Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1864-03-15
LATEST FROM THE UNITED STATES

RiAmona- Sbrra,,,n at Firk&b"ry- Gold
up 10 l7u.
The New York ;.aI Philadelphia papers
publish tho orders found on the person of
Dahlgren, and few editorial comments there
on, from the Ric:lmoad p ?crs. The "Horald'
of March 9:h. says:
It ia not believed here that tho italcised
words, aul jeff Davis an.i Cdiiacs killed."
wero contained in the original 0r:ler, but wcce
interpola.cd by the encmy, in ofjcr to inflIne
the passions of their own soldiers. who are be.
coming lukewarm.
| Fem .bn New York worl'. a:arch IL
TIE RAID TOWARDS RICHMOND.
u The failure Of General Klpatrick's recent
:. effort to gack Rich .s,6d and'rhlease tbs Unisn
prisoners ut that point should put a stop to
such prof.le,s expeditions, in the future. The
moral cfi,.t is bad, as expectations are raised
throughout the country, which there IL very
little chance Of reHliZing, while tho risks Iun
are Yery large IL is 4 marvel, f1r instance,
that General Kilpatr:ss whole force Of five
Thousand two hundred in4a were not scattered
or captured. As it Wa. from G thousand tn
fifteen hundred horst have been rendered
useless. and ole hundrc.i ;.!ld fifty good Unicn
|
of Riahm0Ed We warned our readers, when
tr,t announcing that the raid was under way,
that there YVES not more than one chance in
fifty Of It's success and it has since trans
pired shat this was also the opinion OF both
Generals IIniack ard Meade General XII
patrick, however, who il an enthusiastic ana
hopeful officer, supposed tho thing could be
done, md the President. with his usual want
of discretion. told him to 20 ahead. General
Butler. it SO ms, di,l not cooperate with the
expedition az he should have done All the
co?resp 1ndents agree that had General Kill
patrick been sure Uf ro-operation hy way ut
the James river, no would at least have made
q fight t6r the city. But Butler was net TN
hand, ind Fitzpatrick was compelled To retire.
when within sight of the city snlres. 1t w"uIi
be well for the realize now that
Richm nd can mover be taken except bya large
army md Ill bundan1e Uf artillery. Ii il, nad
We believe always has been ,nrre enable toany
raid that cauli he organized against It. Rich
mord is tho rebel capital, and az such the
seat ,l its military power. Thc:c is IL constant
movement uf troops to AMI from tho city
in every direction, and day is sufficient to
being II very larCa army wti:In lts wail' Tho
fact that the bulk of tue Union prisoners are
kept and Fed At Richmond, Of itself necessi
tatcs q very large guard Ci rebel troops IN that
city. This circumstance also shows how
| fo lsh the rumors, which have heen pH. forth
from timr to time, that the rehsls are about
,.lanioning Richmond ~ their capital. hs 4
matter of c0urre, they scEi their pre- oner5 tn !
whatever point it will cost feast to feed them. !
Probably Atlanta, ~ great railway center
you'd serve tho purpose of the rebel govern +
rncnt ia this respect as we'll; but it il an i'll |
! r,1n nt r1,li isb IN u len
guard. 1t ia evident that il there were any !
difficulty in supplying their soldiers with food
ct Richmond, the trouble would rot be added
u by bringing the prisoners also to thai |
T,lace. General Mcclellan, in his grand plan |
of the campaign against the rebels, recog- !,
nized Richmond as being the nost important
Ioi;.t, and concentrated his largest army TO !
capture it. Subsequent events have proved |
that, after ALL it is tho most vital strategic po
sition in the Confederac7, ard greater mora! !
and physical results would follow its capture
than any other point now in the poss session of
the rebel power. But it must DC done by a
large and ,sel-cquipped army, and, more
over as General Mcclellan pointed out, from
the direction Of the peninsula. We hope VIC
have heard the last Of these wasteful, object
less and dangerous raids upon the rebel capi- !
tai The destruction Of the roads in the re-
bel rear is worth little or nothing, except in
connection with An attack Of General Meade's /!
army in front.
| PROM the rhilaiepha Inquirer, March
TIE LATE CAVALRY RAID.
We have the gratifying intelligence that
Colonel Dahlgrcn has arrived safely within
our limos, bringing with him his hundred gal
liant comrades in arms, and that they are now
at Fortress Monroe Now that this raid is
over, and all the main Incidents made known
to the puslic it might afford some seasonablc
. food fhr reflection tD consider the benefits de-
rived from these detached expeditions. As q
general thing, while they hare been bcll in
conception and brilliant in execution, they
have failed TO yield any permanent advantage.
They pass over the country like thu sweep OF
u hurricane or & tornado, destroying everys
thing in their track, but with the Same cele-
rity, and az Unstable, they pass away. leaving
only their mark behind them. 1t is rrne, tha5
to damage M enemy'H couutrT, and thus en-
dgneer his communications ard cut OF his
supplies nrt among the legitimate operations
uf war. and perhaps cxprl sslVe OF the finest
touches Of the iiRsSe of atratugem; but eX-
ncricnce has taught us that beyond the de-
structinn of property, which, of course, as
blow to weaken the enemy'a means of SUBJ
sistence, has lis military value, these raids
have not yielded any permanent frnits. Their
lc7astntions have been speedily repaired, and
in few weeks not q trace II their course can
be marked 1t would, therefore, appear, that
Ghe.o detached flying expeditions arc really
productive of no substantial benefit to our
cause. The hopes of the people are excited
10 great expectations by the ecLk which at
trclIn, to bill and daring adventures, but
when they return, and the plain nnvarnlshcd
tale is told a sorsc OF Disappointment over
casts the bright visions 81 fOndly INDUCED in
at the start. Il
TIE LATE rLURRY TOWARD RICHMOND. ~
WASHINGTON, March G.-Rsids are project
ed toward Richmond with view of keeping
the imagination of tho people of the North
busy, and to mako them think that some-
thing is going on. Tho upshot Of the recent
movement is, that we have lost thousand
horses by fatigue, accident and overwork; thata
hundred and fly brave fellows lie dead, in hos
ptal ur in prison, and that the expedition had
an escape instead OF triumph. To be sure.
cartan portions Of cnnel and ra'lroad about
Richmond are said to have been destroyed.-
But, really, that amounts to nothing. Rella"
ole word comes to lis from Richmond that the
Davis Government aro about to. impress
large number Of negroes to work upon the
sorlfcatons about that city. So our poor
colored friends will have to repair the dam
ages caused by Kilpatrick's advance and re-
treat.
BALTIMORE, March Ith The President re-
ceived despatch from Fortress Monroe, this
!. afternoon, stating that Col. Dahlgren, with
! his hundred men, had safely arrived within
our lines. The Colonel Nss at Fortress Mon
rec. The President ard Secretary Stanton
Immediately called on Admiral Dahlgren to
; convey the glad tdings and congratulate him
. upon the safety of his gallant son.
MOVEMENTS OF GEN. SHERMAN
Sr. LOUIS, March 9th.-The steamer Luuli-
naEy from the lower river, brings intelligence
s thar Gen. Sherman and his staff left FicSs-
tho OSIt ,,Ik Eor hnlnu- for the nllr-