The Sun.
London, England, 1864-08-17 00:00:00

THE CIVIL WAR IN AMERICA,

(from te .71;ne,s' Cot respondent.)
NEw YORK, Aug. 29.
Gent ral Grant's supposed change of base to the
north of the James at Deep Bottom was but a ruse
de guerre. It does not appear, however, to have
answered its purpose. The Confederates provided
for the danger that might have been incurred had
the movement been genuine, but they left no weak
point elsewhere in consequence of their vigilance at
this. They knew that Grant had been undermining
Petersburg, if they did not know the exact spot in
which he had been operating, and took all possible
precautions to defeat or circumvent him. At the
early dawn of Saturday morning, the 30th of July,
the grand movement which in the expectation of
Vie President, the War Secretary, the Lieutenant.
General, and of all who had been admitted into the
secret, was to retrieve the evil fortune of the cam-
paign and open the way to Richmond over the ruins
of Petersburg, was made, A mine 400 yards in
length, upon the construction of which the sappers
and miners of the Army of the Potomac, under the
personal inspection of Generals Grant and Burn•
aide had been secretly engaged for 33 days, was
successfully sprung. Six tons of gunpowder stored
at its extremity were exploded, and a Confederate
earthwork mounting 16 guns and defended by 500
soldiers of the South Carolinian Volunteers was
hurled into the air, carrying above the - }:ouseatops
the mangled, blackened, and mutilated corpses of
two or three hundred men, and shaking with the
repercussion the city and the country for miles
around. The order to charge over the ruins was
immediately given, and the news of the great
deed was transmitted to the Government and to
the Northern people. It reached this city on
Sunday forenoon, when the ears of the multitudes
pouring out of church Were saluted by the discor-
dant shouts of the newsboys selling extra edi-
tions of the Herald, containing what was entitled
the ‘‘ Glorious Victory of General Grant," " the
Destruction of Petersburg !" and " Capture of Rich-
mond !"
Sunday news in New York as in London is gene-
rally looked upon with suspicion, but the details in
this Case were so circumstantial that disbelief of the
main facts was impossible. Shoddy rejoiced and
made merry ; the Loyal League was jubilant—the
office-holders, anxious for a new lease of power un-
der Mr Lincoln, were light of heart ; and credulous
people, who form the great majority in this impul-
sive city, were loud in their praise of Grant—of his
bulldog tenacity of purpose, of his unrelenting grip
of his enemy, and of his genius as a soldier. They
called him " a Titan in a blue coat," a greater than
Wellington or Napoleon, the restorer of the Union,
the Saviour of his country, and much more to the
same effect—though it must be added that there
were not wanting thousands who took a calmer view

of the matter and resolved to moderate their joy
until fuller details were received—nor many who
hoped that the victory to be gained would be worth,
in the future saving of life, the awful butchery by
which it was accomplished. No farther news was
received until three or four hours after the publi-
cation of the morning papers of Monday, most of
them put into their own language the wild hopes
of the people, and proclaimed that not only was
the backbone of the rebellion broken this time, but

that its head was " smashed in," and the life fast
oozing and ebbing out of it. Bat by twelve o'clock
there were ominous rumours in Wall-street which
sent up the price of gold 5 and ultimately 8 per cent.
It was stated in true American parlance that
" Grant was whipped out of his boots ;" that the
assaulting party had been repulsed with awful loss;

that 10,000 men had been sacriEced in the vain
attempt to carry the inner line of the Confederate
works, and that Grant had left the scene of disaster
to consult with President Lincoln at Fortress Mons
roe. This time rumour was not at fault, or, if her
tongue had said the thing which was not, it was
only to the extent of overestimating losses which
no one could exactly compute, but which were
known to be enormous. In the evening the full
details were published. The Confederates, startled
by the explosion, were not paralysed. Though
Grant opened upon them with a discharge of all
the artillery along his line, General Beauregard was
at his post—undaunted, ready, and alert, and did
such murderous execution upon the advancing
columns of the Federals, mowing them down horn
the front and from both sides with a continuous
discharge of shot and shell that no mortal troops
could hold their own against it. The white comba-
tants of the 2d, the 15Co, and 18th divisions fought
valiantly, as long as a hope remained, to carry the
inner lines at the point of the bayonet, and just et
the critical moment the coloured division under
Brigadier-General White was ordered to their sup-
port. Tee sight of there auxiliaries seemed to
inspire the Confederates with redoubled fury, and
such a fire was cpened upon them as decided the
contest in a few minutes. The poor negroes fell
literally by hundreds at every discharge. Their
officers were killed off. They had none left to order
them what to do or to animate their failing courage
by a word of cheer or of command. They turned
and fled, heiter-skelter, and the day was lost. The
Black Brigade of the Army of the Potomac virtually
ceased to exist. The killed, the wounded, and the
prisoners amounted to between 4,000 and 5,000.
The white regiments which bore, the first brunt of
the advance, suffered as severely ; so that according
to the best estimate that can be formed out of the
cot fl:cting reports from the field it seems no ex egge-
- ratioa to say that this abortive attempt of G;nerai
Grant to thunder his way into Petersburg must
have test him 8,000 if not 10,000 men. It is said
by his admirers—for the more reckless ho shows
himself the more he is praised—that this failure
will not interfere with Grant's plans, and that he
will try egain, even should he lose one half of his
army in the at tempt, hopeless to others but by no
means hopeless to him, This, however, depends
upon Mr. Lincoln. The two had a consultation on
hoard the steamer Baltimore, which proceeded to
sea, out of the reach of eavesdroppers, where they
no doubt debated what wee best to be done. It
neither of them can see that Petersburg and Rich-
mond are virtually impregnable, that the c Arnp4ign
is a failure, and that if the Army of the Potomac
do not voluntarily move towards Washington it may
be driven thitherward against its will and with
tremendous loss, they are too blind to palpable
realities to be fit for the task of Government. There
is scarcely a Northern man who does not admit the
deep humiliation of this Confederate victory,
achieved so easily that General Leo was able to
spare a large force from the defences of Petersburg
to carry fire and sword into the heart of Pennsyl-
vania, to destroy Chambersburg, to threaten Balti-
more, Washiegtoe, Pennsylvania, and Pittsburg ;
and to bring home to the experiences of the
Northern people the miseries which they have so
long inflicted upon the South, and of which the
citizens of New York and Boston are so utterly
ignorant. None can yet tell what passed between
the two high functionaries, or what painful feel-
ings must have been predominant in Mr. Lincoln's
mind when he knew—if he really does know—the
extent of the calamity that has befallen his main
army—that army b.: the victories of which
he hoped to secure such credit before the first
week of November as would secure him that
re-election to the Presidency on which in
an evil hour for himself and his country
he sat his heart. Bat if he do not make the best of
this very bad business and call home the army to dee
fend Washington a still deeper humiliation may be
in store for him, and the peace, which he cannot
make by his own magnanimity or the courage and
fortune of his general, may
b© forced upon him at
the sword's point in the hands of a victorious enemy,
prescribing the conditions in his helpless capital,
and sending down to posterity the name of Abraham
Lincoln as the last and worst President of the
United States, and the unskilful and unlucky pilot
who not only made shipwreck of the glory but of
the liberty of his country.
This defeat—leading, as it probably will, to the
abandonment of the campaign in Virginia—will
make au end of the pretensions of Gen. Grant to the
Presidency, if he ever had any, and to any chance
of his nomination at Chicago. ekes the day ape
proachea when the Democratic party is to assemble
in that city to choose their leader the intrigues of
politicians of both parties assume shape and deve-

loprnent. Were Mr Lincoln a true patriot, he would
in face of present circumstances forego his shadowy
claim to re-election, and quietly allow, if he did not
even recommend, the people to make choice of a new
man, for peace or war as their judgm :at might de.
tide. But be is not of the heroic mould, was not
born great, has achieved no greatness, and cannot
even have greatness thrust upon him, so iinmcaeure-
ably is he behind the position which he holds, but
does not fill. He is not of the class of men who are
equal to the task of self-sacrifice. Possession of
power first fascinated and then demoralised him.
He has got the idea from parasites and flatters, or,
perhaps, from the shallow "depths of his own
consciousness," that he is not only the first, bat the
, wisest, greatest, and best man in the State, and the
Heaven-sent instrument who is to achieve the salva-
tion of his country. And although his glaring failure
and the discredit which his Administration hes cast
I both at home and abroad on the name of the Arnes
rican people and their capacity for self-government
has divided the Republican party, by whose vote he
was elevated to power, Mr Lincoln does not take i
the hint to depart, but blunders on in his purposes,
evidently as willing to ruin his party as to ruin his
country, provided he have a chance to retain posses. 1
sion of office. Were he out of the way the Republi•
cans and Abolitionists would certainly unite their
votes in favour of Gen. Fremont, and thus oppose a
firm and perhaps successful front to the growing
power of the Democrats. The latter, warned by the
divisions of their opponents, and remembering that
it was only by their own fatal schisms in 1860 that
Mr Lincoln was elected and the war inaugurated,
are striving to forget minor differences and to unite
at Chicago in support of one man. Whoever that
man may be, they can carry his election if they will,
provided always that his election be open and peace-
able as in happier days ; and that under the war
power and the plea of military necessity, Mr Lin-
coln do not declare martial law in such State or
States as may be known to have so organised their
votes as to give a majority against him. This danger
is not chimerical. INIr Lincoln is constantly urged
by the revolutionary faction to resort to a coup
d'etat of this kind, and thus get rid of Gen. Fre-
mont and the Democratic candidate by one stroke.
It is doubtful, however, if he has the nerve to be the

first actor in such a revolution. If he had, the next
six months of American history would be more in-
structive to the world than all the years that have
preceded them ; and the believers in a Republican
form of government based upon universal suffrage
_ _

would see sights very likely to disgust them.
Though the war section, daily diminishing in
strength and influence, and losing faith in the
ultimate success of military Efforts to restore the
Union, would cheerfully support INlTlellan as its
candidate, the peace section, weary of the war, and
loving liberty and State rights more than Union,
will not register its votes for him, unless he will
resign his commission in the Federal army. They
urge that his recent speech at West Point on the

inauguration of the monument to the Federal soldiers
slain in battle was much too warlike in its tone and
tendency, unless modified by subsequent action on
his part, or wholly disavowed, to entitle him to con-
fidence. They also urge that es an advoca4,e of
State rights, upon which alone he can be elected, he
ought to throw down a sword which the President
can compel him to draw in support of a contrary
principle. General M'Clellan hesitates to adopt this
course, and if his hesitation continue for 10 days or
a fortnight longer his chance will be lost. He will
not secure the nomination, and the Peace Democracy
controlling the Convention will bring forward an-
other candidate, pledged to an armistice, to a con-
vention of the States, and a return to the principles
of the Constitution—which leave slavery to local
legislation, and extrude it wholly from the domain
of Federal politics. There are at least a dozen promi-
nent Northern statesmen who would gladly consent
to stand upon this platform, among whom, in addi-
tion to those mentioned in previous letters, are ex-
President Millard Fillmore and Franklin Pierce,
and Mr. Dean Richmond, president or chairman of
one of the great New York Railway companies, and
manager or wire-puller, of what is called the " Al-
bany Rege-Icy"—a c;ique or " ring" of persons who
control the Tammany, or original crganieation of the
New York Democracy. At p7esent, while M'Clelian
holds aloof, Mr. Dean Richmond is the favourite of
a large section of the Democrats, and the name more

likely than any other to unite in its support the
suffrages of his party. But there are yet 27
days before .the nomination, and in that time
new names may come uppermost and old ones go
down. The star of peace is in the ascendent. The
war is an admitted failure. The North has under-
taken what it cannot accomplish, It has already
paid more than it likes in men, money, character,
and the substantial blessings of liberty and pros-
perity, and hesitates to make farther sacrifices.
Were .11‘Clellan to come bravely out, and declare
emphatically- that he was for peace and compromise,
no other candidate could stand before him. The
issue would be between him and General Fremont,
and the triumph of either would be in all probabi-
lity bring compromise, if it did not bring union.
The next month .promises to be an eventful one both
in politics and war, and possibly also in finance.
The Presidential contest will soon absorb every-
body's attention, and man will be much more
urgently needed at Washington than at Richmond
or Atlanta, or else all signs and portents are decep-
tive.

THE DEFEAT OF GRANT AT PETERSBURG.

The correspondent of the New York 7imes gives
details of the repulse of the Federal attack upon
Petersburg. Ile says that soma one had " blun-
dered" in a manner " worse than a crime." " rho
affair of Saturday has," ha says, " lost to us the
labour of a month's preparation, and, worse than all
this, has sacrificed thousands of valuable lives."

The correspondent thus sums up the relative posi-
tions of the two armies at the period of the battle,
the object sought to be gained by the attack, and
the plans of the few days preceding :
" With the 'passage of the James was exhausted
all possibilities of a movement by the left flank,
with Richmond as the objective point. Nothing,
therefore, remained to General Grant but to assault
the rebel lines in froat of him at Petersburg. The
past six weeks have been devoted to preparation
1 for this assault. From day to day, by the aid of
the shovel and the pick, our lines have Leen insidi-
ously advanced by zigz=ags end covered ways, until
the outlying pickets of both armies have scarcely
averaged 500 yards' distance between them. Along
portions of the !iue the interval between the rifle
pits was scarcely 150 yards. The ground over which
our advances have been made is itself a series of
natural fortifications, adding vastly to the difficulty
of taking possess-ion of it. Perhaps your readers
will form a more perfect opinion of its features if I
tell them that it very much resembles Greenwood
Cemetery in its profi'.e. There are similar hills
and eminences, sloping more or less precipitously
into ravines, which intersect at every conceivable
angle, and many of the elevations are thickly
wooded. Over ground of this impracticable nature
our men have steadily fought and dug than' way,
driving the enemy before them until only one hill
' remained for them to take to place our guns in a
position commanding at an easy range the town of
Petersburg. It is known as Cemetery-hill. Its
crest, frowning with guns, is not more than 800
yards distant from our advanced works, and its
gently-sloping sides are welted with long rows of
earthworks, pitted with redoubts and redans and
ridged with serried salients and curtains, and all
the skilful defences known to skilful military en-
gineers. The vital importance to us of this point
will readily be admitted. To gain it by direct as•
sault must necessarily cost many lives, but to gain
it in the cheapest manner gave occasion for the dis-
play of that high strategy GI which General Grant
has long since proved himse If the master. There.
fore it was that on Tuesday n ight lest the 2d Corps,
under General Hancock, al td two divisions of
cavalry under General Shea•iden, and another
division under General Kautz, eros sed the James
river for the purpose of engaging the enemy, who
misled by some preliminary operations of General
Poster's command at De ep Bottom, avd also of a
portion of the 19th Cos ps at Strawberz Y
Plains,
a mile below, had a day or two earlier heavily rein-
forced the tioops in the 3 vicinity of Malve rn-hill.
The demonstration he re had precisely the effect

which General Grant desired. Fearing a serious
attack, Lee despatched a column, estimated at from
•2,000 to 15,000 strong, from before Petersburg, and
thc rrj.lroa d between Petersburg and Richmond
was kept busy on Friday end Friday night in
transporting the troops. To keep up the rebel Ge-
neral's delusion, an immense train of more than
400 empty covered waggons, mainly the transpor-
tation of the 6th Corps, crossed the Appomatox on
Friday in broad daylight, in full view of rebel sig-
nal lookouts at Bermuda Hundred, as if destined
for the army at Deep Bottom. But on Friday
night, as the rebels were hurriedly taking posses-
sion of their new line, the 2d Corps and the cavalry
were quietly withdrawn, with an additional facility
for rapid movement in a third pontoon bridge laid
across the James in the afternoon. By daylight this
morning, these troops were nearly all in position to
cooperate with the remainder of the army in the at-
tack. The strategy was, therefore, perfect, and no
share of the reverse can be attributed to failure in
this part of the programme. All these stratagems,
too, were conducted with such secrecy that informs•
tio❑ of their precise bearing was narrowed down to
the circle of the Corps Commanders. Until late on
Friday night few persons in the army were disposed
to believe differently from what General Lee sus•
pected—viz., that a movement upon Richmond was
intended from the north side of the James, and
were oily undeceived when, at one o'clock this
morning, the troops were got into position for the
assault. The tactics of the movement were under
Gen. Meade's direction. His arrangement of troops
and order of battle were as follows :—The 18th Corps
(Gen. Ord) was withdrawn on Thursday morning
from its position on the extreme right, resting on the
Appomattox, being relieved by Mott's division of the
2d Corps, and massed in rear of the 9th Corps (Burn-
side's), the centre of our line in front of which
the attack was to be initiated. The extreme left,
held by the sth Corps (Warren's) was to be in readi-
ness to advance as soon as Burnside pierced the
works in front of him. Collaterally, but in unison

with the advance of the infantry, every piece o

siege artillery posted along the line was ordered to
open simultaneously upon the enemy at a given sig-
nal made by the explosion of a mine containing 8
tons of powder, which was placed directly beneath
the rebel battery which Burnside was to assault.
Not only were the siege pieces to open a fierce fire,
but all the field artillery which could be got into
position after the opening of the battle was to
advance as opportunity offered, and bring their
batteries into play. Upon this awful fire of heavy
guns it was natural that great stress should be
placed, in the expectation that the shock of its
suddenness would have a demoralising effect, and
make the way of the infantry easier. So far
all was well arranged, success was promising,
and much confidence was felt in the result. The

time fixed for the assault was half-past 3, when,
without any moon, an almost Cimmerian darkness
would effectually shut out from the enemy the an-
avoidable stir and bustle of the troops as they got
into position. But just here the first misfortune of
the day occurred. Upon attempting to fire the mine

the fuse or slow match failed, and another was tried,
I am told, with a similar result. The third fuse was
successful in its mission, but the hour's delay had
made it broad daylight, and in consequence the
enemy's suspicions were aroused (at least along a
portico of his front) and we were robbed of the :Id-
vantage of a surprise. This was a very great mis-
fortune. The army felt it to be such as they stood in
suspense and silent impatience in the cold grey of

the morning, crouching on their arms, Of the effect
of the explosion you have been apprised. The mine
has been talked of in the army for weeks, but only
wiLh 'bated breath, although whisperings concern-

ing it have been wafted over from the rebels,
Clearly they did not know its precise locality, and
few on our side I suspect were any wiser. It has
been tacitly acknowledged as an improper subject
for conversation, and the most curious have appeared
to feel the propriety of checking themselves. The
noise of the explosion was a dull, rumbling thud,
preceded, I am told, by a few seconds' swaying and
quaking of the ground in the immediate vicinity.
The earth was rent along the entire course of the
excavation, heaving slowly and majestically to the
surface, and folding sideways to exhibit a deep and
yawning chasm, comparable, as much as anything
I else, to a river gorged with ice, and breaking up
ender the influence of a ireshet. But there was a
grander (fleet than this observable also. -Where the
charge in the burrow was heaviest directly under
the rebel work, an immense mass of dull red earth
was thrown high in air, in three broad columns,
diverging nom a single hese, and assuming the
shape of a Prince of Wales's feather of colcsFal
proportions. Those near the spot say that clods of
earth weighing at least a ton, and cannon and hu-
man forms, and gun carriages, and small arms were
all distinctly seen shooting upward in that fountain
of horror, and fell again in shapeless and pulverised
atoms. The explosion effected what was intended.
It demolished the 6-gun battery and garrison of one
regiment of Carolina troops, and acted as the wedge
by opening the way to the assault. Our men were to
rush through this breach, and so beyond upon the
second line of works which crown the crest of
Cemetery-hill, thus compelling the enemy to evacu-
ate the first line, or, what was mere probable, to
surrender under the fire of our artillery. The awful
instant of the explosion had scarcely passed when
the dull morning air was made stagnant by the
thunder of our artillery. From 95 pieces niched
in every hillside commanding the enemy's position,
there belched out sheets of flame and milk white
smoke, while the shot and shell sped forward,
screeching, howling, rumbling like the rushing of
a hundred railroad trains. But why attempt to
give an idea of such indescribable and awful
sound? The sudden transition from utter silence
to fiercest clamour was terrible. So the rude combat
raged without sign of slackening for two long
hours. At first the:enemy was slow in replying to
cur fire, but gradually their pieces were brought
into action, and in less than half an hour banks of
angry smoke partially veiled the scene from both
sides. In accordance with the plan of the battle
the Ist division of the 9;h Corps (Ledlie's) was made
the azieaulting column. General Lodlie formed his
troops in three lines of battle, having each a front
of about 600. The 2d brigade of this division (Ge-
neral Marshall) led the assault, followed by the Ist
brigade (General W. F. Bartlett), and the third line
made up of the 3d brigade (Colonel Gould'e). The
left of Ledlie's division was supported by Briga-
dier-General Harraupft's brigade of the 2d division
(Wilcoa'e), and its right by General Griffin's brigade
of Potter's division. The 4th division of the 9.,11
corps (all ncgrces) was posted directly in rear of ;he
assaulting column, to press forward whenever prac-
ticable. The 14th New 3/0,-k Heavy Artillery were
the first to enter the breach made by the explosion.
They bounded forward at the word, in the midst of
the shock of the artillery, through the dense clouds
of flying dust, and, clambering over the debris,
found themselves violently pushed down into the
yawning crater. The sight which there met them
must have been appalling. Bodies of dead
rebels crushed and mangled out of all resemblance
to humanity, writhing forms partly buried, arms
protruding here, and legs struggling there, a very
hell of horror and torture, confined to a space 50 feet
in length and half as many wide. But the time was
not favourable to the play of humane promptings.
This chaos of mingled humanity mixed with debris of
implements and munitions of war must be unheeded.
Enough for the storming party to do was found in ex-
huming two pieces of rebei cannon with their caissons.
and in obedience to the law of self.preservation,
turning these guns upon the enemy, who was throw-
ing into the crater a shower of shells and minis balls
from the hill beyond, and from points on either side,
which they still held on this first line. Getting
their pieces into position promptly, and under cover
of their fire, the assaulting column was reformed,
and, at the word of command, dashed forward once
more to storm the crest of the hill. It was a
task too great. They gallantly essayed it,
and nearly gained the summit, subjected all the
time to a -withering fire, which increased in fierce.
uses at every step, until they became the centre of
a converging storm of shot and shell. Attacked on
the right flank and the left flank, in front and rear,
they were compelled to fall back to the partial pro-
tection of the crater, leaving their course thickly
strewn with the dying and the dead. Another