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

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PRICE Ad.
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climate of such States as South Carolina and
Georgia, wintered there, be converted into the best
cavalry corps which this continent has ever seen.
Great and important service may be shortly ex-
pected from the command of General Stuart. A
feeling of bitter irritation in consequence of the
unmolested raids which recently agitated the city
of Richmond, but which were singularly unpro-
ductive of other results, has taken possession
of the public mind ; and it is safe to predict that
some offset to the achievements of Gen. Stoneman
will before long be put on the file. If ever the fine
and enthusiastic army of Gen. Lee, reinforced since
the battles of Chancellorsville by the large corps of
Gen. Longstreet, and strengthened by the addition
to the command of Gen. Stuart of at least 10,000
sabres, might be contemplated with confidence, that
confidence is assuredly not out of place at the pre-
sent moment. I am assured that the muskets picked
up on the battlefield amount to not less than 50,000.
MAY 19.

The almost unbroken success which has cheered
Secessia since first I took up my abode within its
limits can scarcely be expected to be wholly unat-
tended with disaster. A casualty which at first ap-
peared likely to be disastrous in its consequences
aroused Richmond from its slumbers at two :n the
morning of the 15th inst., and for a time imperilled
the very existence of the Tredegar Works, the
largest and most successful ironfoundry in the Con-
federacy, at which most of the heavy guns, and
notably the Brooke guns, have for the last two years
been cast. It is true that if the Confederacy were
prevented from producing any more guns, the incon-
venience would scarcely be great, in consequence of
the immense amount of superfluous artillery which
they have already taken from the enemy. But there
is demandfor more of the famous Brooke guns, to be
employed in a service which will hereafter become
apparent, and the destruction of the TredegarWorks
would in this respect have been a serious calamity.
I am happy to say that the fire which burst out in an
immense woollen factory, and afterwards extended
to the Tredegar Works, did serious damage to the
latter, but not such as, in the opinion of Captain
Brooke, to interfere with the progress of the
numerous guns of which he is superintending
the manufacture, and which are now approaching
completion. The feeling that with the sweet must
also come the bitter has latterly induced a deal of
anxiety in regard to the operations of Gen. Grant's
army along the Big Black River, which is traversed
by the railroad which connects Vicksburg with
Jackson, and runs out into the Mississippi about 30
miles south of the former town. It may be remem-
bered that in a former letter, while deprecating the
censure of your readers for not giving them more
searching revelations in regard to this country, I
intimated the probability of an incautious word
furnishing a hint to the Federals about Vicksburg
which might be pregnant with mischief to that gal-
lant little city. There is now no harm in saying
that it was impossible to inspect the defences of
Vicksburg without coming to the conclusion that
its only vulnerable point was by an approach along
the Big Black River. It is true that even by this
approach, infinitely more promising though it be than
any attack from the direction of the Yazoo River,
the difficulties are stupendous, and at the end there
is, in Vicksburg itself, a nut so hard to crack that
in my opinion no Federal molars will be strong
enough for the job. The reader may remember my
description of the network of lunettes, redans, re-
doubts, and other works which surrounds Vicks-
burg and protects its rear, and whichlis by far the
finest system of works which I have hitherto seen
in the Confederacy. Add to this the difficulty of
moving such an army as Gen. Grant's through a
country as tangled and infinitely more hilly than
the wilderness which witnessed the recent battles in
Virginia, and some conception of the arduous nature
of the task which he has on hand, and which he
seems to have hitherto discharged with activity and
ability, may be formed by the English reader. He
is assisted by a fleet scarcely less powerful than that
which was recently foiled before Charleston, and
commanded by two of the ablest officers in the Fede-
ral navy, Farragut and Porter.
_

The great and absorbing interest of the recent
operations near Fredericksburg fixed the eyes of
both sections mainly upon that neighbourhood, and
it was not until the smoke which overhung the val-
ley of the Rappahannock had cleared away that the
attention of the Confederate public was attracted to
the fact that, contrary to my own and the general
anticipations, another formidable attack, conducted
along the approach which has long been felt to offer
most promise to the assailants, was threatening the
little hill city of Vicksburg. For a considerable
time past it has been found that it was almost im-
possible to check the passage of Federal transports
and barges under cover of night down the Missis-
sippi, and accordingly a large number of vessels
have successfully run the gauntlet of the Vicksburg
batteries, subject only to the loss of a heavy percen-
tage of their numbers. As there has throughout
this war been a reckless disregard of property on
the Federal aide—a disregard which at the present
moment may be nothing but wise economy—Admi-
ral Farragut did not scruple to sacrifice many of his
vessels in order to get a larger number than he
sacrificed below the obstruction he offered at Vicks-
burg. His troops were marched over the tongue of
land across which the attempted canal has been car-
ried, and were embarked upon the surviving trans-
ports beyond the range of the Vicksburg batteries.
It appears that the defences thrown up by the Con•

federates at Grand Gulf, which is situated at the
mouth of the Big Black River, 30 miles below
Vicksburg, were only seriously taken in hand after
a large number of Federal vessels had succeeded in
getting past the batteries at Port Hudson and
Vicksburg. These defences were designed to ob-
struct the passage of vessels up the Big Black,
which is navigable, though not without damage to
large vessels, for a considerable distance from its
mouth. A heavy bombardment of the few and
light guns planted by the Confederates at Grand
Gulf necessitated the abandonment of that post, and
a subsequent battle at Port Gibson, which was again
abandoned by the Confederates, left their enemy in,
and opened a door along the Big Black to the rear
of Vicksburg. The evacuation of Port Gibson was
followed by that of Bayou Pierre, and General
Bower fell back with his small Confederate force
towards Vicksburg, but not until his gallant little
band had done some excellent
g'
It was at this stage of the prflegcehetdiing
Joseph E. Johnstone appeared
scene.a Gen.
onthe n
tHie
s t
h
first arrival was not in timeto
were led with sur-
prising the city of Jack-
son, against which the Yankees
prising activity by
Gen.Jhaacdknsc Grant. Gen. Johnston,
whose reinforcements ont, which was occupied,come up, was obliged
to retreat hastily from
towards a little place called
subsequently fell back .
though not for many hours, by the Federals, who
Raymond, though whether with a design of attack-
ing Vicksburg in the rear, or of retreating towards
the base of their operations, their vessels on the I
Mississippi does not yet appear. It is obvious that
there must be great difficulty in supplying such an
army as Grant's—said to consist of 40,000 or 50,000
men—in such a country, 50 miles away from their
base. There is also a report that his trains have
been cut and interfered with by the one-armed Gen.
Loring, an active and enterprising officer. Be this
as it may, it is manifest that Gen. Grant has not a
moment to lose, and that his only chance of taking
Vicksburg will be by a coup de main, beim e John-
stone is strong enough to fall upon his rear.
Within the lines of Vicksburg is Gen. Pemberton,
in command of a very strong force, amply provi-
sioned for some weeks to come. In the neighbour-
hood of Jackson is Gen. Johnstone, with an army
already numbering 11,000 men, which is being ra-
pidly increased by reinforcements flowing through
Meridian, It is difficult to form accurate opinions
in regard to these Western operations, concerning
which our information has always been vague; but
President Davis expresses himself as thoroughly