Sherman, who, finding that all his attempts to take the town by siege or storm failed, marched the bulk of his army by a circuitous route to the west, and then suddenly turning to the east made himself master, without much difficulty, of the line of the Macon Railway, and thus intercepted General Hood's communications. He also cut off from Atlanta a portion of the Confederate army, which was intrenched at a place called Jonesborough. Hood finding that the enemy had got possession of the line, by which alone he obtained his supplies, blew up the magazines at Atlanta, and in the night time abandoned the city, which was occupied by the Federals on the following day.

In a congratulatory address issued to his army, General Sherman thus described the operations which had led to the capture of Atlanta:-"On the 1st of May our armies were lying in garrison, seemingly quiet, from Knoxville to Huntsville, and our enemy lay behind his rocky-faced barrier at Dalton, proud, defiant, and exulting. He had had time since Christmas to recover from his discomfiture on the Mission Ridge, with his ranks filled, and a new Commander-in-Chief, second to none of the Confederacy in reputation for skill, sagacity, and extreme popularity. All at once our armies assumed life and action and appeared before Dalton; threatening Rocky Face, we threw ourselves upon Resacca, and the rebel army only escaped by the rapidity of its retreat, aided by the numerous roads with which he was familiar, and which were strange to us. Again he took post at Allatoona; but we gave him no rest, and by a circuit towards Dallas and subsequent movement to Ackworth, we gained the Allatoona Pass. Then followed the eventful battles about Kenesaw, and the escape of the enemy across the Chattahoochee river. The crossing of the Chattahoochee and breaking of the Augusta Road was most handsomely executed by us, and will be studied as an example in the art of war. At this stage of our game our enemies became dissatisfied with their old and skilful commander, and selected one more bold and rash. New tactics were adopted. Hood first boldly and rapidly, on the 20th of July, fell on our right at Peach Tree Creek, and lost. Again on the 22nd he struck our extreme left and was severely punished; and finally, again on the 28th, he repeated the attempt on our right, and that time must have been satisfied, for since that date he has remained on the defensive. We slowly and gradually drew our lines about Atlanta, feeling for the railroads which supplied the rebel army and made Atlanta a place of importance. We must concede to our enemy that he met these efforts patiently and skilfully, but at last he made the mistake we had waited for so long and sent his cavalry to our rear, far beyond the reach of recall. Instantly our cavalry was on his only remaining road, and we followed quickly with our principal army, and Atlanta fell into our possession as the fruit of well-concerted measures, backed by a brave and confident army.' On getting possession of the place, General Sherman issued an

order that the non-combatants in Atlanta should leave the town, and offered to give every facility for their removal southwards. General Hood remonstrated against this, as an unprecedented act of "studied and ingenious cruelty." The reply of Sherman was characteristic. He said:

"I say it is a kindness to these families of Atlanta to remove them now at once from the scenes that women and children should not be exposed to, and the 'brave people' should scorn to commit their wives and children to the rude barbarians who thus, as you say, violate the laws of war, as illustrated in the pages of its dark history.

"In the name of common sense I ask you not to appeal to a just God in such a sacrilegious manner-you who, in the midst of peace and prosperity, have plunged a nation into civil war, dark and cruel war, who dared and badgered us to battle, insulted our flag, seized our arsenals and forts that were left in the honourable custody of a peaceful Ordnance Sergeant; seized and made prisoners of war the very garrisons sent to protect your people against negroes and Indians. Long before any overt act was committed by the, to you, hateful Lincoln Government, you tried to force Kentucky and Missouri into the rebellion in spite of themselves; falsified the vote of Louisiana; turned loose your privateers to plunder unarmed ships; expelled union families by the thousands, burned their houses, and declared, by act of your Congress, the confiscation of all debts due to Northern men for goods had and received.

"Talk thus to marines, but not to me, who have seen these things, and who will this day make as much sacrifice for the peace and honour of the South as the best born Southerner among you."

During the month of September some severe fighting took place in the Shenandoah Valley, where the combatants were, General Early on the Confederate, and General Sheridan on the Federal side. On the 18th Sheridan attacked Early, and forced him to retreat up the valley, with considerable loss on both sides. It is impossible to give any thing like a detailed account of the movements which followed in this part of the theatre of war, for we have no trustworthy information yet on which we can rely; but on the 19th of October an important battle was fought between the contending armies at Cedar Creek, which, although at first very unfavourable to the Federals, ended, owing to want of caution on the part of the Confederates, in a Federal victory. Cedar Creek is not far from Winchester, and here General Early made a fierce attack on the Federal forces before daylight, and drove them back four miles. The impetuosity, however, of the Confederates carried them too far, and the Federals, having rallied in a compact line of battle, in turn became the assailants, and compelled the enemy to fall back in disorder. According to the Federal account the retreat became a flight, but we are so accus

tomed to vain-glorious boasts of Federal successes that we are not disposed to put much faith in them. General Grant, however, ordered a salute of 100 guns to be fired "in honour of Sheridan's victory," and said in a despatch, "Turning what bid fair to be a disaster into a glorious victory stamps Sheridan what I have always thought him to be, one of the ablest of generals."

General Early continued to fall back during the 20th, followed by General Sheridan, and on the 21st made a stand at Fisher's Hill, two and a half miles south of Strasburg. Sheridan attacked him in the evening, but was repulsed. Next day Sheridan renewed the attack, and after a severe conflict, which lasted until dark, he forced Early to abandon the position with the loss of several cannon.

CHAPTER VII.

AMERICA (continued).

Contest for the Presidency-General McClellan the Democratic candidate-The Chicago Convention-Letter from McClellan to his Committee-Letter of General Grant-Meetings in favour of peace-General Fremont's reasons for declining to contest the Presidency-Majority in favour of Mr. Lincoln-Ferocity with which the war was carried on-Proclamation of the Federal General Paine-Outrageous violation of neutral rights by a Federal ship-of-war in the case of the "Florida "Consequent proceedings- Mr. Seward's despatch-Confederate manifesto to foreign Courts Earl Russell's reply-Arrest of Confederate raiders" in Canada-Mr. Seward's letter on the subject of British subscription for the relief of Confederate prisoners-General Sherman's march through Georgia to the coast, and capture of Savannah-Naval expedition against Wilmington-Its failure-Message of President Lincoln to the Federal Congress-Report of the Secretary of the Treasury-Public debt of the Federal States.

DURING the stagnation of military movements before Richmond the most exciting subject of interest in the autumn was the forthcoming contest for the Presidency, as Mr. Lincoln's tenure of office would expire in March, 1865-and the election of the Delegates with whom theoretically rests the choice of the new President takes place in November. The only two candidates of any real pretensions to the high office were Mr. Lincoln, who offered himself for re-election, and General McClellan. The latter was the candidate selected by what was called the Chicago Convention, who represented the Democratic party; and in the following resolutions which they adopted will be found a summary of their political principles and the reasons that influenced them in opposing Mr. Lincoln.

"That in the future, as in the past, we will adhere with unwavering fidelity to the Union under the Constitution, as the only solid foundation of our strength, security, and happiness as a

people, and as a framework of Government equally conducive to the prosperity of all the States both Northern and Southern.

"That this Convention does explicitly declare as the sense of the American people, that after four years of failure to restore the Union by the experiment of war, during which, under pretence of military necessity or war-power higher than the Constitution, the Constitution has been disregarded in every part, and public liberty and private rights alike trodden down, and the material prosperity of the country essentially impaired,-justice, humanity, liberty, and the public welfare, demand that immediate efforts be made for a cessation of hostilities with the view to an ultimate convention of all the States, or other peaceable means, to the end that at the earliest practical moment peace may be restored on the basis of the Federal Union of all the States.

"That the direct interference of the military authority of the United States in the recent elections held in Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, and Delaware, was a shameful violation of the Constitution, and the repetition of such acts will be held as revolutionary, and resisted with all the means and power under our control.

"That the aim and object of the Democratic party is to preserve the Union and the rights of the States unimpaired, and they hereby declare that they consider the administrative usurpation of extraordinary and dangerous powers not granted by the Constitution, the subversion of civil and military laws in States not in insurrection, the arbitrary military arrest, imprisonment, trial, and sentence of American citizens in States where the civil law exists in full force, the suppression of the freedom of speech and of the press, the denial of the right of asylum, the open and avowed disregard of State rights, the employment of unusual test oaths, and interference with and denial of the rights of the people to bear arms, are calculated to prevent the restoration of the Union and perpetuation of a Government deriving its just powers from the consent of the governed.

"That the shameful disregard by the Administration of its duty in respect to our fellow-citizens who now are and long have been prisoners of war in a suffering condition, deserves the severest reprobation on the score alike of public and common humanity."

General McClellan, having been put in nomination, addressed a letter on the 8th of September to his Committee, consenting to become a candidate. He said:

"The existence of more than one Government over the region which once owned our flag is incompatible with the peace, the power and the happiness of the people.

"The preservation of our Union was the sole avowed object for which the war was commenced. It should have been conducted for that object only, and in accordance with those principles which I took occasion to declare when in active service.

"Thus conducted, the work of reconciliation would have been

easy, and we might have reaped the benefits of our many victories on land and sea.

"The Union was originally formed for the exercise of a spirit of conciliation and compromise. To restore and preserve it the same spirit must prevail in our councils and in the hearts of the people.

"The re-establishment of the Union in all its integrity is, and must continue to be, the indispensable condition in any settlement. So soon as it is clear, or even probable, that our present adversaries are ready for peace upon the basis of the Union, we should exhaust all the resources of statesmanship practised by civilized nations, and taught by the traditions of the American people, consistent with the honour and interests of the country, to secure peace, re-establish the Union, and guarantee for the future the constitutional rights of every State. The Union is the one condition of peace. We ask no more.

"Let me add what I doubt not was, although unexpressed, the sentiment of the Convention, as it is of the people they represent, that when any one State is willing to return to the Union it should be received at once, with a full guarantee of all its constitutional rights.

"If a frank, earnest, and persistent effort to obtain those objects should fail, the responsibility for ulterior consequences will fall upon those who remain in arms against the Union. But the Union must be preserved at all hazards.

"A vast majority of our people, whether in the army and navy or at home, would, as I would, hail with unbounded joy the permanent restoration of peace on the basis of the Union under the Constitution, without the effusion of another drop of blood. no peace can be permanent without union.

But

"As to the other subjects presented in the resolutions of the Convention, I need only say that I should seek in the Constitution of the United States, and the laws framed in accordance therewith, the rule of my duty and the limitations of executive power; endeavour to restore economy in public expenditure, re-establish the supremacy of law, and by the operation of a more rigorous nationality resume our commanding position among the nations of the earth."

Shortly before this, with reference to the impending contest for the Presidency, a letter from General Grant was published, which, considering the way in which he has been baffled at every point by the Confederates, is a curious specimen of either ignorance or effrontery, or both :

"The rebels have now in their ranks their last man. The little boys and old men are guarding prisoners, guarding railroad bridges, and forming a good part of their garrisons or intrenched positions. A man lost by them cannot be replaced. They have robbed the cradle and the grave equally to get their present force. Besides what they lose in frequent skirmishes and battles they are