The Sun.
London, England, 1863-06-11 00:00:00

SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS.

TIM ES.—For the first time in the history of the
American war a long narrative of Federal victories
has been substantially confirmed. The game, it is
true, is by no means played out. The capture of
Vicksburg, which was the object of all these opera-
tions, is not yet accomplished, nor is it at all certain
that the enterprise will not end in disaster to the
forces of the North. But it is nevertheless certain

that a Federal General has planned an ingenious
expedition against the Confederate stronghold, and

thiit he has cdvanced towards his end by a succes-
sion of victories at one point after another. This
much is now established by the reports of the Con-

'ederates tt emselves, and to that evidence we can

now add the authority of our own correspondent
in the South for the first chapters of the story.

The operations against Vicksburg have been so
elaborately concerted between thu military and
naval commanders, that we may assume the design
to have been of some standing. General Grant and

Admiral Porter must have been patiently completing
their preparations while the attention of all people
was concentrated on the Rappahannock, and their

first rr ovement, indeed, was made at the moment
when Lee was confronting Hooker in the plains
near Fredericksburg. We now see, through the
mists of conjecture and rumour, what the Federal
flotilla was doing on the Mississippi, and why trans-
ports and gunboats were so recklessly pushed by the
batteries of Vicksburg. That city, as every body
now knows, stands on the left, or eastern, bank of
the Mississippi, just where the river makes a deep
bend. A little above it the Yazoo runs into the

great stream, and a short distanca below it the
Big Black River does the same. At the mouth
of the Y zoo stands Haines Bluff, a posi-
tion fortified by the Confederates ; at the

mouth of the Big Black River were their
batteries of Grand Gulf. Thirty miles or so east of
Vicksburg lies the town of Jackson, the two places
being connected by a railway which enters Vicks-
burg at its rear. All this country was in the
hands of the Confederates. The Big Black River,
running in a south-westerly direction to Grand
Gulf, cuts the Vicksburg and Jackson Railway
about ten or twelve miles from the former city, so
that a force advancing up the stream from its mouth
would find itself in the rear of Vicksburg and on the
line of its communications with a friendly region.
To place himself in this advantageous position was
the object of General Grant in the present expedi-
tion. For this purpose it was arranged that Admiral
Porter, commanding the Federal flotilla on the
Mississippi,should force his gunboats and transports
at any risk past the ViAsburg batteries, and this
was done. The transports were empty, so that the
loss incurred was in vessels only, and when a certain
number had run the gauntlet and survived, troops
were marched across the tongue of land left by the
great river's bend and embarked in them. These
were then carried down to Grand Gulf, at the mouth
of the Big Black River, where Gen. Grant ulti-
mately found himself in command of 40,000 or
50,000 men. The Confederate positions at Grand
Gulf and at Port Gibson in the immediate vicinity
were successfully carried, and then the expedition
advanced up the stream. With an activity which
our Southern correspondent describes as " surpris-
ing," Gen. Grant marched upon Jackson and cap-
tured the town before any successful resistance could

be organised. The Confederate forces in those parts
were divided between two commands. Within

the lines of Vicksburg General Pemberton
had a disposable army of some 15,000 men.
while outside, in the open country, was General
Joseph Johnstone with about 12,000 more, and re-
inforcements at no great distance. Grant's advan-
tage was that he could encounter each of these armies
in detail with a much superior farce, and this advan-
tage he turned to excellent account. As he fell upon
Jackson his numbers were sufficient to keep John-
stone aloof, and though Pemberton marched out to
meet him as he turned upon Vicksburg, and bravely
contested his advance at more than one point, the
Northern General was strong enough to win battle
after battle, in short, he succeeded in planting himself
in the rear of Vicksburg and forthwith commenced his
assault upon this, the weakest, point in the defences
of the city. So far, therefore, the expedition has been
remarkably successful, and it reflects unwonted
lustre on the Federal arms. With a comparatively
small army General Grant has done more to alarm
the Southerners and threaten their most important
positions than ever was done by any of his colleagues
on the Potomac. He has taken his troops through
a difficult country, and in spite of all opposition, to
a point of great advantage, from which he may pos-
sibly secure the mastery of the field. The rest now
depends on the strength of Vicksburg, and the en-
durance of its garrison. The place is beleaguered
by land and water. The Northern gunboats are at
Haines Bluff and at Grand Gulf in possession of the
streams. Others are j ust above Vicksburg, and others
again just below it, so that the town is bombarded
from the west, while
.Grant's eager and triumphant
army attacks it from the east. These are strong
odds against the South, but unless the game is won
quickly it will be all lost, for General Johnstone,
who retired northward upon his reinforcements, is
rapidly collecting troops, and he can take Grant in
the rear as soon as he is strong enough to march. It
will be seen, too, that our correspondent's estimate
of the impregnability of Vicksburg coincides ex-
actly with the information hitherto received of the
actual siege. Four times Grant has led his troops
to the assault, and four times he has been repulsed.
If Johnstone falls on his shattered army with a
superior force, the victories of the past month will
have led the Northern General only to destruction.
In any ease, however, the expedition has been
creditable to the Northern arms. It was a bold
stroke, and has been boldly delivered. It partook
even of the nature of a surprise, for though the
Southerners were aware that the Big Black River
would lead an enemy, if he did but know it, to the
most vulnerable point of Vicksburg, they did not
anticipate the expedition. It is clear that they
have been alarmed for the safety of the place,
though there is no despondency in the tone of opi-
nion. They thought it might fall, but it is felt even
in New York that little would fall with it. The
event would not insure even the navigation of the
Mississippi, while all this time there is a powerful
Southern army in Virginia which can scarcely now
be kept even nominally in check by the baffled and
broken army of the Potomac. Southern journals
are speculating on an imminent crisis, apart from
all operations on the Mississippi. Gen. Lee is
thought to be threatening Hooker with attack, and
to be concerting with his colleagues an advance on
Washington. It is curious to observe that this
critical contest at Vicksburg has been left to two
insignificant armies. The great armies of the South-
West, under Bragg and Rosencrans respectively,
are confronting each other immovably in Tennes-
see, and though Johnstone will probably summon
succours from all parts, he must double his force be-
fore he obtains even as many men as Hooker left
behind him on the field of Chancallorsville. -Which-
, ever way the siege may end, it will leave the chief
forces of the belligerents absolutely untouched. Even
if Vicksburg should fall, it is by no means certain
that it may not be recaptured by a stronger army
appearing upon the scene. There are vast forces in
these countries while small armies are fighting the
battle, and Vicksburg, if taken, may prove to Gene-
ral Grant little more than convenient shelter. He
is, in fact, in an enemy's country. It was not worth
while to molest him so long as he sate hopelessly
in his infected camp, but he has now plunged into
the midst of his foes, and if he cannot carry the
long beleagured city and appropriate its defences,
he may pay for the opening successes of his expedi-
tion by a disastrous, though not inglorious close.
HERALD.—There is an old story of a naval officer
saying of another naval officer that he was not fit
to carry offal to a bear. Upon being required to
withdraw the insulting remark he did so by ex-
pressing his opinion that the officer in question was
fit to carry offal to a bear. This is precisely the
kind of reparation made by Colonel Calthorpe for
his original accusation against Lord Cardigan in the
matter of the Balaklava charge. Colonel Calthorpe's
original statement was that Lord Cardigan, while
leading the first division at that memorable en-
counter, turned short before coming to the batteries,
on account of his horse swerving and taking fright.
On being required to amend this statement, on the
ground that it involved a charge of military failure
not supported by facts, he changed his ground, and
declared that the idea of Lord Cardigan being car-
ried away against his will was doubtless erroneous,
his lordship's excellence as a horseman being un-
questionab.e. This remark, put in a pointed way,
and accompanied by a note of admiration to mark
the intended satire, of course made matters worse.
It declared nothing less than that Lord Cardigan
ran away of his own free will, and amounted to an
obvious impugnmetat of his lordship's personal
courage. This was too much for any man to bear.
The accusation of cowardice is one which a civilian
cannot endure with honour. But it effects only his
private position. In the case of a military man it
affects not only his private position, but his public
character—it involves r.ot only social degradation,
but his professional ruin. The chastity of honour
required by the military code demands that an officer
shall—like Caesar's wife—be not only pure bat un-
suspected. We all know how difficult is compliance
with this demand under the most favourable condi-
tions. And, for this reason, military men should,
of all others, be most chary of casting a slur upon
the character of a brother officer without the most
certain proof of the slur being deserved. But it too
frequently happens that military men are not suffi-
ciently alive to this necessity. Mr. Thackeray
says, somewhere, that if an Irish gentleman is
to be roasted, another Irish gentleman is always
found ready to turn the spit. The remark is un-
just as applied to the Irish nation generally,