The Nashville Daily Union

The great battles of last week, of which we have some accounts now, appear to have been second only to those in the Wilderness, either as regards the losses or pertinacity of the struggle. The advantages gained by us have not been great, but the enemy has been steadily driven back: General Grant has his forces in a favorable condition: and up to the present time Lee has shown a determination to dispute the possession of Richmond, and to defend his capital, which is eminently satisfactory—for he can be beaten where he is much easier than if he were to go to Lynchburg. Those sanguine persons who imagined that our army was going to walk over the course and put an end to the rebellion and to Lee's army in a few days, begin to feel a little discouraged: Grant has now been a month hammering away at Lee, they say, he has fought a number of severe battles, and yet he has not decided the campaign. We warned these persons before the army began to move, that the struggle was likely to be severely contested and prolonged, and we repeat our belief that no decisive results can be or ought to be expected immediately. General Grant began his Vicksburg campaign on the 30th of April last year. He moved with unexampled rapidity; the enemy was not able to make a stubborn resistance; and yet it was the Fourth of July before he completed the campaign by the capture of Vicksburg. There were impatient and discouraged men in those days, also, who spoke despondingly of Grant's chances of success, and blamed him and the Government for being too slow, yet, as we look back at it, everybody thinks this campaign a miracle of rapid dash.