IN FRONT OF PETERSBURG.
Sunday [June 19, 1864] appears to have been a day of comparative rest, if not of peace, along the lines of our army in front of Petersburg. The condition of affairs (down to the hour when this is written) therefore presents no change that invites comment or explanation. We are thrown back upon a perusal of the details of the battles of last week1, the general reports of which have already been before the public by telegraph. In these we find abundant evidence of gallant fighting on the part of our brave soldiers, impetuous charges, fiery and successful assaults, fortifications carried against heavy odds of position, constant progress, all showing a marvelous development of elan in our troops, and of indomitable energy and resolution in their commanders. In such things we see the foreshadowings of the certain success of the great cause.
But there were indications early on Monday morning [June 20, 1864] that the quiet of Sunday was to be followed by a vigorous renewal of the assault on Petersburg. “All is quiet along the lines” means something different with General GRANT from the old time import of those familiar words. With him they presage the gathering of a storm that is soon to burst with augmented fury on his former object of attack, or to threaten with its irresistible sweep some new point of the enemy’s lines.
We may therefore expect to have early intelligence of the final and successful assault on Petersburg, or in default of that, of some new and admirable application of General GRANT’S favorite flank movement, by which BEAUREGARD will be driven from his works without the expenditure of another shot. It will be widely different from GRANT’S usual practice if a whole day of rest has not resulted in such new combinations as will command success in some direction.2
SOPO Editor’s Note: This article was transcribed by Jackie Martin.
If you are interested in helping us transcribe newspaper articles like the one above, please CONTACT US.
Source/Notes:
- SOPO Editor’s Note: This refers to the Second Battle of Petersburg, fought June 15-18, 1864. ↩
- “In Front of Petersburg.” The Philadelphia Inquirer (Philadelphia, PA), June 22, 1864, p. 4, col. 1 ↩