Richmond Whig. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1862-1865, 1864-10-11
AyERICAN BATTLES
[Trnn the london TIne,, sept. ) !

The srgu ~ prOlilIy OF AmcFicAa COIN cS3 prOtROy
erpres.es somsthing beJo d mere psri Of nj airy
10 os. II e. Perhaps retut OF toe tlctel employed.
F. ur great Rvmss under many chcs3n gsress htve
now been In clio coltsc for weeks ara even montl
toce her, WI hlut any achievement which cal be re-
gsded az decisive. The hgh ing has been desperate
but though aoh part ousr battle may biipg iepu go
o ore s,de or the or err there is netting Ike ahsou
oscanA,are. We ere apply these remarks, not o
the sclusl march OF Grant upon Redmond, or OF Sher
man upon lsutS but TO tas operations which have
en- reported sLcs each OF ese c0mmander1 olosed
bodily With bic snsgon's and commend d toe work on
rh co he had Sc In neither case dos 10 appear
A. The prtc,,dilgs 70 emble thOss OF a sege.-
Grant not formally bsiei,g evel Petersburg, much
20 R chmocd, nor can SbtImsn 'f.ct anything lks
e ul,r inve tment of Atlanta. From the latter
ousIte-, fn6eej, the only authentic int lgence
represents HOOD o. being largely reinforced-
sufficient proof that his communications
are completely open. II We look, however,
little more CLOSELY az the accounts received, shall
discover circumstance which will explain tie position
of STAIRS The truth is that both In Virginia and Geor
gis boh mics intrencbed alike. /. ia not that
Grant end Sherman keep the field while Lee and Hood
are shut ny in their lines for the Fe1eras have thrown
I'D ea-thV o ks as well 81 the Coz iederates.
A. soon a. Grant arrived a. point where he could
nae no more "fsrk movements" but must either
stand or 90, he constructed little chmond OF his
oup ana was presently found SO strongly inIenched
that declined the cost Of sssaul:ng him in his po
siticn Exactly the same thing TOOK place at Atlanta.
SbsJman marched after Johnpt0n in resoute pursuit
until he reached the cty wished to capture when he
immediately threw up ieldHoIks and enseon ced hin.
se in his lines. The result il that 10 Georgia well
as virginia the MAIN body of each army hods secure
ston, and they only fight each other, as it were, b.
sorties.
THIS Is probably Gre consequence of the improve
msnts in urea ms. Beech leaders and esr,hworks aU-
pear to form the strongest combination Of csnsiye and
defensive POWER aud il n,:Aewhat remarkably that
tie result is directly opposed TO the theofes formerly
prsvaing. Ii Wsi q ESXlm Of military science that
ear:hworks could never stop good infantry; the mear
ing bsng that the slope 1T which such works we're ne.
easariy constructed could always be aeoeuded by so
ders baye enough to face the FIRE of the deendeTs-
Blu. il now seems shat the deR Illness and Topidy OF
the fire msiutiined GY Sr'echl0adng ss s more than
can be endured, Grants heaviest losses have b:en
ia hI attempts 20 storm the eartaWorss OF
the Coofedera.ce, and Lee foresaT Similar danger
30 clearly that he refused to the risk Of IT, aud
left Grant und'EtuIbgd within his lines. That
this Ia the true history of afirs is pain from the
Incident reported OF tie battle Of Odd Hsrbor-tbst
the attack lasted orFcely ten m'nu'0. l. vas muoh
the same sfer tie xposon OF the ri at Petersburg.
oulrter of an hour of such fire as good troops NO
sTeied can new MAINTAIN is eTough to aretoh whole
visions on the Rgound Gratt IN one of his ca sul
en- ths Confederate lines must have lost thousand men
mi1ue. There was nothing Ike b q IN rner times,
though our own attack upol New Or!elns did fore
81
he Americans in their evil war, appear TO have been
psrfcC,ing the original taccs of their cou.trymen-
They were the FIST people TO die RI the value Of
scientific muske,ry aided by offensive works. and taty
have nov carried both principles TO an extent never
kaoSn before,
L must DO, be forgotten that though Notifications
enter thus largely iuto tie machinery Oh this desperate
war, they mus. in most instances, have been oTempo
rized. America WAS the one crun,ry in the whole
world without ssrODg pisces and fortified towns except
on the sea coast Even r edmond ard Washington
have been fortified since the war began and probably
We may leGra By and by something mors OF a system
which Tool ben in reduced but which Boauregad aud
his colleagues have developed We are assured tina.
Richmond-as open Town four years ago ss Brsn'fJid
or CrcydOu-il Of the lgost places 10 toe
world We know that VicksbuFg, hastily cnciicled
With defensive works resisted every hostile attack, aud
yldcd only 70 famine Tbe very man who took it can.
rot ruccsed though still OF the head CT large force in
taking the little country town Of Petersburg l. is rot
ea:y 20 sec tie demgu Of Grants late operators, but
ties appear 10 re directed sgsnst the concentrations
Of P tCrsbUJS, with the hop9 of establishing such
blockade of thst town possibly 10 tae md lead
10 its surrender ard thus perhaps open Of the roads
to chmond. The deences thenselVes are 200 strong
eysn for the reckless obslinacy of tAe NOrhsrn com.
raander and II he canIos elee hs purpose nGiTeody
he must give t up Hl!ogetheT. Yet these fortca!ons
had never bean heard Of ill! the Other dsy, when the
little ace sli OF sudden found to be an Antwerp
or u lntul In strength.
These remarks viii help TO explain the successful
sstaEcS Of the South sgans5 enemy 20 superior IN
numbers ard resources Without doubt, tho chCi
crasit ia due TO be energy ard courage Of the
Southern populato.; but tide Confederate engineers
have shown thai nssory Of science which consists
in uraic sexual circumstances TO immediate account.
Beginning With ole-asbonsd muskats. the S0uaerners
adTe ced 10 breect- osdes as rapidly as heir means
would penn t, ard tasn eaoaOa ID their strength by
the adoption Of foFt6cs:iors every point. Grant
fa6s himself in X mporzsd ladrilsterai Whics
ever way he uras the defenees OF the enemy are too
strong for him, and go, in cespsr of doing anything
else he attempts reduce him to surrender by break
rg up the railroads. This however, is work Of tine,
ana the result to which /. might lead would be distant
sill, whereas there s 10 longer sny time 10 pare. So
long and so fkully have tie Coned0rates maintainea
tier defence that sue issue of the rife will no pro-
baby bs determined By the political qaarIels OF their
ASSISTANTS.