, 1865-04-07

perfect, po.e harmonious, more beautiful IA
design. than the grand p1ana Of i lass T. years
Grant crossing the Rapfdan with 14Duo men
ut lis bacs, and marching straight ca to
Ritla.oud frtm the north !; Bu1er, With an
amy OF Thirty th2nsand, coming up tue
ard Hunter, with twenty thousand men,
sweeping down the valley and seizing Lynch
bug, il order to cu1 off the retreat OF Lee
sid bis fugitive s1my, By all Of which move
mtnts the rebel army ot Northern Virginia
was to be entirely ci cuuventcd aud oagsed,
driven into f'ap as biIds s#ept luto
fowl r. net. tits now plain enough that she
grand aim Of all Yankee movements Is to
capture Richmond. and that SheEman.s marca
tends to this city, IS Its ulttnlatc objective
po:nt. The plan 1T starting, was to sweep
up tbe county. destroying all lines OF com
u:uuication and supply, and finally % couctn-
t,atr III an immense mass 1sl3rc kichn1"na,
when it WIS supposed tha. be Conf-deratc
an7 wou,d b. compelled to surrender A. dis
cretjop. ard 20 the wur would b. ended.
1t rus compared that She's man would meet
no upicsit, bnt that he would aftvs before
him only the remnants Of sea: tered armies
and Of iueitiye garrisons. aud That these
won1d onlY swell The grand total Of captures.
As far al Ches: er be carried out the plan
pt1haps as tar as Fayetteville. but after ieav~
ing this place The blows inflicted on him By
Johnston, folced him to change his route.
HIS march cn Greensboro was checked, and
he was reduced, BY the presence In his front
OF 8 st,opr ard we'll handled army, 10 resort
to orl,nu,y mancuvvr4us and strategy instead
OF tbe direct march on Lees comtnunica-
ticpe, which he had prom 'sed. He will MT
fight Johnston In pitched battle II b. ean
lelp 1t. How these Incompatible plans were
all spelled by the senseiess opposition OF the
c, moderate army Is matter OF history.
How Grant, afler gaining any number OF
dIsas' lous Wet, t:es, and being driven from
half dozen Triumphant de'ds BY Lees unrea-
sonaI!e a!my, finally brought mp south # Pc
t rstu,g, without aces mpllshipg his part o.
lie plan how Butler, after marching boldly
up to Drewry's Bluff. was absurdly defeated
afd rerelled By Gen. Bcauresard, and so could
not carry our his part ot the plan, and how
Hun,er did not take Lynchburg, but succeed
cd IN making magnificent, escape after
hreal;.neck race across the mountains, and
20 could not consummate his part OF the
p!an,. nal klnd al large have become pretty
well ppIajEcd. But in spite ol 1hese tatlu; "a
We are to have the same kind Of thing over
ttis Jear, Cnly not on so large scale. The
distances 10 be 1rayerscd By the Yankee Col
u1nns a. e greoter, the lines Of advance arc
different, but the numbers are less In proper
tfon to tie dimiputioE Of resources caused By
The rad havoc which the years operations
mode in the r1nks Of the Yankee nrlniss.
We do not believe no" that he will try to
take Ra1eigh. He will Try to pass Johnston
by his fSbe. man's} right, and reach Weldon
and finally Petersburg, by the line OF Tar
boro' and the Weldon Railr;ad, and making
hIr bases Of supply at Tarbo1o' Washington
aid PIym' nth. But whsn, finally, the yam
kec armies nre concentrated in front Of Rich
mond, thy will not equal In numbers thc
Ic1ce with which G:ant crossed the Rapidan
last year to eay nothing Of Buffers AfinY uf
the James while Gen:1al LIE, With tie ad.
d,tion Of Johnstcn's, will be f1fty per cent
q r htA NJ ha y
Lee c, uld tsen whip Grant in the open tie1d,
lie will be much bettee able to do tt with all
the advantages OF 1he defensive works OF
Richmond and Petersburg.