SUNDAY
SEPTEMBER 15, 1861
THE DAILY TRUE DELTA (LA)

THE CONFEDERATE PATENT OFFICE

A Field for Southern Invention and Enterprise

We copy the following from a communication from Richmond to the Charleston Courier—

The new patent office of the Confederate States begins to attract attention. Since it was organized in May last, two hundred and eight applications for patent rights have been filed and sixty caveats. Necessity is the mother of invention, says the old saw. The pressure of circumstances will develop the inventive faculties of a people. We have been astonished to see how readily the southern mind has sprung into activity since we have severed our connection with Yankee Doodledom.

The impetus thus given by the severance of the Union to invention will rapidly develop the manufacturing interests of the new Confederacy. It may be well here to state that the old United States patents are not recognized by our government, and, therefore, it is lawful for our citizens to enter into the manufacture of all those great products of foreign invention, such as the manufacture of india-rubber, reaping machines, telegraphic implements, sewing machines, patent firearms, patent locks, carriages, fire engines, and the thousand and one smaller nicknacks of the day which have made immense fortunes for northern men.

Many millions of dollars have been paid yearly by the south as a tribute to northern monopolists. Hereafter the southern people may send their orders and their cash to Charleston and Richmond instead of New York and Boston. Here let me remark again what fortunes are in store for those of our enterprising young men, who first undertake the manufacture of articles liberated under our new patent laws. There is nom earthly reason why they should not become Goodyears, Colts, Singers, Grover & Bakers, Harpers and Townsends. It should also be borne in mind that the copyrights of all northern books are vitiated.

Courtenay may get out a cheap edition of Prescott’s magnificent histories as soon as he pleases. So will the patent medicines of the north, most of which are trash, but some of which are really worth reproduction. The north has made too much out of the south to warrant the late act of Congress confiscating all our property to Yankee use. Since our enemies have neither gratitude nor honesty, let us have no qualms of conscience about appropriating all we can find belonging to them, by way of retaliation.

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“Sally, you seem to be ignorant in geography, I will examine you in grammar. Take this sentence, ‘Marriage is a civil contract.’ Parse marriage.”

“Marriage is a noun because it is a name. And though Shakespeare asks, what’s in a name, and says that ‘a rose by any other name would smell as sweet,’ yet marriage being a noun, and therefore a name, shows that the rule established by the Bard of Avon has exceptions. For marriage certainly is of very great importance, and being a noun, and therefore a name, ergo, there is something in a name.”

“Good. Well, what is the case of marriage?”

“Don’t know, sir.”

“Decline it, and see.”

“Don’t feel at liberty to decline marriage after having made Bill the promise I have. I’d rather conjugate.”

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SOUTHERN VAMPIRES

The Montgomery Advertiser comes down pretty heavy on those men who are speculating on the necessities of the people in the present crisis. We give the annexed extracts from the Advertiser’s article:

It is mortifying to reflect that there are men so dead to every patriotic impulse in the present war for independence, as to devote all the energies of their minds to the one idea of making every dollar possible out of the necessities of the government and the people.

There are men in the south who have made it their business to  secure  the  product  of  mills  on  which  the  government

relied for furnishing winter clothing for the soldiers, and by holding on to their bargains are enabled to control the market and demand and receive exorbitant prices. Others, when they have seen that there was to be a large demand for certain kinds of cloth for uniforms, have sent out their agents, bought all that was in the market, and secured the services of mills in which they are manufactured, and in this way have obtained a complete monopoly; and the soldier who shoulders his musket to fight the battles of his country is compelled to pay the price demanded by these commercial vampires. The soldier may be poor; he may have left a wife and children at home almost suffering from want, yet these heartless speculators will take his last dollar without compunction.

To the same degraded race of bloodsuckers, belong those who are engaged in securing a monopoly of the necessities of life, and holding them for greatly increased prices. They are to be found, we regret to say, in almost every community. They play into each other’s hands and thus prevent free competition, while they continue to rob the soldiers, and the government, by placing fictitious values on their goods, in order to make their coveted profits. There are others who are engaged in depreciating the currency of the government for the purpose of subserving their own ends, and putting money in their pockets. These men gauge their prices, not by the cost of the articles they have for sale, but by the supposed necessity of the purchaser.

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MANASSAS, OTHERWISE MANASSEH

Charleston Mercury--We note that there is some controversy as to the proper name of the fields or plain where the great battle has been fought in Virginia, which dispersed the hordes of the northern barbarians. It seems that the Gap took its name from a venerable Hebrew publican, who kept the hostel at that region. His name was Manasseh, after the two divisions—making one-half of the Twelve Tribes of Israel—one portion of which dwelt beyond and the other on the hither side of Jordan. The fact shows a division of the tribes. The word “Mannaseh” is said, in the Hebrew, to signify “forgetfulness.” It is, in this connection, significant. Manasseh was the eldest son of Joseph, who was a good governor; he was blessed of his grandfather Jacob, who was a favorite of Jehovah, as was Joseph. His descendants constituted the chief men of the half tribe—another significant fact. One of them became King Of Judah, succeeding Hezekiah. Manasseh is a good, well-sounding name, and the Plains of Manasseh” address the ear more gratefully in the singular number than in the plural, and with a vowel rather tan a consonant termination. It appears that the name was changed to the hissing sound of Manassas by a railroad company. Railroad companies are rarely remarkable for philosophy. They are apt to be indifferent to etymology, and are even more heedless of euphony. In this respect we are of the notion that the old Hebrew name should be restored, and the hissing, whistling sound of the railroad name should be made to give way to that which is more euphonious as well as more classical. “Manasseh” signifying “forgetfulness” has its peculiar significance also. In the march to this fight, the Lincolnites, living beyond the Jordan—the Potomac—forgot the laws, the constitution, the ancient affinities, the laws of nature, of humanity, and  of God. In bestowing the punishment they received, the victors forgot also—obliterated every trace of their old connection—every link of the weary chain of their protracted bondage—every memory of aught save their ancestral rights—their birthright of freedom—the sacred inheritance of 1776! The manacles brought to shackle our Manasseh on this die of Jordan fell harmlessly from his limbs; and he stood up with his chiefs around him—“the chief men of the half-tribe”—the proper prince among his people. And to how many thousands was that field of “forgetfulness”—of utter oblivion-death, death suddenly sealing the life of crime, of insolence, brutal lust, and an insane presumption! Let it be, we pray, the “Plains of Manasseh”—the “Fields of Forgetfulness”—the plains or fields in which one portion of the tribes, forgetting all relationship, invading the peaceful fields of the other, were made to acknowledge the favor of God to a portion of his people, in the punishment of that portion which had forgotten God.

MONDAY
SEPTEMBER 16, 1861
THE LOWELL (MA) DAILY CITIZEN & NEWS

GEN. FREMONT’S PROCLAMATION

Letter of the President

The morning papers bring the letter of President Lincoln to General Fremont, touching the treatment of slaves belonging to rebels. As will be observed, the President perceives no general objection to the proclamation of the 30^th August, yet he instructs General Fremont to so far modify it as to make it conform to the confiscation act of the late extra session. No reasons are given by the President for wishing the modification indicated, and it will require a pretty careful comparison of documents to determine the practical difference. The act and the proclamation both provide for the confiscation of rebel property including slaves, and in this they conform to approved precedents long since established by General Jackson, General Jesup and other high military authority. General Fremont in his proclamation, makes no reference to the act of Congress, and it is presumed it did not once occur to him that he was required to act otherwise than upon his own responsibility, subject of course, to the approval of the commander-in-chief. It is quite certain that the loyal people of the country have found no cause of complaint, Nothing, indeed, has occurred since the rebellion broke out which has seemed to elicit so general an expression of popular favor, as this very proclamation of General Fremont. The President’s letter is as follows:

WASHINGTON, D.C., Sept. 11, 1861.

Major General Fremont:

Sir:--Yours of the 8^th, in answer to mine of the 2d inst., is just received. Assuming that you upon the ground could better judge of the necessities of your position than I could at this distance, on seeing your proclamation of Aug. 30^th, I perceive no general objection to it. The particular clause, however, in relation to the confiscation of property and the liberation of slaves appeared to me to be objectionable in its non-conformity to the act of Congress, passed the 6^th of last August, upon the same subject, and hence I wrote you expressing my wish that that clause should be modified. Accordingly, your answer, just received, expresses the preference on your part, that I should make an open order for the modification, which I cheerfully do.

It is therefore ordered, that the said clause of said proclamation be so modified, held and construed as to conform with and not to transcend the provisions on the same subject contained in the act of Congress, entitled “an act to confiscate property used for insurrectionary purposes,” approved Aug. 6^th, 1861, and that said act be published at length with this order.

Your obedient servant,

A. LINCOLN

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The Destruction of the Gunboat Tigress on the Potomac—As the steamer Ben Deford, which was recently employed in transporting sailors to Washington, was descending the Potomac on her return, about 11 o’clock Thursday night, a propeller was descried coming up the river. The regular signal, of one whistle, for the steamer to pass to the right, was given, and the same signal in return came from the propeller, which stood off on her proper course, but suddenly changed direction and came up directly across the bow of the Ben Deford. The propeller, which proved to be the U.S. gunboat Tigress, was cut down and sunk. There were sixteen men on board including four “contrabands,” who were all saved through the exertions of the officers and crew of the Deford. The gunboat was a total loss, including a rifled cannon. She carried no lights, being employed on secret government service. –Boston Traveller.

Gen. McClellan—The popularity of Gen. McClellan with the troops has been often chronicled. But the Washington Star relates an instance showing the estimation in which he is held that is worth repetition. It is as follows:

Gen. McClellan, on receiving intelligence that the enemy seemed disposed to dispute Col. Stevens return from Lewisville to our lines, mounted, and accompanied by his staff, hastened in the direction of the affair. He was enthusiastically cheered by the troops whenever he was seen by them, both going and returning. When he reached the command of Col. Stevens that had been engaged, the men one and all raised a tremendous shout of welcome. One poor fellow, in the very agonies of death from his wounds, as the General took his hand, suddenly sprang up and thanked him for his kind attention. He probably did not survive for half an hour afterwards. Gen. McCall’s brigade gave him a most remarkable welcome, cheering him as he passed, as commander was hardly ever before cheered.

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The rebel army in Virginia is probably as well prepared for aggressive operations as it will ever be. Since the affair of Manassas Beauregard has been greatly reinforced, but the descent upon the North Carolina coast has put an end to this. Henceforth rebel soldiers will be sent South instead of coming North. The “Yankees” will now have to be watched all along the coast from Hatteras to Pensacola. The panic which has seized the North Carolina rebels has extended to Beauregard’s army and many of his troops are impatient to return to help defend their coast, now threatened from the sea. The southern papers complain that while this army has been kept stationary they have fallen a prey to ennui, discomfort, discontent and disease. How to support such a force in Virginia as the rebels claim to have is a problem which the ablest generals will find it difficult to solve. They must advance soon or retreat from their strong-holds. They can hope for no advantage from another day’s delay. If they intend to burn or take Washington before the war ends, now is their time to “push on the column.” They claim superiority as to numbers in the field. They boast that in ever battle east of the Blue Ridge the confederates have shown themselves able to cope with the federal forces. Let Beauregard push on, then, to Arlington or throw a hundred thousand men across the Potomac. This done, nothing remains but to take Washington, run up the confederate bunting, and on to Philadelphia. Push on the column!

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East India Cotton—The English papers state that East India cotton has been purchased in Great Britain by agents of American mills. The London Star of Aug. 29^th gives some account of one purchase of a quantity from Surat, which is to be shipped to this country. That paper says:

It is stated that the account of fifteen thousand bales of cotton having been shipped from Liverpool to New York is incorrect; but it is asserted that such a quantity of East India cotton has been bought, and it is now held in this country on American account, to be disposed of according to circumstances. It will be strange if America becomes a purchaser of East India cotton in the British market; but few things are more likely in the event of a prolongation of the present unhappy war.

TUESDAY
SEPTEMBER 17, 1861
THE HARTFORD (CT) DAILY COURANT

We yesterday printed an article from St. Louis complaining that New England was not doing her share in this war; per contra, we now publish an article from St. Louis, giving New England credit both for what she has done and for what she will do:

New England and the War—“We Have Not Yet begun to Fight”
From the St. Louis Democrat

Some of the papers are charging New England with a want of enthusiasm in the war. It is said that she does not contribute her proper share of men to the army, and comparisons are instituted between Massachusetts and Illinois to the discredit of the former. Now while we glory in the patriotism and self-sacrifice of the prairie state and would not pluck a leaf from the laurel crown of any gallant sate of the northwest, it is no more than just that we should bear in mind the following facts: First, the one hundred thousand men, or more, under General Fremont’s command, are, to a great extent, emigrants from New England; while not a man of western birth can be found in an eastern regiment. The truth is, the west has been for the last twenty-five years draining with wonderful rapidity the east of its young men, until now the population of New England consists largely of persons who are either too young or too old for military service. Second, it is safe to affirm, that at least two thirds of the naval force of the country are drawn from New England. The twenty or thirty thousand men who are manning our war steamers and gunboats, do not make much show in our public prints. And yet it needed not the recent brilliant exploit at Hatteras to demonstrate to men of intelligence, that our navy must play an important part in the bloody drama, upon whose first act the curtain has scarcely fallen.

Third, a very large proportion of all the material necessary for conducting the war with efficiency and success is manufactured in New England. Probably not less than fifty thousand men are employed in Massachusetts alone, most of them night and day, in making every variety of articles required by the troops, from a Havelock to a rifled cannon. The Illinois soldier marches in Lynn shoes, wears a coat of Lawrence cloth, and shoot  secession traitors with a Springfield musket.

We might mention some other considerations pertinent to this subject, not forgetting the liberal outpouring of money; but these are sufficient for our purpose. The fact, however, is not to be disguised that neither New England nor any of the other loyal states has yet seemed to realize fully the magnitude of the interest involved in this gigantic rebellion of the slaveholding oligarchy. The rebuff at Manassas, and the melancholy, not to say needless, slaughter of the heroic Lyon, have served to quicken the pulse of the war department; but, as might have been expected from the crippled and exposed condition in which the government was left by the perjured traitor Floyd, all that has thus far been done us only preparatory. We have not yet begun to fight.

Probably the bloodiest naval battle during the revolutionary war was fought near the English coast off Flamborough Head, between the English ship Serapis and the American ship Bon Homme Richard, commanded by John Paul Jones. Early in the engagement the vessels became entangled so that the Bon Homme Richard was exposed to the deadly broadsides of its powerful enemy, without being able to do any damage in return. At lengths after hours of murderous slaughter, when the American vessel had been riddled through and through by cannon balls, its masts shivered into splinters, and the “stars and stripes,” under which Jones and his brave seamen had won many a victory, had all been shot away, the British commander supposing that the Americans had struck their flag, shouted through his trumpet and asked if they intended to surrender. The thunder of battle was hushed for a moment while Jones, covered in blood and smeared with powder stains, appeared upon the slippery deck in the midst of the ghastly heaps of his dead and wounded, and answered the interrogatory, in a voice which had in its imperial tones no tremor, no quiver of fear or doubt: “Surrender? No! I have not yet begun to fight!” The tide of battle soon turned, the guns of the Serapis were silenced one by one, the red cross of England was lowered to the obstinate valor of republican patriots fighting for freedom, and the expiring hopes of American independence were rekindled in the bosoms of liberty loving men all over the world.

It requires no prophet’s eye to see in the conflict of the Serapis and Bon Homme Richard a symbol of the conflict now raging between the loyal and rebellious states of the Union. The traitors, flushed with their slight temporary successes, may shout, “lo triumphe!” and in their infatuation expect the federal troops to sue for peace and pardon at the knees of the august Davis, but the shadow of inevitable doom is already beginning to darken their camps and hearth stones. Thousands upon thousands are rushing from every valley and hillside of the north, as if summoned by the ancient fiery cross, to the support of the government, and it is not more certain that Justice and Right sit enthroned in heaven than that the grand flag of our fathers shall again float in triumph from the Aroostook to the Rio Grande.

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WHAT ARE WE FIGHTING FOR?

“England expects every man to do his duty;” so Lord Nelson told his men, just before the bloody fight at Trafalgar came off; and every man in the fleet, from the post-captain down to the youngest urchin, felt the magical inspiration of the hero, the time, and the words, and endeavored throughout the fight to “do his whole duty.”

We are now in a similar crisis; the country is in great straits, and every man who has a particle of patriotism, of gratitude for the freedom we have hitherto enjoyed, or of unselfish desire, that posterity should not lose the benefit of our fathers’ struggles and sacrifices, through any remissness of ours, must NOW DO HIS WHOLE DUTY. Every man has his sphere; and every man must judge for himself what his duty is; but having once settled that point, in his own mind, let there be no flinching! We want now “the long pull, the strong pull, and the pull altogether.” What we are fighting for, is the Supremacy of the Laws of the United States within the United States, and every inch thereof, reckless of all illegal and abortive declarations of Southern States that they are no longer part and parcel of our country. That declaration they have no right to make, and it is null and void by whomsoever made. The Constitution of the United States expressly declares (Article 6) that it and the laws and treaties under it “shall be the supreme law of the land, and the judges in every State shall be bound thereby; anything in the constitution or laws of any State to the contrary notwithstanding.” If any pretended peace man asks a soldier of the U. S. what he is fighting for, let him reply “I am fighting for Article 6 of the U.S. Constitution, and until you can legally erase that article from the Constitution, I intend to fight for it.” No lawyer, and no sophist has yet contrived a decent answer to that clause of the Constitution, in behalf of the rebels.

Such times as we are now living in come only at rare intervals. In one sense it is a blessing and a thing we ought all to be grateful for, that we are living in times which show what the real man is, and whether or no he is able and willing to stand up to his opportunities and prove his mettle. We all can do something; one man can aid with his money; another with his influence; another with his muscle. If you cannot enlist yourself, you can facilitate the enlistment of some neighbor, relative or friend. You can remove stumbling blocks out of the way of those disposed to enlist, if such and such obstacles were removed; take hold, and get the obstacle off the track. You can persuade some timorous soul to unlock his money bags for the good of the country. You can frown upon all “peace talk,” another name for secession, and can keep up the spirit of all about you. Let not old Connecticut, the Charter Oak State, that has hitherto been proud of what she did in the great revolution, be now found wanting in this great rebellion. Remember that we are living history, and that annalists hereafter will praise or blame, according as we now conduct. There is no such thing as blinding posterity to the real truth about this struggle. If we are in earnest, and each man 

DOES HIS WHOLE DUTY, posterity will know it; and they will know it too if we prove craven, inefficient, half-way covenanters, in this hour of our country’s agony. We are fighting for “THE SUPREMACY OF THE LAWS OF THE LAND,” and we can ask no better cause to live for, pay for, bleed for, and if needs be, die for.

WEDNESDAY
SEPTEMBER 18, 1861
THE PORTLAND (ME) DAILY ADVERTISER

Gen. Davis—The army  correspondent of the New Orleans Delta, writing from Virginia under date of the 21^st ult., says:

I was forcibly reminded of the uncertainty of contemporaneous history by happening to find the following paragraph in a copy of the Delta, published a few days after the battle of Manassas:

“But One Order—A Manassas dispatch to Nashville say that President Davis arrived on the field on Sunday, and gave but one order: ‘Forward, my brave columns! Forward!’ The effect was electric. The fortune of the day was decided. The brave fellows swept everything before them.”

And the absurd statement—a statement entirely false in every particular—has been repeated in a variety of forms, until a moiety¹ in a hundred of all the people in the Confederate States and in the United States actually believe that the victory of our army at Manassas was owing entirely to the effect of President Davis’s arrival on the field of battle, or of his skilful dispositions after reaching the field of action. Nor have I yet seen one single editorial contradiction of this report—so injurious and so unjust to our Generals and our troops—although the fact is, as I have taken the trouble to inform you in a previous letter, that President Davis has no more to do with the battle of Manassas than with the battle of New Orleans; that he did not reach the field until the victory was won and the enemy was flying; and that he did not take command of any portion of our forces.

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Kentucky Preparing—The work of preparing for the approaching conflict seems to be going forward bravely in Kentucky. The Union force in that State is gathering in most formidable numbers. At Camp Dick Robinson, in Garrard county, there are said to be 7000 or 8000 men, including one full regiment of cavalry and two regiments, nearly full, of Tennessee men. It is reported that another amp is forming in Nicholas county; while at Camp Joe Holt, just across the Ohio river, General Rosecrans has a strong brigade of Kentuckians. By advertisements in the Kentucky papers, we see also that a regiment of infantry is being raised for General Anderson’s brigade by Colonel Curran Pope, another by Mark Handy of Newport, another by Colonel Stephen Ormsby, who served in Mexico with credit, and a regiment of cavalry by Colonel J. S. Jackson, all to be for the war—while single companies appear to be forming in all quarters.

We also observe in the Louisville Journal the following significant advertisement, which makes one suspect that the United States government is not forgetting the true-hearted Kentuckians:

“Good Union men can obtain first-rate Navy Revolvers, superior to any hitherto offered, at the cheapest rates, by inquiring immediately at this office.”

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How to Get a Commission—The New York World says, what any one who has been connected with political affairs since April last could have said as well:

We have been bored, as others have been, by a good many young men who have wasted weeks and months in dancing attendance upon the Departments at Washington, upon editors, upon public men, and everybody else having, or suspected of having, a tithe of influence with those in authority, vainly striving to get commissions in the army. The Albany Journal tells them how to succeed better:

We are personally acquainted with several young gentlemen who volunteered as privates, but who, because of their activity, attention to their duties, and marked excellence of character, already held commissions. What they have achieved any young man may, who works for it. It is possible, even for a private, to compel attention from his superiors. There are a thousand ways in which this may be done. Intelligent officers are close observers of the character and deportment of their men, and are not slow to avail themselves of their services.

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A Foretaste--The people of Norfolk and Portsmouth do not like their new taskmasters. The Portsmouth correspondent of the Richmond Examiner wrote lately that “if the government finds its workshops deserted within a short time it need not be surprised,” and that “not a day goes passes that the new government is not losing the popular confidence.” It is even asserted by this writer that Portsmouth is on the eve of a local revolution. On the 9^th ult., the mechanics in the blacksmith department threw down their tools because of the arbitrary doings and exactions of the naval officers. They retired in a body to the City Hall, [with] the avowed intention of sending a committee to Richmond to obtain redress of their grievances. The correspondent recommended the restoration of civilians to the control of the navy yard, and that sufficient safeguards be established “against the outrageous infractions of civilian rights which the military authority rarely fails to essay where there is a sign of power to warrant arbitrariness.” He concludes thus: “If you could see the tyrannies in operation then your columns would teem with indignant articles.” This is quite a revolution.

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Ship Owners—A number of ship owners called in a body upon Collector Barney, yesterday, with reference to the seizure of ships owned in part at the South. Capt. Marshall officiated as chairman, etc.

After an informal interchange of opinions and statements with the collector, it was agreed that a committee should be appointed to proceed to Washington to confer with the Secretary of the Treasury upon the points involved. The shipowners objected very strongly to the course pursued by the U.S. officials in unnecessarily obstructing, as they alleged, the employment of shipping owned in great part by loyal citizens, to their great detriment.

Mr. Barney met the shipowners in a very friendly and conciliatory spirit, but disclaimed all power of affording them any relief. It, therefore, became necessary to appeal to the government at Washington for such a construction of the law as will not subject loyal citizens to punishment for the evil deeds of southern rebels.

It is well known in shipping circles, that the southern owner in the ship R. A. Hiern was faithful to the Union up to the last moment, at the risk of his life. Indeed, nothing but his age and high standing in Mobile saved him from the fury of the mob. It is naturally felt that the confiscation of such a man’s property is a great hardship. –N. Y. World, Saturday.

THURSDAY
SEPTEMBER 19, 1861
THE NEW HAMPSHIRE SENTINEL

A BATTLE IN WESTERN VIRGINIA

We have good news from Western Virginia. The rebel forces under Floyd have been routed, and the knave himself has fled by night. On Tuesday afternoon, Gen. Rosecranz, with three regiments of Ohio troops, found the rebels on the top of a mountain at Cannix Ferry, of the west side of the Gauley River. This position was strong and well chosen—the rear and both flanks were inaccessible, and the front was guarded by a forest. The Ohio 10^th opened the battle, and drove a strong detachment of the enemy out of position. The 10^th, 12^th and 13^th then went into action together, and the fight raged with fierceness for some time. The rebels’ fire—of musketry, rifles, canister, and shells—was terrible, though the damage done was not commensurate with the noise made. Col. Lytle of the 10^th Ohio Regiment, while charging at the head of some Irish companies, fell wounded; Col. Lowe of the 12^th Ohio was shot dead with a bullet through his forehead. The fight, which had slackened somewhat, was renewed with great vigor towards sundown; the German brigade then went most gallantly in, and for three hours the battle was hot. Then, darkness coming on, the recall was sounded, and each army rested on its arms, ready to renew the strife in the morning. But when the morning broke the enemy was not visible. Floyd had disappeared in the night, leaving behind him his camp equipment, wagons, horses, a large quantity of ammunition, and 50 head of cattle; he sunk his boats and destroyed his bridges as he went. Our loss in this affair was 15 killed and 70 wounded. The loss on the enemy side is not known, but it must have been heavy. Twenty-five of Col. Tyler’s men, who were taken by Floyd at Cross Lane, were recaptured, and Floyd’s personal baggage, with that of his officers, was taken by Gen. Benham’s brigade, which suffered most.

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Death of Ex-Gov. Briggs—Ex. Gov. Briggs died of his recent terrible wound³ at Pittsfield, Mass., last Thursday. His case was hopeless from the first, and he was himself impressed with this fact. He could not converse on account of the nature of his wound, but wrote on a slate many messages to his family ad friends. His funeral was attended on Saturday by 4000 people, among whom was his son, Col. Briggs of the 10^th Massachusetts regiment. The deceased was a good man, and his loss will be sincerely regretted throughout the country.

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Colors Restored—Gen. McClellan, Tuesday, restored to the New York 79^th their forfeited colors. The Scotchmen received them with enthusiasm, and with oaths of fidelity. They gave three times three and a tiger to Secretary Cameron. There were few dry eyes in the regiment. After the war, the Secretary pledged, for the whole length of his life, his roof and purse to every man in the regiment who had been commanded by his brother, and had witnessed his death.

ANOTHER BATTLE IN WESTERN VIRGINIA
OUR WHOLE LINE ATTACKED—GEN. LEE AND THE REBELS REPULSED

A special dispatch to the Cincinnati Gazette, from Cannix Ferry, on Saturday last, says that the rebel General Lee² resumed his attack along our whole line at Cheat Mountain, on Friday. After a long contest, Gen. Reynolds fairly repulsed him with considerable loss and little or no loss on our side, owing to the fact that our troops fought behind entrenchments. Lee has manifestly a large force, but is alarmed lest Rosencrans should come up in his rear.

Our scouts returned on Saturday from a ten miles’ exploration toward Lewisburg.

McCook took seventeen prisoners, Saturday, in an armed reconnoissance across the river.

Gen. Cox was at camp, Monday, for an interview with Gen. Rosencrans. He has moved the main body of his army from Gauley bridge toward Lewisburg.

Wise and Floyd are retreating as fast as possible.

The body of Col. John A. Washington was sent over to the enemy, Sunday, from Elk Water, under a flag of truce; and while on the way it was met by a similar flag, coming from the enemy, for the purpose of obtaining information as to his condition.

On the 12^th inst., a detachment of 300 men from the 14^th Indiana regiment, and 24^th and 25^th Ohio regiments, dispersed three Tennessee regiments under Gen. Anderson on the west side of Cheat Mountain, completely routing them, killing 80 and obtaining most of their equipments. Our loss was 8 killed.

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HORRIBLE CASE OF POISONING

Winchendon, Sept. 18.

EDITOR, SENTINEL—There was a man by the name of Geo. Hartwell, living in this town, who poisoned his mother, wife, and sister, on Saturday of last week, with arsenic, and then took a dose himself, but did not take enough to do much harm. His mother died the same day. His wife and sister are dangerously sick, but will probably recover. To-day he acknowledged the deed and made a clean confession. I will let you know more about it when the coroner’s inquest is through.

Henry W. Clark

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Rebel Officers Shot—Two rebel offices, while spying about our camp at Elk Water, in Western Virginia, Friday morning, were surprised by our pickets and shot. The body of one was brought into camp and proved to be Col. John A. Washington of Mount Vernon. He was not a direct descendant of the great Washington, whose work he was so shamefully endeavored to pull down, but was the son of Bushrod Washington, the favorite nephew of the “father of his country.” His character was utterly unworthy of the illustrious name he bore, and no tears will be shed over his loss among those who most revere his name.

FRIDAY
SEPTEMBER 20, 1861
THE LIBERATOR (MA)

GOVERNMENT INGRATITUDE TO THE IRISH

Boston Pilot--It is in the essence of government to be impartial to those that live under it. Being paternal by nature, and receiving existence for the achievement of the common good, it can never, with justice, draw a line of demarcation between its citizens. All that are under its sway have an equal right to its protection, to its benevolence, to its patronage. In return, it has an equal claim on the loyalty of the people. A partial⁴ State power is a tyrannous one, and open disaffection to it, in the classes injured, is both a natural consequence and very legitimate hostility. A government without strict impartial justice has no right to obedience, and we hope we shall never see such  system of rule entirely submitted to.

The present Administration at Washington has more than one blotch on it for partiality. It is by no means entitled to all our support. The slave principles of the men constituting it are, beyond all contradiction, a great deal of the cause of our actual troubles. It cannot be denied that they were uncompromising Abolitionists, and that their elevation to power has been much of the direct practical cause of the unfortunate act of disunion. A legitimate dread of partial government, from Lincoln’s Cabinet, has been a formidable agent in secession. If that magistrate had not been elected, the country would not now be disrupted. Himself and his ministers were always partizans.

When the war commenced, the Administration assumed a national air, which had the effect of uniting in its support the whole North. The native and the emigrant, the Whig, the Democrat, and the Abolitionist—all flocked together, then, like true patriots, around the pillars of the Constitution. The Government  cast off—or appeared to cast off-every tincture of partizanship; and the people became one in sentiment to preserve the nation. No one will deny that the foreign citizens have shown themselves to be splendidly animated with this just and necessary principle of unity. They constitute more than five out of eight of the national army. Had they not enlisted, impressment could not be avoided. But they forgot not their oaths of citizenship; and when a national proclamation to take up arms was issued, they went in tens of thousands to the recruiting depots. Germans and Irish—our principal foreign citizens—immediately answered that call. But the Irishmen responded to it with amazing force. In the State of Pennsylvania alone, upwards of fifteen thousand of them patriotically obeyed the summons. Ex uno disce omnes.⁵ And all the Administration papers threw out baits for the Irish to enlist. Journals that had often before shamefully reviled them for misfortunes they could not help, and by misrepresentations no man of honor would think of, basely turned round when Sumter fell, and flattered, with fulsome rhetoric, every feature in their national vanity. This was done in Boston, in Philadelphia, in New York—in every city in the North. But there was no necessity for the unprincipled subterfuge, and it did not succeed; Irish military spirit and loyalty to the country of their adoption are not the effect of the venal praise of newspapers.

The two principles belong, in the largest measure, to themselves. The Administration papers did not induce a single Irish enlistment. If there were no papers in the country, that people would have answered the President’s proclamation; and when they answered it, they did so from their own nature and judgment. The importance of their response appeared at the battle of Manassas. It was evident in the extravagant flattery employed to cajole them in to the army. And it appears now, in the common acknowledgement of the country, that the Irish element is decidedly the best in the national forces. If the Irish had not enlisted, how would the army have been made up? If the 69^th had not been at Manassas, what would have been the result of the day? If the Irish should now withdraw from the war, how would the war be carried on? How could the rebellion ever be suppressed? We shall wait for answers to these questions, but we fear we must wait for a long time. The whole fact is—without Irish soldiers, the war cannot be well carried one.

From these numerous facts, it is plain that the Administration at Washington should not treat our Irish fellow-citizens in an exclusive manner—in a partial way—by a rule exhibitive of decided preference for other people; that they should receive a fair amount of the public patronage. Such, however, is far from being the case. On the 29^th of July, by a single order from the Secretary of the navy, fifty Irishmen were dismissed from the single Navy Yard of Charlestown, because they were foreigners, and their places given to an equal number of fanatic Abolitionists.

We submit that this is a degenerate act. Had it been perpetrated at any other time, we might pass it over; but doing it at the moment when the Irish element is the most important feature in our army, is committing an enormous violation of decency. It is an act of deep ingratitude to the Irish themselves, and a grievous outrage on the common sentiment of the whole North. But Lincoln and his cabinet were always partisans. True national men they can never be. Our satisfaction is, that they will not always be in office; and that it was not their influence of character, but the dangers which threatened the Constitution, that made the North unite, and the Irish to enlist.

In the meantime, there ought to  be a public meeting in Boston, on this shameful partizan act.⁶ It is an act that insults the common Union sentiment of the Northern States. The community especially outraged by it, is under an obligation to make a spiritual protest. Faneuil Hall can be easily obtained—if not, some other hall may be. Boston and Charlestown owe it to themselves, and to the country, to show the Administration that it is not the season for Know-nothing partizanship to be brought into operation. Partizan governments deserve no support, and the sooner their day is ended the better. Oh! That America were never infested by mere politicians!

SATURDAY
 SEPTEMBER 21, 1861
THE BOSTON DAILY ADVERTISER

PARTICULARS OF THE LEXINGTON AFFAIR

St. Louis, Sept. 20—The following additional particulars in regard to affairs at Lexington have been ascertained. The first attack on the fortifications is said to have been made on Thursday of last week, but this is certainly a mistake, as Gen. Price did not leave Warrenburg, 40 miles south of Lexington, until Wednesday night. The attack was probably made on Monday, as stated by previous advices, with about 800 men. The engagement lasted 2 hours, when the rebels were repulsed with a loss of 100  killed and between 200 and 300 wounded.

The fortifications are situated at the edge of the town on a bluff overlooking the river. The works are of earth, 7 feet high, 12 feet thick, with a ditch 6 feet in depth and 12 feet broad surrounding them. Another and smaller work is erected inside and defended by a ditch. The whole works are capable of holding 10,000 men.

The attack on Wednesday was a determined affair and lasted nearly all day.

The reinforcements from the North under General Sturgis probably number 3000, but should they be unable to cross the river, which is quite likely, the only aid they can give will be to sweep with their artillery the points occupied by the rebels. It is confidently hoped, however, that the 6000 troops that left Jefferson City on Wednesday will be able to land at or near Lexington, and cut their way through the enemy’s forces and join Col. Mulligan.

It is said that Col. Mulligan expressed confidence in being able to hold his position against any force, not more than ten times greater than his.

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Papers for the Soldiers—A gentleman whose name  is intimately connected with the cause of education in this State, has sent us his check, with instructions to end the Weekly Issue of the Daily Advertiser to each of 40 companies of Massachusetts soldiers in the field, for the period of six months. He says—“Whenever I read any good thing relating to this country or interesting to our soldiers, I wish as many of them as possible might read it, too.” He is pleased to add that he finds a great many such things in our paper. He has taken a course which will cause hundreds of the brave men whose welfare he has at heart, to feel deep gratitude towards their unknown benefactor.

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Attentions to Mr. Russell—It is reported that a large number of petitions have been sent in to the war department, praying that no pass be given hereafter to Mr. Russell of the London Times to cross the Potomac or to enter our camps. The petitioners think that Mr. Russell fails in sympathy for the Union, and possibly think this the best way to convert him.

There is reason to believe that the government understands its true policy in the case better than these petitioners do. Whatever Mr. Russell does amiss is plainly not the result of malice, but either of weakness or of lack of judgment. In such a case it is hardly worth while for the officers of the government to descend to such petty business as to make him feel their unfavorable opinion of his picture of our affairs. It is much wiser for the government and for individuals also to keep their temper, and confide in the intrinsic right of our case, that will show itself at last even to Russell. Meanwhile we are glad to see it stated that the obnoxious correspondent is in fact the recipient of attentions, which even representatives of our own press do not receive, and that on occasions like the recent presentation of colors to the Pennsylvania regiments he is invited to be present, when in Washington.

It gives us great pleasure to call attention to the following call made upon the women of New England by Rev. Dr. Eliot of St. Louis. We trust that the call will be answered promptly and generously, and to aid this we suggest that it might prove to be of great advantage if the various country papers would join in giving it publicity—

To the Patriotic Women of New England

Well-knit woolen socks, large size, are urgently needed by the sick and wounded soldiers in the hospitals at St. Louis, and in the neighborhood. Several thousand pairs could immediately be used to great advantage.  The exposure of the soldiers at the West is very great. Forced marches, guerilla warfare, the miasma of low and swampy grounds, (as at Cairo, and in Southern Missouri) are here added to the ordinary risks of a soldier’s life. Our own citizens are manifesting great liberality, but the above article, of good quality, such as New England women make, cannot be obtained here at any price. The army of the West is doing its full share in defence of the Union. Their sick and suffering appeal to you for aid. A large part of some regiments are natives of New England, and have especial claims on your sympathy. All packages and boxes may be directed and sent by Express, to “Sanitary Commission, Western Department, St. Louis, Missouri,” and the freight, if not prepaid, will be paid here. If sent to the care of Messrs. A. G. Farwell & Co., No. 8 Central wharf, Boston, they will be forwarded at the least possible expense.

WILLIAM G. ELIOT
Member of the Sanitary Commission

St. Louis, Sept. 16, 1861

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Various Matters

A recent order of General McClellan declares that firing on the enemy’s pickets is contrary to the usage of civilized warfare. He therefore orders that there shall be no firing on pickets, unless it becomes necessary to resist their advance or to return a fire commenced by them.

The Navy Department has received dispatches from Flag-Officer Stribling of the East India squadron, which state that Cochin China is at war with the French, who have possession of a considerable portion of the country, and are preparing for a vigorous campaign. They also state that Commander Schenck had fully vindicated the insult of firing into the Saginaw by the Chinese, and no further action was required.

The [New York] Post’s special Washington dispatch says Gen. Fremont will not be removed, but his movements will be so impeded as to force him to resign.

A company of infantry has been tendered to the Government from the Hawaiian Islands, and accepted. It consists of American emigrants and native Islanders. It is expected to come as soon as the acceptance reaches the Islands.⁷

¹ Moiety: a half or an indefinite portion, part or share.

² Yes, this is Robert E. Lee, engaged in his first battle of the war.

³ Briggs, past governor of Massachusetts, had been accidentally shot as he was retrieving a coat from his closet, when a loaded gun fell and discharged, on September 4, inst.

⁴ “partial” here does not mean “part,” but partial to, or biased in favor of, a portion of the people.

⁵ “From one person learn all persons,” meaning “from one we can judge the rest.”

⁶ Yes, they’ve spelled the word both “partisan” and “partizan” throughout this article. Either the spelling was in the process of changing--or the reporter couldn’t spell any better than folks today.

⁷ This group, "Spencer's Invincibles," after their captain, Thomas Spencer, was not allowed to proceed to the US, as Hawaii was officially neutral in the war. However, as per this article (www.disappearednews.com/2009/07/lincoln-and-independent-hawaii.html) a number of Hawaiians did serve in the war.