The daily Evansville journal. (Evansville, Ind.) 1862-1863, 1863-07-22
BY LAST NIGHTS MAIL.

WASHINGTON, July 20.-The Charles
ton Mercury, received in Richmond on
the 10th, has the following on the situa-
ton:
at appears to US useless to attempt
to disguise from ourselves the situation.
By whose fault we got into it, it is now
vain to inquire The Yankees have got
ten possession of the southern half of
Morris Island.
There is but one way to save the
city of Charleston, and that is in the
speedy and unfinching use of the bayo-
net If the fight on Morris Island is to
be fought by engineering and cannon
merely, the advantage is with the enc
N.Y. With their ironclads on the water,
and their men in occupation of the land,
it is likely to be a mere question of time.
The fall of Fort Wagner ends in the fall
of Charleston, and Sumter. like Wagner,
will then be assailable by both land and
sea, and the fate of Fort Pulaski will be
that of Sumter.
Department, is the man who reduced
Fort Pulaski. Charleston must be saved
as Richmond was For six days our
forces stormed the successive batteries
of the enemy, and saved Richmond.
The greater part of the soldiers who
achieved those triumphs by the bayonet
had never before been in charge. The
Yankees have as yet few or no formida-
bic forces They have but a few thou
sand troops. If our soldiers and officers
here are not equal to the kind of fight
ing fought by the army of Virginia, and
! tried by the Yankees against such strong
49, o1Ify course OF safety,
and we may add too for economy of lives
No other means may protract the FIGHT
ing to days and weeks aud postpone the
| termination Of the struggle. No other
means IN our opinion will save the city.
We believe it can easily be saved with
promptness, energy and dash. 1t is too
late Tor engineering Hesitation and
delays are fatal"
The Mobile Adrertiser SAYS: "The
Confederacy has seen darker days. and
emerged from them 1t is not dark
enough to Justify it to the prudence of
those who are ready to submit. anxious
tor peace and the security of their prop
erty on basis of submission TO show
their hearts. Yet there have been some
signs of this white feather luttering
during the past gloomy days. Let us
warn them that it is base to feel, and
dangerous to be premature in the utter
ance of snch sentiments The land has
made too many sacrifices for its freedom
to talter at the last hour. The timid and
falthlesS must not be allowed to fetter
the footsteps of rebellion. 1t must roll
on to triumphs. although its wheels have
to roll over them and their fortunes.
Instead of the fall of Vicksburg being
absolute, it is now plain that it has fallen
with the least possible harm to us. If it
had held out only twenty-four hours
longer, Johnston's army would have,
without doubt, been cut to pieces.
Johnston was on Big Black, and on
Saturday night his army bivouackei
with orders to move on Grants intrench-
ments at 2 clock in the morning. Be-
fore the hour arrived the news of Penn
bertons capitulation was received
From what has been learned of Grants
position 1t is now known that if John
ston force had been doubled and tripled
1t could never have got through the
works of Grant. The country for miles
was defended by felIed timber, and everv
gorge and ravlne was fortified work,
orlstllng with cannon and converted iuto
a slaughter pen. We are credibly in
formed that it took some of our parolled
officers at Vicksburgh fifteen hours to
ride fifteen miles through the fellen tim
Der and around the excavations and en-
oankments made by the enemy"