Daily State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis, Ind.) 1861-1865, 1864-12-02
Special eOrrespondenoe Of the New York World.
BArrINoRE. Noremher %

Special corrcsponaence of the New York World.
BAIrIxoEE, November q.
STARTLING REBEL THEORY ABOUT SHERMAN
II is reported here to-day that the advanced
guard Of General Sherman's army bad reached
Macon, but that the place was found 10 be very
strongly fortified and well defended recon
noissance of the works was made. il Is said after
which General Sherman's army left that place on
his right. and continued bis nbarch towards Au
gusta This rumOr is most important, for, II Il
should prove 20 be true. t will give an air of
probability to what nav understand to be the
Confederate view of Sherman's campaign as a
whole This will be startling TO northern read
ers, who have been accustomed 20 regard Geo
Sherman as the ablest general in the service. and
who have accustomed themselves 10 regard his
present march as one which must certainly end
IN a great victory. The truth Is the truth, how
ever even if we learn il from our enemies. And
no rejecting MUD can fail TO perceive that Sher
mans campaign must have formed a part of the
general plan of the campaign of 1864; that it
must have held a certain relation to Grants
campaign against Richmond; and that as the
latter hmresulted in so complete and acknowl-
edged Failure. j, is not to be expected that the
plans laid out for Sherman could be otherwise
than seriously disarranged
coSsEoUESCEs OF GRANTS FAILURE TO TAKE
RICHMOND
Iii said that the Confederate leaders regard
the present movement Of General Sherman as
one which ne was forced 20 make. in consequence
OF the movements which they made subsequent
to the fall of Atlanta IL il no secret now that
If Grants campaign against Richmond had come
to successful termination by the first of Sep
TENDER. as il was reasonable 10 suppose it would ,
we would have had fifteen thousand troops to
send TO Sherman by the 18Th of that month. who
would have garrisoned Atlanta and kept open
Sherman's communications for him while he
went on with his whole armv. seventy FIVE thous
and strong in one body. and finished and secured
the capture of Georgia. That would have been
an appropriate continuation OF his great cam
pagn from Chattanooga to Atlanta Our ina
oility TO do this forced upon Sherman the alter
native which he has adopted.
THE coyFEDEgATEs REGARD SHERMAN AS RE
TREATING TO THE SEA.
These facts were plainly evident to the Con
federate leaders. OF course they draw their own
inference from them. They may be mistaken.
but they are impressed with the conviction that
the operations of Beauregard and Hood in Sher-
mans rear, during the month Of October, forced
Sherman to abandon Atlanta. because they made
Atlanta untenableas base for him, and forced
him 10 seek. to change his base. They regard
him Virtually as retreatng by the only route
open for his retreat
YET THEY DREAD THE CONSEQUENCES OF Sue
cEssFUL CHANGE OF HIS BASE.
With this limitation however, that if he sue
ceeds in reaching Savannah with his army in an
! effective condition he will have succeeded in
making his movement a successful change of
base, and will be ready then to resume his cam
paign against the State Of Georgia from much
more favorable base than he had at Atlanta
The more closely this view is examined the more
reasonable and forcible il will bs seen to be; and
it is confirmed, indeed, in 4 remark die degree
by the very terms of General Sherman's order
to his troops. to which the World alluded edito-
rally on the 25th instant
CONCENTRATION OF TROOPS TO OPPOSE sHERAANs
MARCH.
Holding these views, there is but one thing for
the Confederate leaders to do. and there is abun
dant evidence to show that they arc doing that
most vigorously; and that is, to concentrate
troops at Macon Augusta sufficient over
whelm and defeat Sherman's army before he
reaches Savannah There is nothing to prevent
General Beauregatd from being at Macon by the
| time Shermans army reaches that place. with at
| least twenty FIVE thousand Of Hoods army and
that would still leave twenty thousand with
Hood Ny information is TO the effect that Gen.
Lee has already sent fifteen or twenty thousand
troops from Richmond Al least ten thousand
Charleston and Savannah, and five thousand
from Florida There was already a body of ten
thousand Georgia militia assembled at NJ tcon
and certainly twenty thousand more could be
raised in Georgia and South Carolint.
Here, then. Is a body OF from 40 900 to 65
600 regular troops. and 80 900 militia, making
| $1,000 20 80 QUO men in all, whom Sherman will
have to confront him between VI icon and the
sea. Is the number oo larger Cut it down; saw
/ haf 81. A
900 militia: and there is still So 900 men. These
| fighting behind their works-6ghtng on their
| own soil. and with feelings that will actuate
their breasts-may not be able to defeat Sherman
but they can hold him at bay until more troops
come up; and more will come up. Delay TO
Sherman, in this movement, is itself the precur-
| sor of defeat
BRECKENRIDGE TO THREATEN KENTUCKY, AS A NJ
VERSION
There is a theory prevailing here in regard to
| Breckinridge's movements in East Tennessee
which il may De we'll 20 place upon record 1t
| l. that Breckinridg''s forces amount 10 fifteen
thousand men. and that his destnati n Is Louis
vile or Cincinnati aud that he expects 20 be
joined by ten thousand recruits, keutuckians
| like himself. en- route The theory Is not an i'm
probable one in view of what must be the object
| of such movement The de, of the capture
ot either the cities named cannot be entertained
| for moment. The Confederate leaders are not
the men to order such absurd enterprises. But
they can be threatened, Nth obvious advantage
To the rebel cause The events of the war follow
each other with such rapid,y that few Of your
readers, perhaps. remember the terror, the abso-
lutte terror. that prevailed in Louisville when IL
was threatened with similar danger in 1862 IL
| formidable rebel column should threaten either
Louisville or Cincinnati now (and il is said that
even part OF Hoods 30 900 troops has been de
tached 20 march through Tennessee aud join
| Breckenridge in Kentucky for the purpose.) IL
will be seen in a moment that il will necessarily
distract the attention of our military authorities
| from the two points shcrc all our troops ought
to be concentrated, namely, at Richmond aud
Augusta
sRrcKISNDcE HAS A. RYE on KNOXVILLE
If Breckinrdvc has anything like an ade.
qutte force. however, he will be much more
likely 10 attempt the capture OF Knoxville II
tho administration depends on Gillem to defend
that place. (althvuy IA Gillcm i mtn af,cr Nlt
LIncolu's own hcar,,l VIC may EXPECT TO hear OF
| is capture at any dny lls capture would sc.
cure the permanent reposscs-ion ot East Tenues-
see 10y the ConicdcrAtes aud The latter would
entirely neutralxe General Sherman's attempt
to cut the Conicderacy IN two by marching on
savannah.
IMPORTANT IRON kARly's ARMY.
have few items Of late news from the
Shenandoah Valley to-day. which are OF consid
cradle importance. w view OF what IA going on IN
other parts OF the Coniederacy Your readers
will see that these facts give them the kew %