Daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, Va. [W. Va.]) 1859-1865, 1865-03-31


From the New York Times of Yesterday. e.
Has the Last Great Battle OF the
War been Foughts
In spite of the desperate struggle of, Lea
to regain the fading prestige of his Virgin
ia veterans, by that frantic assault of ga.
urday upon Grants lines, the opinion. be.
gins to prevail, among careful thinkers.
that the last great battle of the war is al.
ready recorded. - -
The idea, We know, has prevailed that
Lee would at last stake the fortunes of the
Sontederacy upon some mighty, desperate
Waterloo, and would have it perish. If er.
ish it must, in ablsze of glory. Bnt Les
Whatever else may be said, of him, ia moi
without sense or feeling. We have no
right to assume that he will much longer
persist in sacrificing the lives of thousands
OF his men for chance that has no exis-
tence, or that he will any the more do 40
for any barren sentiment. This Would
make him butcher But what chance
has he2 If he gives his final battle soon.
it must be by throwing himself. once
more upon Grants intrenchments.
which he knows. now, il he did
not on Friday last, would be
sheer destruction. II he waits
before giving it he will have to face not
only Grant, but Sherman, which would on
~ redouole the certainty of his beingoyer.
Whelmed. 1.-The evacuates Richmond To
grapple with Sherman, before the latter
comes up, he will find Grant close upon
bis heels, and will only put himself be-
tween the upper and neither milestone. His
past conduct eVinces that these iilemmsA
weigh upon him with their full force
Month after month he allowed to pass with.
out any attempt either TO move from Rich.
mond or to drive Grant away from It. He
dared neither to attack, nor to rednoe his
strength by sending reinforcements tn
check Sherman and Sheridan. Heremsin.
ed motionless while his difficulties we're
all the while thickening, while bis
chances for effective work vere
all the while growing less. BE did this
too In spite of the constant decrease Of his
effective strength by scores and hundreds
OF desertions daily, without any fresh &C.
cessions whatever, and in spite of increas.
ing difficulties in procuring supplies. All
this certainly does not look much like pre-
pairing for some supernatural conflict.
Why should Lee again court an newt.
able defeat2 Certainly the CARRYING nf
fresh mourning into thousands of Southern
families, with nothing but fresh discomfi.
iture to show for il, would add nothing tn
his personal prestige. 1t would only stain
his memory with new drops of bitterness.
he cannot hope for better terms from onr
Government when PROSTATE on the battle
field than by previous surrender. To
spare the etusion of blood must be the
strongest of all motives upon our Govern
ment to be as liberal and leuient as possi-
BILE. Ut course an unconditional snb.
mission must be had from Lee, whether
1t costs blood or not. The Governmen
cannot degrade issel by Gompounding
witf treason, but who doubts that a mis-
siVe from Lee, atany time, frankly decla-
ring that the odds opposed to him were
too great to be withstood, that he shrank
from useless slaughter and would vieid ~
humanity as we'll as necessity, would nm
the instant, awaken in the Government and
in the Northern people a most penerons
spirit, and that a submission thus made
would be followed by a clemency far ex-
ceeding that which would come after a
bloody victory gained over a raging and
desperate foe2 1t will be impossible to
impute such an act to fear, or to auv other
dishouorable motive. Geo. Lee has sacL
riiced too much to the Oonfederacy to al
low any doubt of his disposition to serve
it, go long as any chance is left it.
Perhaps it may be said that his inactiou
was occasioned by an expectation of lepis-
latiOu that would benefit him-particulsr.
ly the authorizing of the conversion of
slaves into soldiers. But why should he
have delayed till beyond the time when
such legislation could be of useY, Can anv
man in his senses believe that stolid slaves
can be drilled aud disciplined up to the
mark of effective soldiership within the
brief interval that will elapse before Rich
10 cd In 49, ~,
Grant, Sherman and Sheridan? The rebel
Congress could do but little at best. and
that little was delayed simply because of
a lack of faithLthat it would prove of apv
value. 1t is hard to suppose that Lee
could have rested bis decisive action on
any such slender and doubtful considera.
tons. 1t is easy to believe that be did
nothing up 60 Saturday last, simply be-
cause he saw no chance of success, until
he was deceived by Grants apparent
weakening of his lines.
IfGen. Lee is to go into general battle
at all, he can have no object in delaying.
Every day, as we have said, only puts hin
to q yet greater disadvantage. Bat ifhe ia
to surrender, delay Is natural. It mpst
take place under circumstances in which
the whole South must see that reason left
him no alternative. If 1t is to occur. ne
cannot expect 1t until he ls completely be-
leagured by our armies either in Rich.
mond, or some other position. Weeks must
yet elspse before this complete hemminp in
can be consummRted; and more time Vet
perhaps, before his supplies would run go,
short as TO compel him to take the fusl
step. There is no reason to suppose that
were Lee once surrounded, Grant would
adopt any different line of action from
that which he carried out with such mo
cess at Vicksburgh. he will moi ueedlessIy
waste life by assaulting intrenchments
which WOvl6 be sure to be his AFTER littIe
time without astruggle, through tie want Of
supplies behind them. Neither the Gov,
eminent nor the conntFysWouId expect this:
nor would his own love for his soldiers,
VINO nave breasted The battle so often with
him, allow it. Nor is It probable mat the
process of hemmipg in will involve much
fighting. The Concentration Of the 0rest
armies will give them such strength as 10
enable them to secure, without much din.
lkTy all No.