The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1889-07-30


grand scale for another advance against
Richmond.
If this object could be accomplished by
maneuvering an important result would have
been cheaply obtained, but in the event of
battle the Army of Northern-SVirginia felt
reasonably sure of victory, ard the defeat of
Gen. Meade, it was believed by the public
men of the south, would secure Confederate
independence The Confederate strength was
about G., 900; that of the Federals, according
to the testimony of Gen. Meade before the
committee on the conduct OF the war, was
about 5000. Of the former 1900 were
! placed hors du combat, and of the latter
24,GOO No event of the struggle proved
more momentous in its far reaching results
and none has been theme of greater discus
| sion on both sides of the Atlantic among
military critics and historians.
THE FALL OF vIcKsBURG
! July was made doubly welcome this year
! by the surrender of Vicksburg with its garri-
| son, thirty thousand strong. From May IL
until the 18th Grant had pounded away at the
! Confederate forces in the field, at Raymond,
jackson, Champions Hill and Big Black River
bridge, and then with logged obstinacy sat
down to invest Vicksburg. The total loss of
Grant in this campaign was S, 800. Port Hud-
son, in Louisiana, with 5000 men, fell into
the hands of Gen. Banks few days later, and
thus the Mississippi was opened throughout
its length.
The story of the sufferings of the soldiers
and citizens while thus invested reads more
like romance than reality, and the ingenious
devices TO provide substitutes for food, in the
shape of mule and horse meat, rats, roots
and cane brake, would make unusually in
teresting reading in a modern cook book.
The effect of the surrender, north and south,
was immense, and itmay be doubted whether,
after Vicksburg and the twin tragedy of
Gettysburg, there was ever any vital hope
in the southern heart except among the sol
diers. There were desperate battles after
wards and occasional victories, but the tale
of disaster had cast its impending shadow,
and the faith of the simple folk never rallied
The riots in New York on the l3thlGth of
July are not the least among the war MEM
cries connected with the month and the year.
On the Goth Of July another agreeable sur
prise was given to the people Of the north by
the announcement of the capture of Gen.
John Morgan in Ohio, together with a thou
sand or more of hisrough riders, their wagon
train and artillery. The famous raider had
started on the I'd of the month with two
brigades of cavalry, aggregating an effective
strength of :, 400 men and four field pieces,
for the purpose of penetrating Indiana and
Ohio and creating a diversion in favor of
Gen. Bragg until his safe withdrawal to the
new line south of the Tennessee.
Morgan effected this purpose and the cap
ture and destruction of his force was of trifing
80 ba Tnnfa1atac,-
with the advantages gained by his opera
tons. He destroyed no supplies, cut no i'm
portant lines of communication, captured
nothing but some forage, food and a large
wagon train, but he delayed the invasion of
East Tennessee three months. He afforded
Bragg time TO obtain re-enforcements and
disturbed all the calculations of Burnside
and Rosecrans. In fact it has been alleged
that if Burnside could have met Rosecrans
ut Chattanooga by the both of July, the bat
tie OF Chickamauga would not have been
fought.
July, 1864, was marked by EarlY's invasion
of Maryland on the 18th, and the battle of the
Monocacy in Maryland on the 9th. On the
Goth, 22d and 2Sth battles occurred before
Atlanta, Ga, and on the 30th the explosion
Of the famous Petersburg mine in Virginia
took place. but the backbone of the Confeder
acy had been broken, and from this time until
the engagements preceding the surrender of
Lee and Johnston in Virginia and North
Carolina there were no events more decisive
than those above recorded. After all those
troublous years, which the month so signally
recalls, we have peace
Peace on the farthest seas,
Peace in our sheltered bays and ample streams,
Peace wheresoe'er our starry garland CLEANS,