The New York herald., 1863-09-15

hoping Tor relief from Johnston Strenuous Efforts were
nude by the chiefs al Richmond 10 enable Johnston 70
ndsr ssisauce They detached and sent % him troops
(rom hraegs army the frontier Of Alabama and from
Beauresa ards command in South Carolina and IN DOM
this they endangered both those armies All the capable
free oi ssssppi called TO the rescue ot the
capital OF their state and 20 save ne strongnoa o. IN.
mits Moreover the besieged post was In the very cen
Of the pepu alton Of that conlederacy aud the
Presidents proclamation Of freedom would be sounded
their hearing the stronghold should fall But the effort
relui cd was too great oi the demorazed and exh
crndlton OF the Insurgents Johnston did arrive q
the siege did attend any the attempts
from within to break the skifuy drawn lines q Genera
Grant On the Fourth Of July General Pemoerton laid
down his arms aud surrendered the post, with thirty
tlousa men, two hundred pieces Of artillery seventy
thousand small arms and ammuntn sufficient Tor M .is
years defence. Ihis capture was us remarkable as he
famous one made by Napoleon al Tim. ...,
On the same day an nsurgent attack upon @ ueue,a v
rrenss at Helena situated on the ives, J UhS With ,he
sssipp in The state OF Arkansas was repse1 mu ',S
loss OF many prisoners on the part Of ths assi ,na
II the anniversary so Identified with tne nao hn bsa
WINS appointed TO he peculiarly evenhni, Lee "ho hau
again entered Mary land and passng tnrousn lnin
had approached the sasquchanna threatening HATTIE
burg ltasurg Philadelphia and BaitlnOre, iel pack,
alter pitched battles continued three days at Gettys-
burg and resumed bis retreat with an army even worse
shattered than before to his accustomed position on the
On The s,h OF July insurgent garrison at Port Hud
son 0Oo strong alter enduring long siege with the
utmost couraye surrendered uncondonally to General
Banks and thus the United States recovered from the
insurgents the of the posts by which for
more than years they had efecitiay destroyed the
navigation or the Mississippi This great river wncn 10
time Of mace contributes relatively as much toward
suppy Of OF mankind as the Nie did
10 those in the time OF the Roman mre, IS now
again oicned 10 the inland commerce OF the country
steamers descend the river and its tributaries from the
naygabo loods to the Gulf OF Mexico. IL is not 70 be
doubled that insugent losses in these operations
upon tho Mississippi amount TO so 900 men and 300 pieces
of artillery large portion OF which Of heavy cali
bra. Johnstons army, which, al the time OF the sur'
render advancing 10 threaten the oesegers at once
that capital by detachment which General Grant had
committed TO the command Of General Sherman In re
firing Johnston fired may buildings nied with muniti ms
OF war and abandoned large quantity OF railroad loco
motives cars which had been detained at that place
by the railroads north SOUTH cast and west OF
Jackson having been previously cut by she government
forces.
ston and returned to ycksburg where portion Of the
army enjoying repose, not more necessary than well
earned while others are engaged IN expeng from the
vicinity OF the Mississippi rowing bands of the insurgents
nfest ts banks and nro from thence upon passing
steamers 1t Is reported that Johnston with the troops
at his command said 10 be twenty five thousand has
faen back TO Meridian on the eastern border OF Msss
sp hundred and twenty miles east Of vcksburg so that
hest and most Incorporate abettors OF the nsurrecon s
virtually abandoned by its military agents.
In Louisiana General Banks succeeded General Butler.
After spending some months in organizing the department
and dscplnng the levies which constituted it's orce
General Banks madc rapid and successful series OF
marches and contests in which he drove the nsurgent
troops out the Attakaas and Techc regions, well known
the richest portions OF that productive State
ured Aeyapda and DonaIdsonyile the seas of its uqi.
tive sedous executive and legislative authorities crossed
the Mississippi at Bayou sara and there receiving an ad
dt nal column which was ascending from Baton Rouge,
invested Hudson, which, excluding Vcksburg,
the only remaining stronghold Of the nsurrecon on the
great river.
ber lSG2, the President issued proclamation requiring
the insurgents down their and return their
alegia ee under the penalty lna1 IN aii tne districts
support OF the people, he would on the lst Of January
then next proclaim as military measure the freedom OF
the slaves The warning was generally rejected and de
fled, but the proclamation which it heralded was
duly issued As the national armies advanced into the
psurreciionary territories slaves In considerable
bers accepted their freedom and under the protec
ton OF the national flag Amidst the great prejudice and
many cmbarrassments which attended a measure so
and 80 divergent from the political habits Of the
country, freedmen with commendabe aiacrty enlisted
in the federal army There was in some quarters pain
full inquiry about their moral CAPACITY for service That
uncertainty brought to sudden end in the siege at
Port Hudson The newly raised negro regiments ex
assaults which were made with desperate courage and
not without fearful ioes, by General Banks. This pro
tractcd operation engaged nearly all General Banks
avail able FORCES While i was gong on nsurgent roorl
which were called up from Texas reoccupied much o
the sou hn estern portion Of louisiana which DC had be
fore reclaimed. The surrender OF Port Hudson. how
cvef se his army at liberty, and lie has already made
considerable progress in restoring the national authority
thus temporarily displaced.
Tie complete occupation OF tho Mississippi by the ma
tiona forces has eiectuay divided the surfectionary
region into two pars and among the important features
OF this divsion-one which Is Of tho highest practical
signcancc-s that the field OF military operations OF
nsurrcction IL chiefly on the eastern side of tho river
whilo its supplies have been mainly drawn from tho pra
rcs OF Arkansas and Texas which stretch away from the
western shore These praes can 70 longer supply The
insurgents with cattle for sustenancc aud in the field
and, the other hand, arms ordnance and ammunition
longer from the Eastern ans
deposits to forces employed or IN garrison IN the wet
The value Of acquisition Of the Mississippi this
illustrated only lew days since IN the captur,
and two thousand mules, which had crossed to the cast
bank and at tho time many hundred thousands
cartridges and other stores which had Just been landed
the western end Of the same ierry.
vigorous blockade has been ma ntaned at charleston.
and although fast steamers, Of light draught AMI pant
with ob.curc co,ors occas oDaly succeed in si ping
through the blockading squadron IN the morning and
evening twilight many are destroyed and mere are cip
turcd An attack by The ieet made ON the 7th day OF
April last upon forts and batteries which defend the
harbor failed because the rope distractions IN the chan
mel foued the crews OF the iron-cals and compelled
them retire PASSING through the ire Of the bate
Those vcsses bore the IRE OF The forts although
some dc ects & constrycton we're reycaed By The inn
ries they received The passed lhrorgh an
ampled csnnonsde with singular impunity Not one life
was lost on board Of nitor. The defects disclosed
have been remeiicd aud an attack s w in progress,
with good prospect OF utmae success, havihg for s
objec, the reduction OF the forts IN the harbor BY
somonsa sea a aio s1,oSs we Iecliy more
which, aided by batteries alloat and batteries
ashoe, are pushing siege works mp TO Fort
Wagner, strong earthwosk, which has been twice
assaulted with great galantry, but without success On
the 17th OF June the Atlanta which regarded by the
insurgcns their formidable ron clad vessel left
Savannah and came down tho Wilmington river The
national iron cads Wechlwkcn, Captain John Rogers and
Nahnut, Commander John Downs were in readiness TO
sho the stern Of the weehawken, which struck
near tho Nnhant AZ quarter rast five tho Weehawkea
At OF thrce hundreds yards, opened upon the
Atlanta, which had then grounded The woehawken fred
Ave shots four Of which took clcc, the Atlanta
surrendered at halfpsst nvo.
Our lines have not changed in North Carolina. All
attempts OF the insurgents ~ the from
which thoy have been expelled have been repused Much
damage has been inflicted upon their communications,
and valuable military stores have been destroy ed by
petitions into the interior North Carolina shows somc
symptoms OF disafscton toward the insurgent league
similar Indications are exhibited in Mississippi Alabama,
Arkansas aud Icxaa.
Tho situation on the York and James rivers has re.
NAMED unchanged since the withdrawal Of the army ol
General Mcclellan from the peninsula year ago. Al
tempts by the insurgents % rctake Williams burl and
Suffolk have been defeated but the garrison al the
place has boon withdrawn for purely military /,
a deiensble line.
now return 10 the Army OF the Potomac, wh oh wal
left resting and rehting after putting end 10 the rs
iusurgent invasion Of Maryland. General Mcclellan
crossed The Potomac AMI entered Virginia In November
and obliged the invading forces uudcr Lee 10 fan back
ward 10 Gordonsve. south of the Rappahannock wher
tho Army of tho Potomac reached Warrenon u placed
under command General Burnside. TIe marched Il