The Sun.
London, England, 1863-07-16 00:00:00

SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS.

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TIMES.—The Fourth of July, which accident
made the "great day " of the political history of
Americo, see ms destined to be marked less brightly
in the military
annals of the nation. In the two
successive years of war the anniversary of the Inde-
pendence of the Republic has dawned on fields os
battle. In 1862 the-
" Glorious Fourth "found the
first Army of the Potomac toiled in its advance on
Richmond, end resting "safe," but r. t victorious,
on the bank of the James River. It was told by
President Lincoln that "it had not been beaten,"
hut the ensuing months saw exhibited all the con-
sequences of defeat, and the negative assurance of
the President was probably but a slight consolation.
The day has come round again, and again it saw the
hostile hosts fronting each other after a sanguinary
conflict. Last year the series of battles of that
campaign had ended; but by the last intelligence it
is evident that on the morning of the fateful day
the decisive engagement had yet to be fought. To
the point of time to which the reports are brought
down, the incidents are much clearer than any
details of the previous movements. From the mo-
ment General Hooker was superseded the Federal
army abandoned the line of the Rappahannock,
and, changing its front, marched northwards, and,
crossing the Potomac, placed itself between the Con-
federates and Washington. The advance was not
made au hour too soon' and was probably only de-
layed by the divisions between the Federal Govern-
ment and Hooker and the shaken confidence of his
officers and troops, which had " lipaired his effi-
ciency," In the short time that ha„ elapsed since he
took the command General Meade has displayed
considerable activity-
It was too late to press on
the rear of Lee or harass his advance. The
whole of the Confederate army had succeeded in
effecting a second invasion of Maryland, and had
gathered on the northern frontier of that State
and in the neighbouring State of Pennsylvania.
The capitals of both were alarmed without being
roused, for the fear of occupation by the enemy had
not excited any
violent impulse of self-defence.
The task of repelling
the invasion, or at least saving
, fell on General eade
Washington from an
attack
and his troops, which, compared with the M
hasty
levies of the States Militia, must be considered
veterans. But bow completely all the conditions
the telegrams describe. The
of the war have changed is apparent from the pre-
sent position of the armies and the scene of the two
days'fieifield
ofhard
battle
is
due
north of Washington, at Get-
_ Lee moving in the larger
tysburg, little more than 50 miles from the seat of
the Federal Government. To the north and west
of this locality the bulk of the Confederate army
appears to have been fou dat last. Roughly
armiesspeak-
pbaohthannoekGeneral have described a circle from the
Rapcurve to his present position, and General Meade
on a smaller one, keeping clorer to Washington
itself as his centre. The battle, or the series of
i
battles, commenced on the let of July. A corps of
the Federal army, entering
Gettysburg on the
eastern side of the town, praised through, and en-
countered a part of the Confederate force, under
General Hill, to the west of it. The Confederates
were coming from the direction of Chanabersburg, a
town a few miles to the west of the spot where the
armies came upon each other. The engagement
commenced immediately, and for two hours the Fe-
deralethenvi
evidently
e reinforcedGeneralnt
lyoti
t nßeyynolds held his ground. He was
General Howard, but both were
u
of the Confederate troops superior to their own.
They were outflanked on the right, and were con-
tending with this difficulty when General Ewell
bm d. They had met a portion
bere
came up with a force which was an army in itself,
and it is estimated at no less than 25,000 men. The
Confederates opened a cross fire of artillery, which
is described by the Federal reports as " destruc-
tive," turned both flanks, and, Reynolds' corps
giving way, Howard could not hold his ground, and
both fell back to a position south of Gettysburg—
that is, retreated. General Reynolds was killed,
General Paul also fell, and the Federal loss in this
engagement they state to have been 4,500 men,
with an "immense number of officers." The battle
was renewed in the afternoon of the 2d, south of
Gettysburg. the two corps repulsed on the previous
day haying fallen back on the main body of the
Federal force. Of the second day's engagement
the Government have published portions of Gene-
ral Meade's report. He states that the Confede-
rates, " after one of the most severe conflicts of
the war, were repulsed at all points." It seems
to have been principally an engagement of ar-
tillery, the hostile batteries firing, on one point,
at the distance of two miles. The day of the 2d
was not decisive. The fighting was stopped by the
close of night, and each army occupied nearly the
,4arue ground as when the battle commenced. Gen.
Meade thought he perceived indications that Lee
was retiring, but a reconnaissance discovered that
he was still "in force" on the field. There is no
report. official or other, later than the night of the
3d. The whole result, therefore, appears to be that
the Federals in second engagement did not recover
the ground they hid lest in the first. But the con-
flict must have been, as Gen. Meade describes it,
severe. He more than once mentions the heavy
losses his troops have sustained, and infers that the
Confederates must have suffered equally. The pro-
portion of officers killed is again unusually large.
Three Federal Generals have fallen, and four are
returned as wounded. In fact, though the Govern-
ment has seen enough of " promise" in the conflict
of the second day to justify the President in issuing
an address to the public on the event, his words
seem saddened by a sense of a loss among the troops
too heavy for the slight result their courage has
purchased. A retreat, a drawn battle, and another,
probably a greater, engagement inevitable, there
was scarcely enough of success in the achievement
of the army to enable the President to rise to the
full tone of congratulation.
PosT.:—The Limerick Assizes, which havej ust ter-
minated, may, we hope, prove to mark an era in the
history of Irish crime. It is little more than a
twelvemonth since our readers were startled by the
details of what it i 3 the fashion to term an " agra-