Richmond Whig. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1862-1865, 1864-10-27

cause No have nov, In the positions held By Brney
snd Ord such magnificent base for operations In that
dfsetith
NunsRfaAL wHAKanas OF RE soUTHIRn knNfHs.
have spoken Of the comparatively small force OF
Confederate troops defending Richmond. IL substan-
tally the now, In point Of numbers, that It was IN
MAY and June last for Whatever losses have been sur
tanned have been made BY young men VINO nave rsoen.
" attained to the proper military age. Il has consisted
during the whole campaign, and consists now, OF the
nine divisions Of infantry Of Generals Anderson. Picket
and Fields, In Longstrsefs corps; Heth, Wilcox, and
Ricketts,, In Hils corps, and wharton, Rhodes ana
Gordon In Earys corps besides three other divsons
until recently under General Beauregard Each division
Is Eve thousand strong. These, with ten thousand
cavalry and about three hundred pieces OF held
artillery in all seventy six thousand men, constitute
the whole strength of General Lees army. With this
tile force General Lee tor several months has be ID
and defeated the designs Of General Grant, with nis
two hundred and sixty thousand troops on this Hne,
and the ninety thousand troops operating In the Shen
andoah Valley In all three hundred and fifty thousand
troops This little force has not only defended both
Richmond land Petersburg, but IL has also defended
Lynchbufg held the Shenandoah Valley for months. and
drawn thence vast supplies invaded Maryland and
.nnsylVania advanced to within twelve mes Of Bat
more isolated Washington from the North, aud held IL
In state Of close siege for twenty four hours.
WHY GRANT Has BEE BLyILlD BIZ LIES SMALL Amy
The following are the reasons, therefore, why
the Oonfederates, with O force not onsthird 90
large as ours have been able 10 defend their CAPT.
.al successfully, and to btfa, all Of General
Grants attempts for its capture First Because
our immense force has not bten concentrated In front
Of Richmond but has been divided. S.cond Because
the Oonfederstes are not operating interior lines
and have had In the ra Dads between Petersburg and
Richmond, and between Richmond and Lynchburg, and
between Richmond and Gordopsville, the means Of
rapidly throwing reinforcements wherever they were
needed. In spite Of all our efforts, we have
never been Rpe TO prevent them from having
l the full and constant use Of these railfoads-
Third. Because, By means Of the railroad from Reh
nond to 0upsper and the routes through the shsnsn-
doah Valley, they have been ahle 10 hrsaten Waning
.op and PcnnsylTahs, asd this, 700. with peril 90 nn
nsnt his, Il vas Ahseluley Bsss,ssry 70 tssP Ys,y
large fasrA fesee On She iss Of The fSlene Fonr,h
B. aAuss the foTtheaans dsEebaing both kehnona end
PssAuR hfs 10 stteaR and axIepsTe ihAi seay can b
held ~ eemFaratTsy saa ioise d eps pass, While
she An hedy Of tie febek arc employed In fepellne
attacks elsewhere flfh. Because the rshsl capital l.
absolutely inaccessible BY wafer, a. demonstrated
months Sgo In the fses Of persistent dSnAs d the time,
and has been abundAntt proved since. And SIKH.
Because General Grant has persisted in irering Away
four months before Petersburg, and In dividing he
strength between that place and chmond, instead OF
concentrate G his fo;ess before the latter city.
WE MUST oHAHsE oUR PLANS. e..
These reasons are in full foIes now They will oon-
tr 70 ophA:e with iA-even with greater force In
the future. And il mAJ safely be sad that Richmond
can never be aiken long General Grant persists in
ns previous policy never, until ali Of our land forces
are concentrated where rney IL nov, and Farragut,
or some mau ike him. feet up the river past
Fort Darling.
AB;URDITY ocNPELLIHo THE E,AcUAIToH or RICHMOND
By srARVAfIoH.
The ida If atarvir o. Rnhmond into n surrandar n,
of COMP sllng s evacuation by Starvation, with such
country as Virginia az w back has bean proved BY the
events OF the four months be absurd and rid
culous as was the original idea that the whole nth
could be starved into submission And yet for three
years. the latter idea exeusiv.ly believed ct the
North. Is means Of supplies are ample. Woo believes
now that Lynchburg be eapturedf /! might be ex-
peced that Sigel and Hunter would have failed
TO take the place. and yet their armies we're large
and well appointed and the rebsioroe opposed them
Was small But what shall be said after the failure OF
SaeridALH Where there be iouud more energet.
ia and more competent General than he and
more competent hau:enanH than Wright Emory,
Crook, and AVsrelf When can We Organise, for q
campaign in the Shenandoah valley, more effective
army than the he started out with on the 18Th Of
September, and the shattered remains Of which are
nov probably at BsrryVils When can there be 30 70
Vorabe opportunity Tor the capture Ct Lynchbg 90
vas Iforded last m0nh when the peril 10 The r1bei
capital Wasso great that not single soldier ojuld be
AIDE OF militia under neral OOlston and when The whole
valley was overlooking with the plenty that has now
been destroyed by the riers OF General Grant
THE slBIIs IxPIof NOVA ooScIETRArED ATTACK ON
RICHMOND.
The result Of General Shsrida1's campaign will re-
lave the OonederAtes Of all approximations In regard 10
Lynchburg for many months 70 come The rebel lead
ara will have enough to know that what General
81 -idan and hs splendid army could not do cannot
be done at all and therefore that Lynchburg Is abso
utely safe until next summer at least What they will
look for now will be q concentrated attack on Rich.
mond TO be made by General Grant before winter sets
H. by all the troops that be raised for that purpose
Already the Richmond papers are limiting that Sherman
sendipg troops 10 the east to reinforce Grant need
moi ay that they are confident Of their ability to repel
any tuch attack Bot let the government beware thai
in whatever they do this fall and winter the line of the
Poi onac not left uncovered The Confederstes have
no troops to sp re jus: for regular invasion Of
the North. But il may be written doNn g certainly
that if the line OF the PotCmIo let uuguarded or
guarded BY an inadequate orce and the roads remain
good till the fret OF middle Of November, body of
600 or 10 600 reb hors0men will dash through the
Shenandoah Valley and visit upon the innocent and
helpless people OF Pennsylvania the needless and
ueless eruees which the mistaken policy Of Grant and
Sheridan led them 10 fot upon the innocent and help
a l. l-I L