Sherman had opened his Atlanta campaign as soon as Grant had telegraphed to him that he had crossed the Rapidan. At the same time, he had ordered Sigel to advance through the Shenandoah towards Stanton (Va.), and Crook to come up the Kanawha Valley towards Richmond, but both were defeated, while Butler, though he inflicted great damage on the enemy, instead of capturing Petersburg, was himself “sealed up,” as Grant said. “All these flanking movements having failed, and Lee being neither defeated in the open field nor cut off from Richmond, the great problem of the war instantly narrowed itself down to the siege of Petersburg, which Grant began, and which, as it will be seen, long outlasted the year. Meanwhile, terrible injury was daily inflicted on the rebels in Virginia, by the numerous raiding and flanking parties which, whether conquering or conquered, destroyed everything, sweeping away villages and forests alike for firewood, as I well know, having seen miles of fences burned. “On May 18th, just after the bloody struggle at Spottsylvania, a spurious proclamation, announcing that Grant’s campaign was closed, appointing a day of fasting and humiliation, and ordering a new draft for 400,000 men, appeared in the New York ‘World’ and ‘Journal of Commerce,’ newspapers avowedly hostile to the Administration. The other journals, knowing that this was a forgery, refused to publish it. By order of the President, the offices of these two publications were closed; and, this action being denounced as an outrage on the liberty of the press, Governor Seymour attempted to have General Dix and others indicted for it.” The real authors of the forgery were two men named Howard and Mallison, their object being stock-jobbing purposes. When General Sigel was defeated, he was relieved by General Hunter, who, at first successful, was at last obliged to retreat before the rebel Early, with very great loss. This placed Hunter in such a position that he could not protect Washington. Early, finding himself unopposed, crossed Maryland, plundered largely, fought several battles with the militia, burned private houses, destroyed the trains on the Washington and Baltimore railroads, and threatened both cities. Then there was great anxiety in the North, for just at that time Grant was in the worst of his great struggle. But when Early was within two miles of Baltimore, he was confronted by the 6th Corps from the Potomac, the 19th from Louisiana, and large forces from Pennsylvania, and driven back. During this retreat, he committed a great outrage. Having entered Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, a peaceful, unfortified town, he demanded 100,000 dollars in gold, to be paid within an hour, and as the money could not be obtained, he burned the place. Meanwhile, Sheridan had made his famous raid round Lee’s lines, making great havoc with rebel stores and lines of transit, but in no manner infringing on the rules of honourable warfare.