The New York herald., 1863-06-10
The Siege OF vicksburg-Ths Oheerins
ProsPece Before Us.

i
| The Siege OF vicksburg-Ths Oheering
Prospece Before Us.
From all the information In our possession,
| from Union and from rebel sources, we oon-
slider the fall of Vioksburg inevitable that there
Is no earthly chance of escape for It, and that
in all probability before the expiration of the
present week we shall have the news Of the i'm
pending capitulation.
The army of General Grant had been heavily
reinforced and reinforccmeats were still COM
ing down. His besieging columns are strongly
intrenohed in semicircle OF only six miles
long. enclosing the city and the rebel garrison
The gunboats Of Admiral Porter hold the river
front. 80 that nothing can get in and nothing
can get out on any side without the consent Of
Che besieging forces. The fifteen days ct the
end Of which Pemberton had been promised
assistance from Joe Johnston had expired; but
instead Of coming to the rescue Johnston was
fortifying himself at jackson city. He is rep
resented as destitute Of artillery, which is very
likely from the extensive Captures OF those
important engines Of war made by our forces
in their late victorious march by way of
jackson to vicksburg. He Is fortifying himself
because. with the apprehensions Of an sxpe-
per.encea soldier, he thinks it not improbable
that on some fine morning portion Of Grants
army may be found "moving upon his works."
He knows. too, that, with tho fall Of vicksburg,
Mobile will be in imminent danger; and so we
dare say that az much as for any other purpose,
Johnston is mastering an army for the defence
Of Mobile. ~ rA3f ,.,
The condition of things at Port Hudson at
our last account. was as encouraging as at
vicksburg. Independently of the other, each
Of these places is destined to fall; but the
fall of either place Immediately secures the
other. What then! Why, then; with. tho COM
plete expulsion of the rebels from the Missis-
sippi river, with the loss Of their two veteran
armies defending Vicksburg and Port Hudson
and all their artillery and materials of war, the
results will involve the subjugation of one-half
the existing territorial area Of the rebellion aud
such Decentralization of the other half that o
draft MAY not be needed to finish the war. We
repeat it, that, from the present aspect of things
in the Southwest, draft may not be needed to
| finish the war. We may be mistaken; but at
length it appears to us that we are near the end
Of this terrible struggle, and that the peace
party VIII soon absorb all other parties North
| and South "o9
Governor Brown, Of Georgia, understands the
matter. In recent call upon the people Of
that State for the organization of bodies of
troops in every county for homo defence he
says: ''If the enemy be successful in overrunning
Mississippi and Alabama the State Of Georgia
| can be taken in fsnk, and we shall be open
to serious and dangerous attack. Heretofore
the din of battle has been heard in the distance,
| and has been echoed among us only in the
heaving bosoms Of the bereaved. Now the
thunders are rolling towards our borders, and
the storm threatens to burst with fury upon our
heads" He snufs the danger at vicksburg,
the loss of which uncovers, not only the weak
flank Of Alabama and Georgia, but Of every
rebellious State, from the Mississippi to the
James river. Hence every man capable Of
bearing arms in Georgia Is called to arms, not
only to prevent invasion, but ITO roll back the
tide Of war from her borders" ~.
But whore Is the army of Bragg! It is under
the eye Of Rosecrans. Bragg cannot move to
the relief Of Pemberton without uncovering
East Tennessee and it's vital communications
with Richmopd and it is some four hundred
miles from Tullahoma to Vicksburg, with the
only convenient railway lines between broken
up or in the possession of the Union forces
But has not General Lee, in all probability,
sent some assistance to Joe Johnston! On the
contrary recent passenger from Richmond
reports that he saw there twenty regiments
passing through towards the Rappahannock.
If there b.. any truth in this report, the design
Of Lee is evidently the desperate game of bold
| dash for the reparation Of, all losses in the
capture of Washington. As matters now
stand the prize in view may be deemed
by him az worth the experiment. There ap.
pears now, in fact, to be no other chance for
4 tue safety of Richmond or JEFF. Davis Let
General lIaleck. therefore, keep a sharp eve
upon General Hooker. or he may find the army
4 of-i.ee where he least expects il while search
ing for it on the other side of the river The
county will he satisfied if' General Hooker !.
q successful in battling the movements OF !. zee
until Vicksburs is ours. and then final rettle.
\ ment with the rebel amy Of Virginia will be a
comparatively simple operation: FOR 1T il pro.
able that with the lall OF Vicksburg The whole
fabric of the rebellion. which Colonel Grerson
describes as bni empty she'll will speedily
crumbls to nieces. The prospect ior the Union
cause has never been 70 encouraging since the
beginning Of the war
/ ---------------
F1rse CONDITION OF TIE SrRlErs-- -DsNssN
of AN EripEaic.-it would really seem - ii the
city authorities were infected with the theories
of Nautilus. and were inviting the approach o.
disease With q view to thinning our city popula.
ton. In no other way can we explain the con.
tinued neglect OF the streets, the accumulated