The Sun.
London, England, 1864-08-20 00:00:00

SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS.

TIMES.—Tho struggle in America has never been
maintained with such vigour as at the present
moment. Formerly the defeat of an army was
almost always followed by a period of inaction ;
but now the armies on both sides appear sufficiently
trained to the vicissitudes of warfare to receive and
inflict disaster as one of the inevitable parts of a
campaign. The struggle, therefore, is almost equally
interesting at all points. Expectation is kept on
the strain at Atlanta as well as Richmond, in Mary-
land as in Georgia ; and now the Federal fleet adds
another to these points of interest. It is some time
since the Federal navy has been engaged in any-
thing but the safe duty of maintaining the blockade.
At the commencement of the war it occupied almost
the first place in interest and importance, and the
capture of New Orleans, with the consequent com-
mand of the Mississippi, is still, perhaps, the chief
advantage which the Federals have gained. That
success was, it will be remembered, achieved by
Admiral Farragut, and the same Admiral has, it
appears, achieved a similar exploit before Mobile,
the most important Southern port in the Gulf of
Mexico since the capture of New Orleans. Mobile
lies at the head of a deep bay, no less than thirty
miles long, and from three to eighteen miles broad.
The entrance to this bay is narrowed by an island,
named Dauphin Island, on the west, and a neck of
land on the east. On Dauphin island Fort Gaines,
on the neck of land Fort Morgan, command the
entrance. Admiral Farragut's fleet, in order to
attack Mobile, has had to engage both these forts,
as well as a Confederate fleet. After a severe en-
gagement, however, in which one of the Federal
Monitors was sunk and two Confederate ironclads
captured, the Confederate Admiral also losing a leg
and being taken prisoner, the forts were passed ;
and on the sth of this month the Federal Admiral
was approaching the city with fourteen ships and
three Monitors. Mobile has long been expecting
an attack, and is, we believe, well prepared to
meet one; but in the passage of the entrance
to the harbour the Confederates have probably lost
their most important line of defence. Admiral Far-
ragut has been the most successful of all the Federal
officers. His achievement in the present case is, as
we have said, precisely similar to his operations at
New Orleans, although the struggle in this instance
has been far inure severe. In both cases he has run the
gauntlet of the forts supported by a fleet. At New
Orleans the Confederates were very ill prepared, but
his success in the present instance, against what we
may suppose to be the matured defences of two forts
cannot but be instructive to us at a time when we
are occupied with a scientific contest between ships
and guns. It would seem that where the passage of
a fleet cannot be obstructed, it can always run the
gauntlet of forts at the expense of a certain amount
of loss. The defeat of the Federals before Charleston
has principally arisen from the facility with which
the Confederates have obstructed She channels, and
have thus been able to detain the Federal fleet
under fire of their forts. We shall look with interest
for the details of this engagement, in the expecta-
tion that they will throw some light on this disputed
point of naval warfare. The possession of Mobile
would, of course, deprive the Confederates of a very
valuable port, but it would also be important as
giving the Federals a base of operations on the coast
of Alabama. It is not surprising, therefore, to learn
that the withdrawal of the Confederates from Mary-
lan d and Pennsylvania is connected with the ef-
forts of the Confederate Government to reinforce
both A 2 bile and Atlanta. Unless, indeed, which
is hardly possible, the Confederates could invade
Maryland in such force as to strike a decisive
blow, it would be a strange error in judgment to
waste their strength upon mere demonstrations in
their enemy's territory at the cost of important
positions in their own. These vigorous raids, the
destination and object of which are always equally
unknown, probably serve the purpose not only of
obtaining large booty, but of keeping the Federal
Government on the alarm, and of withdrawing their
attention from other movements of General Lee's
army. If the Confederates have now retired, as it
is said, they have been working, their will in Penn-
sylvania for about a week. Or course Gen. Avesill,
who follows their retreat as obsequiously as he re.
tires before their advance, is said to have defeated a
portion of their army at Moorfield, in Virginia. The
suppression of Gen. Hunter by Gen. Sheridan, who
has till lately been in command of Grant's cavalry,
may, perhaps, infuse some vigour into the incapable
officers to whom Gen. Early has hitherto displayed
so complete an indifference. As we anticipated, there
are no signs at present of Gen. Grant's withdrawal
from before Petersburg. On the contrary, severe
fighting is said to have taken place before that city
on the sth, but the Confederates may be partly as.
suming the offensive. General Grant has visited
Gen. Sheridan in Alaryland, and the appointment
of Gen. Sheridan would of itself seem to indicate
some combined plan of operations. Gen. Grant is,
ac all events, a fit repreacntative of the tenacity of
purpose, at any risk and cost, which has been dis-
played by the Federals all through the war, and his
capacity to keep " pegging away" must be after
Mr Lincoln's own heart. Gen. Lee, on the other
hand, has never displayed his genius more com-
pletely than at the present time. He has success-
fully repulsed the most determined and tenacious
attack, he now holds the main army of his adversary
ineffective before a subordinate city, he is master of
the whole territorywhich his adversaryhas traversed,
he is able to invade his enemy's country at pleasure,
and be despatches considerable reinforcements to the
other points of peril in the Confederacy, if, as we
have been led to believe, he has sent a considerable
force to Atlanta, the continued absence of any satis-
factory news of Gen. Sherman is very ominous to the
Federal prospects before that city. The great battles
fought by Hood on his succeeding to the command
of the Confederate force took place on the 20th and
22d. Since then another severe battle has been
fought, brought about on the 28th" by an attempt
of Gen. Hood to outflank Gen. Sherman." It this be
reduced to the condition of iibesie-g"eatTa.- 'Met
result, too, appears at the best indecisive. Gen.
Sherman had then been before the city little more
than a week, and in that time had fought at least
two severe battles, neither of which seems to have
been a victory. Meanwhile it is now certain that
the Confederates have a considerable force of
cavalry in his rear, for on the 27th a division of
Federal cavalry, while returning from a raid to the
rear of Atlanta, was attacked by the Confederates,
and so completely routed that out of 3,200 men only
500 had yet reported themselves. The struggle
being thus evenly balanced every day increases the
danger of Gen. Sherman, and it is evident that if a
Confederate force is really moving to reinforce Gen.
Hood, the Federal army is in a most critical posi-
tion. At all points the present news represents
the combatants at the utmost strain of the struggle,
and it is difficult to think that some decisive result
can be long delayed.
POST.—A series of acrimonious incidents has ex-
hibited the hollowness and instability of the under-
standing which subsists in name between the
German Powers, and imparted significance to the
meeting of the Emperor and the King at Vienna.
Having acted up to her engagements, and enabled
Prussia to carry out a scheme of aggression which,
without her co-operation, could not have been
accomplished, Austria naturally desires some sub►
stantial arrangement as to the future. Understand•
ings are all very well as far as they go, but thelm-
perial Government reasonably urges that, with cere
Lain contingencies to be provided for, a mere promise
of provision is scarcely a sufficient guarantee, To
speak plainly, the Austrian Minister has no doubt
satisfied himself that Count Bismark's verbal as-
surances of friendship and support are not negotie
able, that they will not pass in Paris or in Turin
any more than they will in London, and Austria
requires a security which she can discount for ready
power. She has had a good deal of experience in
these matters, and can hardly forget that, after her
defeat atMagenta,thougnPeussia was willing to refl..
der any little assistance she might need to keep her
German subjects in order, the Cabinet of Berlin had
an invincible objection to interfere on the Mince),
Prussia would have watched or occupied the Aus-
trian territory where the operation could have been
performed without inconvenience; but she Was not
prepared to undertake a war against France. That,
however, was precisely what the Emperor Francis
Joseph must have wished her to do, and he may
think that he lost Lombardy through the
At any rate Austraibastiesnotieern.
of his prudent ally.
tainly now entitled to look after her own interest,-
.wm
Whether the
and it is evident that she apprehends the ne
of endeavouring to extricate herself leo the most
'essitY
pressing difficulties of her situat;.on.
heth
policy of the Imperial Government •
expedient,
is quite another aff
18 Austria wise,or even
may
find that the bond She eiaiair
ms is not of more value
than the underetancling she Wouldshcleahralvyehcaovnefirsinomede:
is
but be that as it may, if
paid for an alliance, she should
thing to show for it. Ite has purchased and
altogether incredible
that Austria went into a War which was provoked
for the purposes of Prussian
aggran-
disement without conditionsdefiniteam
iti o ambition
nadn and
consid
ration that could be in
some shape realised. Stii!
this would appear to be nearly the case. Count
Bismark seems to have
had ways
and much his own
and he is just the Al* •
mister who would read
European ocqui-
escence for assent. Itmay
be indeed. that Austria
reckoned upond it is
if intervention,
more than probable France
that, England and
had taken action in defence of Denmark, sue would
have renounced an enagemewas left open,
and perhaps left openhernt whichessi
, with that
end in view. As
it expressly
Bismark
has got his is, of course
work done upon credit, aim, what is
more, he has hie accomplice,
, by making Austria
destroyed the credit that remained to her in Europe,