Daily Ohio statesman. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1855-1870, 1864-06-18
Late and Important from Richmond.

Surprise Of General Lee az Generah
Grants NIOvement---FEis Army too
much Reduccd TO Fight In AN Open
Fight.-TremuIous Opinions In Rich.
mond Concerning the PrOspect--The
Evacuation of the City Considered
military Necessity.
Correspondents Of The World.l
WASHINGTON, June IA.
The last private advices received from
Richmond represent General Lee as hdrtng
been completely taken by surprise By the aaove-
Daent of the Uaion forces tOicdrd the jones
an eveat for scliclhhe scas in no toays prepared.
His hope was that General Grant would re-
main on the ChickahOminy, and direct all
his efforts in that direction. This sudden
change of base having upset all the calcu,
lations ofthe rebel leader, he has been forced
to give up all his preparations, and to trans
pose his system of defense elsewhere.
This explains why our troops have been
enabled to change their base without any
opposition, and to march almost withih
| sight of the rebels without any attempt on
their part to hinder their advance. A'aoth-
ei reason mare patent get, Is that their forces are
so nnch reduced By the rdrfous 6dtttes IN icf'ch
they hare been engaged, hat they can hardlg a.
| ford at present to fght IN the open fetd. They
must necessarily have a line of rifle pits
in front of them before they venture to fire.
This has been strikingly illustrated in the
present advance of our own troops through
Bottom land and the Long Bridge, an op-
Grafton which it was in the power OF GeI-
eral Lee to protract had he been strong ana
wise enough to do it.
Since General Grant has safely reached
the James, the impression in Richmond Is
that he will build strongly intrenched
camp on the shore of the river or perhaps
avail himself of that already prepared by
| General Butler, and march from that point IN
the direction of Fort Darling aehich 70 Is his
intention, they say 10 tuke By storm, Once IN
possession of that fort he will advance on
Petersburg and proceed from that city, in
the vicinity of which General Lee is likely
to give him battle, straightforward to Rich
mOnd.
The uneasiness of the rebels is not, how
ever. caused so much by the fear of having
a battle, as By the apprehension Of seeing all the
communications connecting Richmond acth the
interior cm and destroyed. They know
well that their cavalry is incapable OF
competing with ours, and to protect
efficiently the roads through which
they draw their men, their supplies,
and their ammunition; and that their capi-
tai may, at any moment, be insulated and
| deprived OF the means Dy WHICH III has Deeli
hitherto enabled to resist
This is one of the most perpleXing pros
poets of the rebels, one which they are now
discussing with that earnestness and glow
of feeling which they bring in all their dis
cussions. Many are of the opinion that if
| General Grant succeeds in completely sew
ering Richmond from all its lines of COM
munication, the evacuation Of that city becomes
a military necessity aohichi is imp0sstdteJor all
the forces of the Contederacy united, TO precent.
In other ecordS, Richmond deprtred Of prouts-
ions and ammunition Of aoar, Riclmond isotd-
ted and INFESTED, cannot stand thirty days and
must be euacuated. Thisis the gloomy conclus-
ion to which the rebels have arrived since
the transfer of our troops from the Chick
ahominy. AT the same time, Richmond,
represented by some writers as being well
stocked with all kinds of grain, has hardly
enough to subsist two months to come, and
the inhabitants are now waiting for the new
avenues to replenish their exhausted gran
aries, O circumstance which makes still
more probable the fall of that city, and the
complete success of the expedition under
command of General Grant.