Daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, Va. [W. Va.]) 1859-1865, 1865-03-29
AoHANan or FRONT.

AoHANoE OF FRONT.
The Baltimore CoFFespondont Of the
E 3; Hi S SsaiS IN me G LSR coiors.
Correspondence New York World.
STARTLING NEWS FROM TIE SOUTH.
4 BALTMohE, March 20.
Intelligence of highly important nature
has lost been received here from the South.
The readers of the World will see from this
news that il is now within the power OF
disbursement to conclude with the south.
ern people an Immediately honorable and
durable peace; because, in all probability,
in few days, or weeks at most, the SOUTH
ern ConfedeTGey will be numbered with the
things of the past, and the rebels will have
neither an army, nor capital, nor gov
ernment. That is, indeed, startling news;
but your readers will not forget that for
more than four years the southern people
have maintained the struggle with gall
lantry and devotion to their cause which
has won for them not only the admiration
of the world at large, but the respect Of the
officers of our own army. They have not
yielded yet; and they will not yield as long
as Richmond can be held, nor as long as
they have an army of $4,000 men in the
field. But when they succumb, it will be
because their resources are exhausted or
unavailable, and because they will have
been convinced of the uselessness of con-
tending any longer against the superior
power and unbounded resources of the
North.
RAPID DEPLETION OF THB 0oHTRDERATRi
ARMIRs.
Strong and numerically large as the
southern armies may have been up to the
time of the fall of Savannah, they have
been rapidly melting away ever since that
period, but more especially sincethe eVRcu-
alton of Wilmington and Charleston, and
the retreat of Johnson's army from Char
lotte. According to this authority fully
one.half of the confederate troops have
deserted, AudshaVe either passed into our
lines or have returned to their own homes.
There is no authority on the part of the
confederate government to force thelatter
class back into the ranks. This fact is
plainly admitted in the address of the con
federate Congress to the southern people,
issued at the close of the session. So ter
rible has been the effect of this depletion
upon the rebel armies that the entire force
under General Lee, at Richmond and
Petersburg, is said to be only SO, 900 troops,
aud that JOhhston's whole army embraces
only $4,000 troops, made up as follows:
Hardee's forces, l6 900; Hsmpton's cavalry,
s 900; Cheatham's corps, 10000; and
Bragg's troops, $4,000, This makes only
80 900 men, and this, it is said, is the en-
tire force that General Lee can command
for the defense of Richmond and to oppose
Grant and Sherman.
TIE RESOURCES OF THR SOUTH NOT EXHAUST.
ED, BUT UNAVAILABLE.
1t is true that the material resources Of
the South are not yet exhausted. But
those resources are not available. There
is now, as always, the means of raising
sbundAnt crops at the South, but there are
no means of getting those crops to market.
Their railroads, in constant use for four
years, are worn out; to repair them they
have neither the materials nor the skilled
labor necessary. Theirtransportstion has
been either captured or destroyed, or aban.
doned or worn out. They did manufacture
several hundred cars, aud a large number
of locomotives, in 1862 and 1853, at Sa-
Vaunah, Macon, Augusta, Atlanta, Fay
etteville and Charleston. But all their
most valuable machinery for this purpose
has now been either captured or destroyed
except what is at Richmond, and at one
or two other points.
THE SOUTH DEPENDENT ON RURoPR FOR NAN.
UEAcTURBD GOODS.
They have not succeeded very we'll il
other branches of manufactures, except il
the construction of muskets, swords, gun
powder, and cannon: Some manufacturer
of shoes, hats, leather, and cloth, were es
tablished at an early period of the war, but
they never prospered, and none of then
! ha hnn
blockade running was attended with suct
success, until the falLof Wilmington, tha
} the South depended entirely upon Europe
} for their supplies of shoes, clothing, cloth
&c, as well as for the almost equally ne
cessary articles of coffee, tea, sugar, Ii
quors, &c. These supplies, and many 9th
ere, are now cut off, aud the South, as {
nation, cannot exist without them.
WAR AND OF TIE MEANS OF Providing
THEM.
I But still more grieVous loss than this
however, has befallen the South, in con.
sequence of Sherman's march across the
states OF Georgia, South Carolina, and
North Carolina. This consists in the loss
OF all their arsensls and manufactures oil
cannon, muskets, swords, and gunpoWder,
except those at Richmond and one or twG
other places. The manufacture of these
munitions of war was carried on yery ex.
tensively, not only at Fayetteville, but also
at Raleigh, Danville, Lynchburg, Cheraw,
camden, Columbia. Charlotte, Aupusts,
Charleston, Savannah, Mllledgeville, Ma.
con, Atlanta and Mobile OF all these
places, the factories and foundries at Dan.
Vile and Lynchburg are the only ones that
are now in operation, and even they are no
longer considered safe. They will probs-
bly, be destroyed or blown up in few DAYS.
Those at Raleigh and Mobile were removed.
Il Is said, week or two ago. Those at
macon aud Augusta, it is said, have been
destroyed quite recently. Those at Atlanta
Charleston and Savannah were removed
before those places were evacuated. Those
at Columbia, Camden, CheraW and Fayette. .
vile fell into the hands Of General Sher.
man. Thus, from the want of the varv