Daily State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis, Ind.) 1861-1865, 1865-03-06


cOrrespondsnes Of The New YOrk News.
5000 Wssassrox, Feb -. 1865
Your readers will not fail to have observed the
contradictory nature OF The various Tamors thai |
have prevailed during the past few days concern
ing General Lee. his movements. and his sup
posed plans Nothing is more probable than
that the originate. IN the first instance, at
Richmond that they are brought here By spies.
or else reach here by the ordinary and regular
means Of Communication; and that they are put
10 circulation here with the sole object OF deceiv
ing our military authorities, and OF putting them
on the wrong scent. | am satisfied. from my
own otyserya tion and from facts which have
come to nav knowledge, that Gen. Lee enjoys IA
cilities for ascertaining a complete knowledge oil
the MILITARY situation OF the north, the number.
position and movements OF our troops, and even
of our intended movements and plans OF cam
psigus. such az have never been possessed by
anv military commander in modern times. and
which enables him TO know exactly the strength
and position of our respective arGies, and the
probable movements contemplated by our com
msnders.
This information is derived in part from men
Who make loud professions OF unioDisD, and who
omit no opportunity TO denounce rebels and cop
perheads. bot chiefly from rebel soldiers and Of
| icers who came into our lines in the guise OF de-
serters. The latter are ALWAYS received with
omen arms their stories about the starvation OF
the south and the speedy evacuation OF Peters
| burg and Richmond, are swallowed with eager
credulIty and they are furnished with tree trans
oortation TO Baltimore and Philadelphia Arriv-
ing in these cities. their butternut garb is speed
| ly exchanged for the ordinary gsrb OF citizens
aud then their work is easy. They At once be
| come laborers on the docks, mechanics, or obtain
/ through influence of friends, positions sales
| men, clerks, and even preachers In few days,
in some cases, in others. not sor many weeks they
obtain the special information they desire. Then
they suddenly disappear. But some dark night,
in the midst OF tempest perhaps, aud by the light
ning's red glare. solitary horseman may be
seen on some lonely by-road near the upper Pc
tomac; or light skiff may emerge from some
secret cove, and skim lightly over the placid DO
| som Of the lower Potomac. That horsemaD, OF
skih, is bearing Gen Lee information that may
be worth millions to the Confederate cause.
Il Thus il the north doubly deceived. and by
the same instruments. The latest story iron
the south in relation TO Gen. Lee il. that h'
is preparing 10 evacuate Petersburg aud tha
BeauregaTd has arrived at Richmond, sick bu
at the head of thirty thousand troops
The story of the contemplated evacuation o.
Petersburg can be disposed of in very few
words Any person of ordinary intelligence
who will sit down aud study carefully any goos
map OF the country around Petersburg an,
Richmond will see that it is far easier tasl
for Gen. Lee, with thirty thousand troops, 4
, defend those two cities together. fortified a
i, they are. than il is for Gen. Grant to besieg
them with enc hundred thousand. And if Gen
Grant has one hundred thousand troops in hi
army, Gen. Lee has seventy i've thousand. Th
. ability of Gen. Lee to concentrate at any point
| forces superior to those which Gen. Grant Cal
bring against him, has been demonstrated 81
often that ii has been reduced to certainty
Two of the most recent instances were thos'
, at the battles -of Hatcher's Run, on the 27tl
| of October, and on the 9th inst. So stron,
are The works constituting even the outer lin
of the defenses Of Petersburg and Richmond
and so ample and so perfect are Gen. Lee
facilities OF communication, that no matte
what feints Gen. Grant may make, no matte
at what point he may attack, that point Cal
: be held until troops in superior force are con
centrated there, and until Gen. Grants rea
intention is developed.
This is one of the reasons, and only one, VIII
there is no necessity for the evacuation OF elthe
:. Petersburg OF Richmond General Grant nigh
4 force the evacuation of Petersburg at any day
by simply Withdrawing all his troops from befor
that place, and concentrating his whole army o.
D the north side of the James river for grand as
e sault on Richmond from the east. The peril 3
!, the confederate capital would then be great, en-
in order to save il. General Lee might give u
> Petersburg aud concentrate all his troops a
{ Richmond. for the defense Of that place. Blu
: there is no probability that this will be done
= General Grant is too obstinate man to abandon
long cherished idea: and his most chershe
delusion is, that Richmond must be taken b.
capturing Petersburg first That delusion ha
=. already cost the country dear. But we are des
tined to pay still more dearly for it. before Gen
Grant 10 compelled to relinquish it.
+ There is reason to believe from facts which
have come TO life within day or two. tha
b General Lee, instead of evacuating Petersburg
: is concentrating his troops for a furious attacl
on the centre of Grants line. intending to pierc
+ il, and then to oyerwhelm and put to rout on
q wing before it can be supported by the other
The success of such a maneuver would plac
Sherman's army entirely at Lees mercy. Beau
regard has not sent man TO Richmond. He o
e his successor is concentra ting. as | wrote TO yo
!, yesterday, from 90 900 TO IS, 900 troops 10 th
neighborhood of the Great Pedee river. He vii
surely attack Sherman; and if Gen Lee does no
make the movement just indicated. there is moth
ing to prevent him from sending 10000 or eve
10000 troops from Richmond to insure Sher
man defeat
1 Malcolm