The daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1863-1864, 1864-06-22

ours. (The Express also claims that two
pieces Of artillery were taken from kautz.)
Correspondence Of the World)
More about ssWhat they think
i'm RichmOnd.' a5 4
BALTIMORE, June l8, 1864.
WHY GENERAL LEE DID NOT OPPOSE GRANTS
MOVEMENT TO THE JAMES RIVER.
have learned some facts to-day which
throw considerable light upon the question
why General Lee did not attempt to I'm
pede or prevent the march Of our army
from the Ohickahominy to the James riv.
or. IL will be seen from these facts that
it was not through ignorance on his part of
Grants movement: he was fully aware OF
the actual progress of the movement from
day to day. Nor was it owing to the
weakness of his forces. The rebel losses
IN this entire campaign, as | have ascer-
tanned from the very best authorities, have
not exceeded twenty thousand men. Gen
Lee, it must be remembered, has now
Longstreet's entire corps with him, and has
been, reinforced besides by troops from
South Carolina and North Carolina, and
from the West, under General Beaure-
gard, General Breckenridge, General Hoke
and General Picket. His actual effective
force can be positively shown to amount to
( fully one hundred and twenty-five shousand
troops According to what I have learned
ta-day, there was reason, and a good one,
why General Lee held this large force in
reserve, as it were, and contented himself
with merely watching General Grants
march across the Peninsula.
It must be remembered that General
Grants army to day is only just where it
might have been month ago, without a
battle, without the loss of man. No op
position would have been made then, on
the part of General Grant which would
have landed the Union army at Windmill
point Why then should he have opposed
| it now2 The road to Richmond by way
of Bermuda Hundred and Petersburg was
as open month ago as Grant finds it now.
Beauregard's forces were there then, it is
true, but they would have only acted as q
mere corps of observation, and would have
retired to the defenses of the city proper on
the approach of large force, as indeed
thew did do when q serious attempt was
made by General Gilmore to attack the
outer line Of the southern defenses of
Richmond, of which Fort Darling is one.
WHY GENERL LEE OPPOSES GRANTS ADVANCE
| ONLY FROM THE NORTH AND EAST.
Every step of General Grants progress
toward Richmond from the north or east
has been marked by the stubborn and deci>
ded resistance which General Lee has made
to that advance. Wherever Grant ad-
vanced, in whatever direction he turned, he
found himself confronted by the full
strength of the confederate army. There
were two lines of conduct open to General
Lire when the federal commander opened
the campaign. One was to retire with his
army to Richmond at once; the other was
to infict as much loss upon the federal
army as possible; to make the advance on
Richmond cost as many of the lives of our
soldiers as possible. Grant could have
brought his army to the walls of Richmond
by the proper route, without it being in
General Lees power to iDjure hair Of bis
head, so to speak. But when 1T was in his
power to cripple him to the extent of eigh-
ty thousand of his soldiers, should he not
do ito When General Lee saw that the
federal army was making for the James riv.
er these considerations ceased to have any
weight. A hostile army moving en- Rich.
miond from the North will attack the city
either from the North or the East. 1t mus t
be crippled before it reaches point from
which it can attack the rebel capital from
the East, because it is feared that at that
point the defenses are vulnerable. But no
such fear exists in regard to the defenses
on the south side. If General Grant had
forced the passage Of the Chickahominy at
Bottoms bridge, he would have found the
whole strength of the rebel army waiting
at the Seven Pines to receive him. There
the bloodiesr battle of the war would have
been fought. For there the ground is open
and level, the soil is firm, and large masses
of rebel troops would have been hurled on
our advancing columns.
GENERAL GRANTS HARD WORK JUST BEGUN
General Grant has avoided that bloody
conflict, but he is gone where he will have
to engage in more than ons battle, equally
as sanguiaary. 1t is observable that no
portion OF the army, except Smiths corps,
crossed the James river above the Appoma.
tox. The four corps composing the army
proper, crossed considerable distance be-
low Harrison's Landing. ...
REBEL ACCOUNT OF TIE MOVEMENT TO THE
.. JAMES RIVER. -'
The account of General Grants move
ments to the James River which prevails at
Richmond, states that it has been ascertain.
ed that it was not General Grants design
to cross the river at ell, or, at least, not UNI
til he had attempted to reach the city by
the Central and New Market roads, lead
ing into Richmond from the direction of
Malvern hill. 1t is claimed by the rebel
authorlties that, after moving across the
Ohickahominy, General Grant did not
move at once towards the James river, but
caused q reconnaissance in force to be made
from the Long Bridge toward the Quaker
road, and that smart skirmish took place