The Sun.
London, England, 1863-02-27 00:00:00

VICKSBURG.

The Mississippi flows near Vicksburg through flats of its
own deposit. Those flats vary from 20 to upwards of 100
miles in width, They are subject to an overflow of from
four to 20 feet deep. At the city a breadth of hills runs out
through these low flats to the very bank of the Mississippi.
A narrow apron of overflowed land lies at a few points be-
tween those hills and the river; but in most instances the
channel lies with its whirring current at their very base. A
belt of land subject to overflow lies for a width of about 200
yards between the Mississippi and the base of the " bluff"
on which Vicksburg stands. That hill presents to the river
a contour similar to that of a truncated cone. It rises up in
a rapid slope to a summit 300 or 400 feet high. The streets
of the city are cut into the sides of the hill, and constitute a
succession of terraces one above another. The system of
defences adopted for the position is outside my knowledge,
but must be as formidable as any such system can be in the
case of a profile admitting of a dozen lines of earthwork
around the whole sweep of the hill, each commanding the
other, and all commanding the water approach so com-
pletely as to make a direct advance from the "landing"
utterly impracticable. This bristling hill is but one of a
chain that, equally formidable throughout, embraces the
channel of the Mississippi as far south as Warrenton. This
semicircular sweep of "bluffs" has doubtless been made—
as it may have been very easily—unapproachable at any
point by a hostile force from the river. The flank ap-
proaches to this breadth of hill country are very difficult.
The Yazoo River constitutes the line of access to it on the
north. The naked red clays of the whole region back of
Vicksburg are torn by heavy rain• storms into a tangled
network of ravines deep and steep. This favours the de-
fence in general, and makes it from the line of the
Yazoo perhaps irresistible. The weak point of the
communications of Vicksburg lies, however, at the
place where the railway from that city to Jackson, the
capital of Mississippi, crosses on trestlework the
swamp of Big Black River. That part of the railway
is but a few miles back of Vicksburg, and is accessible fro wam
a point on the Mississippi below Warrenton, by way of the
valley of the Big Black River. In high stages of water, as at
the present, it is approachable by gunboats. In either
case this appears to be the assailable point of the defences
of Vicksburg.
Vicksburg is situated on one of those bends in the chan-
nel of the Mississippi known locally from their shape as
" horse shoes." The city occupies the toe, the range of
hills extending south of it to Warrenton, rising up like a
wall around one-half the circle of that "horse shoe." The
tongue of land within the bend is subject to overflow.
Across this the Federals have cut a canal with the expec-
tation that the Mississippi rushing through will widen and
deepen it to the dimensions of a new bed. " Cut offs," such
as the Federals expect to make in this instance, have been
made similarly at other points on the river. In this case,
however, the soil is stiff clay, and there is therefore grave
reason to conclude that the river will fail in opening by its
own action the shallow cuts into which they have intro-
duced it to the dimensions required. This canal is in
fact set down as a failure. A new cut is being opened at
another part 'of the horse shoe ; but this probably will be
found, unless carried down with the quicksand, equally
unavailable. At all events, it will fail to result in any
change useful for the purposes of navigationbefore
hseverl
months. In order to place you in possessionis of
only the
necessaryPysica
conditions of the attack on Vicksburg
to repeat that with the exception of the breadth of hill
country on which that city is 'Janata all the owchooulnetrreygairosnufnodr
is a more or less reclaimed swamp.
100 miles on every side of the Confederate defences, except
in the rear, is subject to an overflow of from four to 20 feet
deep, and even the rendezvous of the Federal army, pro-
tected temporarily by an embankment that may be cut
an-hour, must in the present state of the
through in half-
Mississippi floods be saturated with wet. A further rise in
the water would drive the Federal army to their transports,
and yet immense reinforcements are being forwarded from
Memphis to participate in its desperate and bloody enter-
prise.—Standard.
Is

Importing Tea without colour on the leaf pre-
vents the Chinese passing oil inferior leaves as in the usual
kinds. Ilorniman's Tea is uncoloured, therefore, always
good tedlce. Sold in packets by 2,280 agents
MARRIAGE AT THE TURKISH COURT.—The
Levant Herald of the 11th says :—" An incident
worthy of mention, in the dearth of graver news, occurred
at Dolmabaktche during the past week. Raif Bey, ex-
Chamberlain was sent for, and, by Imperial Trade, was
ordered forthwith to marry one of the palace ladies, whom
he had never seen or heard of before. Within ten minutes
after the order was communicated to him the sp?use--not
elect, but imposed—made her appearance, and, inside an
hour, the conjugal knot was tied,"

.hemaelves each day from
_ were enabled to bring f
close yesterday evening. Mr.
sons Mr. Baker, and Mr. Bissel were the only mem-
bers who felt sumcieLL confidence or hope of success
to remain, Mr. Turner having resigned after firing
the fifth round. As the firing did not terminate
until a late hour, the only diagram commuted was
as follows :—Whitworth, 1.74 ; Parsons, 2.13 ;
Baker, 2.75; Bissel, 2.97; and Turner, 2.71. In
refutation of the plea given by the competitors
against the use of the Government rest, Lord Elcho
yesterday stated that on the first year of their meet-
ing at Wimbledon any kind of rest was allowed,
when Mr. Whitworth alone supplied his own, and
beat. On the second year the conditions were the
same, and the result also. On the third year,
being the first at Woolwich, all fired. from Govern-
ment rests, and the same result followed; and
this year Mr. Whitworth is again victorious-,
he alone bringing hts or.n rest. It may bo
appropriately remrtked tint Major Halford
made a figure of 10 inches in ii;-;:ng from the
shoulder at 500 yards, and the same i ifle was shot
immediately after wards from Westley Richar;ls's
mechanical rest, and gave six inches. Whether the
opinion of the members or that of the Council is the
more plausible is likely to be the subject of further
discussion. The mean computation of the first three
Otis :—Whitworth, 1-16 ; Parsons,
rifles at both ranges, as C n
given by aptai Mildmay
t-.T.ll4Aemainder of the diagrams will y.qaupauneed at
1 4 ; yesterday,Bak is,
Baker
1.70 ; Turner, 1.72; ,and Bissel, 1-98.
a-latar-Rftlitiratiorti.elositii the rtyers~
terday, die Council stated it to be their desire to
tender the thanks of the Association to their ener-
getic and praiseworthy armourer, Mr. Smith. who
had so zealously and gratuitously attended the
meeting each day at much inconvenience. Mr.
Smith, gunmaker, London, produced some speci-
mens of granulated powder in round grains, very
much in appearance resembling No. 8 shot, and of
which the members of Council on the ground ex-
pressed their approbation. A number of Steward's
improved rifle telescopes were arranged on the
ground, and were especially patronised by the mem-
bers and the Council. With these telescopes the
bullet marks on the target were easily distinguished
over the long range without the necessity of moving
from the firing sheds. Mr. Steward has presented
three of these telescopes, of the value of 25 guineas,
to be fired for at Wimbledon by the Volunteers, and
has also promised to lend 40 others of hisbest glasses,
so that each squad of riflemen firing for the Queen's
prize shall be provided with one for their own epe-

cial use.
One of Krupp's newly-invented breech-loading
guns, on an improved principle, has been under a
severe trial for some days past at Woolwich, having
been fired to what is termed " destruction." The
gun was teeted yesterday up to the 100th round, and
each time loaded with 141 b. of powder, and latterly
with a cylinder weighing 1,0001 b., and extending
27in. beyond the muzzle. To the surprise and ad-
miration of the Select Committee and many scien-
tific visitors, the gun, on examination, exhibited no
indications of weakness or blemish.
Capt. B unce, instructor of musketry to the Royal
Marine division at Woolwich, has commenced his
annual course of firing, with a captain, two subal-
terns, and 120 rank and file.