Indiana State sentinel. (Indianapolis, Ind.) 1861-1865, 1864-03-21
WHOLE NO. 1888

Presidency was that Of Bragg. Bragg is the Sc
Nor Of all the confederate generals. the bret ba-
ron of the Southern empire. consecrated by the
hands Of bis chief. Beauregard. johnson. Buck
ner, had. IL Is true, been appointed before. But
this was previous Jef Davis's election, and
when he simply the head OF the provisional
government established at Montgomery. You
understand the distinction. provisional gov
ernment has no power but that which il obtains
from cOncourse Of temporary circumstance
more generally from the pressing necessities Of
the moment. Ii has no foundation; its rulers
TRANSIENT il can neither organize or create; all il
does can be undone; Il has no hold upon the peo-
ple-no definite and solid character This is
what JEFF Davis believes and this is why, in his
estimation. the nomination of Beauregard. John
ston. Buckner. etc. which took place before his
election, has not the high character which dis
tnguishes that oil Bragg. whom, IN consequence
of his views the subject. he considers as the
oldest general of the confederacy and the one
entitled 10 a precedence Of rank. This. il Is
true, is feudal doctrine; but is not feudalty in
carnate in the heart of the Southerners, and
fected in all the acts of their lifel
LATE MILITARY oPERArIoSs-THE ATTACK on
DALTON.
will not leave Richmond and the accidents
OF its political existence without n glance 20 the
military operations which have, during the last
three weeks, thrown its whole population into an
unprecedented state of excitement. and revealed
more than any precedent campaign the determin-
alton and energy of the rebels. will not repeat
here what j have already said concerning the
defenses put up by Lee in Virginia and by John
ston at Dalton. The late events have demon
strated that neither one Of these two generals
medItated raid upon our lines, but that they
were simply bent upon increasing the number of
their works and of their intrenchments. The last
aftack of avaiDof n.ltou-an
perfectly useless, which ought not to have been
undertaken, had the general in command been as
well informed as your correspondent-is there to
prove how truthful was my information on that
point Ii is indeed a subject of reflection TO
know that any one of our army commanders is at
all times ready TO sacrifice FIVE hundred soldiers
for the sake OF obtaining information which any
man of intelligence may obtain without trouble
or bloodshed six hundred miles from the battle
field on which the sacrifice takes place. Had
General Palmer reid the World he would have
ascertained beforehand that the rebels were in
force at Dalton well intrenched in position to
resist four times strong force as that which
he marched against them; and he would not have
exposed the life of our brave soldiers in fruit
less attempt. However, it would perhaps be
wrong to accuse that general of this mistake,
inasmuch that his advance was made in accord
ance with the plan of the administration. and
executed upon orders received from Washington.
OuT Ttputcc lFOm OdltOu, aUu Tue Mlln0FdWdl
oil Gen. Grant from the command of the Army of
the Cumberland, is construed in Richmond as q
demonstration of our weakness, and of the i'm
possibility for any one of armies to penetrate
into Georgia. In the estimation of the rebel
leaders, Gen. Grant has left Chattanooga be-
cause il was impossible for him to win any more
laures in that region, and because he was afraid
to lose those which he had won. To them Dali
ton and the succession of fortified works sur
rounding il, present insurnountable obstacles
which no force can overcome or conquer. Gen.
Thomas aud his army will perish" they say, elf
they attempt TO operate against our lines" In
front of them they have placed four brigades Of
cavalry, Rhoddy's, Patterson's, Hume's and
Davidson's, to watch the movements of the Union
troops and give warning Of their advance. Be-
hind them, several miles i'm the rear are John-
ston's two corps OF infantry, one under Hardees.
the other under Hindman's command. Hardees
division officers are Generals Walker. Cheatham
and Claiborne; those under Hindman's orders
are Generals Stevenson, Stewart and Bates
These forces, which may amount on an aver
age TO about thirty five thousand men. are pro-
tected by a reserve of fifteen thousand men. un-
der command of Generals McCown and w alt
hall, now located at Rome and Atlanta. The
distribution of bodies of troops in those places
and elsewhere shows evidently that Johnston
has taken his disposition to avoid any turn
ing movements his fanks, which am told
are as well fortified as his front.
LoSGsTREErs MOVEMENTS.
The mystery Of Longstreet's manouvering,
which has puzzled so many of our military wri
tiers, is explained by officers in Richmond in this
way. When Gen. Grant had sent Gen. Schofeld,
reinforced by Gen SlOcum, to Knoxville, both OF
these officers advanced on Longs;reet's front
with all their forces, as If their intention to
give him battle This, of course. caused all the
rebel cavalry to fall back upon the main column
eucamped at Bulls Gap. and produced una
voidable disorder aud confusion. At the same
time the news reached Longstree, that General
Grant advancing with his whole army against
Chattanooga which made him believe that the
whole of the Union forces were in motion to
crush him In this uncture he deemed prudent
to contract his troops. to facilitate their
treat, If the thing became necessary. In conse-
quence, he fell back upon Greenvle, on the Ten
nessee and Virginia Railroad. with the head Of
his column resting on Bulls Gap. which he has
never abandoned. But as soon as the sad hdings
of our failure at Dalton and elsewhere became
known. his cavalry started again for the sur
ronndings of Knoxville. spreading all over the
valleys they had just abandoned. Longstreet
himself resumed his former position. thus expos
ing once more Tennessee ana Kentucky to an
invasion OF the rebels,s
THE SIEGE OF MOBILE
The great attraction Of the hour among South
Farragut is pronounced TO be a second edition Of
Dupont and Dablgren, and they predict TO him
the same results as those obtained by those tso
distinguished officers. Now that Sherman has
been driven out from Meridian. either by one
cause or by another; that Grierson and Smith
have been put hors du combat; that our army in
the South has been disabled, and will not recover
for at least three months from the severe blow t
has received ia these fruitless expeditions, they
feel confident that Mobile viii not be taken.
Mobile, they say. Vulnerable on the land side,
is impfegnable by sea, and viii bsf1e the efforts
of the whole Yankee fleets. Charleston. which
is far easier TO take, has not been taken: corse-
quently there is 10 danger for Mobile Farragut'
will not be able to dismantie Fort Powell; il he
does there is Fort Game and half dozen Others
guarding Grand Pass They will be sufficient TO
stop him and make him renouhce his foolish en-
terprise." Such is the language heard every day
in Richmond People there seem 20 believe
Mobile impregnable, and have not the least un-
easness on that subject
The entire South is now bracing up for nev
encounter, which am afraid will be more terri
BILE and bloody than any one recorded in the
three wears which have just elapsed
The Cincinnati voiksfreund Gone