The Nashville daily union. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1862-1866, 1865-01-01
Maslrille 8lniou.
SUNDAY, JANUARY l, 1865.
Sherman the Napoleon OF the Day
The London Tines Arguments Tor
his Defeat,
From the london Times, Dec. ~

far as we can Judge from very imper-
feet information, TO resemble he csls-
5rated alarck Of Napoleon IN 1914 10 st.
Dizier, Jy rhich he thrslg himself upon IKE
Communications Of the allied armies, then ad-
vancing upon Paris and would, it Is said,
except for the intervention of Lord
Castlereagh, have compelled their re-
treat at the very moment when the Ob-
ject of all their labors seemed 10 be
within their grasp. In the same way
Sherman, instead of seeing in the one
rations of Hood a necessity to fall back
upon his original base of operations,
has read it as an invitation TO seek a
new one, aud, instead Of falling back
on Tennessee and Kentucky ia the
northwest, he has turned his tacetO-
wards the Atlantic. and Is marching IN
a southeasterly direction.
There IS a remarkable cOncret OF
opinion, probably resting on sure though
unavowed information, that the object
of the GeGerol is principally, perhaps,
10 destroy the railways which connect
the Eastern with the Western States of
the federation, and then, dividing MS
army into two parts, to attack with one
the town of Augusta, situated on the
Savannah river, and the seat of the
principal powder mandatory of the
south, and with the other TO advance
to the river and capture the city Of Sa-
vannah itself, which, although it was
taken by the Englishsin the former rev
olutionary war, has as yet deied all the
efforts of the North TO take it by sea.
If this enterprise be brought to sue
cessful termination, Genera Sherman
gW undoubtedly be entitled 10 tie honor of
haviag added a fresh chapter to the theory
and practice Of modern l0artars Instances,
no doubt, have occurred where a bold
general, under the pressure of some
insuperable difficulty or the seduction
OF some irresistible temptation, has
abandoned the basis of his operations,
and undertaken a long and toilsOme
march in search of another base But
history also records very few instances
indeed where operations Of this kind
have been crowned with success. The
attempt has generally been made In
the hope of raising country dlsatlected
TO its existing government, and with
the prospect Of almost entire security
if the point sought for can once be
reached. General Sherman has neither
Of these conditions in his favor; the
country into which he plunges is entire
ly hostile to him; he can count on no
information or assistance of any kind,
but must look, on the other hand, for
every opposition that can possibly be
offered to his advance by q people
achoss very eriStence as staEeI on tie alter
aattrc Of his .faihTe or success. The coun-
try through which he Is TO penetrate Is
not filed with large towns or pOpu,OUs
villages; it is, according to English no
tions, very thinly inhabited, and there
Is no reason to suppose that its inhabit
ants will allow any Of the means of
which it IS in their power to
destroy to fall into the hando OF an IN
yader. The railroads which he comes
to destroy have rendered almost un-
necessary other lines Of communication;
the country IS thiekly timbered and IN
tersected with streams and ravines, Of /
fering many points where his march may /
be delayed and his advance harassed !
the organization Of labor in large plan |
taGons, each under the absolute direc /
ton of single chief, Is favorable to /
any scheme that may be devised Cor /
throwing aDstructions in his path or 4
driving away everything that might /
to his subsistence. Lis or
ders are to devastate and lay waste, |
and 1t is reasonable to suppose, without I
either Spartan forJltude or
even Russian seIf-denial TO the inhabi- I
tants of Georgia. that they will thiak
it their best policy to anticipate him /
There are no roads worthy Of the name,
and his reliance tor facility of transport
is said to be on the sandy nature of
the soil, which dries up very speedily,
and will not, it Is thought, be perma-
nently affected by the storms which
we may expect at this advanced period
Of the year. We are not informed
General Sherman takes with
him his heavy artillery; nor can we,
Of course, form the least idea of the
amount OF resistance, either from reg
Ilar troops or hastily levied militia
which be has to expect We can only
reason from parallel cases. The as
of the North seems to be-
20 use them-that the Southern cOnted-
sration is like an egg, possessing, in
Iced, hard shell, but when this once
passed, soft and penetrable. Expe
'ience b as given US more proof OF the
ruth Of the first than of tde second Of
hese assumptions. There is no doubt
hat on whatever side it has been at
acked, with the exception of New Or
cans, the Confederacy has been proved
o have an exceedingly hard shell,
much more resembling the srmor Of a
Ortoise than the thin covering of an
,gg. But this proof of one half the
can by no means be taken to
establish the other half
We have said that in his invasion Of
1eorgia General Sherman has left be-
lind him in the Northwest General
Hood, who, it is natural to suppose, viii /
lot be slow to follow in the footsteps OF
lis retreating antagonist A few Gays I
lelay before Macon or Augusta, or be-
ore any Of the natural obstacles which
must be encountered IN march through
wild and trackless country of between
hree and four hundred miles, would
ufiice TO bring Hood, possessed Of much
)etter information, up with Sherman |
lndeF circumstances which must almOst
place the latter between two
Tres. The worst OF such enterprises a
is that they allow nothing for
he chapter of accidents, proverbially
o potent in war, and that the slightest
mi most unfortunate causes may lead !
@ their defeat and ruin. We had our
,wn experience in the tremendous dis
.ster OF Saratoga, undertaken, it might
70 thought under auspices far more
promising than the expedition Of Sher~
nan in the ruin which overlook the
oldmn of General Braddock, and IN
he failure OF the expedition against
)uebec bY the brave American General
Montgomery It 0iH Be strange, ildesd,
Z the army Of General iSkeTnlan should or-
I've 5etore Savannah, after ateh a march,
ondacted under such difficulties, n eonat-
ion to attack and storm t0lgH 50 vel.
1rhfed aud 60 strsau0llsiy offended,
nd, it is not, it is difficult to conceive
more embarrassing position THAI that
ieneral Sherman will occupy, With a
1asted and weary army, q s6eong town
q his front, and an enemy fighting On