Weekly national intelligencer. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1841-1869, 1864-08-11

BUT when IN addition to this the Vermont brigade of the
o1th corps was badly cut the following day. it be-
came clear that the rapidly of the fighting must be
cneched awhile The pace too great. There
was need of rest recruitment and some cation
IL may be added that hs nux of raw troops and of Au
gurs troops from Washington with new Off ers had tenn
posary changed the character OF brgades of
ana almost OF corps There affairs of the 22d and 23i of
force" = i''aA''' "
The public attention in the early part of July
was diverted from the deadlock in front of Peters
burg T. the raid of Early into Maryland, and to
the Intellectual demonstration made by that officer
on Washington. But as this episode in the cam
pa'gn, though weakening the force of Gen. Grant,
did not have for its effect to relax his hold on Pc
tersburg, it may be dismissed from the present
review with this passing notice.
For some time past there had been intimations
that Gen. Grant was sinking mine under the
enemy's works in front of Petersburg. The public
expectation therefore awaited the dsaouenuent of
this tedious operation with mingled hope and i'm
patience. The mine was sprung on Saturday morn
ing last, just week ago. The untoward result is
known to the country. After loss of more than
I'VE thousand men the army has made no advance
toward the capture of that city, which is itself only
an outpost of the city Of Richmond The DELAY
In sprnging the mine, the want of concert and
promptitude in following up the explosion with a
dash by our assauting column, and the inop.itude
which ordered that this assaulting column shonld
De selected from the least trustworthy and homo
geneous corps in the army, ere sufficient ex--
planatlon perhaps Of this calamity The re,ult
Is ho' 80 important IN itself as for It's probable
consequences, entailing as it must still longer
delay IN front of these works, if their reduction
should not be abandoned by Gen. Grant. But
during this interval of delay will the enemy remain
idie on this point the intelligent military cor
respondent OF the New York Times in thi. CITY,
we allude to Mr. SwINroN-pertinently write, as
follows:
Under the most favorable circumstances, with the re-
Eel force reduced by two great detachmens we failed to
carry their lines Will they not conclude that the txsnv
five thousand men that held Grant ia check are sufcat
20 garrison % tne works OF Petersburg Will they oon
cude that they were able thus hold their own with
the force Of from eighteen to twenty thousand men sent to-
The north ide OF the James river this forcs ia
available for active and NAV WA NOT
expect to s'e 1t join tho column of Brseknrdge and Eav
with view to attempt still more audaclous enterprises on
the soil OF the loyal States Z"
lhese ulterlor consequences of Gen. Grants
failure before Petersburg are as yet purely specu-
| iatiVs. And, as We purpose to confne ourselves
strictly to rehearsal of the past, we here close
our review OF this most evenful but, in TIE present
stage OF Its progress, most unsuccessful campaiop.
10 is not In morsals always to command success.
Dut none VIII deny that the gallant Army of the
Potomac has, BY its heroic endurance and bv If,
prodges OF valor, well DESCRIBED the success which
malignant fate has again plucked from its grasn,