The Hillsborough recorder. [volume] (Hillsborough, N.C.) 1820-1879, 1864-07-13

to the crowd; but victory. nevertheless, is
not achieved. and seems as distant as eyer.
Hitherto the march of GraRt--though, if it
be ultimately successful, il will be csnsid-.
cred heroic-is the advance Of piece Of
mechanism. He sees no obstacle and goes
blindly and ruthlessly on. He trusts to
nothing but superior numbers and hard
fighting. The lives Of his men are of no
value. He throws them awav by thousa nds
to gain half a mile Of jungle. He has push
ed on for five leagues. and paid about nine
thousand lives for each. At every step he
fights at disadvantage, on the ground Of
the enemy's choosing. But he fights on.
His men are picked off by unerring sharp
shooters from behind every tree, but his
order is still to push forward. His Gene
rails fall as if they were no more account
than private soldiers. Up to Tuesday
evening, the seventh day Of the conflict, he
had lost thirteen Of them in killed, wound
ed and prisoners. and at least forty five
thousand men. This loss is admitted bv
friends and admirers, while others are in
clined to add fifteen thousand to that enor-
nous estimate. But still he hslds his way
undaunted, seeing nothing, caring for no.
thing but Richmond, which, if he ever
reaches upon the terms of these seven days,
he will reach without so much as body
guard-a solitary prisoner. The hauoc
committed IN his ranks IS sickening 10 reflect
upon.
One New York regiment. the pride Of
the city, which long since marched down
Broadway amid Haunting banners, waving
kerchlefs. loud huzzas and the music of the
drum and fife. suffered so terribly that our
Of its full complement but four officers and
fifteen men acre LETT after half days
fighting. Whole brigades have lost their
officers and two-thirds Of their rank and
file, and having nohs to lead them, have
been incorporated with other brigades, on
~ less cruelty JecImated than themselves,
in having brigadier lett to recognize their
shattered remnants. And all this time The
desperate struggle has only been waged on
the outskirts of the Confederate works.
and in such positions as Gen. Lee would
prefer to see an enemy whom he wished to
annihilate.
The people do not know how to account
for this on any other supposition than that
Grant is the greatest as well as the most
daring General whom The world ever saw,
and are content to wait little longer for
the results before they change their opin-
ion. But the voices Of waiing and lamenta-
tion is heard in the many thousands Of
households in this and all the cities OF the
North. TO permit unqualified appreciation
on system Of war 50 costly as this, or to
silence the buzz of adverse criticism. IL
rant'sarmy, instead Of throbbiog. think
ing mass Of human beings, were bat an ag-
glomeration Of steel and iron-a monster
steam engine cunningly pat together for the
purpose Of destruction, its driver could not
more deliberately urge il forward in its
pitiless career.
Amid all the terrible excitement Of the
war news il is easy TO perceive there is al
under current Of deep feeling. The people
are not so yain-glorious as formerly. They
are not SO certain Of victory as they have
been on previous occasions, and the bril-
liant strategy OF Lee and the rnconquered
heroism oil the Southern army extort atl-
miration on every side. The fact is that
the North. even in this day Of extreaity,
is proud ef the Inequalities exhibited by
the Southern army and people. and feels,
possibly not for the first time, a misgivins
that the war was a mistake, and that il il
were possible Tor the North aud South 10
shake hands. and 10 be to each other as
once they were, i. would be glorious pri-
yilege and blessing to both Of them. Never
before did the peace party speak ont 50
boldly, and so many agree with them.