AMERICA.

Wellington Independent, Volume XVIII, Issue 1961, 24 September 1863, Page 1

AMERICA.

The events of the American- war throughout tbe month are full of variety, and if they have not yet conducted us to decisive result,' they hare certainly brought us nearer to a consummation of some sort than we had previously been. r : .; „,... .„,..• The i3rst. great movement was that of Lee's array, which, estimated at 150,000 men, invaded MarylandV and' taking up a stntegic position which commanded several important points finally - succeeded 'in .isolating Washington. At this juncture,, when the- danger was at, its height, General Hooker resigned, the command of the Federal, array, and was succeeded by General Meade, an unknown man, but who had the advantage of .being a soldier and not a politician. ~ Meade bad no sooner placed himself at tb'eliead of the army than he put it into immediate motion. The' Confederates appear to baveygathered in ■ their , forces, and massed them io the shape of a triangle, the base resting on jtbe railroad that runs between Chainbersburg and-,Shippenburg',;'tnV apex being formed by Che^ small jtpwn of ' Gettysburg. To that point Meade at pushed forward. General Reynolds, wlio <Mipmand,ed the.Just Federal di • vision passed through, Gettysburg, and rinding tbe onemy collected in force,' rashly, prepared to gira battle, itt the expectation that he would fee soon joined by the second division 1 under General Howard. Reynolds occupied ono of the hilly ridges near.the town, but the Confederates took possession of still higher grouud, and be was consequently exposed to a heavy fire in .JJanJc _and fiont. In this perilous situation ,, Reynolds displayed great heroism. For two. hours .he . fpugjit under the moat disadvantageous cfrcurnstaticea, and When at tbe end of that time, be was at last joined by Howard, it was too late to, turn the fortune of the field- .^Howaid, in endeavoring to' effect a junction w,ith, the. first division,, lost 3000 men, and Reynolds had already lost half that number. After an' WeJFectuai struggle,' both' divisions were finally obliged to retire with the loss of 4500 men, including many officers of all grades one of'tbctn being Reynolds, himself. On the evening of the, same, day, Ist July, Meade .arrived, aud toqk up his position on tbe south side of Gettysburg, occupying a lone billy ridge, where be awaited an . attack* On the 2nd both Generals were employed in placing their troops in position. General Lee evidently contemplating a flank movement; nor is it likely: that the engagement would have been renewed pn that day, had it not been for s« accidental collision .with a wing of the Confederate army, which. rapidly spread until both lines were fully engaged. The fury with which tbe Confederates assailed the wings of the Federal array, especially the left wing, was at first highly successful; but, with the . s aid of reinforcements the Federals finally drove them baclc,.jHJ^, .regained, thejr positious. . Three times victory fluijtuateS in this "way, but when night closed in, bath airnies held their original ground. r Ou the 3rd, Geueral Lee renewed th« attack- with undiminished ardour. For three hours; he directed a heavy canonade against tbe Federal army, and twice assaulted its lejt and centre, without making any impression. .The slaughter was tremendous, but, as usual, it led to no result. The next chapter opens a hew phase in the histoTy, .'.On' the following morning, July 4, the anniversary of independence, .General Lee retreated, ;i and ..succeeded, iv carrying off his wounded; his. trains, and, it j» said, large stores of bojojy, before, the enemy ,vyere well aware of his m.o t ygmejits J . .. The reijreat was conducted with* ~?>asferly slity md wh6n the Federals commenced the pursuit,' the Confederates were enabled to offer so successful a resistance, .that the/ ultimately established themselves without lossk)r-difficulty.in a ppsitiop, of .considerable strength- vt Ten , days ,;had , elapsed^ after the battle of $Jie 3rd, an.d.the Federals 'had effected nothing more^t^anlhe transport, of their troops toaj>pßitldd in front of the invaders, Where they" either await' the signal of battle, or intend to itStiata if themselves. The latter is not probable. Lee's positiou is so strong that it would require a more powerful army than his own. to. dislodge, him; a»d although both armies have received reinforcements, it does not appear tbatjyfeade is in sufficient force to act on (be oSebsive. The Confederates are posted attt^l&fc** littl« to. ihe iomh-:east of Hagg«nV>YfO| newly due south to ft point corning

tbe Wjlliamspert fords over the Potomac, and tbe Federals occupy some heights in his front. Lee is believed to have already transported his wounded and a portion of his stores across the river into Virginia, and to have secured his relreat should fortune prove adverse to him. A battle was considered imminent. It is remarkable enough that on the same auspicious and memorable morning when Lee retired from Gettysburg, General Pemberton is said to have surrendered Vicksburgh. The statement is not credited in some quarters ; but it has hot yet been authonuively contradicted, aud the report has an air of circumstantial detail that looks as if there were some truth in it. Pemberton is reported to have committed the absurdity of offering to surrender, and of declaring in the same breath that he was able to prolong the resistance indefinitely. Grant refused to accept the surrender unless it was. unconditional, and to this Pemberton at once agreed ; whereupon Grant conceded parole to the garrison of 20,000 men, and entered Vicksburg, taking possession of 102 field-pieces, 30 siege-guns, and 50,000 stand of aims. It appears that the garrison yielded to starvation, which, if true, shows that Pemberton's boast of his power to maintain the place was mere bunkum. There are flying reporti of movements of tbe Confederates within a few miles of New Orleans, by which General Banks' supplies are likely to be cut off; hut they are not entitled to much attention. It is hardly possible that the Confederates can be in sufficient strength ia that quarter to effect any very impertant diversion of a force which, by tbe surrender of Vleksburgv is replenished by the liberation of 100,000 men. A ministerial crisis is spoken of at Washington. Mr Seward is said to have suggested a line of policy which would have reversed nearly all Mr Lincoln's previous acts. The advice of i the Secretary was summed up in the recom- : mendation of a Presidential proclamation offer- i ing an amnesty, withdrawing the Emancipation i Proclamation, suspending tbe Confiscation Act, ] and offering security to the property and rights i of the .Southern people — in fact granting every- i . thing to the South on their own terms and in their own way. A decisive majority of the Cabinet opposed this proposition ; and the liepublican party counterbalanced it by demand- i ing the restoration of peace and the Unionf on '. the basis of the extinction of slavery in 1876. \ It does not appear that these differences in the < Cabinet have produced any consequences. (