The New York herald., 1863-09-12
The military SitastiOn-Importa"
Events tn sho Southeast and SOuth-

! General Gilmore is q practical man, and
| goes straight on He can rule bis own spirit
and take city too See the report of our
Sumter in ruins is sufficient monu-
ment of his abilities as an artillery Off
| Ger. To batter down those high walls with
shots sent over the heads of their defenders
more than mile away is one of the hitherto
''unattempted deeds" that enable US clearly to
realize how far our modern improvements have
gone, and what is the real difference between
sieges Of old and sieges now. And this, with
what was done at Pulaski might be enough for
one mans fame; but Gilmore goes on, and,
thanks to him, the Richmond papers have be-
come very pleasant kind of light literature
| for these autumn days. They tell us with
nice consideration OF phrases that Beauregard,
the Tremendous, found il impossible" to keep
! Wagner, and that, therefore, he gave it up.
| Thus the boots Of Bombastes are considerably
| displaced. So Gilmore has Wagner and has
also the northern point Of Morris Island. Gin
full view of the city," and Moultrie is in
bad way and in flames from the fire
of the iron-clads Three Of the vaunted de-
fences of Charleston are thus out of the fight
three forts Of very great strength have fallen,
and the circle is broken-aA through the
genius Of modest young fellow, who quietly
smokes bis segar inside the Union lines and
does not particularly care to be major general
And this but shows in stronger light than
ever the criminal action of the War Depart
| ment as to the manner in which it sustains its
pets to the cost of the country. What calcula-
| tor of astronomical distances can count for us
how much better it would have been to have
had all this done year ago, as it might have
been? Yet there they kept General Hunter,
| month after month, in persistent idieness. He
| never fred shot at Charleston; but he fooled
| very handsomely with niggers, and so 1t was
all right. How long would it have been before
first class major general, Of the real War De-
partment stamp, like Hunter or Fremont,
would have battered down Fsrt Sumter. It
would puzzle Paddy Blakes echo to answer
| that.
Great events are in progress in the South
west too, and we may expect news of the first
Importance from that quarter at any hour Chat
tanooga is now the headquarters of Rosecrans.
Bragg's army, weakened and broken in spirit,
has been joined by that of Johnston. and the two
together ought to make very respectable
fighting force. Johnston has the chief COM
Inand, and. despite all that has been said Of his
disposition to retreat, he is an adversary that
no judicious general will dcspise We regard
it as no very good sign that we are without de-
finite information as to the exact whereabouts
Of this force. Up to Wednesday we only knew
that it had disappeared from in frent Of Gene
raj Rosecrans, and the conjecture then was as
to whether the rebels had abandoned that whole
country with view to an immense cOncentra-
ton in Virginia, or whether Johnston had made
Grams could give that General any support.
Such movement as the latter would appear
TO be feasible one for the rebel general, and
probably offers the best present chance for
| rebel success ia the Southwest Johns
| ton may outnumber Burnside. He has. con-
siderable ability as field officer, and can fight
| an excellent offensive battle, AZ the one at the
Seven Pines wilt witness. He likes also,
as shown at Williamsburg. to deliver hard
blow just when he has made up his mind to run
away, and it may be, therefore, that we shall
next hear of him on Burnside's front. Burn
side, though he has blundercd awfnlly in his late
| history, is good soldier nevertheless. He has
| captured Knoxville and Cumberland Gap and
| cleared East Tennessee Of the rebels. but
| hoped that he would have had an 0ppor-
tunity to retrieve his errors on hard field
and restore his reputation to that enviable
| condition in which it was when, having
| already served the country we'll, he led the
| gallant Ninth corps to share the dangers and
| glores of the Army Of the Potomac in Virginia
and Maryland. and when be protested so many
! times, and so prophetcally against his own ele-
walton to the command of that army, urging that
| General Mcclellan was the man for that place
| But he has done all that circumstances
| would permit him to do in East Tennes-
see, and sends ia his resignation to the
War Department. Yesterdays news from this
theatre Of operations was inconsistent
with the possibility OF rebel move against
| Burnside, inasmuch as the rebel retreat was
| there said to have been brought about by Rose
| Grams man1uvring by his left to get on the
enemys communications and turn his right;
| but further particulars and more exact de-
scription Of the country may explain this diff.
| Guilty away.
Should further news show that Johnston and
his army have disappeared from that country
entirely, we may Judge that district of such
| Importance to the rebellion will not be given
| up with any TRIVIAL design without a battle, and
| We may see in II only another evidence of the
| disposition to husband every resource for the
grand concentration in Virginia already fore.
shsdowed for that one vast attempt by which
the rebel leaders hope TO retrieve ALL and for
which il behooyes the government to prepare
1
| GRUNBtiSGs Ffoa Born SQrADs or RADI-
+! cAs.-Poor Horc Greeley and Ben Wood