The Sun.
London, England, 1864-06-09 00:00:00

'CA,

(From the limes Correspoi;dent.)

NEW YORK, May 27.
The half truths conveyed in Mr. Stanton's official
telegrams from Washington and the gross exagge-
rations or wilful falsehoods o f the non-ofdcial
despatches that daily pour into New York from
Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington are so
unsatisfactory in the one case anal so deceitful in
the other that people have censed to believe
either in victory or defeat until the full circum-
stances are detailed in the regular correspondence
of the newspapers. Thus, on Wednesday, after
the departure of the European steamer, no on
.e be-
lieved on telegraphic authority that Grant had
stolen a march upon Lee, outflanked his army,
and compelled him to make a disastrous retreat
upon Richmond ; though these assertions were
made in extra editions of most of the morning and
evening journals, and were vociferated through the
streets by the stentorian newsboys whom Ireland
furnishes to America in never-failing numbers.
Yesterday the facts became somewhat less confused,
and today the public learns that, although Lee has
abandoned Spottsylvania Court-house, it was net
because of any movement Grar t had made to compel
him to do so ; that the Sout hero army had been
falling back to the stronger lilies between the North
and South Anna for 24 hears before Grant was
aware of Lee's strategy; tht,t Grant followed, but
was compelled by the utter e xhaustion of his troops
to give them a day's rest midway between Lee's old
and new positions ; that Lee will fight in the place
he has chosen ; that he has been reinforced both by
Beauregard and Breckenteeige; and that if defeated,
or compelled to retire towards Richmond, he will
still have the means to con test the ground in a long
series of battle-fields, oefort: finally intrenching him-
self in the Confederate capital, whereas Grant, if de-
feated, will run the risk of seeing himself cut off
from his communications with Washington, if he
do not make his escape by his gunboats, or be
otherwise placed in a precarious or untenable posie
tion. Sucb, shorn of all subterfuge and mystifica-
tion, appeared to be the state of affairs up to a late
hour this evening. During the whole of y esterday
a violent storm of wind and rain raged in this city,
and as it C.ITC upon us from the south, and pro-
bably extended to Virginia, Grant may have found
it expedient to extend his period of repose, from the
sheer impossibility of advancing through the mud.
That such is Mr. Stanton's belief is CN ident from his
latest despatches, in which be informs the public
that two or three days will elapse before any
further news can be expected from the Army of the
Potomac.
It is declared by the Government—and there is
every reason to believe the statement to be true—
that Grant's army at this moment, when it is about
to enter upon its second series of battles, is as strong
and efficient as when it crossed the Rapidan on the
2d instant; that, whatever the number of killed,
wounded, end missing may be in the bloody
battles of the Wilderness and Spottsylvania, the
number has been supplied by reinforcements.
But as no account has ever yet been pub-
lished of the exact numerical force of the Army
of the Potomac when it commenced this critical
campaign, the following estimate, derived from
an authority not likely to be misinformed or
self-deceived, may be found of interest. It may
at the same time be depended upon as being us
nearly accurate as it is possible to make it :—The
main army on the 2d inst. was composed of 218,000
men, of whom more than half were veteran soldiers,
in a high state of discipline and efficiency, and the
remainder new and comparatively raw recruits,
most of whom had never been under fire. To these
are to be added 18,000 negroes, attached to Burn.
side's command, and 10,003 other negroes perform-
ing camp duty, bn thoroughly armed and equinped.
Butler's corps, operating from the Peninsula, and
now all but hopelessly imprisoned in intrenchments
of his own rearing, numbered 35,000 men, both
white and black. Sigel's corps, constituting the ex-
treme right wing of Grant's army, operating in the
valley of the Shenandoah, was 30,000 strong ; and
the cavalry, under Kantz, Sheridan, and others en-
gaged in raids in the rear of the Confederates, cut-
ting the railroads, and doing other damage to the
communications of Gen. Lee with his bases of sup.
ply, numbered about 10,000. These various items,
including infantry, cavalry, artillery, and every
arm known to military duty, made a grand total a
321,000 men.

The Confederate force opposed to this mighty
host is not believed by those best aupointed with
the resources of the South to amount to more than
170,000 men. Some estimates piece the number at
ices than 100,000. Those who believe the higher
number to be correct consider that Lee's main army
is 115,000 strong; that Beauregard's command is
50,000, and Inaboden's cavalry 5,000. This force,
though inferior in number to Grant's, would be
amply sufficient, considering its moral strength, as
well as its superior knowledge of the ground, and,
without disparagement of Grant's abilities, its supe-
rior generalship, not only to hold its own, but to
gain the victory outside the walls of Richmond.
The amount of the slain in the battles that
commenced on the sth, and ended for a while on
the 15th, will probably never be known, but that
the statement current last week, and for the publi-
cation of which the Baltimore Transcript was sup-
pressed, that the total losses were not far short of
70,000, was not much if at all exaggerated may be
surmised from the following authentic figures, made
up to the 16th of this month, when the army rested
from its labours, and its commander took advan-

tage of the state of the roads to recruit. On tha
day the number of wounded left under treatment al
the temporary hospitals of
The Wilderness and Chancallorsville was.... 2,100
At Fredericksburg:, where every house, as well
as the pathways of the streets were fu11.... 12,250
At Alexandria
2,000
At Washington
A . 12,150 t Georgetown
At Baltimore and o ........ „
ther cities northward 3,500

Total wounded 33,800
To these have to be added
the prisoners—
amounting to about 5,000—and the stragglers and
deserters, probably to as many mare.
Adding all
these together, the total loss to the main
army of
the Potomac, exclusive of the slain, Will amount to
43,800. What the losses of Butler in the peninsulaand Sigel in the Shenandoah Valley Were in killed,
Wounded, and missing have cot been so closely esti-
mated; hat it is conjectured that Butler's Were
about 8,000 and Sigel's 5,000, which if correct Would
sum up the whele loss, exclusive of the slain, to
upwards of 56,000 men.

From the obstinacy of the battles and from the
spirit of both armies it is probable that the losses
sustained by the Confederates were proportionately
as large as those of the Federals. It is equally probable
that in the conflict about to be renewed the massacre
inflicted by each army upon the other will be as
savage as before, and that Grant will neither over.
whelm L(e, nor Lee Grant, until 150,000 shall have
been killed, wounded, or taken prisoners. But fright-
ful as this estimate is. no one in New 'fork seems
to be in the least astonished or shocked by it—not
even the preachers of the Gospel of Peace, or the
tenderhearted ladies who preside at sanitary fairs.
There appears to be a horrible fascination to the
mind of the Americans in the thought of the multi-
tudes who have perished, and mast yet perish,
before peace can be restored, if one may judge by
the reckless nonchalance with which the slaughter
under Grant is universally spoken of. That such
holocausts of slain are possible is considered as in
some sort a proof of th© greatness of the people,
and of their infinite superiority to any other in
the world. "The greater the debt, the greater the
staughter, the greater the fierceness of the contend-
ing hosts, the greater is our greet country, Sir
—a country that can afford to lose a million of
men and never feel the loss, Sir; and to owe four
thousand millions of dollars and be none
the
worse, Sir ; a country, Sir, that will be reunited
without a slave in it, Sir ; and that will
send General Lee to drive. the French and
the Emperor MaximAlian cut cf Mexico in
less than six months, Sir ; and that will send
General Grant to Montreal and Quebec and annex
"the whole of British North America, just as soon
as it la convenient—may be in three months, Sir ;
and that is destined, by the bles3ing of the Lord,