Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1864-11-18

We see q great nassnA, which has not
been in time patti sparing Of its mrnaces
and predictions Of our ruin, apparently re,
solved to execute, without pause and with
out remorse, the most 1rendfu judgment of
I! Heaven ITSELF We see the frantiek patient
tearing the bandages from his wounds and
/ thrusting aside the hand that would assuage
his miseries. aud csery dag thxt the ,car
goes on zee see Tess and tess probability htst
the great fuLrieh Of tic Union oHi etet &
Reconstructed in its original form. aud more
] Likelihood that the process Of disintegration
will extend "a. beyoad the present division
between North and South We observe
] the rapid destruction of that mighty fab
rick Of prosperity which was so formidable
to our own colonies. aud ace look tortcuse2,
at no distant date, to the dag 'ehen the Gre
dit Of the Republic must be hopelessty and
utterly destroyed.
Were We really animated by the prit Of
] hostility which is always assumed to prevail
among us towards America we should view
the terrible spectacle with exultation and
delight, we should rejoice that the Amerl.
can people, untaught by pas, misfortnnes,
I
end, aud hal! the probable continuance Of
the power Of Dir. Lincoln as the event most
calculated to pledge the nation to steady
continuance 10 its suicidal policy. But We
are persuaded that the people Of this count
| ry view the prospect Of another four years
Of war in America with very different feel
ings. They are not able to divest them
selves Of sympathy for people Of their own
blood and language, thus wil5uly rushing
down the path that leadeth to destruction.
Accustomed themselves to tie use of free
dom, to believe in the future and to conGde
in its progress. they cannot see with indif-
ference the ruin Of so many hopes, the
eclipse of SO many glorious ASPIRATIONS
They know very we'll what are the senti-
ments with which thia fearful American ca
tastrophe is regarded by these Governments
which consider it their n,issicn 70 put down
liberty of every kind IN the whole world
and sI &c ;aeealests the doctrine that order can
only de preserved by tyranny. The people
of this country view with disHlaJ the over
throw and abolition # the rights of indivi-
duals which immemorial tradition has taught
them to hold sacred. and as they mus on
the appalling spectacle, their faith in the ul
innate triumph of tho good cause grows
weak, and their apprehension that human
nature has in It something suicidal which
the best institutions are powerless tong to
resist, becomes strong.
Suppose any one Eve years ago had pres
dicted, we will not say the present fearful
condition Of the United States, but the ex-
istence of the least and most to!crable evils
which Cypress them, from whom would he
have found belief? And if SUCH is the
state Of things now. what will i. be afte.
! four years more such as the last four years
have been !? In comparison with these tire
mondous Questions the success Of one war
party or the other is matter of indiffer
ence. Ruin stares the Union in the face il
the war is to be conducted by Gen. McCiel-
Ian and if it be conducted by President
Lincoln the result must be exactly the same
| Why SHOULD we feel anxiety as to The sue
cess of one party or the other, when either
must be equally fatal to the welfare Of the
Republick and equally pernieious to the
good government throughout the woald ?
Failure of Grants Recent Advance.
| The New York World, commenting on
the general failure Of Grants advance,
says;
/ It is no longer a secret that the rebels
| have again thwarted Gen. Grants move
ment for the capture of Kichmoi!d His
attention was to have accumulated vast
army OF three or four hundred thousand
men, with view to invest Richulond on
every side. After the fall Of ATLANTA, it is
SUPP osed he could spare fifty or sixty thou
sand troops from the West, aud take all the
oonscripts to be added to the army Of the
Potomac aud of the james. But the inya-
sion of Missouri by Price and the menac;ng
of St. Louis, the attack Of Hood upon Sher-
mans rear and the activity Of guerriilas
and rebel raiding parties throughout Tenn
esseo and kentucky, and last Of all. the
wonderful yitai..,,y Of the rebel arrr.iss IN the
shenancaoah, have prevented the concentra-
! .lon of troops in Grants army to be effec
tive in time for the Presidential election.
A large part Of this army is composed of
raw recruits, and General Grant is supposed
to be unwilling to force them against the
strong defences of Richmond, Wills he
would not have hesita,ad had he sufficient
number of Sheridan's or Sherman's vete-
rams. The theory is that in all probability,
the campaign against Richmond will be
postponed until next May; that another
draft for three HUNDRED thousand men may
be made after the erection, which draft viii
BIZ real one, and. all the men viii be Sc
cured and Incorporated in the armies during
the coming winter With these, the Ad
minissration hope to carry all the important
points Of the South.
There is now &c harm iu stating that at
least two army Corps, under General Sher
tidan, were On the way to the Army Of the
Potomac. when they we're recalled to beat
back L,ngstreet's force in the Valley,
While the rebel army has been defeated,
Lees strategy has won strategic victory
in the postponement Of the campal ga
Luaicrous Mist ake.
It appears that most uaieTces mistake
occurred among the Yankees during Grants
late reconnaissance. /" to the noydton Plank
road. One brigade of Yankees, lately ar
rived in the grand Army Of the Potomac,
and unacquainted with localities, became
separated from the rest oftl,e troops in the
advance on the hoydton yiankroad They