The New York herald., 1865-02-28

4 Fae Recent Northern Successes and tns
- a2H Recent Southern Successes.
Eat Caoe more there are rebel successes to chron-
jdciG General Lee reports two officially to the
rebel Secretary OF War, for the benefit Of the
\ Southern people and soldiers, and the rebel
papers have managed to get hold Of one that
4 General Lee, sated with success, has not thought
VT worth his while to report So there are
three. Printed all in one column, and right
after one another, they make very imposing
array, and the rebel citizens and soldiers, as
they read the list, will be apt to ask each other
| if they will never come to the end Of it. These
successes must have grea. effect Perhaps
they will yet restore the morale of the Southern
armies, and once more fire that oombustibie
Southern heart These three successes are
first, the capture of Generals Crook and Kelley
in their beds by thirty troopers; the surprise OF
| two little posts in Tennessee by Vaughn and
the capture of the garrisons, and the victory OF
q rebel signal corps over part Of the naval
brigade, with q capture of two hundred and
| fifty men.
It is one of the peculiarities of General Lees
genius that he thus seizes an opportunity to re-
store the spirits Of his men by telling them good
news in dark hour. By this means he leads
their minds away from the contemplation OF
the wretchedness that stares them in the face
from the thoughts of their present misery and
the coming of inevitable ruin. He did this
last year. When Grant had forced him from
the Rapidan to Spottsylvania, Stoneman had
cut his communications with Richmond, Sigel
was supposed to be going up the valley, and
Butler was at Bermuda Hundred-when the
rebel army was shattered, and, to all appear
ance, in greater danger than it had ever before
been, Lee seized the occasion of an hours halt
to issue bulletin to his army. It contained
list of rebel victories It said very little about
the desperate battles that these soldiers had
just been engaged in. Evidently Lee thought
his soldiers knew enough about that So he
told them how some gallant Southern cavalier
had smashed up company of national cavalry
in Missouri or Texas; how some one else had
killed a captain; how train of wagons had
been captured, and 80 on. That bulletin no
doubt had its success. It must have made the
rebel soldiers cheer, and it was great deal to
get them to cheer in the condition they were
then in.
But perhaps there is yet more practical
idea in this present publication of the list of the
Southern successes 1t is, may be, intended to
establish balance. The people have lately
heard great deal of Northern successes, and
it is thought to be high time that they heard of
some Southern ones. Hence these are now
rriu fba ral~a ~
the capture of Generals Crook and Kelley as a
full equivalent for the loss Of Savannah and
Branehville, though however high our own
opinion of these two generals may be, we would
consider this valuation too complimentary. Un
d0ubtedly they feel easier under the loss of
Columbia and Charleston now that Vaughn has
captured "two places near Knoxville;" and in
the rejoicings over the capture of two hun dred
and fifty men of the Naval brigade they can,
no doubt, forget that Wilmington has been
taken.
The military situation Is at present q very
simple one. The confedeacy is all concen-
trated in piece Of Virginia and a piece of
North Carolina. Every man that it can control
is between the Congaree and the James rivers.
It has Grant on one side and Sherman on the
other; and that it will be crushed between the
two is beyond all doubt Lee may stand still
or he may move, and whichever he does the
result will be the same. He cannot get out Of
it. He cannot extend the area of the confed-
eracy 80 that it will once more cover ten
States He cannot recapture Wilmington,
Charleston or Savannah, and once more buy
from Europe the arms he SO greatly needs. He
cannot give the confederacy two or three new
armies, and he cannot keep together the armies
he has. On account of all these facts the
Southern people are depressed, and have lost
much Of their faith in the great Southern con-
fedeCacy. Perhaps many Of them are even like
the Charlestonians and Wilmingtonians, who
rejoice over the fact that they have been con-
quered And so we venture TO doubt whether
this last list Of rebel successes will fire the
Southern heart much or be accepted as q full
equivalent for the recent Northern successes.
The News from Mexico-Coun1er RevOiu-
tion I'm the Empire.
The news from Mexico contained In the let
ter Of our Havana correspondent is most i'm
portant II shows that o counter revolution Is
now in progress in that country against the aa-
thoritv and power Of the Emperor Maximilian.