Cleveland morning leader. [volume] (Cleveland [Ohio]) 1854-1865, 1864-03-23

- The Opportunlty Of General Gram.
.3IfeyeF there came tide in the sffsirs
Of men, which could be taken st the fOOd,
Ihepressnt military position Of the Re-
public is one. The whole country is in.
n an expeetsnt mood, waiting eagerly for
The Ant movements which General Grant,
VIII make to crush ths rebellion and bring
pss6s to distracted country. Already
have the people in their fond love Of heroes,
ideali1ed the unconqusrable Grant until he
Icons up like q Jura In her misty shreud." ."
Bis silence, his wonderful energy, his
Hitherto unspOtted fame, the universal con-
aAdsncs he enjoys, the immense power he
commands, the tremendous interest at
stake, the desperate fortunes Of the rebel
lien to be retrieved now or never, al the
circumstances attending the sleystiOu Of
General Grant to supreme command, In
vest him already with that shsdOwy great
ness that belongs to Cessr, 10 Hannibal,
20 Cronvell, or to Napoleon.
The people, long and eagerly looking for
their military savior, have before now
awarded 8 similar Importance to the heroes
whom the war has called forth. McGlellan'
Hooker, Rosecrans, Fremont and others
hsvs enjoyed the worship Of the hsrO-lOv-
ing crowd; but now do they award it to
this new champion Of the Republic.
While We have unbOunded confidence in
ths sbility- Of General Grant we at the
same time must warn the people against
The delusiOn that the greatest military
heroes do not have their reverses. It
would be unreasonable to suppose that
Grant will not have his; that he will not
have some drawback in the triumphant
sweep Of his splendid legions through the
Strongholds Of the rebellion.
Nevertheless we believe that General
Grant, having control of all our armies,
is destined to deal treason tremendous
blows. The problem is simple one, the
destruction Of Lees army, and the ruin Of
thai Of Johnston. Richmond, long defend
cd and exalted into an Importance beyond
iis real strategic value, must be taken. To
capture the rebel capital is to secure Vir'
ginia, Kentucky and East Tennessee. 1t
is 70 defeat Lee, drive the remnant Of his
forces through North Carolina and into
South Carolina. We have never seen any
reason Why the rebels should hold Rich
nond by virtue Of but one line Of railrOsd
eonmunication through North Carolina.
Hss General Lee an army so strong as to
defend Richmond from attacks on the
north, west, south and east and yet pre-
vent Union army, advancing from New
bsrne, from sei1ing Raleigh and that line
seized, South Carolina becomes, as it was
ths &fst, the last theater OF rebellion.
while this is being done in the east,
General Grant viii not be idle in the west,
Atlanta is the key to the possession Of
tbs states Of Mississippi, Alabama, asOr-
gia and Florida. The next line Of defense,
the only remaining one, is the Savannah
river. Il appears now, to all human
vision, that the last great victory Of the
Republic will be achieved on the soil Of
South Carolina.
The Oppor tunity Of Grant is therefore
unparalleled in the history Of nations. If
he leads our armies to victory, the mill
tAry renown Of past ages will dwindle
into Obscurity.
The progress Of nations on the western
continent viii then date from the reslora-
tion Of pesce and nationality to the
mighty Republic of the West. The pomp
Of history, will know nothing in its an
nails squsl to the far more than NspoIeonie
sehieVements, whose fame shall ring
throughout the world.
That General Grant and his brave men |
nay be the ssViOrs Of our country, is the |
prayer Of every loyal heart.