern armies
come to know the real position of the confe6e-
racy, we shall see just what we see after our
eiections--it will be hard to find man on the
other side from that which wins. Our political
struggles are conducted earnestly on both
sides, and both sides are until the last moment,
perfectly confident OF success. But as soon as
the result is definitely known there is an instant
acquiescencs, and the minority is hardly heard
of again. 1t will be the same now So soon as
the people shall know all, and shall see that
we really have the power to put down resist
ance, resistance win cease, tho rank and file
will 60 away and 60 home, and the collapse
will leave nothing but the leaders, accusing
one another, and eager only to escape.
The Parting and Singular Meeting Of
Two Heraid War Correspondents.
As an evidence Of the rapdity of movement
and great military strategy Of Generals Sher-
man and Thomas in their late splendid achieve.
ments, as we'll as to illustrate the fidelity and
enterprise OF two OF the HERALD war cores