The Burlington weekly hawk-eye. [volume] (Burlington [Iowa]) 1860-1876, 1864-09-17

a OANG, 1000
what the Rebels were Calculating
! s uDon In Georgia.
sHERMAN's LAST CARD.
| Sherman now holds the last card in his
possession, and must either win that or b
| jgnominiously beaten. 1t would be mad
ness for him to retreat without battle, and
we believe that one will undoubtedly take
place before many days. It cannot ceeva-
ded much longer, for the position of both
armies Is such that an advance on the one
side or the other is now imminent. Unless
Sherman flings his right wing on our left
flank, Hood win be able 70 maintain de-
fensivo attitude for some days longer, but
his adversary cannot afford Il. The grand
chess-board Of operations DEVELOPS the
fact that Sherman is check mated and runs
. great risk Of annihilation.a He must now
play boldly and fearlessly, witE the hopO
Of achieving decisive victory. A tempo.
rary success will only render his position
the more precarious, for it will have weak
ened his army toaa considerable degree.
1einforcements. He now holds In hts hands
single card; IL II q good one, but his ad-
versary holds the best. Nevertheless he IL
forced 70 play It, and to play It must BE- 70
Viewing the two armies in their present
position, We will see the gravity Of the sit
uation IN its plainest aspect. Our forces
strength 5a front Of tie main defences Of
atlanta, which have never been used BY
Our army. The breastw0rks must be
st0rmed by the enemy, who cannot do il
without fearful sacrifice of life. After
this they viii have achieved barren VIC
the entrenchnnents Of Atlanta, that IL, tho
entrenchments proper, which are 80 con-
structed that formidable forts cross their
fires on both sides. But IL may be said
that the enemy can flank our outer defen-
ses, and force us from them with compare
lively small loss. The only way he can do
thi: is BY long and circuitous route,
In worse position. We do not believe he
will attempt any flank movement: his en-
deavOr will be to carry our works bv direct
assault, and TO do this be must mass HI
forces at some particular point on our line.
and break through by sheer force Of num-
bers. 8 Enn 7a11. -T..
In June last Sherman did the yery iden-
tical thing at kenesAw Mountain. He
massed four corps In front Of Cheatham's
and Cleburne's lines, and hurled them on,
eight successive times.i So near did they
come mp 70 our works that two stands or
their colors were actually planted on the
lntrenchments; but the result was de-
cided success for m; the enemy were ~
pulsed with fearful slaughter. q was Of.
fcially acknowledged by Sherman him.
SELF While the enlargement was progress
ing, many Of our officers waited with Inn.
patience for General Johnston 20 give an
order for the advance Of our wings against
the enemy, who had materially weakened
their wings to mass on the center. Tho
order was not given, and thus IN opportp-
nifty was lost. It cannot be expected that
II Sherman attempts the same move b6.
fore Atlanta, the other portions Of his line
will be permitted to remain in quietude
extent OF our works. We have no doub1
but that General Hood would promptly
throw forward his troops on the weakened
line Of the enemy,w while that portion Of onrs
works assailed remains firm. lAas sssa
Notwithstanding these DISADVANTAGES.
Sherman's only recourse is in battle.L
Wheeler is in his rear with eight thousand
cavalry, and il is more than probable that
Morgan is in Middle Tennessee, Destroy
ing the railroad between Nashville and
Chattanooga. His superiority in numbers
is 20 reduced that he can not prudentlv
send of . division Of infantry to drive or
Wheeler, while his cavalry are not strong
enough in numbers nor in morale to sue
cessfully compete with ours. he Il thus
cut off from all comm nunication and rein-
forcement, and is reduced 10 the alterna-
tves Of watching Hood until his army has
eaten its last ration, and then surrender. or
OF fighting battle against innumerable
disadvantages. ~
The first alternative we would greatly
prefer, therefore, be expected. II Sher-
man can surmount all the obstacles in his
path. he will have gained great and de-
cided triumph. With Atlanta in his pos
sion, Wheeler's operations will have be-
will be then able to detach half Of his army
to clear the road, as our shattered and de-
feated forces viii be utterly unable to ofYarj
him any resistance for some months, rs
While Sherman must now rjaA the whole
campaign on . battle, it is utldeniable that
he is forced TO do g, only by the precarious
erations of Wheeler III his rear. With our
knowledge OF the strength and resources OF
Gen. Hood we do not fear the result. If the
enemy is defeated, his position becomes ten
times worse, for he will then have an army
following him flushed with victory. and
LED by 0hcers determined to regain every
defeat to the Federals-it win be annihila-.
ton, and every hour that Sherman fingers
in front OF Atlantis only makes his doom
more certain. T
Never before did the campaign in Geor-
gia wear 30 bEoyant an aspect. A few
weeks, nay few days more, and We will
witness the result Of the invasion Of Geor-
gia. The hand that holds the last card 10
now poised in the air, and may descend 1t
any moment. When it falls, Il may cause
many Southern mother and wife to weep
for their dead ones, but from the CORY
field where lies the dead, will arise shout
OF triumph for our cause and of defeat for
our enemy, that will drown the tears of the
mourning. and ascend to Heaven. Theend
approaches. Patience for q abort time lon
ger is all we need TO witness the downfall
of Sherman and the rout of His hosts. That
he is whipped already. we firmly believe,
before many days.-Maeon Ca zslegraph
Aug. "a. -
4 A MCCLELLAN MAN WouLps'r RE.
LlEvE IT.-At one Of the Washington ho-
tells, says the Republican, when the news of
the fall Of Atlanta came. q man said ho ,1is1
not believe It, and offered TO bet il was not
true. He was assured that M was official,
but exclaimed, Don't care; I'm . McClel-