, 1864-02-03
TIE zkEfEEHl E>xAN9


4 Washington correspondent Of the st.
Louis Republican, upon tie authority Of O
gentleman direct from Richmond, who has
been employed In the rebel departments,
gives the following: statements, which only
needa confirmation to be Of peculiar interest,
The correspondent writes:
In recent letter, stated that /. was cx-
Fccted our CONSUMPTION sill raise one buu.
drcd thousand new recruits. Ny informant
states tint the increase OF the rebel armies
thereby Will be much grcater-at least one
ono hundred and fifty thousand. One hun
crcd and twenty-five thousand wi1l make the
total forces Of the rebellion on this side OF
The Mississippi an aggregate Of two hundred
and seVeuty-dve thousand troops-.n extraor-
dinary uumbcr under the circumstances; but
ne following estimate Of troops In the field
at this time will show that it Is not e5ayyera-
: tion, provided the ultimate results of the
conscfjption are correct. Cen Lee has IS OOQ
troops In the army of Northern Virginia, to
which must be added ten thousand scattered
throughout the State. In North Carolina
there are five thousand State troops, and q
few thousand Confederate, Beauregarl has
fourteen thousand Mt Charleston and Sayan-
nah At Mobile there Is force of three
thousand. AL the commands In Mississippi
and Alabama amount to fifteen thonsand
Johnston has thirty thousand In Northern
sand in East Tenneesee-the whole amount
Ing to about one hundred and fifty thousand
veteran troops.
THIS force of one hundred and fifty thou-
sand veterans are relied upon as the last re-
source Of the rebels In their desperate ex-
trcmity, and 1t nlone will be employed in
fighting the spring campaign. Ali detached
commands OF veterans viii be sent to the
main armies, and the weakest regiments alone
VIII be held back and 1lled up With conscripts
to guard the forts, railroads, &C., and to oc-
cupy positions In the rear Of the troops en-
gnged in active warfare.
Gen: Lee arrived In Richmond on tho ID
day OF this month, and remained there nine
Gays, during which time he Was In constant
consultation with jeff. Davis and the rebcl
War Department in regard to the military
condition and prospects Of the Confederacy,
and to The plans for future operations. T.,
the spring campaign8. It was admitted BY
MI the parties to these consultations that the
prospect Of success was gloomy in the eS-
irene; that the affairs Of the Confederacy
had reached desperate crisis, which could
only be passed in safety by the successful
adoption Of the mogt desperate measures:
that another year Of such war as had been
Waged against them would end In their COM
p1ete defeat, and that the question of the
hour was whether they should surrender
now, or, gathering up all heir resources and
concentrating them IN last and final effort,
their Owl desperation for success. They
choose the lntter course.
In the course Of their Interviews the fol-
lowing plans were developed. JEFF Davis
Was In fayor Of employing two hundred
thousand troope, as follows:
An army Of seycnty-fiyc Thousand under
Johnston to hold Grant in check; another
column OF fifty thousand to oppose the army
Of the Potomac, protect Richmond. hold Vir-
Einia; while grand army Of one hundred 1
thousand veterans 6lou1d be concentrated in
Southwestern Virginia, Of which Longstreet's
whole, under Lee, to march to the Ohio, to
ascend the right bank Of the river, and cross
Ing above Wheeling to occupy line stretch
Ing from the Panhandle ITO Lake Erie, thus
dissecting the territory of the loyal States,
and, By holding or destroying all the rail-
BE admitted this could not be done without
cncouutering great difficulties, and perhaps
fighting a great battle at the start, SOME
where On tie Ohio River. "But," snid he to
General Lee, tall ordinary difficulties know
you can surmount; the enemy cannot con-
thousand Veterans before you fly our Tag in
the sight of British subjects on the hifhcr
ehorc Of Lake Erie, and believe that cfrcnm-
stancc will insure cur immediate recognition
by the powers Of Europe. I an not fearful
Of the result Of battles, which know mnst
bc fought to accomplish this, for something
tells NE that before die shall exult in the
glad tidings Of great and overwhelming vic
tory BY you oyer our oppressors upon their
own Eoi1, and firmly believe the next time
Yen meet Tie enemy on free soil my hopes
Gen. Lee had many objections to the rebel
Presidents plan nc admitted the argument
about recognition: but insisted there were
difficulties In the way Of SUCCESS which could
not be surmounted. In the first place he
presented the fact that rebel army Of one
hundred thousand men would have TO carry
Its supplies some two hundred miles over tie
worst mountain roads in the country, and
the transportation naccesaty Tas not to be
had; bcsiles, had they the means at COM
mand, the progress Of the army would bs SO
delayed By the immense trims. 1t would be
impossible to succeed. Secondly, It wouIi
take twenty days, under any clrcumstances
to advance 10 Wheeling, and In that time thn
Federa1s could confront him with an ednal
number Of troopsi and thirdly, he mIrht snc-
coed in penetrating north Of the Ohio. and
establishing his line ns far Us Lake Erie, hut
he would be menaced On both TANKS at tha
same time, while his rear and lines Of com
munication would bo The most inyitinely e.
posed TO attack and occupation by the enemy
In conclusion, the rebel General presented
lis own plan, which was Us follows: 70
give Johnston seventy-hye thousand troops.
ard Longstreet the satne number; the for
AAN4 ~ AN%F ~ 4Ai AlOAt, While
The latter would rctake Knoxville and East
Tennessee. Longstreet'B success would turn
Grants t1anl, and, If the latter did not tlcn
full buck from Chattanooga to Nashville he
could advance toward Middle Tennessee,
and, menacins his rear and line Of supply and
communication, force him to retreat Under
the most unfayorable circumstances. Grant,
once On the move, Johnston would follow
lin closely, and uniting with Lougstreet,
the two could drive him to the Ohio river.
"Then Kentucky is ours, " said General Lee
"givc Johnston and Longstreet this many
troops; let them start Grant out Of Chatta-
nooga, and then unite their ferccs before he
could fall On either separately, and am Ger
tain we will regain Tennessee J1reotr,; and
carry the war into Kentucky, where, be-
licvc, it will end"
Which Of these plans were finally adopted,
my informant cannot certainly tell; hut, he
believes that the execution Of one Of the two
is row being arranged, md it is very likely,
General Lec's programme.
~ Several years ago a husband and his
wife guar1eled aud separated. In order that
his son, then IN infant Of three months old,
might be recognized should he grow up, the
tatAer cnt of both his thumbs. The son grew
10 manhood and enlisted In the 9Th Connecti-
cut volunteers. He WAS on guard at Hilton
uead, S. c., one day, when the father Tccog-
nixed him by tue marks he had 50 tenderly "a
pfnra1 s,r,ors TT m t,nyaA]ef h1a