The Atlanta constitution. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1885-19??, 1900-01-29
Comparativ Distance.

In watching the IOgress of the Brit
ish army toward petorla it is difiicult
for the average reaer to form an idea
Of the distances as-ell as the obstacles
which lie before II Invading army.
\ recent issue o our esteemed con-
temporary, The chattanooga Times,
deals with the quetion upon the basis
Of Sherman's adyace from Chattanoo-
ga 10 Atlanta, al his subsequent
march to the sca This comparison
in distances, obstcles and forces en-
gagged will make / reading of the war
reports from y ica very interesting
to the people OF he section through
which Sherman carried his men. 1t
is upon this line tat The Times speaks
as follows:
Buffers task. h relief Of Ladysmith.
and the capture ufPrctoria, Is. in respect
OF some of the q ditons. much like the
one sherman coaronJed when, in early
May 1854 he IT this city with john
s. .On's army Of ltarly 10oo0 men in front
Of him. ris objective being Atlanta Sher-
mans route was through narrow valleys
across rivers. OYER foothills and noun
taius. Buffers lie Of march for q hum
dred miles and more north Of Colenso'
near whore he vas yesterday. is across
the Drakenberg anga. n mountain chain
not unlike our AalacHian. Johnston first
faced about IN q strong position near
Dalton. lie wss Ganked by Sherman's
Twenty -tAiru COPS. Ger -rsel Snuonrid,
and had barely tme to pull back his left
to Rcsaca. 20 check the federal Ranking
column and fght it until his transporta-
ton could be moved toward Kingston.
The confederate general made no serious
effort To again check his antagonist until
he reached ALTOONA There he was
again nauked and he next halt he made
was on the high slope OF kcnncsaw and
the foothills extending off To the west Of
that peak. Sherman fought his enemy
with two corps and sent "a third round
to the left, forcing Johnston back to At
lanta.
Johnston was too wise n general TO at
tempt holding river lines, after the an
Client style OF grand tactics. Modern
methods Of crossing large bodies OF men
over streams quickly have made them or
small account as Instructions against
Il larger army
Sherman's last strategical move was IN
front Of Atlanta. after Johns On was re-
Iieved and Hood placed in g1mmand OF
the confederate army. and &c has been
held by competent critics a. the finest
have ranked this specimen Of grand tao
tics as quite the equal Of the best gem
eralshiD displayed by Eapolcou.
II Butler has men enough Co keep his
enemy busy. with q strong division 70
spare for Ranking, he can ana Will re-
peat Shermau's campaign OF the sum
mer of 1SGi Assuming that JouHert falls
back from Ladysmith. the British general
win have the railway TO Durham behind
him omen. 1t is 10 miles from Durham
by rail to Ladysmjth. That place IS well
fortified. an excellent sub-base Of sup
plies. Away In the north by west lie
Johannesburg and Pretoria, $50 miles by
rail. nearly 500 to kruger's capital as the
crow flies
But Butler will not be the whole
thing IN the aggressive campaign Kitch-
eucr IS rapidly organizing big corps.
made up of infantry. mounted troops,
artillery. a brigade of naval batteries.
This force is being pat into shape at
Cape Town. Ii will soon be on the trek
to relieve Methuen. who is backed up to
Orange river near Hope Town, bas!eged
by Cronje's Free State army. This latter
wing Of the BOer army must be strength
ened, or Kitchener will have it his own
way and beat Butler to tho objective.
From Coles0urg to Pretoria is 600 miles.
The railroad is almost a bee-linc. A
dash on Bloemfontein, the Free state
capital would force the abandonment of
the siege of Kimberley and Mafeking.
To oppose the converging British coll
umns. starting from points separated by
400 miles of South African mountain and
Welt. and moving to the meeting point,
Pretoria, OF two great railway lines. the
Boers have probably $4,000 men fit for
duty. The British now have about 5000
in South Africa or in transit. and 5000
In reserve at Aldershot or in more tenn
porary home camps. i IS plain that the
campaign can have bit one end, If the
English are as determined as ever TO
prosecute the war to satisfactory con-
clusion."
But it will take time. It's no small
undertakings Sherman left his camps
south of Chattanooga about May 10th.
He forced the confederates back to At
lanta by July 18th. and they abandoned the
city on September LIST, after infiCtnS
terrible losses and damages on the federal
forces.
Butler. ut Ladysmith. is nearly four
times as far from Pretoria as Sherman
was from Atlanta when he started to
meet Johnston at Dalton. and Kitchener
will be almost six times the distance from
Dalton to Atlanta, if he finally concen-
trates his army on a line drawn east
and west within striking distance south
Of Orange river.
The Constitution is obliged to its
contemporary for the privilege of copy
ing such a graphic pen picture and
feels sure that its readers will enjoy
this information which comes in so
timely a manner.