The Sun.
London, England, 1864-07-23 00:00:00

THE SOUTHERN CONFEDERACY,

(From the Special Correspondent of the times.)
RICHMOND, June 2O

The "situation" is greatly changed since my
letter of the 14th inst. Upon that day General
Grant, having torn up the railroad which comma•
nicates with his base at White House, and which is
known in Riohmond as the " York River Railroad,"
proceeded to transfer his whole army by night down
to the James River, at a point lower down than
Malvern Hill—M'Clellan's harbour of refuge,—and
began at once to throw men across to the south side.
Upon the 15th a dash was made upon. Gen. Beaure-
gard's lines outside Petersburg, which alarmed him
so much for the safety of the city as to induce him
to summon to Petersburg all his troops which had
previously hemmed in, and confined Butler's forces
to the angle at the confluence of the Appo-
mattox and James. For a few hours there was a
large interval or hiatus between the force of General
Lee lying on both sides the James River at
Drewry's Bluff and the force of General Beauregard
at Petersburg. Advantage was taken of this oppora
tunity by the Federals, and the lines of intrench-
ment evacuated by Beauregard's men were occupied
by the enemy before Lee's men had come up. Upon
the 16th the divisions of Pickett and Field (both
belonging to Longstreet's corps, which is com-
manded in his absence by General Anderson) ad-
vanced to regain the lost ground. I was present
as the two hostile lines drew near to each other,
and found myself electrified at perceiving what a
visible accession of enthusiasm there is in the de-
meanour and bearing of the Confederate troops since
last I saw them. It was positively ludicrous to
witness the efforts of the Confederate officers to
keep their men back, and in compliance with Gene-
ral Lee's orders to prevent their rushing at the
breastworks in front of them. Without awaiting
any regular assault, which, in the impatience of the
" rebels" could not have been much longer delayed,
the Federals beat a hasty retreat, and fell back into
Butler's original works. It is rarely that General
Lee thinks proper to select for special praise any
portion of his army, but the following despatch is
an evidence of his appreciation of the incident which
I have related :

" Clay's House, June 17.

" General—l take great pleasure in presenting to you my
congratulations upon the conduct of the men of your corps.
I believe they will carry anything they are put against.
" We tried very hard to stop Pickett's men from captur-
ing the breastworks of the enemy, but could not do it. I
hope his loss has been small. I am, with great respect,
" Your obedient servant, " R. E. LEE.
" To Lieutenant-General R. H. Anderson, commanding

Longstreet's corps."

It will be obvious that this despatch, or as I
should more properly phrase it, friendly note, was
never intended for publication, but it will give more
insight into the state of the Southern army at this
moment than columns of description.
Upon the night of the 17th the attack upon
Petersburg, which had commenced upon the 15th,
was resumed with great vigour by General Grant in
person. It is a repetition of the same old story
over and over again ; a tale of heavy assaults made
by densely crowded masses of assailants dashing
against a line of breastworks, sometimes feebly,
sometimes strongly manned, but in all cases recoiling
after submitting to fearful slaughter. Judging
from what I have seen of the fighting of the last
few days, it seems to me difficult to estimate the
minimum of men that Richmond, with its girdle of
tremendous earthworks, would require to protect
it. It seems certainly not too much to say that any
single corps of the Confederate army would be
amply sufficient to hold the works at Richmond
against any conceivable force that the Federals
could send. Such, it would appear, is the opinion
of Gen. Lee, for within the last week he has sent
away nearly one third of his entire army, under Gen.
Early, in the direction of Lynchburg. It is difficult
to walk about these streets and to realise that you
are in a besieged city, with an army of 100,000 foes,
within at this moment 20, and at an earlier moment
10, miles of the Confederate flag, which floats
proudly from that capitol which Mr Jefferson hoped
would serve to introduce into Virginia a taste for
architecture in the classic style of antiquity. It is
not easy to recognise in the stuccoed and pigeon
holed building which now towers abovo me an imi-
tation of one of the most perfect models in existence,
the Maison Canes at Nismes.

It is possible that I am mistaken, but it seems to
me that all occasion for apprehension in regard to
Grant's assaults upon either Richmond or Peters-
burg is already completely at an end. It may be
that, with his ample resources of water carriage)
the Federal General may harass Gen. Lee by
quickly transferring the Northern troops from one
aide of the river to the other ; but it must be remem-
bered that Gen. Lee is acting and moving always
on the inner circle, and he is probably better found
in pontoon bridges at this moment than his enemy
imagines. The interest in Gen. Giant, so far as
already passing away,
although Richmond I iasm cfoanrc
from
me da, ia
saying
g
that he may not
give Gen. Lee a great deal of trouble yet. For the
moment more interest attaches to the war operations
in other portions of Virginia.
It is known to your readers that the Federal
General Hunter, after capturing Staunton and send-
ing raiding parties to burn the military institution
at Lexington and insult Stonewall Jackson's grave,
advanced with his main force in the direction of
Lynchburg. It is singular that in all military
operations which have for three years been con-
ducted o in
in
Federal Generals, I can re-
call n
except those exhibited in may by General Grant.
Vstiarngcinesiaobty celerity
and vigour of action
It is easy to see that Hunter, by rapid marches,
might have taken Lynchburg, and possibly marched
tor-
pidity of his movements that he allowed Breckin-
rt
dg
e Danville;to th r
o wb
suetvseur ca
h h
l thousand been the snail-like
usand men into Lynchburg
from Charlottesville, and Early to advance thither
with one whole corps from Lee's army. It will be
believed that when, Upon the evening of the 17th,
Hunter made a feeble attack upon the earthworks
around Lynchburg he was astonished at the vigour
estimated at 18,000 men; the joint forces of Breck.
inridge and Early
-- i
amount to very much more.
with which his men Were repulsed. His force is
Hunter is said to be now in full retreat ; but it is
vigorously doubtful whether, if
pursued by the
Confederate cavalry,
he Will be able to extricate so
large an army from the bowels of Virginia into
which he has plunged.
Be this as it may, it is
certain that Grant will get very small aid and com-
fort, as he fumes and frets before Petersburg, out
of the co operation of Hunter.

overtaken Hunter b
has cut short the career of
But a worse catastrophe
another General, in whom Grant is said to repose
than has up to this time
great trust, and from whom a diversion was con.
fidently exp med.
Simultaneously with the trans.
ference of his own army from the northern bank ofmi
the Chickaho
-°3' to the southern bank of the
James, Grant sent forth General Sheridan at the
head of what was deemed an irresistible cavalry
force, to cross between the Rappahannock and Rich-
mond, and pass
near Charlottesville, in the direc-
tion of Lynchburg, it was imagined that the
Southern cavalry was so reduced in numbers and so
poor in equipments as to be likely to oppose but
of General Sheridan ; but
it appears that Grant
1 eeble resistance to the finely-appointed squadrons
reckoned without his host. At Trevillian's depot,
upon the Virginia Central Railroad, the combined
forces of Generals Fitzhugh Lee and Wade Hampton
encountered the Federal raiders, and it appears that,
considering the small amount of men engaged, few
more complete victories have been gained in this war
than the one which is now put to the credit of the
two successors to General Stuart. Sheridan is said
to be on the northern bank of the Pamunkey,
greatly shattered, and unable to cross in the face
of the victorious Confederates upon the southern
bank. No relief or assistance can be looked for by
General Grant from this quarter. What will he do
next? i

It is my belief that the prospects of the Confede-
rates are at this moment far more in jeopardy in
the neighbourhood of Atlanta than in any other
quarter. It is scarcely probable that the interval
before the 4th of July can pass without witnessinq
a great battle between Sherman and Johnston. Butt
it is certain that there will very shortly be Confede-
rate troops in abundance, set free by the quadruple
failure of Grant, Butler, Hunter, and Sheridan, who