The Sun.
London, England, 1865-04-19 00:00:00

Confederate Prospects.

A writer in a contemporary says :—The Euro-
pean eye, gazing through the clouds raised by
Federal claqueurs,will discover those unreal shadows
which Federal voices now proclaim to be veritable
triumphs. That they are shadows time will prove.
Newspaper correspondents for the sensation journals
of New York have so often destroyed or captured
General Lee's army on paper, that he must certainly
be allowed a few days' grace for the purpose of re-
appearing erect and defiant. At the risk of being
considered both obstinate and ill-informed I shall
dissent from their opinion, and most probably from
the great mass of Europeans who now, doubtless,
consider the war at an end, and that it requires only
the formality of apportioning the conquered pro-
vinces to insure the restoration of the " glorious
Union." Take my opinion for what it is worth,
and say in December if I have not truly understood
" the coming events which cast their shadows before
them."

Richmond was not the original capital. The
Government was moved there shortly after the
secession of Virginia in June, 1861, for the pur-
pose of giving moral aid to the Virginians, by an
assurance from the more Southern States that her
soil should be defended to the last extremity com-
patible with the general good. How nobly that
implied pledge has been redeemed, the deeds of
the past four years testify in letters of gold, which
future generations will read with admiration. The
Virginians themselves have done wonders—they
have filled the ranks with gentlemen of education
and refinement, who have borne every privation
without a word of complaint, and in so many thou-
sands of instances as noble martyrs have laid down
their lives upon the altar of their country. The
grand old State has been scourged with fire and
sword, its fertile fields have been drenched with the
blood of her best, bravest, and purest sons ; yet not
a murmur has the proud old commonwealth uttered
in the hour of the greatest agony. Nor is her ardour
or patriotism in the slightest degree diminished.
Richmond was the pride of all Virginians, and keen
indeed has been their sorrow to witness its fall into
the hands of the modern Huns. But the only re-
sult will be a still more stern defiance, a still more
bitter resolution to conquer independence. The
shades of Jackson, Stewart, and a host of fellow-
martyrs beckon them onward in the path of honour
and of manhood. After the heroism of years it is idle
to suppose that a race could be so recreant to them-
selves, to their country, to their children, as to suc-
cumb so long as a band of guerillas could strike a blow.
Past history disproves it, for the future is but a repe-
tition of the past. Before the:war, Richmond was a
city of 40,000 inhabitants. Accessible as it was by
water, it has been a source of wonder that its eva-
cuation was not long since compelled. Only distant
about 100 miles from the enemy's capital, their
generals from the beginning deemed its acquisition
easy, and the prize thus grasped was to bring also
the termination of the war. This delusion was
similar to that which prompted the North to begin
the war in the expectation of its ending in 90 days.
The evacuation of Richmond has been a real military
necessity for twelve months. It was impossible to
supply the army from a country desolated as Vir-
ginia is. Three-fourths of the provisions for the
soldiers, and corn for the horses, besides ammunition
and other munitions of war, were transported from
Georgia and Alabama, a distance of 1,000 miles,
over a line of railway defective and worn from long
usage, upon which the regulated :speed was 8 miles
per hour. Probably the only reason for holding
Richmond was the hope that tardy justice would
be done by recognition in Europe. When that
fallacy was dispelled there was no longer a neces-
sity for its retention, as the moral effect of its
evacuation could produce no damage. When the
evacuation of the Atlantic seaports was resolved
upon, Richmond was no longer to be held. I
know of one foreign despatch, which, months ago,
' said that its evacuation would not be delayed
longer than the Ist of June. It was of consider-
able importance to get everything away which could
be useful, and this was probably being rapidly ac-
complished. But the sudden movement of Grant,
with an overwhelming force, -which I have no doubt
was strengthened by nearly all of Sherman's army,
compelled General Lee to gradually fall back after
-a series of bloody @battles, and leave Richmond to
its fate. Arsenals, storehouses, and the great mass
of public property and tobacco have been fired. True
to their instincts the Yankees endeavoured to save
the plunder by extinguishing the flames which were
destroying so many millions of dearly-loved dollars.
General Lee's loss has certainly been heavy, doubt-
less 10,000 men, but you will find that there has
been no route, no crushing disaster, and that the
great body of his troops have retreated in good
order. He will have under his command, including
Johnston's army, fully 150,000 men between Raleigh
and Lynchburg. Whether his line of defence will
still be in Virginia or in some other State, will
depend entirely upon the ability to supply his
armies. From the fact that very valuable lead
mines in the Virginia mountains furnish a large
supply, General Lee will most probably defend
that line. The retention and defence of Mobile,
whilst the other ports were given up, indi-
cated to observing minds the intention to locate
the Government either in Montgomery, Ala-
bama—where it was first organised—or somewhere
in Georgia. The defence of Mobile would prevent
the Yankees from penetrating the interior by means
of the Tombigbee or Alabama Rivers. Possession
of Richmond does not give the Federals more than
2,000 square miles of additional territory, and the
war assumes another phase. Their armies will be
compelled to commence new operations, and to
penetrate into the heart of the country hundreds of
miles to seek out and crush there the still defiant
rebellion. Their troubles have only commenced,
for whilst the Confederates now give up an exhausted
territory, which the Federals can only hold so long
as they maintain therein a preponderating military
organisation, the Southern armies will be concen-
trated in a rich and productive country, with ample
supplies, and will fight upon an inner circle, con-
nected by many lines of rail, whilst the Yankees
will meet with increased difficulties for every.
.ties
mile
which they advance. They have no such facilities
of communication, and, being compelled to trans-
port their supplies in waggon trains, the longer their
base line becomes the more easily will the Confede-
rates cut off their supplies and harass their rear.
If Generals Lee and Johnston do not wish to fight
pitched battles, a constant series of skirmishes and
retreats will prolong the campaign to an indefinite
length, without any decided result. Marching
through a country does not conquer it. The
Yankee armies may leave a trace of desolation like
the track of a hurricane when it passes through a
forest. But in other respects there can be no sign of
subduing the country, and when the army marches
on all traces of its subjugating power are moved, as
the waters of the ocean close up in the wake of any
steamer which cleaves its way amidst them. The
capture of the largest southern city, New Orleans,
with 175,000 population, gave the Yankees partial
control of the Mississippi, but it required fifteen
months to capture Vicksburg, which would have
been no disaster if 'General Joe Johnston's orders
had been obeyed to evacuate it. And yet, what
benefits did they obtain? Ile Mississippi River is