June 20, 1863, The New York Herald
From the numerous despatches which we publish this morning in reference to the movements of the rebel forces in Maryland, Pennsylvania, the Shenandoah valley and in the country between the eastern flank of the Blue Ridge and the old battle ground of Manassas, it would appear, first, that, although the enemy have fallen back from Chambersburg, their forces are increasing in the northern neck of Maryland, from Hagerstown westward to Cumberland, along the line of the Potomac; and, secondly, that, from the sharp collisions between the cavalry of General Pleasanton and the scouting horsemen of the rebels, General Lee, with the main body of his army, is probably lying under the eastern base of the Blue Ridge, watching his opportunity for another descent upon Bull run.
Had he entertained any design of pushing forward to Harrisburg and Philadelphia, instead of sending a detachment of two or three thousand troopers to Chambersburg to give the alarm, he would have hurried forward the whole column of twenty or thirty thousand men under General Ewell to the Susquehanna, without stopping at any point longer than necessary to rest his troops, from day to day, after crossing the Potomac. A movement of this sort could hardly have been arrested in time to save Harrisburg; but what would have been gained by the enemy with the occupation of that city? Nothing. Lee was playing for a great prize. His demonstrations along the Pennsylvania border had for their main object the division of our Army of the Potomac, and his game with the division of this army was simply to cut it up in detail, and then to march upon Washington. He has left Richmond, as it appears from the testimony of eye witnesses, with only a handful of troops to guard it; he has taken the risks of losing the rebel capital and of having his own army cut off from its base of supplies and its lines of retreat; in a word, he has risked everything for the bold and daring enterprise of the capture of Washington. And wherefore? Because the capture of Washington, though it would arouse the North en masse, would, in all probability, secure the recognition of the so-called Confederate States as an independent power by England and France, even if Richmond should simultaneously fall into our possession.
We have no evidence of a larger force of the enemy along the borders of Maryland and Pennsylvania than twenty or thirty thousand men. The remainder of Lee’s army, body, we dare say, of at least eighty thousand men, remains to be accounted for. Where is this immense force? Doubtless within striking distance of the army of General Hooker, and fully apprised of all his movements. He has one invaluable safeguard against a surprise in the splendid cavalry corps of General Pleasanton; but still we say, let General Hooker beware of dividing his forces to circumvent the enemy, or he may become more unfortunately entangled in the meshes of Lee than he was in the wilderness on the south side of the Rappahannock. The country has no desire for another haphazard engagement with the enemy, when, by holding the Army of the Potomac well in hand, and bringing the militia reserved of the North to the border front and to the defences of Washington, sure work can be made of this daring rebel army of Virginia.
Let General Hooker be sure he is right before he leaves a strong position, for offensive or defensive purposes, to advance in broken columns to hunt up the invisible army of Lee. Let fifty thousand fresh troops, with all the contrabands that can be mustered, be thrown into the defences of Washington, and let the veteran soldiers of Heintzelman, under his experienced guidance, be detailed to the Richmond peninsula, and then let the army of General Hooker, if necessary, cross into the Shenandoah valley after the retreating columns of Lee, and the Virginia campaign will be made as sure as that against Vicksburg.
We would of all things impress these paramount considerations upon the administration, namely – that the object of this Northern advance of Gen. Lee is Washington; that all his other alleged or supposed designs are mere deceptions, and that so long as the brave legions of the Army of the Potomac are held firmly together the safety of Washington and the defeat of Lee’s army are inevitable, with or without another great battle.