The Situation.
Whatever
Grant may have hoped to achieve by massing his forces so suddenly and so heavily upon the north side, thus far, at least, he has accomplished nothing worthy of the immense noise with which his advance was heralded by all the journals of Yankeedom.
Yesterday, in particular, his forces were beaten everywhere.
All along the line — wherever our troops encountered them — they gave way more like raw militia than the heroes that are to crush a "rebellion," the like of which the world never beheld in times past, and never will behold, in all probability, in the next twenty centuries, if it should last so long.
We know not exactly what were the fruits of our success; but we learn that they were very considerable — that we drove the enemy three or four miles--that we captured twelve or fifteen pieces of cannon and made many prisoners.
This is glory enough for one day; but the result has not been productive of glory merely.
It has restored our fellow-citizens to the due degree of composure by teaching them — what they ought to have known before, and what most of them did know,--that as long as
General Lee is between them and the
Yankees with an army they can never be the victims of the
Yankees.
Grant cannot get here this time.
The "cradle and the grave"stand between him and
Richmond, and they will not let him pass.
We have no idea that
Grant would have made this expedition had it not been necessary to do something for
Lincoln at the approaching election.
This expedition is an electioneering movement.
Its object is to elect
Lincoln, not to take
Richmond.
To be sure, if
Richmond could be taken by surprise while he is electioneering for his master, it would be so much clear gain.
The lies of the
Yankee telegraph and press have been larger even than is usual with them since
Grant came to the north side.
The populace must be fed with tales of great battles and wonderful victories, and
Grant feeds them.
For instance, we all know that
Fort Harrison was garrisoned by a few hundred men, who abandoned it almost without a struggle.
The Yankee newspapers report a desperate conflict, such as the world has not witnessed since the storming of
Badajoz.
The Confederates performed prodigies of valor, but, of course, the invincible
Yankees carried the day. They stormed the dearly-won works at the point of the bayonet and planted the buzzard and gridiron over the dead bodies of any number of our men and three thousand of their own!! Oh!
Yankee! Yankee!
Our troops showed yesterday, as they always have shown, and as they always will show, their native superiority to the
Yankees.
Grant has evidently lost the flower of his troops.
They do not fight as they did last summer.
