The Burlington weekly hawk-eye. [volume] (Burlington [Iowa]) 1860-1876, 1864-06-04

From May 20 to May 25-Strate-
nv and Fighting.
THE SITUATION.

~ and Fighting.
THE SITUATION.
After three weeks Of marching and fight
inc here then is the Army of the Potomac,
sisty miles from its starting point north OF
s;da Of the North Anna River, within
twenty-five miles of the objective point
which for three years has been the goal
If ali the blood and struggles of this
army. The experience of the two weeks
we spent before the lines of Spottsvlvania
brought the conviction that that position
could not be carried save by an expendi-
ture Of blood out Of all proportion to the
results of any victory that could be
bring on decisive engagement there
would undoubtedly have been greatly to
our advantages, for We had then front Of
operations in easy distance of our proxi-
mate base, Fredericksburg, while the enc
my was at q long remove from his. In
these relations, a battle that would have ef-
fectually broken Lees army would have
placed 40 in q mort advantageous position
br destroying it in the retreat that would
have followed. think it was with some
regret that Gen. Grant was eventually
com pelled 10 abandon the hope Of deilver-
ing such . battle. Day by day the COM
manding General continued TO throw out
toward the left, with the hope of overlap
ping and breaking in the rebel rlgnt wing,
line two or three miles north and extend
ing five or six miles west OF Spottsylvania
Court HOuse we finally came to hold a
line running almost due east from that
point and about four miles in extent, our
left resting at Mattapony Church. But,
just in proportion as we stretched toward
the left Lee extended his right to conform
to our line. and intrenched himself till
finally he came to have front practically
impregnable. Nothing, in fact, can be Inn
a0ined more formidable than the imprO-
yised works which each army has learned
to construct to cover itself withal. A layer
of stout logs, breast high, forms a frame
work. on which . thick parapet of earth is
thrown up. In front Of this line the tim
Der for several hundred yards is felled,
max ing an deliberately interlaced abattis.
Imagine one, two or three such lines along
the front; plant behind each line of hat
tie: rake obstructed approaches with a law
ish supply of artillery, and place in front
Of all several lines Of rifle pits, and you
will form conception, though still an in
adequate one, of the task imposed, upon
an army when an attack is proposed on the
enemy's works. 80.
Yet in several instances, as you know.
and as all the world will SOME day learn
with wonder, the illustrious valcr Of the
Army Of the Potomac has plucked victory
from these jaws Of hell, and bayonefed an
unfiinching foe in the very entrance Of his
citadel
Advices from day to day have Informed
YOU of the different attempts that were
made to carry theenemy's lines successive
" on the right, the center and the left; of
the partial success achieved, and of our
not few repulses. OF our successes, the
most complete was undou btedly that won
by Hancock on the morning OF the 18th
inst, when his corps struck the famous
salient on the right of the rebel line, aud
captured nearly the entire division holding
il. Doubtless could we have known In add
vance precisely what the upehot of that
attack would be, our assailing force, in
stead Of being prepared merely with q
view Of carrying the position, would have
been formed 20 a. to push the success to its
consequences, and the whole rebel army
might there have been doubled up, routed
and destroyed. No such golden OppOrtu-
nity again presented itself, and, after seek
ing it in blood-bought Reconnaissance on
our right and center, and after a loss of
some 10000 killed and MANNED men had
attssted the thoroughness Of the effort tol
army resolved to force the enemy's aban-
donment Of his lines, with the determine
ton of seeking elsewhere the arena for q
new trial by battle. ativs,
With this view it was needful, first Of all,
that the army should accumulate such sup |
plies a. would allow it to cut loose from its |
old base, and enable it to advance far
enough to open q new aud more accessible |
one. This done, 1t was very certain that, |
by simply moving on the left OF our front, |
Ne would 90 threaten Lees communica- |
tons a. to compel him to evacuate his for |
tilted line. In other words, we would eff
net turning movement on the rebel right
flank. True to expectation, when the reb-
sls, on Friday, discovered The corps Of
feeling their extreme left, shifted over to
their extreme right, Lee began to look out |
for his lines. "a M4 .sst
GRANT PUSHES TOWARDS RICHMOND.
On Friday night, May Goth, Hancock |
took up the march, advanced due east to |
Massaponax Church, then diverged on one |
Of the main roads leading due Southwark |
during the night and the following day and |
on Saturday evening, May 2lst, occupied |
Bowling Green, with the head Of his col |
umn at Milford, distant from the point Of |
starting seventeen miles. He met no ene-
my.
On the very same night on which Han |
cock started, Lee began to withdraw. In |
he dead Of the night, O'Clock .. M, Of
Saturday, the rebel reveille was heard to !
beat, and the head Of Longstreet's column, |
which was assigned the advance in retreat, |
fled southwark. Here then begins grand |
race of two armies, similar to that which /
hey ran from the Wilderness to Spottsyl- |
vania. A glance at the map will show US |
which he's the better chance. It will be |
observed, il the examination be made with |
q adequate Typographical mapin the hand |
that the rebel front ct Spottsylvania covers |
The direct and best route leading south |
ward, namely the telegraph road with the |
roads convefging on and radiating from |
this main line. On the other hand. it was |
anecessity Of the proposed operation that
We should bear well to the eastward. It il /
arecognixed maxim that the party execu-
ting Ranking movement exposes his own
flank. Such manHuvre,, in the face Of q |
vigilant and vigorous opponent, is always /
dangerous one. 1t had, therefore, to be
done both cautiously and by route some-
what circuitous. Lee, ~ we know by ex-l
Preface, is both vigilant and vigorous
The former quality was proved by the
promptitude with which he met the ad-
vance of our thanking column by corres-
ponding movement to the rear. The latter
vas made manifest in another way next
day.