Knoxville daily chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1882, 1881-06-12

cluded the entire Republic. The Army of
the Potomac at the East snd Sherman's
forces at the West constituted the
two great motive powers; but in Vir-
ginia, Butler on the James and Sigel in the
Valley were to assist III eade on the Rapi-
dan, while at the West Banks was to meet
Sherman, DO marching toward Mobile
All were ombined and directed with
common purpose and central aim. These
com binations were sometimes interrupted
and thwarted in their development. Grant
and Sherman each met many obstacles
before either sat do in front Of the STRAIT
egical jet ve point of his army Butler
and gel both failed in their co-opera ion
in Virginia while banks failed to co>ope-
rate before Mobile. Grant himself entered
upon an encounter as terrible "a that of
Chri tian with Apollyon in the Valley of
the Shadow of Death. The struggle was
prolonged and bitter, and the national
commander received as we'll as inflicted
appalling loss; but be persist ed in his ads
vance amid carnage and assaults with that
awful compos ure and confidence which to
many natures is not only inscrutable, bat
absolutely rrpeliing, but VIII ch neverthe-
less was the especial quality which enabled
him to succeed, He pushed his army
through such month of ceaseless and
seemingly resutIess hattie as the world
had hardly ever seen; dealing, however, as
he knew, the blows from which his antag-
onist would never recover. In the Will
derness the rebellion received its DEATH
stroke. 1t fingered months afterward, and
all the skill and strength of the nation and
its ldiers were required to push the blade
to the heart, but the iron entered in May,
1854. But for just this terrific strife, Just
this persistent attack, just their bloody
| wage, the result. would have been defer ed
or differ, Mt.
But the rebels felt that this commander
| could neither be deferred nor avoided that
| no skill nor fortitude could eludeior with.
stand the man who welded such weapons
with such. 'unintermtling power. They
| lost not only force, but heart, in the Will
| derness campaign.
| When finally all things were ready and
the great blow was struck it was seen how
complete had been the preparations and
| comb nations which b sd preceded The end;
| how absolute the execution of the scheme
dnvlsep year before. Lee surrendered
bee use he bad nothing else to do. He
| could not run away. Johnston. and Maury
| and Richard Taylor, and Kirby Smith
surrendered for exactly the same reason.
| The various victories were not haphazard /;
/ Ii WAS not that each man Glanced to come
| out right A i the arrangements were made
! IN advance Army after army came up to
| surrender, like the pieces of chess in q
| complicated game, when the beaten player
| has only one move for each, and that to
| give it way. Nor was it only because Of
| Appomattox, or because they had lost
| heart, that the lesser rebels yielded
| Johnston was absolutely surrounded, for
Stoneman and Thomas and ilson were in
his rear, while Sherman was in font, and
| Meade and Sheridan were approaching
| from the North. The troops that escaped
! from Mobile were between Candy and the
| cavalry, and if they had tried could h We
done no better than their fellows. The re>
hellion WAS conquered at all points at the
same time 1t had no armies except in
front of greater ones. 1t no supplies
except sepa ated from its armies 1t had
no nrsenals. no armories, no railroads; vet
| it surrendered ] COO cannon and 10000
soldiers.
This was not the result of brute force
This was not me outnum being or over.
wheiming. II was the disposition of the
national armies between, around and
| among the rebel forces, as we'll AS the in>
Cesssnt bio vi dealt by those armies, which
| m %de it impossible. after Appomattox, for
any organized rebel force to make move
In any directi n that did not entail upon
itself absolute and immediate destruction"