The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1865-12-30


Grant.
General Early on his travels toward Mexico
and free country discharges Parthian shot at
General Grant in the shape Of a letter, which
we find in TN Daily Neos File sends his rebel
letter to the Ne,os as to nest Of rebels, and ~
to the paper in which he knows II will find
sympathizing readers--fellows who think all
the better Of it for that twenty-five thousand
dollars it had out Of Jake ThompsOn's assassns-
ton fund. Early's shots were never Of any
great account. and this shot OF Grant IL lika
the rest. Perhaps il is rather better than the
rest which may arise from the fact that 1t was
delivered while running away--thas being
Early's most natural attitude and the one IN
which he feels easiest.
Early's letter indicates that his head is not
quite clear when he is called upon to state
numbers. His difficulty in this respect, his
double, triple and quadruple vision, will re-
mind every one that he has had great ex-
periences with apple brandy. and it will also
suggest "reminiscences Of a fat friend in tho
legitimate drama who was troubled in the
same way. The hero OF Gadshill was not at
all clear US to how many men he had to fight
in his most memorable battle. lie began with
two rogues in buckram suits. Four rOgues In
buckram let drive at him. He received all
their nine points on his target, aud killed seven
Of the eleven, to say nothing Of "Ihree mis-
begotten knaves 10 Kendall green" This
same fight Of one man against two
who became eleven il the substance OF Eariy's
letter, and he calls the attention Of the Ne,os
to the fact that he and other bold rebels fought
the North in the same proportion. He had In
the Valley he tells us, eight thousand men to
Sheridan's thirty or forty thousand; and he
also tells us that Lee had forty thousand 10 one
hundred and eighty thousand under Grant. Hs
finds that these numbers account for the Oon-
federate defeats, and he naturally does mol.
think either Grant or Sheridan very great
heroes. There are not many rebels who do.
II il moi worth while to seriously argue points
like these with Early. We may only glance st
the fact that Grants numbers are given rs tho
srmies appeared on paper, and that Earlys
and Lees are lied down to less than half thelr
dimensions as they appeared on the field IL
is not unnatural for beaten mon to try to satiafy
wounded pride by any sort Of aaitering junction.
that they can lay Is their inundated souls Just
now Early 6pA that the cause Of defeat was
disparity ST numbers. He used 10 attribute It
10 the fact that his men got drunk on apple
brandy. Either is good enough story. But
how is II that the rebels were not, after all,
victorious? We all know--for Southern men
have told us over and over---thst one Confsde-
rate soldier was equal to twenty or thirty other
men; how is it, then, that they were beatea
when the odds sgaiast them was only four 10
ones Eayly ougb. to explain this 10 another
letter. 't. =. ~. ..,.., ~. =
Early writes to the Neias tprics ss6 ,oo0). a.
the most appropriate organ" Of the rebellion
II is therefore, quite in the line Of that Journal
that It should furnish still rampant rebsls with
the means TO assist the radicals In their assa,ss
on General Grant, but for whom the rebellion
would not yet be crushed. and the var would
still be laundering on.