Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1864-06-30
BEFORE PETERSBURG.

was lOSt. ana III this SITUATION The unit
ed armies of Meade and Butler now en-
velop Petersburg In about the quadrant
of a circle--Butler's force, 1.-THE Tenth
and Eighteenth army corps,) being
placed North of the Appomattox, facing
Petersburg on the eastern side, and the
Army of the Potomac fronting it from
the south, in line stretching from the
Appomattox across the Petersburg and
Suffolk Railroad, where our left rests on
Poo Creek.
This much that you may see that we
are not in Petersburg, as you fancied a
day or two ago. Yet we are surprising
ly near it. The line Of rebel works on
a commanding ridge south of the city,
taken by Smith on Wednesday, are but
two miles from Petersburg, and thence
/ one looks right into the "Cockade City,
which lies in the valley of the Apo
mattox. But our line is now advanced
far beyond those works, and in places
not over half mile from the town,
which lies perfectly under the range Of
our batteries, and has already received
, quite number of accidental shells.
In this state Of facts | readily antici-
pate the question, "Why then, is the
city not shelled Z" To any one who has
conception of the ground, there is a
ready reply to this question Peters
burg lies in hollow, and is command
ed both by the heights on the south,
which are in our possession and by the
heights on the north, which are in the
enemy's possession, Now, the assault
which carries Petersburg must also be
| prepared to push over the river and car
ry the heights beyond dominating it
for otherwise it could soon be made
much too hot place to be comfortable.
In any other view the shelling of Pc
terSburg would be useless enterprise !;
and if we take the bombardment of
fredericksburg as measure, would cost
us much more in ammunition than the
amount to which we might damage the
town. FJ
IaIi V.
The correspondent then describes the
great military Importance of Petersburg.
In regard to it's relations with Rich
mond, he says
Its relations with that capital, are
in fact, almost identical with those held
by Baltimore toward Washington and
| were the rebels in possession of the for
mer point they would not menace our
capital more than we would Richmond,
were we in possession of Petersburg.
| In fact not as much--fOr even were Bal
| timore in the hands of the rebels, Wash
| ington would still have its water COM
nIunications, while Richmond is isolated
| from it. The rebel defensive line was
drawn around the city at distance of
| about two miles from it, and formed a
set of detached redoubts after what is
known as the German system
| OF these works there were seventeen,
mounting from six to eighteen guns each.
They were beautiful in design and pow
erful in construction equal to the forth
fications around Washington, and con-
nected by an infantry parapet, the strong
est have yet seen in my experience
over all parts of the theatre of war; -
That they were left as inadequately
defended as they were therefore can
only be accounted for on the hypothesis
which, indeed, is no longer hypothe-
sis, but an ascertained fact-that Gen.
| Grants man9uvres deceived Lee, who
was still a days march off when this
line of defences fell into our hands. The
rapidity whick Beauregard was hurled
forward to the defences of Petersburg,
and the tenacity with which it has since
been held, are the best evidence of the
had not Gen. Grant been beforehand
with, Lee" r,t.. b
$500. vi.
have endeavored in this review of
the situation to set it down freely and
fairly as it stands. fit is not precisely as
encouraging as might have been hoped,
/ shall have misconveyed my own i'm
pressions, If it is taken to be discourag-
| ing. 1T can be discouraging only to
those whose absurd illusions respecting
| the work before this army, should long
/ ago have been dissipated by the expert
ences of the past fifty days. There
is no letyup with this army; it is deter
mined to go through with the business
in hand, and it sciR go through with it,
if it be but adequately sustained. Pc
tersburg presents precisely such a prob
lem as we have already had half a dozen
times before in the course of this cam
paign. 1t will be solved by instrument
| w euosC eAdt
have solved all the others--it will be eli
ther carried or turned. But of this ques-
ton the time has not yet come to speak,
and with the bar on discussion of this
topic which prudence imposes, will
lingly turn to the review of some OF
the more salient points of the marvel
lous campaign OF the past week--a task
4 to which am the more moved as / have
yet seen no connected recital of its
events Of affairs up to Friday, can
only speak from what have since gath,
cred, but the data have been drawn from
official sources. OF actions subsequent
to that day can speak as an eye-wit.
ness and having obtained pretty al
files of Richmond and Petersburg pa
pers, shall attempt to connect thu
events of this great movement into some
thing like an organic whole.
VII. rsa
The correspondent, proceeds 20 de
; srrihe the movements from the ehici--
Ao,...uy W lne James to show sn... Lo
anticipated an advance by way of Nal
yern Hill, and acSed upon that presumr
| ton that he was TINS consDletelv Il :