The Sun.
London, England, 1863-06-23 00:00:00

LONDON, TUESDAY, JUNE 23, 1863.

Important telegrams from the American seat of
war have, only very late this afternoon, reached our
hands, brought to our shores this morning per the
Jura. The accounts they convey, although dating
down no more than three days later than the last
received intelligence—tell strongly in favour of the
Southern forces both in the direction of the Rap-
pahannock and in that of the Mississippi. Every-
where the Federals appear to be suffering grievously.
In Indiana the enrollment cDuld only be carried on
under the assistance of the cavalry. On the Rip-
pahannock the situation is becoming so seriously
threatening that while some of the New York papers
still affect to talk about General HOOKER assuming
the offensive, it is certain that on the 13th a battle
was then raging on the banks of that river, between
a portion at least of the opposing armies : and already
before that renewal of hostilities had commenced,
it was matter of notoriety that the Confederates
had latterly been gathering together there a very
formidable array of reinforcements. Insomuch that
it was generally understood, among the better in-
formed classes of the North, that General
LEE'S army now in and around Fredericksburg
was, upon a moderate computation, about
twice the numerical force he had assembled under his
banners when his headquarters were at Chan eel-
lorsville. It was, in point of fact, about as little
likely that General HOOKER would venture upon
any movement of his army en masse across the
Rappahannock with a view to a serious onslaught
upon the accumulated forces of General LEE, as it
was (when our last advises last left America) in the
highest degree probable that General LEE would,
on the contrary, soon enough commence hos-
tilities in serious earnest against General
HOOKER ! The supposition in regard to
the designs of the Confederate Commander-in-Chief
appeared to be this—that he would probably direct
General STUART to advance in hot haste with his
cavalry across Maryland into Pennsylvania, until
Gen. HOOKER would be compelled to despatch a
portion of Ms forces in hurried pursuit, And that
then, upon those diminished forces of the Federal
army left in the vicinity of the Rappahannock,
General LEE would direct the whole fury of his
attack from tb3 neighbourhood of Fredericksburg.
Supposing which course to be followed out, the
routing of HOOKER'S army and the advance of LEE
upon Washington—certainly do appear to be not
improbable consequences.

Turning our regard now from the Rappahannock
towards the Mississippi, the situation we shall find
there also more than ever ominous for the Federals.
If our telegrams—given elsewhere in this same
Page, and given there it will be seen very
ll'llY—are examined with any ordinary care
'lt will be perceived frum them that
both Northern and Southern accounts agree
as to the really perilous position in which General
BANiz __a `-`been placed by the movements princi-
pally of General KIRBY SMITH.
tioned ent The last men-
" Prising Brigadier had not only driven
General BAmcs before
him from Port Hudson, but
had contrived by the 6th instant successfully to
effect the complete occupation
of Milliken's Bend.
Gemeral BANKS himself, duringd
the
progress of the
sharp fighting that had
ended p
in his signal
discomfiture, had unhappily lost an
arm—his negro
regiments being fairly beaten back
in a sharp
hand-to-hand contest detvn to the very river bank
and under shelter of the gunboats.
the mere fact of his occupation of mini'.

ken's Bend, with 10,000 victorious cou_
federates, it is considered, even by the Fedorals,
that General KIRBY Swan has succeeded
in cutting off GeneraliGnANT from his supplies.
An attack upon the rear of Gt:neral GRANT was
looked to as a matter of exceeding probability both
in New York and in Washington. 'The resolute
defender of Vicksburg, that same daantiesii General
PEMBERTON whose soul-stirring address to the gar-
rison was given by us only the other day, is stated,
moreover, to be sostrongand so well-provisioned there
in Vicksburg that he has apprized General Ras-
STONE that Vicksburg wtil hold out coute qui coute so
long as JOHNSTONE may care to occupy himself in
Ills preparations for its relief. General PEMBEit.•
TON , lU
fact,
t,as intermed General JOUtiSTONE
that he is
on
no account to hurry himself,