Lee's Army.

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The terrible series of battles which, during the last ten days, have tried the mettle of our army, and the remarkable succession of victorious bulletins which have thrilled the nerves of the nation, seem to be reaching their consummation. The great army of the rebellion, which has held its ground against the power of the United States for three long years, which has fought more great battles than any army that has existed in the world for the last half century, which has twice crossed to this side of the Potomac, and four times driven back mighty armies led by four Generals in succession -- the veteran army of ROBERT E. LEE is breaking up. Or rather, it is being defeated, demolished, crushed and annihilated by the courage of our soldiers and the masterly generalship of their Commander. So much at least is not fancy, but joyous fact -- grim, solemn, terrible, sanguinary fact. It is a fact that the nation will be slow to realize, though proud to believe. All patriotic men possessed of faith in Heaven and in America, have always felt that the huge armies whose bayonets have so long sustained the slaveholding and sectional Confederacy would ultimately be crushed. But only the other day -- those armies looked so formidable and defiant -- the walls of the Confederacy were so high and its towers and bulwarks so tremendous -- that they can hardly conceive it possible that even the mighty enginery which this nation has organized, could all at once make such progress in battering them into ruins. We say not that the work is done -- by no means. We would not rejoice prematurely -- not certainly after the experience of the last three years. But can any one read the history of the past fortnight, as written in blood by Gen. GRANT, and as sent to the country by the Secretary of War and the faithful correspondents of the press, without acknowledging that we have never had such battles nor such successes, that the rebellion has never gotten such staggering blows, and that it never gave such, signs of reeling to its fall as now. In addition to the great actions of Thursday and Friday of last week, the heavy fighting of Saturday, Sunday and Monday, the great action of Tuesday, and the heavy fighting of Wednesday, we this morning present in other columns an account from our correspondent of another great battle on Thursday last -- a battle which was more decisive and victorious in its issue than any of those on either of the seven days' struggle that immediately preceded it. The battle opened in the early morning, by an assault of HANCOCK upon the rebel position at Spottsylvania Court-house, which soon swelled into a general struggle, lasting all day, between nearly the entire force of the two armies; and the Lieutenant-General, whose every sentence will be universally believed, even though he seems always to underrate the greatness of his own successes, himself says of the issue of the day: "The eighth day of battle closes leaving between three and four thousand prisoners in our hands for the day's work, including two General officers and over thirty pieces of artillery. The enemy are obstinate, and seem to have found the last ditch. We have lost no organization, not even a company, whilst we have destroyed and captured one division, (JOHNSON's.) one brigade (DOBBS') and one regiment entire of the enemy." With previous captures, the losses to LEE's army during the eight days' fight must surely have amounted to fifty thousand men -- 30,000 killed and wounded, 10,000 prisoners, and 10,000 stragglers. This, we should certainly think, comprises a half of LEE's entire force, and it is impossible to believe, after such losses, that his army is not in fair process of demolition. We hardly see how our army any more than that of the rebels can much longer sustain themselves under such exhausting destructive work as that of the last fortnight. But their spirit is indomitable, and their physique of iron. Our correspondent, writing at the close of Thursday's death straggle, from Gen. GRANT's headquarters, says: "Whatever may be the determination of the enemy, there will be no change or let up in the resolve of this army, of its Commander and of the head of all the armies of the United States. That resolve is to put the matter through, cost what it may. In doing this we shall add to the already appalling list of losses we have experienced in this unparalleled battle of eight days' duration, but we shall end by crushing the enemy to powder." This is the Army of the Potomac! The latest telegrams report LEE's retreat from Spottsylvania Court-house. Even if this had not been necessitated by the terrible punishment his army has received, it would have been rendered necessary by the fact that nearly all its communications, as well as the communications of Richmond with the South and West have been cut by our cavalry. The Norfolk railroad is worthless to them; the Petersburgh railroad has been cut at Stoney Creek Bridge; the Danville railroad has been, or will presently be, cut at the Appomattox Bridge; the East Tennessee and Virginia Railroad has been torn to pieces by SIGEL between Charlottesville and Lynchburgh, and SHERIDAN has operated on the lines in the immediate rear of LEE's army that connect it with Richmond. We need not speculate on what the next movements will be. We are glad to learn that reinforcements are being sent forward to the Army of the Potomac from Washington. Let every available man be pushed to the front of action, that the nation may now, by one tremendous effort, crush this accursed rebel army, fighting for a thrice accursed cause.

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