The Portland daily press., 1865-03-20
Phil. sheridan'a Great Raid.

This brave, dashing officer has recently
struck heavy blow at the rebellion, anu eon
Lee feels it in all its force. His recen. uis'
patch is an exceedingly important ohe' IN
he announces that north of the James hi'ei
the canal and railroad communications are
broken IN between Richmond and Lynchburg.
From Charlottesville the railroad Is destroyed
nm to a point within twenty miles of Lynch
burp. Many bridges are also destroyed, some
of them of great length. The canal is render
ed useless west of Columbia to Lynchburg,
and at New Canton the great grand locks are
broken SO that James River pours into the bed
Of the canal, and sweeps away entertainments
and tow paths. 1t is a difficult work to check
the current, and general destruction follows
IN its course, o E-Sis
This canal Sheridan calls the "great feed
er" Of Richmond, and hence Lees army will
be more short of rations than ever before
Sheridan found an abundance of supplies west
of Riyanna River, and these he has pretty es-
sentially cleared out. This raid is hard case
for Lee, but he must "grip and bear it," for
Grant stubbornly "holds on" and the rebel
kCuChoL NOutN cpoAO AO O1CCo W bbOpy VI cVCH
check, the brave Phil. In his destructive course.
1t must be confessed that Grant don't give
Lee fair chance. No wonder the Richmond
editors accuse him of bulldog propensities-
True enough. There he is safe and sound,
holding on with grip that all rebellion has
no power to shake of, and watching the move
ments of Sherman and Sheridan.
From such facts it begins to appear quite
plain that the Federal forces greatly outnum-
Der those OF the rebels. 1t is very evident al
80 that the time is near at hand when Lee
must be either driven into and shut up in
Richmond, or driven from it to some safer To-
cality, where he might save his army for
while. That he begins to feel uneasy as well
as the jewellers in Richmond, we have every
reason to believe. General Lee never would
humble himself so much as to call on the ne
groes Tor help, II he did not believe his situa-
ton to be dangerous one. He, too, like JEFF.
Davis and the people Of Richmond, has be-
como desperate.
In this dark hour Of the rebellion, but few
public rays of light from any point OF the COM
pass come to gladden. the vision OF Lee. He
looks west, and sees the work OF destruction
executed by Sheridan; south, and Sherman's
victorious army meets his gaze; north, and he
sees the whole country full of life, spirit, and
patriotism. The Star Spangled Banner proud
~ waves over Washington, and the negroes
lea<niHg to read and write on Arlington
Heights; and, about his own capital, he be-
holds the Federal forces ready to pounce upon
him when the opportune hour shall come. He
is brave general, but he can't hold out long
in fighting against government that has
never injured him, or the Southern people.
He must begin to feel consciousness that he
is struggling in an unholy cause, for the Fates
have turned against him, and he must see the
hand writing on the wall.
This raid of Sheridan may be considered one
Of the most important of the war, and yet the
dashing leader of it is remarkably modest In
giving his account of it to the proper authori-
ties. One would naturally suppose that such
young, dashing, successful officer as Phil
Sheridan would make flourish on paper, es-
pecially when writing out his reports in the
flush of victory; but nothing of the kind flows
from his pen. He seems, in these reports of
his daring and successful raids, to be even too
modest and shrinking. We sometimes almost
wish he would make himself more prominent
in his reports; for his daring conduct war
rants a little selfcompIacency. Thus it ever
is with truly great men. Seldom do they blow
their own horns, and seem to care but little
about themselves.
Grant and Sherman are of the same type.
They are entirely satisfied in doing their duty
to the country, and show no personal vanity,
willing to abide their time, and let their works
prove them. Fne SOS