The tri-weekly herald. [volume] (Newberry, S.C.) 1865-1865, 1865-04-20
aNEWBERRY C. H.,
Empire Of the West.
IS PUBLISRED. AT

People who have been peeTing through their
imaginary telescopes, and mentally taking time
By the forelock, ask this question Where,
is the eYentof continued Federal successes,
can we 60 TO escape the consequences ofsn oc:
cupation Of the country?, Whittier may our
arasies retreat, to escape the constant pressure
upon them, and to renew themselves for fresh
conaicts A pertinent inquiry, and not With
opt . suggestive moral ~. ..... ST..
Putting aside the demonstrated impossible
stJ Of fsubiugation, we assume for the nonce,
the possibility of the calamity anticipated.
Erem Virginia, we are pressed back to the
suterien of North Carolina. Driven from the
coast, we seek exile in the upper Districts of
the Palmetto State. Routed from these, we
plunge into Georgia only to meet the adyan-
cling columns from the West, or be frightened
out of all propriety by raidlng parties from
the line of the Atlantic. With scant wardrobe
and depleted purse We continue our pe1ipate-
tic wanderings to Alabama but s'here we
res" the rendering Of her beautiful Indian
,same-is still nc, soothing balm to the weary
feet of the traveller Louisiana is without
charm, and Florida is but q corner. Where
next? To Teas. We2cross the Mississippi,
and sweep across a gently, rolling country,
whose millions of yet untouched acres wait
only. the tickle of the hoe Ito laugh with
harvest" Hospitality greets. the refugee !;
plenty &beupds; the country hass not been
laid waste by marching armies the fsot fall
of m enemy has not been heard ): all the as
sociatious ofPeace- even in the use Of specie
as currency-exist, and prosperity Teigns an
disturbed. Here, then, is the Mecca Of all
disheartenea Confederates-the spot whereon
we may rest four bodies, refresh our souls,
and recupesate our exhausted energies. The
tide Of war may roll on elsewhere, but here
the waves WI lose themselves among vast
prairies whic.a are empires in themselves The
prospect is pleasant one, and the picture
not intensely colored. Individually, it is open
to, and may be enjoyed by all. ;, -. -
From 3 military and collective point Of
view, the theme suggests graver considerations.
#, after ubstinately contesting the possession
of our SOIL, incfa' by inch, from Virginia to
Georgia, or from Tennessee to the Gulf, the
fate Of war should compel Gen. Lee and his
armies, together with the Executive heads of
the nation, Temporarily to abandon the States
East Of the Mississippi, there is not a foot-hold
n all the world more inviting or secure than
may be found upon the sol of Texas. Equal
in territory to any three Of the large States
possessing fertility ofland that would supply
0 RiAion. of men for generation with great
herds Of Wild cattle roaming on her prairies to
contribute solid food for their sustenance
embroidered by a coast line, from almost any
point Of which we could connect ourselves with
Europe; bounded By country rich in every
natural resource, whose Emperor is n friend,
if not an ally, Texas is a State in which the
war might continue Gd an1fnatun1,o or until the
foe were ready to acknowledge our independ-
oencs. ~. -.s-t -.
There, The advantages would all be on our
side. The enemy would be compelled to sup
ply'its armies far away from their magazines.
By sea and land, thousands of miles would
necessarily have to be crossed before the first
step towards the subjugation of the State could
be commenced and then to. defeat all plans
and preparations, we need but fail back, and
lot the enemy follow to meet their destruction
almost without blow .. 49,.
The view may be novel one, but We believe
itcan be demonstrated that if the Confederacy
ls whipped at ALL she will be whipped by railroads.
We live in an age in which time and space have
been annihilated by steam and tightening. The
telegraph and passenger train have caused more
battles in one year than have before been fought
in half century. A blessing in one sense, they
have proved curse in another. We have used
then to concentrate troops and move supplies,
but they have opened to the enemy all the avenues
ofspproach to the heart of the Confederacy.
They have been the grand objective points Of
every campaign rand when gained, have rarely
been released. The war has been a war for the
defence OF railroads, and two hundred thousand
dead men along their track attest the fact. True,
this has been one of the natutd sequences of the
progress ofthc age, and the old fashioned strate-
g7 of Euroneao et9ngrlss has been forced to yield