Cleveland morning leader. [volume] (Cleveland [Ohio]) 1854-1865, 1865-02-23
N; 4. AqySass HS@:S sa e EdSSassa5subsS. 4


~ rl0VIfnr ftrr-I & ea1 1Cotl1e eQ4loAoe9s 70
ttnot tims for months; hss the Anxisty
81 tbs public III fsgard 70 military svantsl
bas1 more intense than Il il nov, concern
Inr the advance of Gen. Sherman, We
know positively, aslready, that he has Oc-
oupied Columbia and destroyed everything
in thst place that may Be Of service to the
rebel army. We know that Charleston
has been occupied and Is now outside et
the problem. It Is very pfObsble thst the
seizure Of Augusta i not contsmplhted.
That place has lost al importance ms @ii-
itary view, since the ramovalsof thei 'repel
shops snd fouhdfies. z The most 70 be de-
sired or sccomplished At that point. would
be the destruction Of the railroad bridge
across the Savannah, which is a.hAlf mile
of trestls work. But Sherman has un-
doubtedly, already, destroyed the bridges
over the Edisto west Of BrsnchYills, q
also those over the HSAntee .snd Wstsres
rivers, farther Nsrth.o The destruction of
Rese bridges Wfl, for months, prevent al
railroad communication with the Gulf
States, and thus permanently detaeh the
chief soures of supplies to Richmond
Augusta is4hsrsfore, not necessary to the
accomplishment Of ShermAn'E purpose in
his Northern advances, supposing his
main force TO beat Columbia, the question
naturally arises on what routSwin he move
into North G&roiinA I The rebels them
selves, 80 far 81 they can infer, think that
he may advance by the way Of Charlotte
toward Greensboro. So far as the opPosi-
tion he has to face is concerned, there Is
no doubt but this might be done. = The
present forceunder Besaregard is estimated
literally thus: the troops under HSrdes
which evacuated Savannah, and fell back
upon Augusta and Charleston; cavalry
under Wade Hampton; 8 portion Of the
army under Hood and which Wss defeEted
by Thomas in Tennesses; Eve divisions Of
troops from Lees army in VirginiE and
the militis of South Carolina with the
troops which have been gsrrisoning Au-
gusta, Charleston, Florenee, and other
points upon the Atlantic coast. Altogether
these number not more than fifty thousand
To meet these Sherman'S force numbers
not less than eighty thousand hardened
veterans. The fact thHt Beauregard has
continually fallen back shows the Inherent
weakness of his force But there are evil
dent reasons why the interior line Of rail-
road through North eafOiina should not
and will not be chosen in the advance
NorthWArd. Sherman, by advancing by
way Of Charlotte would be constantly
making his distance to the sea snd water
base further Of, which might expose him
to greater dangers in case of = collision be-
tween his united army and thAtof Lee and
Beauregvrd. Besides, BY advancing by
way Of Florence, toward Wilmington, he
secures speedily heavy reinforcement Of
his strength in the Twenty-third Corps
and General Terry forces under schofsld,
Is those now. at NeWberne and such other
reinEoroanan.asa-- ssaay ha 6aruzandad fuan1
the North. These combinations together
with the fsct that his cavalry have already
demonstrated toward Florence, lead to the
inference that Sherman will follow the At
lantic coast line of railroad toward Raleigh
rather than the interior line BY the way Of
Salisbury and Greensboro, towards Dan
vile. rsrs .6er- -sIr
the policy on both sides is that of con-
oentrRtion, in which work We have fOrtun-
Ately two great armies to the rebels one.
Lee is either determined to stake the des-
tiny of the Contederacy, as 3 military pow
er in An effort TO defeat Sherman before he
can unite with Grant, or seek to escape en-
tirely into the Gulf States. If he adopts
the latter policy tie only secure line viii
be the interior line of railroad through
North Carolina. BeEuregard seems to be
retrsGting north&Azd on this route from
Columbia. Bat TO ssspe from Richmond
may be as difhcElt as to remain there--
General Grant with 8 large force, is evi-
IDENTIFY watching every movement Of Lee,
30 that on the first indication Of an abAn-
mens Of Petersburg and Richmond, he will
hurl his entire force upon the rstresting
columns Of Lee. If that evAcustion takes
Place at all, II must be soon, as the nearer
TO conjunction the forces Of Sherman and
Grant come the more difficult does Lees
retreat become and the more difficult his
attempts to defeat either of his opponents
in detail. When Sherman shall have OBJ
tanned his relnforcements at Wilmington,
his strength will be adequsts to meet Less
entire force il he should be able-t to concen-
tIste against him IN the interior Of North
Carolina, west of Rsleigh, IL however,
Sherman should continue his advance on
the interior line tOWsfd Raleigh, the rebel
army would thend be e5oped up in Rich
mOnd The seizure 0f Greensboro would
cut Of every avenue Of escape through
Eorth OAolina, But it Is ineoncsivable
that Lee should allow this to be done with
Oat first delivering q blow in the attempt
TO cEurh Sherman. .t,..,-t.. l.,.,..
At sny rate we ars either near tremen-
dous battle which will be the Waterloo
Of the rebellion, OF by some lucky stroke Of
Eenerslahip 1seWiE1bs able to sscsps from
Virginia and North Carolina into the Gulf
States, and thaG protract the war for an
other gear. The latter alternative is high.
y improbable. We have too much conf
deRcs in Grant 8nd sherman. We look,
'sherefo5s, fer one last final struggle in
: a.s =, ich the military power Of Davis viii be
,orS ssy destroyed forever, broken up into
q oOnsbaadsy to be conquered in detail. 81
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