The Greenville times. [volume] (Greenville, Miss.) 1868-1917, 1884-03-08

=" AAO DOhluZ
Green bat Lee reached Hanos er
Junction in time to place himself
again in front.
Declining the gage Of battle
here offered, Grant began a series
Of flank movements eastward.
Lee moving on parallel lines and
confronting him at every halt,
until at last the two armies met
on the historic field of Cold Har.
Dor.
Here Grant again closed with
his adversary and hurled his col.
umns in repeated assaults upon
the impregnable front of Lee, re.
pulsed with such terrible carnage
that though the intrepid Federal
commander would have desper-
ately continued them, his troops,
gallant as they were, unmistakably
reminded him that they were wea-
ry of slaughter.
This campaign may be said to
have ended with the next move.
ments Of Grant, which brought
him in front of Petersburg, within
the entrenchments Of which Lee
succeeded in establishing his ar
my, and the siege of Petersburg
was begun.
Take now a brief retrospect of
the campaign.
Grant started with over 141, 900
men hgainst 64,000 men. He re-
ceived reinforcements swelling his
aggregate engaged in the cam
paign to $4,000 men, while Lee
had received but 1900 reinforce
mcnt, Lee had so managed his
inferior force as to confront his
adversary at every halt aud to be
ready for battle whenever offered.
Such skill had he displayed in the
selection Of his positions and the
disposition of his troops that he
repulsed every assault, won every
battle and forced bis adversary .
retire from every field. Accord
ing to the authority Of Swinton,
the Federal historian, Grant had
lost 10000 men, a number nearly
equal to the entire force Of his OPP
ponent.
Judge Fenner makes no state
ment concerning the glorious cam
paign Of '64. that Federal and Con-
federate histories do not sustain.
His assertion that "at more than
one period in the contest the
Northern cause barely escaped
collapse" is no mere rhetorical
fight. At Cold Harbor after the
assault of June 3rd, Grant CON-
manded thoroughly whipped, de-
spondant army. There is an ami
mated discussion now going on in
certain Northern journals as to
whether the Army of the Potomac
refused to charge the second time
at the battle of Cold Harbor when
ordered, as is stated In most his.
tories Of the late war. Upon re-
ferring the matter to Gen. Grant,
he entered d general denial. But
subsequently he qualified this de-
NAL. Gen. Hancock reported that
"the men went as far as the exam
pies Of the officers could carry
them.n Swinton, the elected his
torian of the Army of the Potom.
ac, (FsderaD mournfully confesses,
that "the outlook was SO gloomy
after Cold Harbor, to such a de-
gree had the moral spring of the
public mind relaxed, that there
was great danger OF collapse oi
the war. Truthful history will
show that had not success else
where (Sherman) come to brighten
the horizon 1t would have beer
difficult to raise new forces fol
the Army of the Potomac. :
The Archives Of the State Depart
ment when made public will show
how deeply the Government wal
affected by want Of military sue
cess; and TO what resolutions thu
Executive had come in conse
quence.'
As to this matter, 1t was in th'
observation Of every Confederate
in that portion of the line closel!
confronted by the Federals, tina
their stomach for further offensiv'
operations was clean gone.l