Daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, Va. [W. Va.]) 1859-1865, 1865-03-06

/ ~, = -l.t-t = Aet tNess sstS SfESoG b9ttle-
The People Urged 10 be Calm.
From the Richmond Enquirer, Feb. 2s. =
The moment before battle, when III
iines are formed, the skirmishers deployed
the guns unlimhered, and the. comrnan,
awaited which ia to end athst awfnI mans r,sIl,
dividing life from death y is more irwin,
to the the nerves of soldiers thsn the CON
flct itself. = ss. - - : wv =
AS men come through this ordeal 8,
will they fight. The love Of life, the dfeef
Of the awful future on Nhose yery ver0f
they stand, the instructive Shrinking from
danger, the thought Of home aud friends,
are telt at that instant with an intensitJ
that can only be known on the periloui
epge OF 6attlel The poet has truly. said
that this fearful silence ~. ~.
Sinks for an instant IN the hearts men.
thousands Of whom are dre ming h1tt lat bfeith
He does not fdlter then, but gathers reso-
luton from the sense of duty sa1d of hon.
or, recalls the greater evils t0.aFert which
this danger is incurred, and, above all.
who, conscious of right, commits himself
to the care of Que without Whom, not even
the sparrow falleth, will not shrink when
tne storm or battle RACES around him.
But he who yields To what may be the
natural impulse Of the moment, and ven.
lures to look back, Is.Already half besten
His confdeuce,is shaken, his mind is ir..
resolute, dangers are dtnsgnified; he halts,
he wavers, he aies. Life may be saved
but it is a life of shame and dishonor. !
AS 1t is with armies, so tits with ma
tions. When people resolve on war thew
must be prepared to meet all its conse.
,quences. If, in, the hour of peril, they par.
ley with fear, they are lost. Calm, Self.
possessed resolution, arisiug from the,con,
viction that the object they seelzto9gsih is
worth ell they may be required to give for
it, is the only guarantee of success. Dis.
aster and defeat inspire such people with
new determination instead of filling them
with desponpency. The clearer confempla.
ton of the fate they would avert only
nerves them to greater efforts.
1t does not seem inappropriate to suggest
to our people, in the present crisis, some
of the reflections with which the brave sol
dier encourages himself in battle, and
quiets the suggestions of apprehension and
alarm. "aa -
They are submitted with the hope that
they will serve to dispel some of the fears
that timidity, theloye of ease and proper
~, or secret hostility to our cause, so in
dus'riously propagate.
. The eve of battle, every soldier knows, is
full of all kinds of startling rumors and re-
ports. The strength of the enemy is then
always exaggerated, his movements and
designs are misrepresented, and dangers
magniied, or even invented. etsg0 -
Such seems to be the case with the peopls
of the contederacyat this time. The air is
filed with alarming rumors; every fear
has found voice and everything is open
to the tale it tells, Mensures Of precau-
ton arc construed t0E presage disaster
When the wagons and sick are ordered to
the rear it is Inferred that the army is
about to retreat. 1t is time to proclaim
order in the ranks aud give the reassuring
command, "Steadyl" Let every man re-
turn to his post aud give all his energy to
the performance of his duty, while he lis
tens TO the words of encouragement from
the soldiers 10 the trout. Regard all street
rumors as the soldiers do those of the
camp. They know that none of the latter
are wholly true, and most OF them entirely
false. They only frighten those who are
already scared. Try to tIace one of them
to its source, and you will find that, in
ninety nine cases out of huudred,p the
evidence 10 support of it would fail to
convince rational and cool man of the
least. important fact.
Measures of precaution do not indicate
doubt of success. To take off ones clothes
before going into the water does not prove
that one expects to be drowned. Every
encumbrauce must bs sent 10 the rear be.
fore the battle, however secure the victory
may be. The real dagger is always'less
than imagiuation represents it to be- Look
steadily at a ghost and it will vanish
Danger afectsthe enemy as much as it
does ua. If we feel like retreating if
pressedi we may be very certain that he
will do the sameif we press him. We should
not forget in dwelling upon our own diff
cul:ies aud emharrassments, that the enc
my has his also.
The issue of battle is not 10 the hands of
man. An apparently tritliug circumstance
has often defeated the ecom5inations of skill
and the power of numbers aud resources.
In the words of the old Scotch version -
The race is not to him that's got =.
~ The longest legs 10 run,
Nor the battelle so the peOpslle l:.t
y That shoots the longest gun.
A critical moments critical to both sides.
GeneralJackson( (Stonewall) was once told
that the enemy was on his flank He
answered, "Then am on his flank too."-
1t it we'll knpRn that those bold Inaee1-
vtes, which are decisive if successful, al.
ways expose the party nuQertaklng them
10 disaster usually great in proportion to
the aHdacity of bis, own movements.
We will conclude these suggestious with
an application of this thought to our pres.
eut situation. To effect the concentration
of his forces against Richmoud, which now
excites 30 much apprehension, Gen. Grant
has drawn his troops from every other
part of the country. To make us risk all
upon single issue he has been CON. !.
PEELED, to do the same. Should he lose
any one of the three armies now conyerg.
ing upon us his whole plan of campsigu
would be broken up. Neither of the others
could resist the combination of our forces
which his policy has rendered necessary
Our country, exceptthecoasttowns, would
be relieved from thejpresepce of an enemy.
We could repair the railroads that have
been damaged, The spiriAl6f our people