Richmond Whig. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1862-1865, 1865-03-21
RICHMOND WING.
Tuesday MOraing. March n. iseS

yvVHE New York Meas reviews the official Re-
! & port. for 1864 Of Lincoln's War Minister,
Sts tor. which for some unexplained reason, has
oaIy latSly been sven TO the public. We gather
few items from the review which possess interest.
Referring 70 tie operations OF the department OF
the Provost Marshal General, Stanton states that
s'ta r.y zns tbeus1aa three hundred and rSHay de-
se-;ors aud straEglers had been captured by that
branch Of the service during 1864" When we
bear Ia mind that many captures may have been
mad, b. tters than those connected with the Pro
vosJ IlralArs odice, and that an ineOnsidersble
pgor--tiaa OF those who desert ever captured
a. q !, we can form conjecture Of the enormous
aR.aat OF desert0n in the Yankee service, and
understand why, it is such extravagsnt falsshoods
fI theiS newspapers about the assertions from our
ranks. As the var progresses, too, the material
that eoDposes the Yankee armies, Lad enough
non the first, constantly deprecistes, insuring a
pEopor,opate increase in the amount vi desertion.
Recruiting secures none now but negroes and the
lowest order Of foreigners, kidnapped, drugged or
bought, and eager % escape whenever an opportu-
nifty occurs. This with tue additional TACT that the
longer the war is protrscted the greater the wear
ness whit OF all descriptions Of troops affords us
the encouraging assurance that, immense as the
dese!tious were in 1864, they will be heavily IN
creased this vesr. The progressive increase in
dcssrt.ous Is Illustrated h. the fact set fcgth in
Stsntou's report that the entire number of arrests
BY the same department, for a ike offence from
the beginning OF the war till the emu OF the year
1858 was trslte-CRs N0aSaad three Auadred and
strengthening that within twelve months of 1864
more arrests were made by sixty per cent. than
within the thirty three months prior. Upon these
facts the Asfs remarks: Nearly forty thousand Of
e the number ofthe men caught in twelve months
g "a aarpf, to escape from the 0rvice, under cir
.' cumstsnyes highly farora5ls to escape, we can
- understand vcry we'll why the enormous drafts
% OF hundreds az thousands have turned out 20 he
- but pouring water into a seive. Vigorous meas
O. C.es clJeNrsiut fay bring the bloody coils
ss2Es which have already begun 10 show them
IS 5ei,c, la ifsi~ed eases: but they certainly can
q. never prevent a system Of assertion that under
tie passive opposition OF the masses 10 further
=. .Ioodsiei had, three or four months ago grown
- numbers whose very ercCD'iopa. cases amount
20 forty thousand 90
TOD. another head. NJ stanton furnishes some
si.u'Gcscl figures. IL 1855 the military hospitals
nun bered one hundred and cighty-two, and the beds
ths- contained amounted 10 S4472, enough, one
wLstAtbe statchsr OF the Wilderness broke loose,
when Gran, logan that splendid series Of victories
that I'D MT sin Richmond, lit was found neces-
sar,,' Ir. Stanton, says, TO establish additional
ones ,aaspi,aisI ana 60 increase the capacity Of
those nearest the scenes OF active operations Civ
IL OK uuutrol and ninety hospitals, With capa-
CIV OF l45 81 beds" General Grant began his
N5rf, tGc,Ns SAYS i'in tue trst week OF AlSy.
.' 81 tae last day Of the following mouth the So
called 'yctoIies7 had demanded eig BIT additional
" hospitals. TIE capacity Of those nearest he
9 scenes O. active operations was by that time in
80 cIe4 .I, als IN les, than two months from the
{" day Grant crossed the Rapidan. the beds had
g. been Increased, as a consequence Of his ''tena-
' City, rs upward OF forty per cent.--by so many
e as 5t.oi9. The forty per cent aided thus to the
g acc. nmg iliigns originally for the victims of tie
G. hl.te-t-. represents horrible account for six
" week -osS 90. victory" but thaI account be-
- comes spp,.iug when IL is Secollected that the
i-srelsc o.. "ths capacity OF the hospitals nearest
&c tie scenes Of active operations points to the
O. increase IN the number OF CASUALTIES so grave as
q 10 make their rsaori dangerous. The wounds
- thu; have been increased enormously in number,
a. we may. therefore, declare have included an I'm
e'N-'' -'oN F'Nt'''4"" VI boVSS "HiVA prove
g mortal!
On the subject OF horses, the Meas learns from
the repOr; that the artillery, cavalry and trains Of
Tia -rmy, when fully equipped, employ horses in
a.. proportion Of one to esery two men. The con-
sumption Of bcrse desh amounts to five hundred
dsg. lie Ee~s estimates that the number Of horses
II. tae T@lkee otstcs is less by million than il was
a: Gao VesilaIg OF the war, aud adds, ave may
eobcIude HAT tbe1s Federal States begin to APP
pralch the luii og their resources in animals for
IL. sn,,ng cavalry"