The Sun.
London, England, 1863-10-09 00:00:00

THE CIVIL WAR IN AMERICA,

(Front the Correspondent of the Times.)
NEW YORK, Sept. 25.

The Administration at-Washington and the prints
which yield it a fitful and often captious support
have done their utmost during the week to repre-
sent the defeat of General Rosencranz at Chica-
mauga on Sunday last as a slight reverse, even if
FA were not a drawn battle between the contending
armies. The main object of these persistent ma-
representations was not so much to deceive the
American people as to gain a few days' grace in
. .

Europe, and to prevent the Scotia that sailed on

Wednesday from taking out intelligence that might
serve to convince the statesmen and people of
Great Britain and France that the cause of the
Confederacy was by no means so near a collapse as
the State department and all the organs of the Go-
vernment had taken pains to represent. Though
nothing is ultimately to be gained by such ostrich-
like proceedings, of hiding the head and exhibiting
the tail, the people in power are solsensitive to the
opinion of Europe, though affecting to despise it,
that they think it a master-stroke of policy to
conceal bad news, if it be only for the interval
between the sailing of one steamer and another.
To effect this object they have no resource but the
manipulation of the telegraphic despatches that
reach them from the seat of war, but as the written
correspondence that follows surely, if not
7very
closely behind, cannot be intercepted in AI ash-
lhgton and doctored in the War Department, the
truth flows steadily out through a thousand loop-
holes, and the Government gets nothing for its
pains,but the discredit of having endeavoured to de-
ceive the public. This has been the case on every
reverse that the Federal arms have suffered during
the war, and such has been notably the case with
regard to the series of battles fought on Saturday
and Sunday last, to which the Confederates seem
to have given the names of the Battles of Chica-
msuga, from the little river on the banks of which
they were fought, at a point about 23 miles from
Chattanooga. Both sides fought desperately, and
while Gen. Bragg, in his official despatches, claims
p, great, if not yet decisive victory, Gen. Rosencranz
in his admits his retreat to Chattanooga, and only
qualifies the damaging confession by the assertion
that he is now in a position from which he cannot
be dislodged. It is evident, however, that if he do
not receive speedy reinforcements he will either be
compelled to retreat or be beleagured in that posi-
tion, and perhaps starved into a surrender, for he
is at a long distance from his supplies, which can
.only reach him by bridle paths over the mountains,
theintricacies of which are far better known to
his enemies than to himself. General Burnside is
marching to the rescue, and although the Govern-
ment will not admit that he is in any danger, or can
possibly fail to make his way to Rosencranz, such
grave doubts upon the subject are entertained else-
where, that it would grieve many, but surprise few,
to be informed that he was flanked and intercepted
and forced to capitulate, with or without a battle.
On the other hand, it must be admitted that the
Confederate General has not done all that he
attempted. to do so. The resistance of Rosencranz
was more vigorous than he anticipated. The armies
were pretty equally matched ; and though Rosen-
cranz, by his own showing, had, undoubtedly, the
worst al the encounter, he lives, like other retreat-
ing hexoes, to fight another day, and to feed upon
the hope that he may retrieve his losses.
Whether from correct information or the reverse,
the Administration and the people have got it into
their heads that General Bragg could not have
turned the tide of battle and stayed the seemingly
triumphant advance of Rosencranz, unless he had
been 'largely reinforced from the army of General
lee. Deserters and others represented the army of
Northern Virginia as reduced to one-third of its
original numbers, and the known presence of Gene-
rals Longstreet, Hill, and others, at Chicamauga
lends colour to the report that these distinguished
;soldiers rendered more than general aid to General
Bragg on Sunday last. However that may be, the
cry of "On to Richmond" is again raised, and

General Meade has received orders to advance,

He has been lo Washington, and after a consulta-
tion of some length with President Lincoln, General
Halleck, and Mr. Stanton—a very ominous circum-

stance—has again placed himself at the head of his
army. So that from Virginia, as well as from
Tennessee and Georgia, great news may be daily
expected. A. 3 at least nine-tenths of the troops that
were sent to keep the peace in New York during
the progress of the draught have returned to tee
Army of the Potomac, it is possible that General
Meade may have at this moment as many as 100,000
men under his command. How many General Lee
may have is not known to any ono on this side of
the Rapidan ; but the chances that he has at least
614 many as Meade, and that the stories of the de-
pletion of his ranks are fables, set afloat by his own
spies to deceive the enemy and lure him on to his
destruction, are sufficiently serious to justify all
reasonable Northern patriots, if there be any, in
watching with some anxiety for the result.
'taut although it is abundantly evident that the
campaign in Tennessee and Georgia, from which
such great results were expected, is a temporary,
perhaps a permanent failure, the undaunted Repub-
lican journals have discovered a soul of goodness in
the evil thing. Mr. Seward's particular organ in
the New York press—perhaps Mr. Seward himself
--for who else could put so smiling a face on so bad
a business?—says " that every battle, whatever the
nominal result may be, is a defeat for the South,
simply_ because every battle thins the ranks of the
faithful few who still keep the field ; doubtless the
choice spirits of the Confederacy. Whether they
win or lose, as long as fighting makes gaps in their
Columns, which they canot fill, the only result of
their struggles is to deferafor.a:hort time the doom
cndi
of the Confederacy."
revivivus, were he
to revisit this best of all possible worlds, could not
speak more hopefully, or overlook' more' compla-
cently the main element in the agreeable calcula-
tion. Granted that the South cannot fill up the
gaps created by the successive—if not the successful
—battles which they fight, they must succumb
ultimately—provided always that the North is in
the more fortunate position of being able to drive
fresh bullocks (to use Mr. Lincoln's forcible
simile) to the slaughter pens as fast as the veteran
bullocks are put under the sod, or by the loss
of their legs are disabled from goring and butting
The whole question hangs on this one
„v
sa more.
n-piposition. The North knows nothing whatever
of the power still remaining in the South
to
raise and equip
new armies of white men ; nor
whether a •,,•
quarter or half a million of slaves may
not be quite as ready to fight for their masters as to
on the promise of freedom, or even
work for them,
and less precious inducement.
for some meaner
And while the North is thus ignorant of both the
Spirit and the resources of the South, any impartial
observer,who is not dazz'-ea by the gorgeous visions
of the party in power, may discover that the very
condition supposed to exist among the Confederates
•
is Present among the Federal people ; and that the
North can
asion by
f e nor persu
, neither byforce
bounty up the gaps
zone), nor conscription, fill
which every The last battle makes in its armies.
con-
scription, instead of havin produced 300,000 men,
has only A
Prouuced
80,000,g0n the most favourable
ehowing.
"." is extremely doubtful whether it has
even produced so many as 60,000. Whatever be
the real number a large proportion is composed of
mercenary Substitutes, who take the money of the
original conscripts and afterwards desert in such
large gangs that it is deemed of
example, to shoot them by h necessary, by way
dozens in the pre-
sence of the army. And theseaeo
,000 or 80,000 men,
many of them worthless as soidie
lated, cost the Government Butirstl have it is cal"-
le people
way or other as much as 3,000 dols, ape in one
head,
in bounty money and exemption fees, partly
of accoutrements and transportation, and partly in
cost
the expense of keeping an old army of 50,00)
me
to preserve the peace of New York and other veal,
cities while the conscription for a new army was in
progress. The zeal of the native-born American, as
for Os fighting is concerned, appears to have died
out, and toe
unwelcome business is left to raw new-
comers from Ireland
and Germany, who understand
little or nothing of the cause to which they sell
themselves, end Ivllo would as readily fight for the
mone ir durement
one side as the other if the
y ,
mains in the Amerwereican
(gull. Whatever zeal r