Prescott journal. [volume] (Prescott, Wis.) 1861-1871, 1864-08-06
A Rebel View of the Situation.

couraging, to claim that the present campaign
was not meeting with any considerable sue
cess, to croak about the hopelessness of
crushing the rebellion, and to laud the Gen.
erals and statesmen on the rebel side as far
superior to our own, and to extol their re-
our own. We find many Union men influence
ed by their croakings and grumblings and
half inclined to take similar view.
The Augusta, Georgia, ConStitutionaliSt re-
Gently published an article which would be
good reading for such folks if we could find
room for it. We are unable to do more than
give few extracts fgT
The editor thinks while the secesh are
amused at the non-fulfllment of Yankee
boasts, and g On to Richmond is by-word
for children, it is well to inquire how they
look to the world and TO themselves. He
says:
The magnificent army of Sherman, has,
without loss and without battle, forced back
| one of our best armies, under tavorite Gen.
eral, and if he only had intended raid, the
destruction of the vast agricultural interests
of the granary of our State, is a loss which
we are i'll prepared to endure, and totally I'M
prepared to retrieve. The evil is, first, the
withdrawal from market of the essential food;
| second, the increase of population caused by
| refugees, which makes an increased demand
on the producing capacity of the State third,
the increased prices which tend to depreci-
ate the currency, which cannot bear another
one-third reputation. Then if it be more
than raid, and Sherman holds his front by
| Notifications, and his rear by guards, it is an
| actual loss of empire. Therefore, with harm
| actually done, and with Atlanta, and the
great railroad interests involved in the fate
| of battle that Sherman may or may not
brisk, is it wise to tell our people that the in
vasion of our State is but a "Stupid blum
| del" of the enemy?
The Georgia editor thinks the idea is ridic-
ulous that JOHNSTON has been drawing SHER-
MAN into trap. He says
We once had some experience with an old
rat that always sprung the steel-trap from
the aaader side, and always took off the bait
and never got caught. The Yankees have a
peculiar facility of marching into traps and
staying there. Our only commentary upon
such writing is, that such traps as half a
| State, and the best half at that are so ex-
| pensive as to perhaps awaken smiles in the
| North and in Europe, when we boast of them.
We presume now that SHERMAN has reach
ed Atlanta, JOHNSTON has been superseded,
and HOOP whipped, the editor has a worse
| opinion of "traps" than ever
He thinks the facts about GRANT sufficient
ly far from amusing. He says:
| Since Grant crossed the Rapidan and flank
/ ed Lee, two things have been demonstrated,
and both are serious.
First, that the army of the Union is so
large and powerful that the usual military
axiom, Thanking is more dangerous to the
tanker than the fanked," does not apply
The strategy of Grant, which consists in
simply Withdrawing one wing at a time be
hind the impregnable masses of the centre
and other wing, would be fraught with peri
were that remaining wing contracted enough
to be enveloped, or weak enough to be brok
en-, but it is perfectly safe as it is. There
fore he is at liberty to play tricks in plain
sight and without peril, simply because he i:
too big to catch Consequently, there i.
danger that one not seen or foiled at exactly
the right time may catch us. Such a result
| would not be destruction to our army, for Lee
also is too big to hold, but it might do u:
harm.
The second danger is of the siege of Rich
mond. Some of our cOtemporaries and the
most of correspondents, laugh at this; and
yet Grant has it in his power to besiege the
capital, or force an attack on himself, Oh
force an evacuation of Richmond. In Grants
moving upon the South of Richmond anG
threatening James river near the city, Gen
Lee has choice of two evils. If he keep:
ahead of Grant and holds the Petersburg line
Ia,
him and Richmond, and walks into the city al
his leisure. If Lee keeps between Rich
mond and Grant, the latter of course gets be
tween him and the Southern States commu
nication, and cuts off the only source of sup
ply now left, as the valley of Virginia is in
the hands of the enemy. If Lee wants tC
save Petersburg and Richmond both, ne will
have to attack Grant in one of his craw-fisl
movements, and will have to attack that DO
sition and intrenchments which the grand
spade-and-pick army never exists hour with
out. e
The editor thinks that by rendering West
ern Virginia and the Shenandoah Valley un
available for provisions and putting our army
across the railroads south of Richmond the
starvation of siege is just as effectually Sc
cured as if an army could be found larg,
enough to surround the legions of LEE al
GRANT did PEMBERToN at Vicksburg.
We conclude our extracts with the follow
ing:
We lose Richmond if we hold the Weldon
and Danville railroads; we lose the railroads
if we save Richmond, or we attack Grant il
his mighty trenches if we try to save both
1t is true that Gen. Beauregard could still
keep south of Grant, and prevent raids into
Carolina; but could not keep him from stop
ping the roads south, unless he has enough
men to attack Grant in reverse, and place
MIN between two fires. We hope Grant
thinks he has. This is game with no posi-
BILE hindrance, perfectly plain to every such
unmilitary comprehension as our own, and
we respectfully submit that there is no fur
in it. .....-..
The writer is aware from personal Observa-
ton that there is personal popularity and
enthusiastic devotion to Grant among his
soldiers, not equalled by anything ever seen
in that army before-nor surpassed in the
army of Lee; and very much like the love
of the Old Guard for Napoleon. Therefore
he can flank and fight for some time yet be-
fore they get tired of it.
These are facts, and plain as they are, it is
not in good sense to talk of the trap that
Sherman occupies, or of the bull-headed
Grant, butting his brains out against the ram
parts of Richmond .fs
When the supplies of Sherman are cut off,
as we trust they will be, and the great raider
of Mississippi broken in battle or starved
| out, begins a disastrous retreat over the
country himself has devastated; when John
| .+o,, tbuDr1arc his dx;rc, ,ao~ 81 49,