Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, Va. [W. Va.]) 1852-1859, 1859-07-19
ImE Observation-Disclosures.
So5foRE!nATTlEs: rokTuE PRESENT.

TIIEI FA1leUslIIIsToRI,oIl.slQsl5Ul AEK:
So5MoRE5HA TTIEsr oR5TnE PRESENT.
[FEomths utleasH sraldl
The Austrians have etired within tlieir:
strong holds, aud the Allies have crossed Ethei
Mincio. The character Of the campaign win
now be changed; the stirring incidents 0fstEle
open field will giyeSwaY to the dull and plod,
ding work OF siege. shall proba bly, iearofi
nosinore great battles 5f0rssome{ time to come.
lYithinsthe Quadrilateral the fate of the great
contest must be decid ed; until this postionais
taken no further progress in the swork Of CON.
questEcans be made. Once it has fallen into the
handsfo f5the Niles the warts practically atan
end Let us try and SconYeYsto thesr some
ideaSof the famous Quadriateral within which.
thea Austrian army has found refuge
The Plain of Lombard y is, at this point, con.
tracted into aEWidih of twenty miles On the
nol hsitis bounded by Lake Gorda, ION the south
by the Marshes Of the Pc. Running{north and
south, and nearly parallel with each other are
blythe railway between Milan and Verona on
the north, the Marshes Of the Pc on The SOUTH
the Adige gonithe east, and the jMjncio EonE the
west, is the Quadrilateral. This is5cut diagon-
alEy4by the railway from Mantuaz.to Verona
running infasnorth easertly direction. The four
corners OF this square are@occupiedz by Pcschi-
era, Verona, 9Legnano and Mantua.
NoWlit,is ithrough this narrow pass Of. twenty
miles. that invading army Smust pass to get
into Eastern Lombardy. 70 attempt to pass
without reducing tue fortreSses,s would be to be
exposed to a flank and rear attack, besides hav.
ing its retreat of, and losing had There
totore conqured. po5lay .siegeto onetat a time
would be to suffer attack fromany oneIo all the
others simultaneously; while the attempt To-
take the whole by one comprehensive attack.
would probably be quite impossible 1t was
withlnsth these fortresses, aitEwill be rememb ereC
that the Anstrians retired 48, and il was
from them that they sailed forth and DESTROYED
the Revolutionary army.
Peschiera, which forms the northwestcrn5 cor
nerof the square, is builton5a small island in
the5river Mincio, near its outlet from Lake Gar.
da. commands the right flank Of the line Of
the river. Its fortifications, dating from the
time of the Republic, of Venice, have beenss sue.
cessiVely improved by the French and Austri-
ans. It's the weakest Of tie four positions
and was taken by the Piedmontesein l84Ss
after three weeks siege.
Mantna is. situated on an island in the midst
Of an cyergade. of the Mincio The water is
shallow and the region pestilential. The city
is surrounded by ancient Notifications, and has
a population Of 25,O00 inhabitants. Inihas i've
gates, an emtrenched camp, and four detached
forts. The Citadel forms a pentagon, the gorge
OF which, closed 5bysa simple wall, restsEonfthe
upper lake. The strength OF. the place consists
no less in the solidity5 of its works than the
difficulty of its approach. Surrounded by
marshes, and defended by almost impregnabie
Qualifications, its capture would prove no easy
task,
Legnana. forming thesouth.western corner Of
the Qnadrilateral, is situated on the river Adige,
twenty miles southEof Verona, and about the
same distance from Mantua. It has about the
same strength as Peschiera but has the advan.
tage over the latter that it has bridge-head
on both banks of the river, which permits the
garrison to operate equally well on either
shore.
Verona, forming the northeastern corner Of
the square, is the strongest Of alsthe fortiGca-
tons It's situated on the Adige, which, de-
seencing from the Tyrolean Alps through a val
ley difficult to be traversed, flows through the
city. Great outlaysshav been made upon this
| place to rendersit impregnablc. In addition to
| the old walls, a horned work has been added on
the heights ftheleFt bank of the river protect
ed by towers. Besides this the place has been
IsurroundedIb double circuits OF detached forts,
the interior circuit containing eight and the ex-
terror twelve.
Suchzis the position whichzthe Allies propose
to reduce. That they#will be ultimately sue
cessfulis generally believed but that they will
succeed without long and desperate resistance,
! is not to be presumed.
The Prospects fu Tennessee,