Pomeroy weekly telegraph. [volume] (Pomeroy, Meigs County, Ohio) 1860-1866, 1865-03-02
Sherman. .

Wilmington has fallen! On Wednesday
General Schofeld took possession of the place,
capturing many prisoners, This we class
under the head of Sherman because its cap
ture is part of the comprehensive plan which
is now being worked out in the Carolinas and
| Virginia. We have no details of the opera
tlons at Wilmington, and cannot say whether
our forces met with much resistance or not.
At Fort Anderson the enemy resisted feebly,
although their position was strong one, and
could have been held, as General Schofeld re-
ported, for long time
Thus far, since the fight at Fort Fisher, we
have had excavations, rather than sieges or
battles, commencing with Branchville, then
Columbia, next Charleston, and now Will
mington. These places would not have been
thus surrendered by the rebels if it were pos
sible to avoid it. Their course is an rcknowl-
edgement that their available forces were not
equal to the task of holding them, and at the
same time resisting Sherman's movements.
Hence they decided to give up the coast and
concentrate on interior lines In this lies
Sherman's great danger Beauregard is re-
ported to have had $4,000 men at Columbia
The garrisons of Wilmington and Charleston
will add $4,000 to this number, swelling it tt
$4,000 That tis, if these garrisons can reach
Beaurcgard in time 1t is evidently intended
that they shall Upon such concentration
they are relying. Itis this that causes them
to intimate that Sherman will have to face a
force sufficiently large to check him, and a
check they claim will be equivalent to de-
feat, and defeat would end in rout. The
pnbnv of t1,o rohol, IL Lasl -
cry effort to this end, and to risk almost every
thing on this issue. fisherman gets through
safely, their cause is rendered far more gloomy
tban it is now; while, on the other hand, to
defeat Sherman would be to gain victory
that would seriously check our progress, and
re-inspire the Southern people.
The rebels can well afford to give up their
entire coast for victory over Sherman.
Seeing then how essential it is to the rebels
to gain success describing their efforts to
accomplish this; and recognizing the critical
situation that an army may be expected to oc-
cupy, moving through the interior of an enc
mys country, there is, very naturally, feel
ing of unpleasant anxiety in regard to Sher-
mans situation; and this nervousness neutral
ICES in measure the news of the capture of
Charleston, and still more the victory at Will
mngton. The New York gold market shows
how the matter is regarded there The price
is in position 70 advance if a reverse should
be reported, bat makes no response to Whining
ton
But while there is ground for apprehension,
resulting mainly from Shermans isolated po-
sition, and the magnitude of the issue at stake,
there are no facts to cause us to doubt sue
cesssfill result 1t is not Sherman's intehton
to tarry in the interior. Upto the capture of
Columbia, Beauregard was unquestionably too
weak to resist our forces. While he MAY have
been receiving reinforcements, Sherman has
not been waiting He entered Columbia on
the morning Of the l7th Beauregard retreat
cd northward, and Sherman is reported to have
moved toward Charlotte but it does not follow
that he marched to Charlotte. He may have
done so, however, rs that would be necessary
if he designed severng all the railroad com
municatlons between Richmond and Georgia.
In this he would be governed by his knowledge
of Beauregard's strength If he had nothing
to fear from him, or reinforcements he was
likely to receive, he might go to Salisbury, as
that would cut off the Danvile Road to Rich
mond. But seeing that the distance from Co.
Iumbia TO Salisbury is l49 miles, while from
Columbia to Wilmington is only 1876 miles,
and knowing that Shcrman's purpose is to
reach tidc-water and form a junction with
Schoteld, it is reasonable to conclude that his
course from Columbia was toward the coast
The Danville Road can be more readily de-
stroyed by other forces than by, Sherman's,
and the latter would therefore, hardly march
l5Q miles, at any greatrsk, to cut the line.
II Sherman moved from Columbia toward
the seaboard, he would reach the latter in six
to eight days. This would bring him in COM
munication with Schoheld by this time. Up to
the 22d the rebels had no news of fighting, Or
we should have heard of it. It.is, therefore,
likely that Sherman gave Beauregard the slip,
and that We shall hear directly from him to.
day or tomorrow.
His junction with the different forces now
operating along the coast, will open up new
aud the most promising campaign against the
rebel capital thathas yet been undertaken. If
Sherman gets through safely, then Richmond
must speedy fall