The Sun.
London, England, 1864-06-25 00:00:00

Confederate View of the American

Campaign.

(From tho _lndex.)

There seems to be very little doubt that General
Grant has made up his mind to adopt another line
of advance upon Richmond, and that the next mail
will bring us the intelligence of a still closer imita-
tion of M'Clellan's strategy, and another change•of
base, defeated at Spottsylvania, foiled at Saxton's
Junction, defeated again on the Chickahominy, the
Federal commander has evidently resolved upon
trying a new point in the Confederate armies; and
everything tenes to prove that his next move will
be towards the James River. General M'C.ellan
persoveritif;ly• maintained that the J. '111?8 River
route was the real road to Richmond, though it is
only fair to say that ne never proved its advantages,
and only discovered them when every other route
had failed, and when it was too late to try
the new one. General Grant has trodden
so closely in his footsteps that it is per-
fectly natural he should try his predecessor's
"forlorn hope," and to the last moment delude
the North into the belief that he is bent upon
marching into Richmond. At the same time, there
is a suggestive weakness in this change
of base
which implies far more anxiety about a safe retreat
than an easy advance, and we shall begin to think,
when once Grant's march across the Chickahominy
to the James River is announced, that the end of
the campaign is not very distant. We are, of course,
very much in the dark as to the result of the recent
operations on the north bank of the Chickahominy.
All Southern reports are carefully excluded from
Northern newspapers. The correspondence from
the army is carefully edited by Mr Stanton's sub-
ordinates. Federal victories are magnified, Federal
reverses are dwarfed, and everything is narrated
' in the tone most calculated to help Mr Lincoln's
chances of the Presidential election. Take the
battle of the 3d instant. It is now admitted that
a general action was fought on that day—that
the Federals attacked Lee's lines with their whole
force, and were repulsed with frightful loss. It is
even asserted that at one moment they held the key
of the position, but that Grant, unwilling to reap a
victory which would cost him a great loss of life,
withdrew after three hours' engagement and the
loss of 7,000 men. Yet that action was described
in a previous mail as a mere reconnaissance in force,
which cost two or three colonels and " loss not very
severe," although it really amounted to a defeated
attempt to force Lee's lines and drive his whole
army into Richmond. It is difficult, then, to guess
what confidence is to be placed in the reports of
theNe w York papers or in Mr. Stanton's despatches,
but if we take their own accounts, and draw our
opinions from them, we shall probably not be far
wrong in deciding that the battle of the 3d was
conclusive as to the campaign on the Chickahominy,
and rendered Grant's change of base an actual ne-
cessity.
Tae question arises for whet point Grant will
make. He is, as usual, moving by his left, and is
reported to have reached Despatch Station on the
Chickahominy. This would seem to imply an in-
relation of taking up a position somewhat nearer to

Richmond than Harrison's Landing,and in advance
of Butler's lines. But we are inclined to believe
that if Grant does make for the James River, his
line of march will be nearly identical with the mute
adopted by M'Clellan. In that case he will have
arrived on the north bank of the James River almost
on the same day of the year as his predecessor, and
his army will be subjected to precisely the same
malarious influences which decimated M'Clellan's
forces. Bad water, marsh miasmata, and a Vir-
ginian July sun would speedily dispose of his army
without the necessity of a blow from Lee. But
M'Clellan's army, even after the 7 days' fighting,was
formidable. Lee's forces, although victorious, had
suffered heavily, and were not in a condition
to follow up their victory. Things are different
now. Every week adds to Lee's strength. Rich-
mond is secured against a coup de main; and, since
the advance upon Richmond is restricted to a single
route, Lee can afford to trust very much to the do-
fences of the Southern capital, and make use of his
available forces for a blow that would speedily com-
pel Lincoln to think more of defonding Washing-
ton than of taking Richmond. As it is, there is

nothing to prevent a Confederate force marching to
the Potomac. Confederate guerillas are virtually
in possession of the country from Arlington Heights
_ _

to the northern line of Richmond. If Lee can spare
the men, he has already an opportunity of dealing
a blow which will be as useful for the defence
of Richmond as another successful repulse of
Grant's army. But it is said to be the Federal
General's p:an to establish himself on both
banks of the James River, to advance, a la
Halleck, a mile a week, by the aid of the spade;
and by means of his superiority of cavalry to cut
the communications of Richmond, and compel Lee

to evacuate Richmond without risking the failure
of an assault. Really there is no end to the inge-
nuity of Federals strategists. The attack, which
began on the north side of Richmond, is now to be
transferred to the south side. The route which was
so obviously the only safe advance to Richmond is
to be abandoned, and a new line immeasurably
superior is to be adopted; and all the time the
Northern press is in ecstacies over the generalship
of Grant, and implicitly believes that Richmond
will fall, like Jericho, at the blast of a trumpet, so
soon as Grant arrives before the walls. For our
own part, we are of opinion that the further Grant
moves to the south, the more feeble roust be his
hope of reaching Richmond; that every mile he
places between his army and Washington is a gain
to the Confederates; and that we shall soon hear
of combinations of the Confederate troops which
will effectually relieve Richmond for many months
to come.

Sherman's prospects aro not more favourable
than those of the army in Virginia. In Georgia,
also, the Federal army has suffercd defeat and less
In two battles the Confederates have taken the
initiative. In one the .Federals claim a victory, in
the other they acknowledge a defeat. A frightful
list of killed and wounded and sick has been sent
northwards. Southern reports already place at
45,000 the casualties in Sherman's army from One
cause or another. And we learn from Northern
sources that the advanue ban ceased; that Johnston,
reinforced by Polk and Finnegan, has aimed to
bay; that the news of the capture of Alarietta is
false; and that before Sherman can hope to settle
down to the siege of Atalanta, he has got to
fight an army of 600,000 men, commanded
by one of the best officers in the Confede-
rate army occupying au immensely strong posi-
tion. From Chattanooga to Ackworth the distance
is 120 miles. A single line of railway is all Sher-
man has to depend on for his supplies ; and Forrest,
with a large cavalry force, is said to be making for
his communication:). It is contrary to all experi-
ence that Sherman's army should succeed, and we
believe a very short time will elapse before Sher-
man repeats the retrograde movement ho made in
the spring in the State of Mississippi. In the mean-
time the Confederates are astir in Kentucky ; they
are threatening Cincinnati—they have destroyed
four gunboats and several transports on the Missis-
sippi, and they are gradually acquiring quite a
respectable fleet by captures in Southern waters.
The Federals have sacrificed everything for the
capture of Richmond and Atalanta. At present
they have achieved no success to compensate them
for the territory they have abandoned and the losses
they have endured.

DANGEROUS CONDITION OF lIEENAN.—Among
the most serious sufferers from the recent railway
accident at Egham is John C. Heenan, the:Benicia Boy. It
appears that Heenan looked from his carriage .window when
the first alarm was given, and finding a eollision inevitable,
jumped on to the platform as the train was moving, and
falling heavily, injured his spine so severely that he has
suffered from a continuous succession of fits ever since. Ills
own doctor (Mr Clark) and the company's surgeon (Dr.
Sally) have been in constant attendance upon him since the
accident, and from S o'clock on Sunday night until S o'clock
on Monday night he was never left by his medical men, as
ha no sooner recovered from one fit than a more violent one
succeeded. Heenan, according to the latest inquiries, was
better, but is at present confined to his bed. Poor Heenan
has been most unfortunate since his arrival in this country,
and this last disaster is tho crowning misfortune of his
English calier.