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YA E DOODLE’S HISTORY OF M'CLEL
LAN’S DEFEAT.
Yankee Doodle has, according to bia usual
custom, endeavored to induce tbe world to be
lieve that McClellan has achieved a great vic
tory, performed a masterly retreat, and executed
a brilliant strategic movement.
In tbe Baltimore Sun of the 9th in st. is found
a letter from the New York Post’s corresponds
ent relative to the battle of Tuesday, July Ist,
at Malvern Bill. The Confederates were, of
course, driven from the the field I
A graphic description of the battle then fob
lows, in which it is stated that the Yankees
numbered 30,000, while the Rebels numbered
three times that many I
A correspondent of the Times is next quoted
as follows:
In all the engagements, Mechanicsville and
Gaines’ Mill included, can hardly fall fur short,
or much exceed twenty.five thousand men. Our
loss in prisoners is heavy, the enemy’s cavalry
making easy captives of thousands ot stragglers,
who lined the roads in our rear, and besides
these we have left thousands of wounded in their
hands. Their loss must be at least as heavy,
and probably heavier in killed and wounded than
our own, but in prisoners it fell far short, though
we have taken about two thousand from them.
Included in our loss there were many of our
finest officers, the number of line, company and
staff officers killed and disabled being unusually
large. Our loss of guns is stated at forty, and
we have taken from the enemy perhaps two
thirds that number.
This Yankee Doodle correspondent then pro
ceeds to deguerreotype the back action move
ments of the skedaddling army in the following
graphic style:
THE RETREAT.
The “retiring” of the Federals is thus des
cribed by a correspondent of the New York
Times:
Meanwhile the panic extended. Scores of gal
lant officers endeavored to rally and re-form
the stragglers, but in vain, while many officers
forgot the pride of their shoulder straps and
the honor of their manhood, and herded with
sneaks and cowards. O, that I had known the
names of those officers I saw, the brave and the
cowardly, that here, now, I might reward and
punish by directing upon each individual the
respect or the contempt of a whole people 1
That scene was not one to be forgotten. Scores
of riderless, terrified horses dashing in every
direction ; thickiflying bullets singing by, ads
monishing of danger; every minute a man
struck down; wagons and ambulances and can*
non blockading the way; wounded men limping,
and groaning, and bleeding amid tbe throng;
officers and civilians denouncing, and reasoning,
and entreating, and being insensibly borne along
with tbe mass; the sublime cannonading; the
clouds of battle smoke, and the sun just disap
pearing’, large and blood red—l can not picture
it, but I see it, and always shall.
Huddled among the wagons were 10,00') strag
glers—for the credit of the nation be it said that
four-fifths of them were wounded, sick, or utter
ly exhausted, and could not have stirred but for
dread of the tobacco warehouses of the South.
The confusion of this herd of men and muies,
wagons and wounded, men on horses, men on
foot, men by the roadside, men perched on wa
gons, men searching for water, men famishing
for food, men lame and bleeding, men with
ghostly eyes, looking out between bloody band
ages that hid the face—turn to some vivid ac
count of the most pitiful part of Napoleon’s re
treat from Russia, and fill out the picture—the
grim, gaunt, bloody picture of war in its most
terrible features.
It was determined to move on during the night.
The distance to Turkey Island Bridge, the point
on James River which was to be reached, by the
direct road, was six miles. But those vast num
bers could not move over one narrow road in
many days, hence every by-road, no matter how
circuitous, had been searched out, by questioning
prisoners and by cavalry excursions. Every one
was filled by one of the advancing columns,
The whole front was in motion by 7 p. m., Gen.
Keys in command of the advance.
I rode with Gen. Howe’s brigade, of Couch’s
division, taking a wagon track through dense
woods and precipitous ravines, winding sinuous
ly far around to the left, and striking the river
some distance below Turkey Island. Commenc
• ing at dusk, the march continued until daylight.
The night was dark and fearful. Heavy thun
der rolled in turn along each point of the hori*
son, and dark clouds spread the entire canopy.
We were forbidden to speak aloud, or, lest the
light of a cigar should present a target for an
ambushed rifle, we were cautioned not te smoke.
Ten miles of weary marching, with frequent
halts, as some one of the hundred vehicles of the
artillery train, in our centre, by a slight devia
tion crashed against a tree, wore away the hours
to dawn, when we debouched into a magnificent
wheat field, and the smoke-stack of the Galena
was in sight. Xenophon’s remnant of the ten
thousand, shouting “The sea! the sea!’’were
not more glad than we.
Porter’s entire train was brought over the
Chickahominy before the battle of Friday,
hence nothing was lost there. At Savage’s, when
that place was abandoned, 1,700 cubic feet of
.ammunition and enormous heaps of quarter
masters’ and sutlers’ stores, officers’ baggage,
and soldiers’ knapsacks, were destroyed, and at
every halting place since, the fagot has been
busy with whatever could be transported no
further. I can form no estimate of the entire
value, but it is immense. One thing is certain,
but littlehas fallen into the enemy’s hands.
I close to ride back to the rear—now our front.
SUMMING UP.
I shall have to hurry on to the result. Our
loss of yesterday may be estimated at 6,000.
Many of these are prisoners. The Pennsylvania
reserve were again in the thickest. This morn
ing they do not muster 3,000 men. Add to these
1,000 who are stragglers and will yet come in,
and the number is less than half what they be*
gan with at Beaver Dam. They lost severely
there, they were more than decimated the next
day at Gaines’ Mills, and yesterday they shrank
to this small measure. Their leader, Gen. Mc-
Call, is severely wounded and in the enemy’s
hands - Our brigade commander, Gen. J. J.
Reynolds, is a prisoner at Richmond; another
General, George C. Meade, lies in a tent near us
seriously wounded. Officers of low grade they
have lost in about the same proportion. Os the
Bncktail regiment not a hundred respond to the
roll call.
And so with other divisions. For tl e losses of
the last six days cannot be less, than 15,000. ft
is only hoped that it will not reach 20,000.
The correspondent of the New York Tribune
follows next, with a description of tbe appear
ance of McClellan and his army after the defeat:
The correspondent of the New York Tribune,
writing from Harrison's Landing, on the 4th in
stant, describes General McClellan as coming on
board the mail boat greatly perturbed. General
McClellan, we are told, met General Patterson as
he stepped on board, and laid his hand on his
shoulder and took him in a hurried manner into
, be a ft ca bin, or ladle?’ saloon. As he went in he
vl i? lr Wlt fi b ,a right hand clenched, from
w icn allpresent inferred there was bud news. To
e astonishment of tbe writer it was subsequently
e plained that the whole army of the Potomac
? r< aion f? the banks of the river where
,J 0U ght their way all through
Gen a distance qf thirty miles-
troona' r an ’ however, claimed that his
rior^umber«° Ugllt Z ll6 Confederates in supes
everyTimV*’ “ 7'“’ “““ ed
zxF 4 ■ ?• - . a Question as to the loca
answer a * nd their Generals, the
are nevertheless in a soffcomnlcrh h <T e ’
in reply to another remark’ ftX
tTd" eat/” B The e d’
to death. The description of the troons on a
dead level on the banks of the river red
from head to foot, and up to their v ’ covereu
i. .h. son. „<A,
graphic. “Under some trees which lay in clus
ters the men were crouched. They looked, says
the writer, “as if they were more dead than alive.
They were covered to tbe crown of the head
with mud, their faces and clothes were literally
coated, while their shoes and boots had several
pounds of the nasty, yellow stuff stuck into and
all around them.
But the men were safe for the present, and
ready to fight again if reinforced. The safety
of the army, says the Tribune, however, is by
no means assured, if we may credit the states
ments made by this writer. He tells us that
“the enemy is in large force on the east side of
the Chickahominy, and threatens not only Mc-
Clellan’s right wing, but the navigation of the
James River. * * * The construction of
butteries so as to intercept the navigation of the
river? would be laying direct siege to McClellan’s
position, and would place his a.-my in a critical
situation.
Gen. McClellan rode out among his troops on
Wednesday, and was greeted with most enthusis
astic applause. ‘‘ Boys,” said he, “ you may
think that matters look dark, but be of good
courage; all is right.” The cheers are said to
have Peen loud and longcontinued, and the
enemy biiieved that we were receiving large re*
inforcements. Our army has most unbounded
reliance in their young commander, and dream
of nothing but victory under his direction.
Next we have the address of Geo. B. McClel
lan, Major General Commanding the skedad
dlers to the “partners of his toil” and the
sharers of his “brilliant victory.” It is ex
ceeding reliable:
ADDRESS OF GEN . M'CLELLAN TO THE ARM Y OF THE
POTOMAC. (?)
Washington, July 6.—Advices from the Army
ot the Potomac (James?) up to Saturday night,
indicate that all Is quiet and the army'in good
spirits.
Headq’rs Army of the Potomac, I
Camp near Harrison’s Landing, Julv 4. j
Soldiers of the Army of the Potomac! Your
achievements of the past ten days have illuss
trated the valor and endurance of the American
soldier. Attacked by superior forces, and withs
out hopes of reinforcements, you have succeeded
in changing your base of operations by a flank
movement always regarded as the most hazard
ous of military operations. You have saved all
your guns except a few lost in battle, taking m
return guns and colors from the enemy.
Upon your march you have been assailed day
after day, with desperate fury by men of the same
race and nation, skillfully massed and led. Under
every disadvantage of number, and necessarily of
gosition also, you have in every conflict beaten
ack your foes with enormous slaughter.
Your conduct ranks you among the celebrated
armies of history. None will now question what
each of you may always, with pride, say, “I be
longed to the Army of the Potomac.” You haVe
reached this new base complete in organization,
and unimpaired in spirit. The enemy may at
any time attack you—we are prepared'to meet
them. I have personally established your lines.
Let them come, and we will convert their repulse
into a final defeat.
Your Government is strengthening you with
the resources of a great people. On this, our
nation’s birthday,we declare to our foes, who are
rebels against the best interests of mankind,
that this army shall enter the Capital of the so*
called Confederacy ; that our national constitu*
tion shall prevail, and that the Union, which can
alone insure internal peace and external Security
to each State, must and shall be preserved, cost
what it may in time, treasure, and blood.
Geo. B. McClellan,
Major General Commanding.
The following extracts will conclude Yankee
Doodle’s veracious history of the great Union
victory near Richmond:
THE BANKER KILLED AND WOUNDED.
The Yankee loss in the recent battles must
have been fearful. The Northern papers are
filled with paragraphs noting, here and there, the
sending of the wounded to different points in the
North. For instance, in a letter in the Phila
delphia Enquirer of the 7th we get the following
revelation for a single day:
Fortress Monroe, July 6.—The Louisiana has
just left for Washington with four hundred and
thirty wounded; the Kennebeck with one hun
dred and fifty; and the State of Maine with five
hundred, have just sailed; tbe former to Anna
polis, the latter to New York. The Daniel Web
ster has just come in with a very large number
of wounded from up the James river.
prisoners taken by m’clellan.
The Yankee papers claim that McClellan took
a large number of prisoners iu the battles before
Richmond. A letter in the Philadelphia Enquir
er, from Fortress Monroe, says :
General McClellan sent down 533 rebel prison
ers to-day, who were marched into Fortress Mons
roe in single file, and a more unique spectacle
never could be dreamed 6f. They wore all sorts
of dress. No two were alike, and they were dir
ty, dingy and worn out. The rear was brought
up by about 20 contrabands, who, as they steoped
ashore, grinned ghastly grins, and followed their
“massas” into the fort.
Among the rebel prisoners are fifty officers,
two colonels, three lieutenant-colonels, and three
majors. The following are included in the num*
ber:
Major John Link, Seventh Louisiana.
Captain Cornelius Page, 7th Louisiana.
Surgeon Norton, Bth South Carolina.
Capt. J. W. Rogers, Ist South Carolina Rifles.
Captain Kerby, 17th Virginia.
Captain Gran berry, 10th Virginia.
Captain John R. Towers. Ist Virginia.
Augustus Shaw, Adjutant Third Georgia.
Col. R. R. Applewhite, 12 th Mississippi.
Captain S. D. McChesney, 12th Mississippi.
Colonel Edward Pendleton, 3d Lonisiana.
Chaplain Martin, 3d Lonisiana.
Captain Jonathan Rivers, 3d Louisiana.
Captain A- V- Jones, 17th Virginia-
Colonel Martin Mars, 17th Virginia.
Captain Robert Simpson, 17th Virginia-
NORTHERN ACCOUNTS OF THE GREAT BAT
TLE AT RICHMOND.
The Memphis Appeal, of July 9th, Contains
nine long columns from the Cincinnati Commers
cial. descriptive of the recent battles near Rich*
mond. The article is a letter to the latter paper,
dated James River, Tuesday evening, July Ist,
1862.
The writer commences somewhat lugubriously,
lor one about to claim a series of successes for
the young Napoleon. He says :
“Oh, friends, could you realize the afflictions of
the past five days, you could almost shed tears
of blood. Said a noble and gallant soldier,
whose visage was wan, whose voice was tremu
lous with inexpressible emotion, whose beard
was matted with his own precious blood—the
crimson drops were tickling from his wound
even then—‘Oh! my friends, it is hprnble! hor
rible! to see this proud army so wretchedly
Dressed upon every side, destruction threatening
wherever we turn; scarce a hope of extrication,
save that which is born of despair. It is horn
ble’-and the devoted soldier, who had faced
the foe all day, and far into the night, which had
passed, turned into the forest to hide his manly
grief. Had you seen bis worn and haggard war
rior, plunged wearily on the soil 'around them,
begrimmed with smoke, and some of them
stained with blood, and had you known that an
hour later these brave men, already ex
hausted and stiffened with long hghti g
and weary piarching, would be summoned again
to deadly^ combat, you, too, would have echoed
my noble friehd. With all his weakness and all
his deep distress of mind, his sword was flashing
defiance again at the breast of the foe betore the
sun rode highest in the empyrean. O, the g lo ?my
countenances and anxious hearts of those aarK
days! Would to God such days had passed for
ever.”
All this gloomy feeling is occasioned by the
trials which the Feds had to undergo—not only
I fighting, but insiduous thirst, craving appetites,
' enfeebling heat, overpowering fatigue, overpow-
ering masses of Confederates, and sleepless
nights, were the enemtes with which the poor
fellows had to contend! Notwithstanding all
this, however, the attack of the Confed*
erates, on Thursday afternoon, was repulsed;
but, says the Commercial’s correspondent:
“Orders weregiven at once to destroy all pubs
lie property at White House, and evacuate that
point. Matters began to assume a critical ap
pearance, and danger culminated in the disaster
of Friday. It was then fully determined to
‘change tbe base of operation* on James River.’
It seems to me this was compulsory”
This is an important admission. Most of tbe
other Yankee correspondents claim this ‘‘change
of position” as a brilliant strategic movement,
previously contemplated by McClellan, and now
carried into executimjun the face of our troops.
The fight at Mec®Jicsville is represented as
having resulted in the withdrawal of the Confeder.
ates, with a loss (as reported by prisoners and
an intelligent contraband,) of 8,000, while the
Federal loss was 80 killed and less than 150
wounded!
In. the battle of Friday, at Gaines’ Mill, the
rebels were again repulsed. On the right of the
enemy a brigade of Alabamians, says this vera«>
cious writer, fled in terror and dismay, leaving
their regimental colors and battle flag in the
hands of the Yankees! Finally, the left of the
line was broken, but “Meagher’s Irishmen” and
French’s brigade coming up, and the Federal
batteries opening upon the rebels, the
pursuit by the latter was checked. In this attack,
Fitz John Porter lost 20 pieces ot artillery, and
the arms and accoutrements which belonged to
men who were lost. Os dead, wounded, and
missing, there were 7,000 or upwards. It was
reported that the Rebel loss was more awful.
The correspondent adds :
“It is claimed that the battle was badly managed.
This is no time for criticism ; besides the data
is not absolutely reliable. It is certain we were
beaten in strategy and grand tactics. Indeed, I
am compelled to admit that the enemy there, as
elsewhere, displayed skill in the science of bat
tles which does not always distinguish our lead
ers. They seldom risk a battle with insufficient
forces, and they handle masses in a masterly
manner. * * * * * «• But we were beaten.
It was a melancholy satisfaction to know that we
occupied the field of battle after the conflict was
ended* We had about 30,000 men engaged, per
haps 35,000. Th6 enemy had four divisions ems
ployed, besides Jackson’s admirable army of
35,000 or 40,000 disciplined troops.”
While this fight was progressing, sharp fight
ing was also going on in front; and here the
Rebels were repulsed, and two Georgia regi
ments almost cut to pieces. Among the prison
ers taken, was “one of the smartest and most
mischievous of Southern politicians, Col. J. Q.
C. Lamar (!) of the First Georgia Regiment (I i)
once member of Congress. His Lieutenant
Colonel was also captured.”
The correspondent tnen proceeds to give a de*
tailed account of the preparations for “changing
front” to James River, which were made through
Friday night, in consequence of Porter’s defeat;
and adds: “The nigh t'of Friday, June 27th, was
gloomy, but it was felicity itself compared with
those of Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tues
day.”
On Saturday morning the Confederates com®
pelted Smith to abandon his position, but did
not follow up their success.
Here follows another lugubrious description of
the retreat. Burns’ division was attacked, but
repulsed the rebels; Averill defeated the Rebel
dragoons, took 60 prisoners and horses, and left
nine dead on the field; and Sumner drove back
the Rebels who, late into the night, were attack*,
ing tbe retreating army! “That was a Sunday
battle, and the battle of Savage Station.” In
that fray, Sedgwick’s division lost 600 men, and
400 more of various corps are not among their
comrades.
Next comes a thrilling description of the bats
tie of White Oak Swamp, in which, ot course,
the Rebels were again repulsed ; “but i t was a
terrible battle,” says the correpondent; “it wa ß
a bloody day. An officer of Gen- McCall’s staff
told me he lost 20 guns that day. It was said
Heintzleman’s command captured 12 from the
enemy and a whole brigade of the enemy. I
think the latter doubtful,” very doubtful, we
should say. The writer adds, “I saw about 800
prisoners;’ 1 and continues:
* “Tuesday, the Ist of July, was not a cheerful
day. The prospect was not happy. The Prince
de Joinville, always gay and active as a lad, and
always where there was battle, was gone.—
The Count de Paris, heir to the Bourbon throne,
and the Due de Chartres, his brother, the two
chivalric and devoted Aids to Gen. McClellan,
on whose courage, fidelity, intelligence and activ
ity he safely relied; who served with him to learn
the art of war suddenly, without previous warning,
took passage on a gunboat, and fluttered softly down
the river. Why did they go? Two officers of
the English army who had accompanied Gen.
McClellan to study the art of war, and who had
intended to remain with the army until Rich*
mond was ours, announced their intention to de
part on the first boat!”
That was, certainly, very unkind and very un*
ceremonious, but if these English gentlemen
were in anything ol a hurry, we surely cannot
blame them for not waiting until Richmond was
in the hands of the enemy ; for in that case,
they would have had to prolong their stay in
definitely.
On Tuesday there was another battle; but the
Commercial scorrespondent, following the illus
trious example of the French Princes and the
English gentlemen, “bid farewell to every fear
and wiped his weeping eyes,” closing his letter
with another -lugubrious reflection and a good
word for Gen. McClellan.
BUTLERISM IN MISSISSIPPI-
Gen. Van Dorn has issued a general-order,
No. 9, in which occurs the following section :
3. The publication ot any article in the news
papers in reference to the movements of the troops
is prohibited, and it the editor or proprietor ot
any newspaper published in any of the counties
hereinbefore designated shall publish any
editorial article, or copy into his paper any
article or paragraph calculated to impair confi
dence in any of the commanding officers whom
the President may see fit to place over the
troops, such editor or proprietor shall be
subject to fine and imprisonment, and the
publication of the paper shall be thereafter sus
pended.
An independent press, and an independent
people cannot long submit to such an arbitrary
edict. Proper restrictions upon the press will
be cheerfully submitted to, but the placing of
incompetent officers, above criticism, is unreason*
able and unbearable.
A Clever Lad.-Ou Friday night last, a gentle
man from Griffin, while attending the perform
ances of the Queen Sisters at Atlanta, lost his
nocket book containing $1,500, The book and
money was found by Master John, a member of
the Queen Sisters,and returned it to the o wner all
riald. who rewarded him with a present of SSO.
Men and boys would do well to hl3 exs
ample.— Savannah Morning News, July 17.
INTERESTING FROM EUROPE-AMERICAN
AFFAIRS THE ALL ABSORBING THBME.
THE UTTER FUTILITY OF THE SOUTH’S SUBJUGATION
STRONGLY SET FORTH.
Through the kindness Os the Rev. J. B. Hard
wicke, the Petersburg Express has been placed
in possession of very late and interesting in»
telfigence from Europe. We subjoin much in
teresting reading, which has not, heretofore, ap
peared in any Southern Journal:
ANOTHER LETTER FROM MR. SPENCE—THE CALL FOB
THREE HUNDRED THOUSAND* MEN FORESHADOWED,
AND THE PROSPECT OF THEIR ENLISTMENT DIS
CUSSED.
Mr. Spence, from whom our readers have
eard before, writes to the London Times, under
date of Liverpool, June 9, as follows:
To the Editor of the London Times :
Sir: Although no news arrives from Corinth,
there are tidings that seriously affect Halleck’s
position. It is stated that the Southerners are
assembling in force in Wt stern Tennessee, with
a design upon Hickman. The possession of this
place, if obtained, would probably lead to that
ot Columbus, and as both are in the rear of Is
land No 10, the position of the Federals in this
quarter would become extreniely embarrassed.
The last accounts left the two fleets preparing
for another engagement, which appears to have
occurred. This is not only said to have resulted
in favor of the Southerners, but the terms em
ployed are an admission that tbe former “bril
liant victory” of the Federals was really a defeat.
And instead of directing themselves upon Hick*
man, the Confederates might fall suddenly upon
Fort Henry, possession of which would be alto
gether fatal to Halleck, as it commands the river
on which his existence depends. With the storm
gathering even so iar in Voe rear as Paducah,
and with bo many other reasons for haste, his
advance, which has not came up to the rate of
a mile a day, appears really too slow for the Oc
casion.
Gen. Banks is the self-made man upon whom
so much reliance was placed at the opening of
the campaign. An able man, no doubt, he is,
but he never prefessed to be a General, and that
is just the thing wanted. He is the only Federal
commander on this side of tbe Mississippi who
has attempted a march into the interior, and we
now see its result. Successful in the onset, as it
is in the nature of all invasions to be, it ends in
his being driven cut of the country, pursued for
more than fifty miles, and in leaving behind his
magazine at Winchester, and some large pros
portion of his force as prisoners. This is an
illustration of the successes on which the North*
erners have so cofidently relied, forgetting that
the end and not the beginning of an enterprise
decides the merit. It would appear possible for
Jackson, who is considered a very bold officer,
to cross the Potomac at Harper’s Ferry and
make a dash at Washington, supported by a
rising in Maryland. But this would be a very
hazardous move, and it is not the policy of the
Southern Government to invade the North, but
to satisfy the world of its ability to defend its
own soil,
The temporary consternation in the North is
not surprising, for it appears to exist mentally,
in the condition known as bodily infirmity, by
the name of “chill fever,” burning one day with
exultation, and the next with a freezing shiver
of alarm. The last apprehension for Washing
ton followed hard upon a proposal to overruniind
annex Canada ; and the present chiil has just
been preceded by lofty threats, not only to make
the Southern people mere subjects, but also to
punish England and France for their unbelief
and irreverence—and, in the midst of all this,
Congress shelves the Tax Bill, and employs it*
self in schemes of confiscation. Did the Junta
of Cadiz ever transcend this measure of legisla.-
tire wisdom? If the war continues, ana the
Federal armies be commanded by such men as
Hunter, Grant, Wool, Fremont and Halleck, it
will be strange if the alarm should not some day
prove a reality. There has b® en one opportu
nity, and another may occur.
The argumentrthat, whatever lhe result of the
impending battles, the Federals would find them
selves too weak to continue the campaign receiv
ing speedy confirmation in the telegram report
ing a levy of 50,000 men. Only a week ago a cir
cular of Mr. Seward informed tbe world that the
army was full and all recruiting stopped. There
must be a strangely disordered judgment some*
where, not to have foreseen that armies in the
field wear away. And what are 50,000 men? No
troops now raised can be available for the sum
mer operations. Many weeks must be occupied
in enlisting them ana giving the rudiments of
drill; and to send a raw Northern recruit to march
with knapsack and musket, in the horrid heat of
a Southern July, would only be to consign him to
the hospital or the grave. And by the time in
autumn when they may be useful, what will be
tbe number needed? The accounts of regiments
already reduced one half will, doubtless, refer to
exceptional cases, but spnng.only has been pass
ed through. Without any great disaster in bat*
tie or any terrible epidemic, by the mere wear
and tear of summer campaigning in such a cli
mate, tbe loss already sustained in some regi
ments will be the common average of the whole.
It follows that, to bring up the army to its origi
nal strength, instead of 50,000, there will be
need of 300,000 men.
&It will prove a very difficult task to obtain this
number. We now hear of half a million re
sponding to the call, but as there had not been
time to organize a single company, this is obvi*
ously a mere flight of words. The regiments of
militia and the 7th New York, are simply bodies
of men on hand when the news arrived. It will
be easy in the chief cities to find and enlist a
number of men out of work, but to obtain the
force requisite, the great breadth of the country
must be gleaned, and there no recruiting ser
geant will go stir without finding those who aie
mourning a brother, or watching over some poor
haggard son come home to die. There is little
in this to stimulate others to enlist, and the le
ver, so powerful before, will be wanting—tbe am
bition to become a Colonel by raising a regiment.
Rank and file will be needed now without Col
onels. There was, indeed, great difficulty on the
first occasion, and many expedients were resort
ed to, even snch as forming the professional jail
birds of New York into regiments. This has not
been found to answer in practice. The famous
New York Fire Zouaves grew weary of doing
duty as hospital nurses at Newport News, and it
was found expedient to take them back to their
native city and disband them as ouietly as possi
ble.
Details have arrived of the defeat oi Milroy
and check of Fremont’s corps, at McDowell, in
the Virginia highlands. They were advancing
upon Staunton, when they encountered a Con
ederate force, which drove them back beyond
Franklin with severe loss. A Northern account
estimates their force at 8,000 men and five bat
teries of artillery. As the Southerners are said
to have usea no guns in the action, they were
probably an irregular corps, which should have
been dispersed by such a force instead of put
ting it to flight. Fremont will now be on the
scene, but the expulsion of Banks will prralyze
him, and his name will afford a stimulus to the
Southern troops which exploits in Missouri will
hardly afford to his own.
The country from which Gen. Banks has been
driven is no insignificant district. The mountain
region of Virginia is the Switzerland of the New |
World, and is computed to embrace 26.000 square
miles out of the 61,000 of the great State. Full
of minerals, forests, cattle, and not wanting in
grain, with a delightful climate and magnificent
scenery,with mountain passes easily closed against
an enemy, and fastnesses in which to shelter
from superior force —it is here in her noble
mountain region, that if ever driven in, Virginia
will stand at bay. Those who imagine that no
battle field can be found safe from gunboats,
have here a district they cannot approach, which
though but a minor portion of a single State, is
still half as large again as Switzerland, and
equal in area to the two kingdoms of Holland
and Belgium together. What kind of an un
dertaking is it to subdue a country so vast that
a province like this is lost sight of in the midst
of it?
Every week ends toprove that European opin
ion rightly judged, that the undertaking of the
North was a physical impossibility, even had
they possessed an army when they rushed upon
the attempt. This they had not, and it is im
possible to pMw at a leap into tbe position of a
first rate military power. Half a m illion of men
may be collected together by an enormous rate
of pay, but neither pay nor proclamation can
call forth generals. The Federals have raised,
and drilled, and armed a great body of brave
men. but until there be generals fit for command,
it is but the muscular trunk of man without the
head. The whole matter is a lamentable mis*
take. From tbe day it became clear that the two
distinct section* could not live in harmony*, they
should have parted in peace, as brothers may
separate, each wishing the other well. The con
tinuance of the contest can have no,other result
than to destroy human life, kindled in human
passions, blight tbe country, like Mexico, with
a scourge of Generals, crush tbe industry of fu
ture years, and spread pauperism over wide dis*
trlcts of suffering Europe.
A simyar fatality attend all the Federal armies.
Hunter, Burnside', Halleck, Banks—all begin
with success, but soon fall into apparent inaction.
This cannot result from any want of energy or
tbe absence of spurs to ambition, but simply
from those physical difficulties plainly foreseen
by these free from local influence and passion.
Had any intelligent Northerner been told, two
years that in the event of war we should
send expeditions to the Southern coasts, invade
and subdue them, he would have said, "I wish
you joy of it. You may take some place here
and there with the aid of your ships, but once
push into the interior and you are lost; the
country and climate will ruin you if the poople z
don’t.” Now, if this opinion would have been a
sound one then, why not so now? Northern
troops cannot march without roads, or live with
out supplies, nor have they any special immu«
nity that will enable them topass a summer at
New Orleans unharmed by yellow fever.
From the Richmond, Ka.. Dispatch, July 11.
THE ARMIES BELOW RICHMOND.
Very little is known of the relative position of
the Confederate and Federal lorces below Rich*
mond. There has been no operations of a atari
tling character, and the impression generally
obtains that there is no immediate probability of
an encounter between the two armies.
There was a rumor yesterday to the effect that
the enemy’s main force had evacuated the posi*
tion recently held by them at Berkeley, and
moved on down the river. This ip probably
true, and although the War Department has no
authentic intelligence of the fact, it is general
ly conceded that probabilities tend to confirm
the report. Before another advance on Rich
mond—if another is ever attempted—McClellan
must reorganize his army, and it is scarcely
to be supposed that he would select a point
so remote from the seacoast as Berkeley for
this purpose. It is much more likely that he will
if permitted to do so, withdraw' his army from
the swamps and marshes of Charles City, where
unhealthy malaria and climatic influences would
rather tend to decimate*, than to reorganize bis
shattered regiments, to some point nearer the
coast where the health of his troops and the
convenience Os the service would be consulted.
Erom any stand point there does not seem to be
any ground to apprehend thai the Southern
Capital w’ll again be menaced for some time to
come. In the meantime no one doubts that our
army will be placed upon the most effective
footing, ready not only to repel the invader, but
to carry the war to their own homes.
THE BNEMT’s MOVEMENTS.
Information has been received that the enemy’s
army in the Valley of Virginia has moved for
ward to Flint Hill, in Rappahannock county, and
there formed, a junction with a portion of Mc-
Dowell’s forces. The number of men now at that
point is estimated at eighteen thousand. By
adopting Rappahannoek county as a base of oper- .
ation, the enemy may throw a force into Page, 4 •
Shenandoah, and Rockingham, and at the same
time keep an eye upon any movement that might
have for its object the clearing out of the Valley. ,
The rout of Banks, Shields, and Fremont, by
Jackson’s army, has proved a bitter dose to Yan
keeism, and every possible resource will be ex
hausted with a view to wipe out the painful recol
lection of that event.
We clip the following paragraphs from
the Richmond (Va.) Dispatch, of July 14th:
MOVEMENTS OF THE ENEMY.
It is stated that a party of the enemy, in .
what force it is not said, went to Rapidan Sta
tion, in Culpepper, about 2 o’clock yesterday
morning, capturing Mr. Charles Lathrop, the
telegraph operator there. It is further stated
that they entered Gordonsville yesterday even
ng*
THE EFFECT OF THE NEWS IN WALL STREET.
Notwithstanding tbe efforts of the Yankee
press to palm off upon the people the retreat
of McClellan below Richmond, as a masterly
strategic movement, Wall Street is a little cre
dulous, and on the Bth instant there was a rise
in the price of gold to eleven and a-quarter
premium, and of foreign exchange to one hun
dred and twenty-two and a-half. Bennett at
tributes this rise to the late disasters in Vir
ginia, and adds that “it is now evident that this
war must last at least another year.” So that
Mr. Seward’s hope of crushing the rebellion in
ninety days is not shared by Bennett and the
Wall Street brokers. The Herald further says
that foreign “mediation, and perhaps interven
tion, are imminent, and that still greater war
expenses must flow be incurredand predicts
that if “this war should continue two years
longer, gold will be at twenty or twenty-five
per cent, premium.” From this admission it
may be inferred that the fullest confidence is
i>t felt in the new government currency.
“Those who caused the Virginia disasters have
caused lhe rise in gold, therefore,” concludes
the Herald. This responsibility will have to
rest upon the Confederate officers and soldiers,
for they were unquestionably “the cause of the
Virginia disasters” to the Federal arms.
THE HEAVY GUNS OF M’CLELLAN’S ARMY.
It is now believed that a large number of
siege guns, designed to have been planted
around Richmond, were at the White House
when the Yankees evacuated that place, and
that they were thrown into the Pamunkey ri
ver.* Every thing that has transpired since the ,
stampede of McClellan’s army, proves that ar
rangements were nearly perfected for an imme
diate advance upon the capital, and the pur
pose undoubtedly was to pursue the same sys
tem of uncivilized warfare that has marked tho
Yankees elsewhere. J The blow struck by the
Confederate forces was a timely one. Beyond
the frustration of a scheme initiated immedi
ately after the battle of Manasses, it occasioned
the destruction of war material so vast in ex
tent that the Federal censors are driven to the
subterfuge of falsehood, in order to conceal the
value, in dollars and cents, by which the popu
lar clamor at the North is somewhat allayed.
PROMOTION.
' The people of the Confederate States will be
gratified to learn that the Government,’appre
ciating his distinguished services, has conferred
upon “Old Stonewall” the rank of full General,
the highest known to the Confederate service.
This is a title richly merited by an officer who
has shown himself at all times active, vigilant
and skillful.
Georgia Historical Society —We are requested
to state that at a meeting of the Georgia Historical
Society, on Monday, July 14, Charles C. Jones,
jr., was elected 'Corresponding Secretary, in
place of the late I. K. Test, Esq., and Wm, 8.
Bogart, Treasurer, in of the late A. A.
Smets, Esq.— Sav. Morn. July 16.
A Genius.— f.JS. Reynolds, of Atlanta, has an
envelope factory in operation, turning tens of
thousands out daily. The machinery used was
all designed and made, by himself. He is a
genius sui*e.