, 1864-04-30
1 REBEL VIEW OF TEE SPRING
: - CAMPAIGN.
1RoN-CLADS AND NEGRO TROOPS.

(Fron the Richmond Examiner, April 15.l
Whilst the black cloud is slowly gathering
on the horizon which will soon oTcrap:cad
the heavens, md, amid roaring thunder, dis.
charge its flashes Of lightning, silence full
Of awe rcigns through all nature, unbroken
except BY The painful sougAing Of tue wind
and faint mutterlng In The distance. Such
mind and makes US bend low before tho
fearful storm TINT we leel in our heart is not
afcr of. Even the busy hum Of preparation
is hushed; what man can do to prepare for
the fearful day hns been done, and tic South,
at least, stands ready, like the strong man,
loose in its sheath, his harncss bright and
LIS hea1t tull strong. Our men, after al
their struggles and buIetiugs, rid!led with
Wounds, broken By eickness, tried By cares,
overcast BY checks, are. yet undaunted and
unWave1ing, and once more, after i'm .'loring
the Most High for His blessing, cast of the
dust mud Gshes from their head, and rise ut
the call OF danger, hopeful and confident as
When they buckled on their maiden swords.
People aud army, one soul and one body,
feel alike in their innermost hearts, that
when the clash comes, it will be struggle
for life or death
So lar we feel sure Of the issue; all else is
mystery and uncertainty. Where the first
blow: will fall, when the 20 armies Of Nor
theru Virginia will meet each other face to
face, how Grant will try to hold his own
against the master spirit OF Lee, re cannot
even surnisc. But it is clcor to the expert.
enccd eye that the approaching campaign Will
known heretofore in military history, which
may not unlikely decide the fate of the gfgan.
tic crusade The enemy will array against us
ILLS llev iron-cll1s bJ sen and his co1ored
troops On land.
Europe will watch wilh neryous interest
the first crest trials made Of these improved
Monitors, il 1t should be our good fortune 10
finish aid equip our o wn vessels Of that cllsa
in time to rect them on equal terms. For
since Aboukir and Trafa1yar-a longer pause
than was ever before known in the history Of
EnreEc-thcrc have been 10 great naval
fights, where fleets have met aud tie empire
OF the ocean has been at stake. Great wars
have been carried Oh by land; but the sea has
not been The scene OF like great conflicts.
During this long truce two now elements
ttenn and improved projeeti!cs-hayc en-
tirely changed the conditions OF such con-
tests.
Vessels have become independent In their
movements; wind or tide inay aid Q: Impede,
but they nte no longer essential, and steam
enables them to approach each other ut will,
untrammelled by external agencies. The
power Of the engines Of war which they car
RI has steadily increased, and in precise pro-
portion as the projectile gained in weight
and distance, the means Of defence were i'm
proved in the armament Of vessels. Thus,
We have now guns of d ca1ibre unknown
since the first days Of artilier:, and ships
armed like th> mailed knights of the middle
a.es. They promise truly fearful character
for the result Of the first hostile meeting On
large scale.
The experiments heretofore made With
iron-clad vessels have been but very lmper-
feet trials. During the Crimeau war certain
.tAoating batteries'' Of the French attacked
the very strong batteries Of kinsburn and ST.
fenced them with apparent ease. They were,
masts nor Yards, and In fact In no point like
the iron-clads of our day, With tier plate
a1mor at the sides, and their turrets on deck.
A trial on larger scale Wns contemplated
against the forts Of Venice, when peace came
and resigned them to the dockyard-
In our navy, also, the vessels Of the enemy
have, with the exception OF the Eight with
the Merrimac, attempted only tho reduction
OF stone walls Mt Charleston. Successful in
beating down brick and mortar, and reducing
granite to atoms, their prolectiles have been
found power}ess against sand bags and heaps
Of rubbish: The only serious encounter that
can be called fair trial Of tron-clads result
cd in the destruction OF the Monitor Keokuk
by the superiority Of our projectiles-steel
bolts aud spherical shot-devIsed by Brooke,
the ingenious inventor Of the deep sea sound
ing line. The Yankee gunboats Occasionally,
WILL luelI l5bL uldu55llS ana powerful guns
on ptvots, have assembled our rivers with i'm
purity, frightened the people on shore, and
controlled the country Tor miles around.
The prestige that attended them at first, and
cost us SO dear, has, however, completely
vanished; Ike every dreaded danger, they
suecnmbed as they were fairly looked in the
face. Now We know fully their vulnerable
ity, and the perils Of wMter transport for
troops, with their helplessnees when attacked
in boats.
. Since the first trials, however, the Yankees
have made great efforts toremedy the evils
that attended their early iron-clads-their
want Of buoyancr, their sinking too deep for
ward to approach we'll at certain landings,
the necessity to tow them out at sea, md
their EloWncse, which would embarrass the
feet to which they may be attached. They
claim now to possess vessels Us buoyant and
free in motion as ordinary steamers, impcne-
trable to any known projcctile, including the
new Whitworth guns, and provided with a
heavier armament than the last built IRON
clads Of the English. These they propose to
carry into our harborS, and, If we there can
meet them, conflict such as the wos1d has
not seen yet will taKe place. The famous
deeds If our noble Merrimac will be repeated,
and England especially will watch the result
with intense Interest, as she well knows that
these Yankee fron-clads were, In reality, not
built for uR, but Tor British ports and British
vessels. After Alr. Stewards insolent dls-
patch to Alr. Adams, which Earl Russell so
conveniently Ignored, they arc amply fore
warned.
Another fleet of smaller but equally dan.
gerous vessels has been built In the Interior
Of the country, and there Is no doubt that the
Yankees will again send ons the fleet Of
Light gunooats, well armed and iron clad, to
force their way into regions otherwise snac-
cessiblc, 10 carry war to waters where they
are least expected and to overcome shore de-
fences by tempest Of conyerging fire. They
will again try to illustrate the powerful aid
which land army may receive from the kin
dred branch ahont, maneuvcring on its flank
and supporting 1t BY bold demonstrations It
is fortunate for us that wc are botA fore.
warned and forearned. We have been steali-
II Informed Of the powerful engines of War
prepared for our destruction. We have had
our successes on the lower James and in
Clnr1eston harbor.
We have, just in time, received the instruc-
tive account Of the inst tsial OF m English
built iron clad, the Danish Monitor Roll
krake, before Pru5sian batteries, and may de-
rive great comfort from the severe punish
mcnt she has received by guns far inferior to
those VIC hold in readiness. For we also have
not been idle, nnd both afoat and on shore
NIL Is prepared to resist attack md to meet
the foe on his own terms. Our rivers also
Will have less to fear, for repeated triumphs
and captures have taught us the value of horse
artillery and light movable batteries, AGAINST
the best armed boats. Still the conflict will
he fierce aud full Of interest, not only to those
Who are engaged in it, bat to NIL observers. |
Car fste is at stake; but We may, in a1l prob
ability, have to perform the rehearsal of
fearful tragedy soon to be enacted on q still |
vaster stage, amid the crash Of ancient EN-.
p!res aud the uprising Of powerful races in the !
Cid World.
The other new feature likely to give a
strange colorins to the summers campaign |
Is The large force Of armed blacks which our !
enemy is practising to employ. They have |
apparently rcconsidered their first plan of |
using them merely FOR garrison duty, 1nd we |
see them in Virginia and at other points Of |
attack, place them In the van, or send them.
wcll mounted, on foraglng expeditions, IN
order thus to harden them for war. Whilst |
it cannot be expected that they will ever
own men, We are disposed to believe that
they will be, rs soldiers, but little inferior to
tic ri1fati of Germany aud ireland, which en-
ters so largely into the composition Of the !
Northern army. Tie history Of war teachessl
LIS that the most Indifferent material may be !
made useful by careful association, and 1t is q
ma1im Of common experience that Those who
win stand their ground well IT properly sup
ported and surrounded by large numbers. 1t
Is never wise to despise IN enemy, least Of all |
when he is as yet untrIed.
---
ArEold,* Resolution.
tfnn TIC Washington chzuolclc, April 1871
Tie House adopted, Yesterday, two impor-
tant resolutions, on motion Of Mr.. Arnold,
Of 1llibois, which will attract universal at.
tentlon. TIE first declares 1t to be the i'm
peratiyc duty OF Congress to raise the taxes
80 as largely 10 increase the rcyenuc, md that
the subjects Of additional taxation sbou1d he |
uxurfees whether imported or Of domostio |