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THE (iONSTITIITIONALIXT.
. PUBLISHED BY
JAMES CG AT<
OFFICE OX BROADSTREET,
TBM « THB GBCBOIABAU.BOAD
TERMS. gsoo
Tri-foekiV ” " a «*o
"“ ,k ',\vAHi Liiha £ paid
d.
= AUGUSTA, <*A.
WEDNESDAY MORNING, APRIL 16. 1862.
~ > ““ CONSCRIPTION.
The policy of raising troops for the national
defences by conscription comes before the pub
lie under very high sanction. It is recommended
by the President, who no doubt before doing
3 o gave the subject mature reflection. It
seemed to him the best mode of strengthening
‘be army, and making it efficient for the great
struggle impending, and which may in a few
weeks decide for weal or woe the destinies of
the South. The plan meets the unanimous
. -rmrence of the military committees of both
branches of Congress. So much for its expe
diency. It is impossible so many intelligent
nrnds/in a position to be well informed as to
what ’the exigencies of the service required,
could concur in a plan wrong and inexpedient
in itself. On the question of Constitutionality
there can be little room for conflict of opinion.
It i 3 clearly competent for Congress to legislate
on the subject and provide directly for the man
ner in which troops-re U raised, organized
and brought into service for the national de
fence. This is its express duty, while we find
nowhere a provision authorizing or empowering
the several States to raise, equip and maintain
armies. There is certainly then -no flagrant
violation of State rights in the measure. Does
it inflict injustice on individuals; does it violate
the personal rights of citizens ? If it be true
that it is the duty of the titizen to defend his
country—if it be true that his country has a
right to his services in time of invasion, to de
fend the soil and drive back the enemy, the
question is answered. There can be no injus
tice in the Government exacting its claims of
personal service, anl compelling the citizen to
perform a clear duty. Indeed this is a para
mount claim of the Government, if it be true
that a man’s first duty, in time of war, is to his
country, his second being to his family.
It may be asked why should the Government
subject only those who are between certain
prescribed ages, and exempt the balance. The
reply is, that this is a legitimate question of
expediency and efficiency, to be determined by
vie ’^w -making power. It }8 for them to exef
aiso their best judgment on all such matters
that we elect members to Congress, and to the
Presidency.
But the system of conscription works great
individual hardship, as some men under it must
make much greater domestic, D ocial and busi
ness sacrifices than cthars in the performance
of the service it imposes. This may be said of
every law, human and divine. Exact equality
of circumstances -aonot be found in any in
stance It would lead to endless legislation,
and after, all fail in the effort, if Government
undertake to adjust with exactitude the weight
of its burthens upon each citizen. The man
with ten children will find it more inconvenient
to leave home than the man with due child, or
’ The luxurious millionaire will find
mrch with musket and knapsack, and the
privations of camp life, much more onerous than
the laboring poor man. Again a bache
may have a family of orphaned brothers and
asters or of nephews and neices dependent
on bis labor at home; while a married man
with numerous children may have ample means
to support them in comfort and luxury during
his absence. It is therefore difficult to pre
scribe a rule that will operate equally and ac
commodate all. There are classes o, exempts
dictated by equity and general convenience,
but of these X’ome might serve with less hard
ship than man y whom the law would not re
lieJt may be urged that the volunteer system
has thus far supplied all the requisitions of the
Government, and not be abandoned
while it works well. the volunteer system
has now nearly exhausted Hs capacity for sup
plying recruits, and is liable now to the oojec
tion that it cannot in future be ™ lied 011 as
securely to furnish good officers. We
advertisements in every newspaper t ’
offering bounties for recruits—we see a< iditionai
sums to the Government bounty offered, Uana ‘
bills posted everywhere urgently appealing . or
volunteers, and in one instance, a Lieutenant’s
commission offered to any one who would get up
thirty recruits. „ T *. u
Is that still a reliable source ? Is that a suit
able mode of giving greater efficiency to the
aF ßut*if there were no difficulty in getting up
volunteer companies and regiments, there is a
practical reason why new recruits organized
under the volunteer system, with officers of
their own choice, would be less efficient than
the exigency requires.
Volunteer officers are not elected as a matter
of course on account of their fitness for the po
sition. We are liable to have again, as we
have had heretofore, under the volunteer sys
tem, in many instances, raw, inexperienced,
often incompetent, whiskey-drinking officers,
wholly unfitted for their responsibilities. The
crisis of the war is now upon us, and our troops
meet soldiers who have been under constant
drill, inured to hardship, trained to obedience,
and many of them veterans of a life time of
military service. The conscripts of France and
Germany, of Austria and Prussia, the military
refugees of Poland, Hungary and Italy, are to
be found by thousands in every army of the
enemy. It is necessary to opppse them with
companies and regiments, and brigades already
organized under officers of some experience.
There is force in tSe following remarks made
bv Senator Wigfall, when the conscription bil
was under discussion:
His colleague asks where does the powel
come from to pass a law such as is asked for ?
Why, from the Constitution —surely. The Con
stitution gives power to raise an arm}' and
to regulate it. On this is based the proposed
measure. No State has power to declare war—
to keep or raise armies. This prerogative rests
in the Confederate Government.
Wo want an army of men—hah a million of
men. The emergency calls for as many as we
can get We have the consent of the army.
They have delegated to us the power to raise
one. It is here in the Constitution. The man
ner of raising it is clearly with us.
To use the words of John Falstaff, volunteers
are neither “fish, flesh, fowl, nor good red her
ring.” They are anomalous. They are not re
cognized by the Constitution. In this bond,
not a word is said of volunteers. The power
in the Constitution for raising armies is confined
simply for defensive war. It is not the policy
of the Government to enter into aggressive
wars, and therefore no provisions are made for
the raising of troops for such purpose.
Great Britain and the United States are the
only nations of the world who enlist by volun
teers. The regular army of the United States
is as much a volunteer organization as the Eng
lish and both as much as ours. The motive for
enlisting in those two services is money, cloth
ing and food, wiiile in our service the motive is
a patriotic impul&o. Still the s.atus of the men
is the same—it is voluntary enlistment. But
now that we want them most they will not ea
list, end why? Because they are less patriotic?
By no means; but because they are unwilling
to go into old companies and regiments to fill
up the ranks thinned by death and diserse.
They volunteer as cheerfully and as one could
wish, but in new companies—raw and undis
ciplined—and they wont go otherwise. What
we want is to use these recruits to strengthen
the thinned ranks of veteran skeleton regi
ments.
Draw from the military ponulction and fill up
the ranks as they are cut down. Keep your
regiments un to the proper standard. Rally
upon your own resources only. Cease to rest
yourselves upon the “justice of your cause” or
in blind reliance upon “Providence” and (a voice
“Foreign nations,”) yes, “Foreign nations.”
H Heavy battalions” must now decide our cause.
We want conscripts—declare that every one is
to be a soldier. Put the conscripts into old reg
iments by the side of veterans and the elbow
touch will, like magic, convert them from raw
recruits into soldiers. .By this process, they
will be less liable to disease. They will go into
well regulated camps where discipline is al
ready established, and where the men have
been seasoned with disease, and have passed
through all the sickness bound to prevail in
camps composed exclusively of raw troops lead
by raw commanders. They will have the ad
vantage of good cooking and the experience of
old campaigns to guide them. It was by con
scripts that Bonaparte kept up the best army
in the world, and it was thus he trained the
raw recruit and made a veteran of him on a
march to the field.
The slur at volunteers contained in the quo
tation from Falstaff is in bad taste ; for by far
the greatest share of the glory that encircles
Southern arms has been won by volunteers
But the reasons are not the less cogent why a
this juncture new levies of volunteer troops,un
der new And inexperienced officers of their own
choice, are less to be relied on at this juncture
than organizations that have had the benefit of
a year of trial and hard service. It is true
that ft our armies now organized, most of the
officers, from Colonels down, have been elected
by the volunteers, and that there are doubtless
many unfit and incapable men among them.
But the winnowing process has been gradually
going on and the wheat is being separated from
the chaff. The imbeciles are known, and
though they are still tolerated, they are not apt
to be placed in positions of responsibility tyr
their superiors in command. The officers of
merit are known and are pressed forward
while the incapables are held in the back
ground.
REGULATING PRICES BY MARTIAL LAW.
There is quite a general idea abroad that it
would be just and advantageous to regulate
prices of produce and articles of prime necessi
ty by martial law. Practically such interfer
ence has been found to work badly. In New
Orleans, where martial law prevails, the people
refuse to bring their produce to the city for sale,
and while market prices are lower, there is not
a supply to be had, and therefore the public in
convenience and suffering are greater than be
fore.
The same state of things exists in Mobile.
Before prices were fixed by law, several large
vessels heavily freighted with sugar and syrup
from New Orleans, ran the [blockade, and ar
rived safely at that port. The men who had
gone into the enterprise intended to keep up
the business. This first arrival of these vessels
caused molasses to decline considerably in the
Mobile market, as well as elsewhere, but when
prices were fixed by martial law, the shippers
refused to make another trip, and the whole
country is thus deprived of the benefit that
would have resulted from this enterprise, but
t ’ >r the dictation of the authorities. All are fa
jj, ar with the effect of the seizure of salt by
Gov b^ rown ’ wbicb was designed by him as a
means ot' P rotect l° n to tbe community against
extortioners ia thia article ’ Now the P rices of
this article are far hi « her iu Geor § ia thaQ in
any of the adjoining States.
It is evident tha/ the . remedy for the
present grievous pri<x' s for every manto
economise to the very uu 1108 ’ „ aad produce at
home every possible article Ol omestic con
sumption. Raise potatoes, f-' ?as ’ beans, ana
other vegetables, with a good cr</ r ‘ ot corn ' ‘
possible, raise also Chinese sugar caue - Take
especial care of hens, turkeys, pig 3 ’ calve8 >
goats, Ac. Thus may much be saved ne. Wlu ’
ter that now goes to the huckster and mer ’
chant.
THE BATTLE OF SHILOH.
The great victory achieved near Corinth, and
which Gen. Beauregard announces as the battle
of Shiloh, is fraught with the most important
consequences. The advantages, that must ac
crue to the Confederate cause are of the most
brilliant and enduring character. It probably
ends the enemy’s campaign -in the lower vffiley
of the Mississippi for the possession of Mem
phis and New Orleans, and gives promise of
the early restoration of the Confederate flag in
triumph over Nashville.
We are tempted to indulge in glowing hopes
of the further triumphant progress of our arms
towards Kentucky and Missouri, as the legitv
mate tiuits of the victory. But it may be more
prudent to silently await events in hope and
confidence. The Soutl. has able Generals and
soldiers of indomitable courage, and these will
gloriously achieve all that is possible to human
skill and heroism.
The political effects, at home and abroad, of
this great achievement of our arms will be of
the most momentous character. It will inspire
our own people with renewed enthusiasm and
more intense determination to do and suffer,
and dare all for final success. It will in the
same proportion discourage the enemy, and
cause many an additional murmur of dissatisfac
tion at the vast and fruitless waste of blood
and money in an impossible undertaking. It
will convince the doubting foes, and the de
sponding friends of the South in foreign coun
trie, sthat the subjugation of the S-iuth is an
impossibility.
It will hasten the action of those foreign
Governments that have only hesitated to inter
fere for the benefit of their own commercial
and manufacturing interests, and in the name
of humanity, because they were assured by
Seward and Lincoln’s foreign ministers that if
they would postpone action a few weeks lon
ger, ‘%e rebellion would be crushed."
Now they will see that the prolongation of
the war will be practically only a question 'of
boundaries—that the Southern Confederacy is .
and will continue to be, a de facto Govern
ment.
While every Southern heart is jubilant at
the’vfctory, at the same time many ah eye is
dimmed with tears, and many countenances are
saddened by the thought of the heavy price in
precious lives at which it has been purchased.
Not more sad was the heart of England, when
the news of the victory of Trafalgar came
coupled with the death of Nelson, than is the
Southern heart in hearing that Gen. Albert
Johnston fell at the head of his victorious nol
umns.
Many more’ of the chivalrous and gifted sons
of the South share his glory and welter in their
blood on the same victorious field, and will be
wept by a grateful and admiring country. We
painfully await further details of the dear
bought but trancendently important victory.
THE WAR ON SPECULATORS.
It has become so fashionable to denounce all
who are supplying the wants of the people, as
speculators and extortioners, that it is perhaps .
a fruitless undertaking to attempt to stem the
tide and to show that all such clamor, be
sides being very likely to be unjust, is rapidly
making matters worse. We have published
articles showing that the man who risks his
means, and his personal liberty, as many have
done, in bringing produce from distant markets,
where it is plenty, to our own, where it is i
scarce, is a benefactor, and is entitled to a good 1
profit. He is a benefactor, because he is in
creasing our supplies, the tendency of which
must be to diminish prices. He is entitled to a ;
good profit, on the common principle that gives :
to industry and enterprise its reward. There- •
fore, speculation, which brings goods from one
market to sell them in another, at the market
price, should not be denounced, but encour
aged. It is extortion and engrossing which 1
work the mischief. He who buys articles of 1
necessity, whether at home or abroad, or pro
duces them, and steres them for a fabulous 1
profit, is a public enemy, and should be held i
up to public execration. But such men are
not always merchants and speculators. On
the contrary we find them painfully numerous
among those indispensable classes, the farmers
and manufacturers.
The Atlanta Confederacy, in reply to a cor
respondent, who was denouncing merchants in
the popular vein, makes the following sensible
proposition, which well illustrates the point in
hand:
“ If our correspondent will call at our office
on Monday, at 8 o’clock, we will take our note
book and pencil, and with him, visit every
wholesale provision establishment in Atlanta,
and price together, bacon, pork, beef, flour,
corn pieal, potatoes, peas, &c. AA e will then
go together and take each of the main streets
by which marketmen and dealers in country
produce approach our city, stop every wagon
and cart coming in, and price the same articles.
If by this experiment we do not convince
‘Reason’ that he has done the grocery and pro
vision merchants great injustice ; if there is
left a sufficient margin to pay the merchants
house-rent, clerk-hire, store-expenses, taxes,
&c., and 10 per cent, per annum upon the capi
tal invested, we will obligate ourselves to fur
nish the family of ‘Reason’ with bacon, flour
and meal, gratis, for the next twelve months,
and give him an accepted bank obligation to
insure the performance of this engagement.
We will engage that the profits of the farmer
on his produce at present prices, upon the cost
of making it, are five times that of the mer
chant on the cost qf purchasing it.”
A merchant who buys corn from the farmer
at $1.50 per bushel, and sells it at $1.60, mak
ing barely 1 per cent, profit, is denounced by
every thoughtless customer, - and even by pub
lic meetings, as “a heartless speculator an
extortioner”—“worse than the Yankees,” while
the farmer who obtained 300 or 400 per cent,
above the usual price, escapes without a word
of censure, and is perhaps foremost in the pop
ular,clamor. Nor does he deserve censure so
much if he but promptly brings forward what
he has to snare, and throws it upon’the market
at the current price. But ifj with corn cribs
groaning under the weight of one or two jears
crop, he refuses to sell, he is more culpable
than the merchant can possibly be, because he
is at the fountain head of our source of supply,
and should share the full measure of odium
visited upon the extortioners. _
The result of this blind denunciation of mer
chants is discouraging all commercial enter
prise, and the result will be, in a short time,
there will be nothing to eat or to wear in our
markets. Already we have heard numerous,
merchants in this city refuse to buy bacon,
corn, and other supplies, because they were un
l willing to bear the cruel and ignorant censure
i K -aped upon them. In our exchanges we no-
L .* announcements of the closing of long es
d firms, for similar reasons. Messrs.
Lamn-krt Banks. Proctor 4 Ponler > and J ’
H m of long standing in For-
H. Dumas, nw in the Macou
syth Ga.. puo.iu will buy n 0 more
ffrap/i, announcing g . a3 soen a8 they
goods, but will stop * us t
close out their present sU’CKS' from their
We copy the following p a ‘
circular: o f fellow-citi-
At a respectable “ ee f tin , g ,. , t bv your action
zens, we could not but feel tin • J
we are placed under public condemnation, al
though unconscious of having violated any lav*,
or contravened any interests ot societj. By
your resolves, our neighbors are to carry on a
system of espionage over our business, and
the public denied the privilege ot selling to us
at all unless as a dernier resort.
In a time of general scarcity' it is an inflex
ible law of tirade that prices must rule high.
The tendency to an inflated currency which
now exists will add to the upward tendency of
prices in all merchantable commodities. Let
us not through an earnest zeal to avert these
evils pursue such a course as to discourage le
gitimate efforts to supply the public wants,
while those truly criminal —the extortioner and
engrosser— whether manufacturer, producer, or
dealer—go unwhipt of justice. Between the
enterprising merchant and such vampires, there
is a gulf as wide as that which separated Laz
arus from Dives.
THE CRUELTY OF POPULAR CLAMOR-
The present war has been mournfully sig
nalized by the unusual number es prominent
officers who have sealed with their lives their
devotion to the cause. The blood of Garnett,
Bee, Bartow, Zollicoffer, Mclntosh, McCulloch,
and last and noblest of all, the gallant and
modest Johnston, call from the voiceless cham
bers of the grave for vengeance and retribution
on the cruel foe. As we drop a tear over their
honored dust, and press forward to avenge
their loss, it were well to survey the circum
stances which resulted in such melancholy
sacrifice ®f our brave and trusted leaders. On
this subject the Norfolk Day Book well says
that there is painful evidence that in more than
one case the sacrifice has been made in obe
dience to the demands of that inexorable
tyrant, Public Opinion. Success is always de
manded hy the people. This is the “hard rule”
which the masses apply. They hail with ap
plause a happy incident, and execrate a failure
made in the face of insurmountable obstacles.
Nor are the people alone to blame; the public
journals reflect this rash and impetuous spirit.
They are extravagant in their eulogies, and
severe in their rebukes. We would not be
understood, however, as implying that the press
should be silent in regard either to men cr
measures; only that criticism should be in
formed, as an indispensable pre-requisite to its.
being just. We have been led to this expres
sion of opinion by the belief, very generally
entertained, that the hero of Shiloh exposed
himself unnecessarily, and thus lost his life,
because of the insinuations made in Congress,
and the criticisms of the press. In answer, it
is thought, to these attacks, 1 at once premature
and unjust, he went into the thickest of the
battle, and there fell at the head of his victo
rious columns. Now that he has complied
with the requirements of that “hard rule,
of which he wrote with such a touching, manly
eloquence, he is embalmed in the memories of
men, has editorial praises, and Congressional
eulogies; and yet he never appeared in a
grander, or more heroic attitude than after the
defeat at Fort Donelson. In view of these mel
ancholy facts and probabilities, let us venture,
to hope that both press and people will remem
ber that all criticism which is not based on a
full knowledge of facts, is necessarily unjust—
not only unjust, but injurious to public inter
ests, and bearing this in mind, let us-repeal the
“hard rule” which takes success as the exclu
sive measure of greatness.
THE NEWS FROM CORINTH.
At length, from the confused and incongruous
rumors and sensation dispatches with which the
public has been surfeited for several days, we
are beginning to obtain an intelligible account of
the sanguinary struggle near Corinth on Sunday
and Monday. It will be seen from the dispatches
to the Republican, that after two day’s hard
fighting in which we punished the Federate most
severely, driving them back repeatedly and tak«
ing several thousand prisoners—both armies fell
back to their former positions, each too much ex*
hausted to continue the struggle longer.
From the evidence before us, it appears that
though our troops have illustrated tneir heroism
by driving the enemy from the field time and
again against great odds and repeated reinforce*
ments of fresh troops, the great decisive battle
has yet to be fought, and that our forces are in
high spirits and eager for the fray.
The report furnished us by the Comtnonwealth
from a gentlemen who left Corinth on Mfednes
day the 9th, differs materially in detail from the
account furnished the Republican, whose last
dispatch is dated Thursday the 10th. The former
reports Buell dead, while “P. W. A, who is pro
verbially careful in his statement of facts, and
had the best facilities for gathering information,
says nothing about it. The report to the Corn*
monwealth contains much else that is we fear “too
good to be trufe,” about which the other corres
pondent is silent, and we therefore conclude that
the account by the correspondent of the Repub*
lican is most reliable, and is a truthful statement
ofthe general features and results of the contest.
Our troops have the prestige of success and con
scious superiority, in addition to the higher in
centives of desperate resolution in the cause of
right to urge them on, and when they next spring
upon the foe, we confidently expect results that
will glorify the history of our country, and drive
the invader in dismay from its devoted borders.
REDUCTION OF PRICES.
We are in receipt of a circular from the Ros
well Manufacturing Company, giving ther
prices for sheeting and cotton yarns, accom
panied with a private note in which they state
that they were the first, or among the first, to
break down prices and establish a low stand
ard, compared with the current market value
at the time. We are pleased to number this
enterprising firm among those who have not
extorted all that they might, from the wants of
the country, aua trust that, in common with all
similar enterprises, they may feel authorized
under unexampled prosperity which is reward
ing their efforts to develope home enterprise,
to still further reduce prices to a standard cor
responding with the low price of the raw
staple.
was the first anniversary of the
bombardment of Fort Sumter.
SAVANNAH.
We paid a brief, visit to our pleasant sister
city. Savannah, last week, and were much
gratified with what we »aw. and with the wel
come which we received. We found our beau
tiful seaport rendered still more attractive by
the verdure with which spring has clothed the
trees and grass in the various public squares of
that appropriately styled “Forest City.” -This
is a feature which should be imitated in every
Southern city. Nothing can conduce more to
the health and comfort of a crowded population,
than these lungs of a city—public squares, or
parks, where people may withdraw from crowd
ed and dusty streets, atod breathe, daily, the
pure atmosphere.
Savannah is very lively at the present time,
in consequence of the large number of soldiers
encamped in and around the city. It wa-s par
ticularly gratifying to us to learn that these
troops were generally in good health, and that
their conduct about the city was without re
proach. We sincerely hope that this will be
the record of Southern troops, and particularly
of those from Georgia, wherever they may be
quartered. We spent some very pleasant hours
with our Augusta boys, and from all we met
with a hearty welcome, and from some ot the
general officers a marked courtesy.
• Os course, it is not proper for us to say any
thing relative to the fortifications around Sa
vannah, further than that they are of great
trength, and th at they are defended by men
whose lives have been dedicated to the service
of their country, and led, as they are, by such
men as Jackson, Walker, and the other accom
plished officers in command, who will never
surrender as long as there is the least hope of
success left. The people of Savannah know
and feel this, and are hopeful and coifident.
Let us imitate their example.
To the editors of the Morning Menus and Re
publican, we are indebted for courtesies extend
ed to us; to them, and to the kind friends
whose hospitality we enjoyed, as well as to
those who accompanied us around the fortifica
tions, and enabled us to form a correct judg
ment of the defences of the city, we must ten
der our heartfelt thanks.
The enemy, it will be seen, has taken Fort
Pulaski; the conquest of Savannah will be a
far more serious undertaking. It is true, his
large vessels may come up into the river, but
there are numbers of formidable batteries,
numbers of powerful breastworks, and thou
sands of brave hearts, to. resist his passage and
impede his progress, and, ere he reaches the
city, should he make the effort, he will mark
his way with streams of his own blood and the
bodies of thousands of his men.
THE SEIZURE OF CABS AT BIG SHANTY.
A gentleman who arrived here last night from
Atlanta, gives us the following statement in re’
gard to the seizure of cars-atJTig Shanty, on Sat«
urday last:
The train was composed of freight, mail, and
passenger cars, and had’ stopped at Big Shanty
for breakfast. The engineer, Mr. Jeff. Kane, and
the conductor, Mr. W. A. Fuller, were eating at a
table where they could see the train. Hearing
the engine exhaust, they locked up, and saw it,
the tender, and three box cars moving off. They,
accompanied 6y Mr. Murphy, Foreman of the At
lanta Machine Shop, immediately gave chase on
foot, and ran a distance of four miles, where they
found a hand-car and some train hands. Mounts
ing this-car, the party continued their pursuit,
until they were thrown from the track, in conse
quence of a rail having been torn up by the fugi
tives. As soon, however, as the car could be re
placed, they resumed their journey, and. reached
Etowah, a distance of 20 miles from Big Shanty,
where they found an engine’belonging to Mark A..
Cooper’s Iron Works, and getting on that pro»
ceeded to Kingston, where they procured a Rome
Railroad engine, and continued the pursuit until
they captured the rascals. The down express
train was met on the way, and the engine of that
train joined in the chase. Several times the pur»
suers came tn sight of the fugitives, but the latter
had taken a number of cross-tqfs with them,
which they were dropping along the road as they
went, thus impeding the progress of the further.
At Ringgold, there was a mililia parade, and a
number of men on horseback volunteered to join
in the pursuit. When the fugitives passed Dalton
they did not cut the telegraph wires, as they had
previously done, and dispatches were sent to
Chattanooga, from which place a train with sol
diers was sent out to meet them.
The bridge burners, lor such it appears they
were, came to Atlanta on the Friday night train,
and desired to be waked up early the next morn
ing to go to Big Shanty. At that place, they
were seen walking very leisurely up to the cars,
and seizing their opportunity, they made off with
a portion of the train as already described. After
proceeding some distance, they cut loose two Os
' their cars, and set the other on fire. When the
pursuing engine got up with them, they were out
of fuel and water; they bad picked up some wood
on the wav, and had burned all the oil, and what
ever they could get hold of to throw into the fire
box. They were eight in number, and, it is said,
were sent by Gen. Mitchell, the Federal Coms
mander at Shelbyville, Tenn., to destroy the rail
road bridges along tbe route, so as to prevent res
inforcements being sent to the Confederates ip
Tennessee.
Great credit is due to Messrs. Kane, Fuller,
and Murphy, for the extraordinary exertions which
they made to recapture their stolen cars. Their
pursuit was fraught with much danger, as the
bridge burners bad thrown fcany obstructions on
the track, torn it up in two places,and, it was fear
ed, would reverse their engine and run into those
pursuing them.
A part of these facts were witnessed by our in
formant, and the balance he obtained from the
employees of the railroad. The trick of these
Yankees was certainly a very daring one, but was,
fortunately, not successful.
FROM ISLAND. NO. 10.
A private letter from a 'firm in Memphis to a
gentleman in this city, says that the Federal gun
boats ran by our works at Island No; 10, and at«
tacked our batteries in the rear, which resulted in
the surrender of the position by our forces. No
particulars are given.
A private dispatch in the Atlanta (G-a.)
Southern Confederacy says that the Federal
force at Huntsville is between 17,000 and
20,000.