REPONSE DU GENERAL GRANT

Headquarters Camp, Sin-Ho, aoth August 1860.

Sir, - - I hâve the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your Excellency's mémorandum of this date, whicli embraces so manv distinct points, thaï it beeomes necessary to reply to it in détail.

your Excellence observes that in the forts on the right bank are collected ail the means of defence. To this I cannot assent; for, from personal observation, I fmd that the north forts do not only in themselves possess great means both of offence and defence, but also, from their position, their fire can sweep that part of the right bank along which an armv must pass to attack the south forts. Nor can I see how their capture would delay the opérations of the armv : l'or the bridge is being equally advanced across the Peiho, and is not being delayed by tins measure, whilst the bridges wbich bave been constructed over the creeks bevond Tang-Ku will be ample for both French and English.

Il bas never been proposed by the admirais to bring the lire of the gunboats to bear on the inner forts; on the contrarv, it «as expressly stipulated that thcN sbould lire onlv on the ou ter forts.

I fullv agrée wilh your Excellencv in thinking that it would be a grave error to expose the gunboats to the lire of the soûl h forts without any coopération from the land forces; but I bave \et to lcarn that this is proposed to be done. Il lias not been part of mv plan, of which I sliall treat more l'ullv below.