The weekly union record., 1865-03-04
The Winding-Up Campaign.

ne nope Is strong in the minds OF Union
men Of calm and 'dispassioDate Judgment that
the present campaign against the rebels will be
. the finishing stroke 10 the long suffering bu.
tenacious "Confederacy" The New York
Times of Jan 3lst expresses this hope upon q
basis given as follows: The campaign which
has already been opened by General Sherman,
and in which the armies operating before Pc
tersburg and Wilmington will soon take part.
will be the winding up eampaigu Of the rebel
lion. 1t is no secret that great bodies of troops
have been coming from the West 10 take part
10 it; and whether they reinforce for the me-
ment the army of Meade, or of Terry, or Of
Sherman, it Is all the same. The campaign is
a unit; its combinations are made under the
supreme direction OF Lieutenant General Grant,
and the enemy to be Tough, and defeated aud
destroyed is the army of General Lee near
Richmond. Grants combinations have alwavs
been Of a very great kind. both in the West and
10 the East and We believe that his fual cam.
paign viii be the graudest of the war. The
Richmond papers Of Tuesday last show that
the rebels at Richmond are in terror least a
movement on the james accompany the other
movements under way. Lee We are told bY
the Richmond Dispatch, expected an attack on
the Dorth side OF the james on Sunday last,
and it was thought that for that day only the
mud saved him. Attacks were also expected
elsewhere on the lines, which the rebels fear
are only temporarily postponed. With armies
OF such magnitude as are now operating against
the last rebel army, under command of such
leaders as Grant aud Sherman, operating from
such admirable positions as We hold, we expect
to see the winding up campaign carried TO q
glorious termination"
Such were, month ago the an,icipations
OF one of the leading Eastern journals. The
events which have transpred since that time
go far to strengthen these predictions The
rebels have yielded up their two remaining
principal seaports, and are thus compelled 10
depend entirely upon their interior resources
for resistance. In some respects, this may be
an advantage to them, but in others, and by far
the most they lose vast benefits in the surren.
der of their seaboard cities. While they may
produce a sufliciency Of some of the requisites
for the subsistence of their armies, there are
many actual necessities which they can only
procure from abroad. As Lees army is now
proven TO be the only one capable of opposing
either of the grand armies OF Grant aud Sher-
man, the fall Of Charleston and Wilmington is,
IN another point of view, calamity to the
rebels-it cuts Lees only remaining complete
line of railroad communication with al! of the
"Confederacy" except portion of North Car
olina. jeff. Davis is reported to have said, a
couple Of years ago, that be could maintain the
struggle on the soil of Virginia :or twenty
years, if necessary. We are inclined to think
however, that this "cbivalric" boast is Of a
piece with the five 10 one theory of rebel
valOr and proves. Ere long, the rebel leaders
may be expected to declare that the entire
South is 'of 10 consequence" to them and that
they have Only been fighting for The "honor1
aud glory of exile from their native land to
the dominions of Maximiian, Gwin and Ma
poleon, where they will be free from the con.
Eliminating Influences of Yankee associations
aud "Digger equality" If, however, through
the completeness of the programme of our
commander in chief, jeff and some Of the prin-
cipal conspirators are unable to reach the las,
ditch" they will doubtless declare that the end
and aim of their rebellion was to pull hemp"
and had not the remotest reference to picking
cotton" We hope this may really be tie
"icina'Hg up campaign