Year: 1865

UuH Al WIIWilMU nE FINAL AMI
STUPEHDUS COMBINATIONS OF GRANT.


The victory won by our army and navy at
Wilmington on Sunday last, is one of the
greatest and most important we have ever


achieved. The damage is crushing beyond


compute TO the Southern Confederacy The


place lies about midway between the positions


occupied by our great armies on the Savannah


and on the james; and its bearings are as wide


as the region of country between those rivers,


in which the conclusive campaigns of Grant


and Sherman must now be speedily brought


to their elimination and cOnsummation.


The capture of Fort Fisher ITSELF with it's


twenty-five hundred men and seventy-ive
guns, is a feat of arms worthy of our soldiers
and sailors. The blocking up of Cape Fear
River, the seizure OF the last port open to the
rebels, and the final cutting of of all inter-
course between the Confederacy and the out
side world, is a blow from which there can be
no recovery. The capture Of the city Of
Wilmington, which we have no doubt will pre-
sently be effect ted, if it is not already effected
! by our iron-clads or by our army, will bring
within our lines the largest and only important
city in North Carolina, will complete our con-
troll Of the coast of that State, and will enable
US to operate at convenience in the interior
These and other bearings of Sundays battle
are most ruinous TO the prospects Of the rebel
lion, and most hopeful for the final and decisive
triumph of the Union arms.


! But great as these positive gains are in
! themselves there is far larger scope to the
victories of Sunday. Gen. SHERMAN, with
that iron-cad army of his, has lately been
making significant demonstrations toward var
ious important points in the State of South
Carolina and the opinion of his forthcoming
| campaign that is generally entertained is, that
be will strike across the Carolinas as he struck
across Georgia, and join Gen. GRANT in Vir-
giuia, in which State our great combined army
will make the final assault upon the last re-
manning army of the Southern rebellion. The
vastuess Of this scheme is such as to lead timid
people to doubt its feasibility; but in view of
what SHERMAN has already accomplished, and
in the light OF his remark recently made at
Savannah, that his "army and now march any
where over the South can do anything" we
see no reason 20 doubt that the work can and
will be done.


Now, if JEFF. Davis looks at his map, he
will at once see that if Gen. Sherman takes
Branchville, which he is now threatening, both
Charleston and Columbia will be in a very
bad way, and the next points on his northward
march would be Kingsville and Florence
When at the latter point, he would nearly
have got across one OF the Carolinas, and the
broad surface of the Old North State would
lie before him. The vast Importance of Will


mington in his onward march is now evident at
a glance Il lies in a direct line by railroad
east of Florence, and GUouId at once furnish
Sherman near base and starting point in his
onward march through North Carolina. In
ths view it is that we see by far the greatest
importance of our success at Wilmington, and
by far tbs greatest necessity for the capture OF
the city ITSELF We have no doubt, that if not
already done, the taking of the city is part of
the programme now, though it might have
been no part of the object of our operations
primarily. when the only purpose was to
prevent blockade running.


We have thus ne doubt that the capture of
Wilmington is an essential link in the opera
tions of Sherman, and in the terminating
campaign Of the rebellion in the Atlantic
States; and it is not impossible that the
months delay Of Sherman at Savannah may
be partly owing to our December failure at
Wilmington.


The able military critic of the London
Spectator has been the first on the other side |
OF the Atlantic TO note the remarkable fact
not as mere coincidence, but as a designed |
part of Lieut.-Gen. Grants stupendous COM
binations over the military field that it was
on lhe very day 18th December when the |
news got to New York that Sherman's scout
bad reached Dahlgren's feet with the intellig
ence that Shermans army safely arrived at the
seaboard-jt was on tnat same day that the
gallant army Of Thomas sailed cut of Nash
vile, struck Hood, and began the battle which
ended in the total rout of the rebel forces from
Tennessee. We have 40 means of verifying |
the idea, but we have no doubt that the one
great event waited upon the other, and that
when Grant on the James heard Of Sherman's
safety on the Atlantic, he telegraphed Thomas
on the Cumberland that his hour had come
The world knows lhe glorious result.-M. Y. |
Times.