The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1865-02-09

lngton, that the rebels were ready to cx.
change, man for man, all the prisoners
held ey them, as | had proposed in De.
| eember.
Under the lnstructicn1 Of the Liei,
tenant General, | wrote to Mr., Ould q
| letter, which has been published, saving .
DO you mean all: DO you mean tu
give up all your action, aud revoke all
your laws about black men employed as
soldiers 2" These questions were therein
argued justly, as think not diplomati.
cally, but obtrusively and demonstra.
lively; not for the purpose of furthering
the exchange ofprisoners. but for the pur-
pose of preventing and stopping the ex-
change, and furnishing ground on
which We could fairly stand.
AIN now at liberty to state these facts,
because they appear in tho correspond
ence on the subject of exchange now
on the public files of Congress, furnished
by the War Department upon resolution.
| am net at liberty to state my opinion
as to the correctness and 4ropriety of
this course Of action Of tie Lieutenant
General in relation to exchanges, be-
cause, as it is not proper to utter word
of condemnation of any act of my supc-
riors, may not even applaud where
think them right, lest not applaudins in
other instances, such acts as may men,
ton, would imply ccnsurc. / only desire
that the responsibility Of stopping cx-
changes Of prisoners, be it wise or Un>
wise, should rest upon the Lieutenant
General commanding, and not upon me.
| have carried the weight Of so grave a
mattclFfor nine months, and now propose,
as the facts are laid before Congress and
the country, not to carry any longer any
more of it than belongs to me.
Since | wrote my farewell address to
the Army Of the James, | have received
letters from the far West, saying "Why
do you claim that you have not uselessly
sacrificed the lives of your men, when
you have left thousands Of our brothers
and sons to starve and rot in Southern
prisons? In answer to all such appeals
| am allowed only. to repeat: " | have
not uselcssly sacrificed the lives of the
soldiers Of the Union; their blood does
not stain my garments. This is not cri-
tcis,n upon .the acts Of anybody, but
only the enunciation of a fact, in expla-
nation of which the responsibilities of
my position will not allow me to say
more.
THE CAMPAIGN AGAINST PETERSBURG
GRANTS INTENTION TO STRIKE JAMES
RIVER ABOVE RICHMOND.
On the FIRST of April last, two large
armies lay face to face, opposed to each
other, on the Rapid Ann. A small army of
about eighteen thousand men, six thou
sand Of whom were negroes, lay in and
around Fortress Monroe. Twenty thou
sand men more were ordered from The
Department of the South - Join that
little army. Looking over the whole
field, it seemed 10 INC to bc the part of
wisdom to move that army upon Ecr.
muda Hundred, establishing there base
for operation as strong and as easily y-ie-
Tended as Fortress Monroe; base not to
be interfered with or lost while The var
lasts, and where an army lies with its
hand fastened upon tho throat Of the
rebel capital Great cheering This
proposition was submitted to General
Grant aud approved by him. Thus was
done. On the ith day ci May, the Army
Of the James, thirty,iiye Thousand: Strong,
With its artillery, its cavalry, and its sup
plies for thirty days, was put cn board
Ship, and seemed at first to threaten the
enemy up the York river, within thirty
miles Of their capital but within twenty
four hours that army was within twelve
miles of Richmond, where it has held its
position ever since--a position to which
it advanced without the shedding OF d
drop Of blood.
On the same day, the Army Of the Po-
tomac, under the com,nand of General
Meade, more than all hundred thousand
strong, started from the Rapid Ann, also
toward Richmond.
need not repeat what you all know
of the history of the march Of that army
but have right to say, because now
it has passed into history, that the inten-
ton with which that army set out upon
its march was to move round tic north
side Of Richmond, above Mechanicsyille,
strike the yames rirer 0boue the city Of
Richmond, and there forming a junction
with the Army Of the James, which was
to move up towards Richmond ON the
south side Of the James river, get around
the city on the south side, and thus cut
it off.
Now, perhaps, you can understand
what may have slightly puzzled you
heretofore, why the Army Of the James
was demonstrating towards Drcwry's
Bluff on the sixteenth Of May, while the
Army Of the Potomac was coming down
from the Rapid Ann, on the north side, to.
wards Richmond. But the Army Of the
Potomac never reached its destination
on the north side Of the James nor did
the Army of the James succeed in reach
ing the James, above Richmond, on tho