The Situation in the West.
‘"P. W. A."’ the army correspondent of the Savannah
Republican, in his last letter, gives the following information:
‘
It is doubtful whether
Halleck will attempt any serious offensive demonstration, at least by land, for some months to come.
The undisputed control of the
Mississippi river, which he will soon have, will enable him to subsist his army with comparative case and convenience.
Meanwhile the tributaries of the
Mississippi will be scoured, and the river boats.
public and private, seized or destroyed.
Mobile and
Galveston will probably be occupied, our communications by the
Alabama river cut off, and the mouth of the
Rio Grande more effectually blockaded.
This, with the rebuilding of railway bridges, the reconstruction of the tracks of the several roads in
Tennessee to suit Northern locomotives and cars, or the building of cars to conform to the guage of the roads, will probably constitute the summer work of the
Federal army.
The lack of water, if nothing else, will deter
Halleck from any attempt to overtake
Beauregard.
It has already been found necessary to move our army down to
Tupelo — not
Saltillo, as stated in my last letter — just fifty miles below
Corinth by the
Mobile and
Ohio road.
It is not improbable that a still further retrograde movement will be found necessary.
Just below
Tupelo, where the supply of water, it is feared, will not be sufficient in the summer months, commence the rich prairie lands, where every drop of water for man and boast is obtained from wells of great depth.
This belt of country presents almost as effectual a barriers to the advance of an invading army as would a desert, or the Journey of Death so graphically described by
Mr. Benton in one of his speeches upon the boundary of
New Mexico.
At
Columbus, the supply of water is abundant.
In addition to the springs and wells with which the circumjacent county abounds, there is the
Tombigby river, from which any quantity can be easily obtained.
Columbus is about 120 miles below
Corinth, and has a branch railroad, fourteen miles in length, heading out from the Mobile and Ohio Railroad.
It is situated in a rich, fruitful, and well-watered country, and is tha seat of a wealthy and intelligent population.
It hardly seems possible for
Halleck to keep his army at
Corinth.
Before he get possession of the place he found it necessary, according to reports, to supply his troops with water forced up through several miles of
India rubber hose from the
Tennessee river.
If this be true, he probably resorted to this means of procuring a supply, more on account of the greater healthfulness of the water obtained from the
Tennessee, than from any great scarcity; for between
Corinth and the river, especially in the neighborhood of
Pea Ridge, there are several excellent springs and numberless creeks and rivulets.
’
