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SUNDAY
DECEMBER 15, 1861
THE DAILY TRUE DELTA (LA) |
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WHERE
WILL THE FIGHTING BE?
Accepting
the presidential policy of standing immovably upon the defensive, never
taking the initiative nor offering battle when it is possible to avoid
it, as the settled programme of this year, and perhaps of all future
time while the revolution lasts, we naturally come to the conclusion
that there will be no fighting soon in Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas or
Virginia. Missouri being,
fortunately or unfortunately, differently circumstanced, may, under the
enterprising, spirited and daring Price, startle the country by some new
and glorious deed of arms; but elsewhere inland we despair of seeing
anything attempted, unless the Lincoln men take it into their unmilitary
heads to make a dash at some point, where artillery can be dispensed
with, or moved otherwise than over broken country roads, choked with
snow or impracticable in other respects.
We are disposed, therefore, to conclude that our troops will be
allowed to hibernate where now encamped, and Lincoln left at liberty to
try experiments upon our seacoast gulf line.
We see that troops from various points are being dispatched by
steamers for Pensacola, and that additions to their naval strength in
that quarter are being energetically pushed forward by the Federals;
therefore it is, in our opinion, it's safe to conclude that the enemies
entire attention will be given to us and our exposed points, rather than
to our interior and exterior frontiers simultaneously.
Need we commend this view to the serious attention of every man
of ordinary sense or prudence? Can it be necessary still more to urge upon all planters
residing upon the seacoast, whose places are exposed to raids from the
boats of the enemy's cruisers, the absolute urgency of immediate
preparation to be able to put their working force out of reach of
capture, at a moment's notice, and to have as little property that is
edible or portable within reach of such visitations as in the nature of
things they can. Nothing is lost by being vigilant and circumspect; preparing
for a possible painful emergency neither invites nor hastens it.
Why then should we wait until the last moment to do those things
hurriedly, which we can do leisurely and well at the present time?
It will not do to confide in others, or to call upon Jove, who
may be absent, drunk or incapable to help us, when, by putting forth our
own independent strength and exercising ordinary prudence we may be able
to dispense with the aid of the heathen god.
Our readers have had abundant evidence since the war commenced of
the unreliability of even stone walls, and the insufficiency of
fortifications stated to be impregnable.
Here at home we have seen the expensive folly at Ship Island, and
our neighbors at Galveston have just had a second chapter of the Ship
Island business presented for their perusal in the announcement of the
indefensible character of that place against a bombardment.
There are significant warnings, and every wise person will give
them his earnest attention, steadily bearing in mind, meantime that
perfect reliance upon those on whom the military responsibility of
defending the state rests is the true, and indeed the only way to render
the defense effectual in their hands. Our lower river defense's are wisely placed in good hands,
and the best assurances of their efficiency are given; at other exposed
points within reach of the enemy's gunboats, if you said, equal
preparation has been made; nothing, then, is necessary for the people to
do further than each to have his own affairs arranged as he best many,
to guard them from evil, and to cooperate with the movement of the
authorities for the common duties which devolve upon all.
As we have often before informed our
readers, we have no very serious apprehensions for our safety here until
the Lincolnites have captured Pensacola; |
and
as a Gen. Bragg expresses the greatest confidence in his ability to
prevent that, beyond the evils forays can inflict we do not then think
anything more serious can happen. Nor
indeed can they be fall us, if the vigilance we recommend be generally
practiced; but if planters, living at expose places, will wait until the
enemy is upon them, and their chattel property captured or destroyed and
their Negroes carried off, it is needless to say the fault and its
consequences will be their own; for it is not the security of one, but
of all, which our military preparations are contemplated to secure.
Whether it might not be judicious to have a portion of our
volunteer force now in Virginia sent back to us for the winter, is a
question worth entertaining, and it is one which the legislature might
very properly take into consideration for reference to Richmond.
Whether, however, this be done or not, let there be no faltering
here, nor hesitancy in doing all in our power to prevent evils great
beyond the power of exaggeration.
Arrest
of a Mail Robber—Senator Ely’s Cousin in a Tight Place.—We
copy the following from the Mobile Tribune of Friday:
We
learn that Mr. D. P. Blair, special agent of the post office department
of the Confederate States, who has been endeavoring for some time past
to find out the parties who have been robbing the mails, has, through
his indefatigable energy and perseverance, succeeded in arresting the
guilty person.
The
name of the felon is J. P. Ely of Rochester, N.Y., who was captured by
our gallant troops at Manassas, and is now a prisoner at Richmond.
This
fellow Ely was a stage-driver of the mails, and from suspicion on him,
Mr. Blair put several decoy letters into the mail, which, not being
accounted for, he arrested him at Oxford, Miss., and found the missing
letters in his pocket. Mr. B. immediately put him in irons, placed him
inside of the stage and drove it himself to Okalona, a distance of 63
miles, where he delivered him to the proper authorities, who sent him to
jail to await his trial.
The
Mississippi Sound Blockaded.--The enemy appear to have the sound
pretty effectually blockaded just now, as the subjoined from the Mobile Tribune
of a Friday shows:
The
fine gunboat Florida, of five guns, Lieut. Hayes commanding,
which left here last Monday evening for the purpose of acting as convoy
to any steamboat which had a permit to go through, returned to the city
last evening, having found the sound of blockaded and full possession of
the Lincolnites, who had three steamers, supposed to be the R.R.
Cuyler, of ten guns; the Massachusetts, of six guns, and the New
London, of four guns.
The
latter vessel had chased the steamer Grey Cloud (which left here
on Tuesday evening), into Biloxi, where she blockaded her. The Florida left Horn Island at one o'clock P.M.,
yesterday, and met in the Confederate schooner Alert at Horn
Island Pass, which she informed of the condition of affairs in the
sound.
Landing
of Lincolnites.--A private letter from Apalachicola, dated the 4th
inst., says: "Fifty of the Lincolnites have landed on Saint
Vincent's Island." This island is some ten or a dozen miles from
Apalachicola. The Vandals who have landed will make little by their
operations, unless it be a loss. General
Floyd, in command at Apalachicola, will keep a sleepless eye on their
movements.--Tallahassee Floridian and Journal, 7th. |
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MONDAY
DECEMBER 16, 1861
LOWELL
DAILY CITIZEN & NEWS (MA) |
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HIGHLY
IMPORTANT NEWS FROM ENGLAND.
The
British steamer Europa arrived at Halifax, yesterday, with
further warlike reports from England.
The tone of the English press is belligerent enough, and the
reported action of the government, at first blush, hasn't irritating
aspect. It looks as though England was preparing to treat the Mason
and Slidell question not as one open the to diplomatic discussion, but
rather as one requiring an imperative demand, coupled with a menace of
war. The London Post says:
"It
has been decided by the law officers of the crown, that the action of
Captain Wilkes was unjustifiable; that he had no right to arrest
peaceful passengers sailing under the British flag, and indeed he has
committed amounts to a flagrant violation of the code of nations, and is
a direct insult to this country. Under
the circumstances we need hardly point out that the government will lose
no time in seeking for the prompt and complete reparation which it is
its duty to require in the case. It
will assuredly receive the unanimous approbation of public opinion.
We are unwilling to place the worst construction on the outrage
committed by Captain Wilkes, and look on it as an intentional affront on
the part of the government of the United States.
We hope the American government will at once disavow the act of
their officer, make a suitable apologies, and restore the persons of the
gentlemen arrested, and, in fact, make every compensation in their
power. Wild as the words
written and spoken by Seward, and reckless as American policy not
unfrequently is, we can hardly suppose that the northern states are
seriously disposed to accept war with England.
We have in American waters, including the Mexican expedition and
ships already there, a forced a mounting to not far short of one
thousand guns, which we could largely increase with the greatest ease
and rapidity. In one month
we could sweep all the San Jacintos from the seas, blockade the
northern ports, and turn to a speedy issue the tide of war now raging.
This is so obvious that we find it almost impossible to suppose
that the cabinet of Washington can commit an act so madly suicidal as to
reject our earnest and positive demands."
The
Europa's News does not appear to have disturbed the
government at Washington overmuch.
Our rulers, we are assured, look with confidence on events as
they occur. It need not be
disguised that the grave crisis has come, which will require both
firmness and calm judgment on the part of the government and the people.
These, we feel assured, will not be wanting.
Let us stand, "without division or hesitation, in support of
the flag, which, lifting itself now amidst heavy clouds, is still the
one rallying-point for the nation--a flag consecrated in self-sacrifice
and bitter hardship, to which we must now renew our devotion in the old
spirit, and with the old fortitude, secure in the protection of that
Providence which in past generations has carried our standard safely
through all its perils."
|
The
Supplies of Cotton in India.--The report of the commissioner
appointed by the government of India to report on the cultivation of
cotton is a thoroughly practical business-like document.
It is confined to the cotton districts of the Doab, the districts
line between the Jumna and the Ganges, from the junction of the two
rivers at Allahabad to the base of the Sewalic range of hills.
This district contains all the elements of a good cotton field.
It is extensive, embracing twenty-five thousand nine hundred and
one square British statute miles, three-fourths of which are under
cultivation. It is
populous, having read that more than the three hundred and fifty persons
to the mile, possessing, therefore, labor in abundance. It is generally of a light, sandy soil of considerable depth,
and of great fertility when irrigated, thus being well adapted to the
growth of cotton. It
possesses irrigation canals, with numerous branches running nearly the
whole length of the Doab, and traversing it in many directions; it is,
therefore, in every respect a good cotton field. Thirty, forty, and
fifty years ago it witnessed a considerable trade in cotton.
Merchants and planters had caught and factories and cotton screws
at Futtigbur, Calpce, Mizapore. The
trade gradually died away for want of a market for the cotton.
The factories went to ruin, and the screws rotted away.
The trade at present is in the hands of native merchants, and
confined to home (Indian) consumption.
The commissioner observes--" I have it on evidence from
several native merchants that there are more than fifty thousand bales
of cotton at this moment at Mizapore and Ghazeepore for which they
cannot find purchasers. While,
then, they hear on all sides that supplies of content to England from
America have failed, while they are told that a great trade will spring
up, and that hundreds of thousands of bales are wanted, well they see
cotton seed distributed in all directions, and pamphlets teaching them
how to cultivate by the astonishing facts that there's not one single
purchaser among them, that their stocks of cotton are lying rotting at
the marts of Mizapore and Ghazeepore, and that the crying from
Lancashire is merely a voice, and nothing more--under these
circumstances it will surprise no one to know that the breadth of cotton
sown this year has been influenced only by their own probable home
demands, and has been no wise been stimulated by the accounts from
America or elsewhere." The commissioner states that when a real
demand for cotton comes from England a large and immediate supply could
be sent from these provinces. Fully
to develop the cotton producing resources of the district, European
superintendents and European capitalists are indispensable.--Times of
India.
-----
Arrested.
The notorious counterfeiter, Henry Cole, alias Johnson, a notorious
counterfeiter, was arrested in New York, Friday, on the charge of
issuing in Albany and other cities about $500 in counterfeit bills,
purporting to be on the bank of Lowell, the counterfeits are described
as well executed.
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TUESDAY
DECEMBER 17, 1861
THE
BOSTON DAILY ADVERTISER
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EFFECT
OF THE NEWS FROM ENGLAND.
The
late news from England has occasioned no marked excitement among public
men, the indignation of the British press having been anticipated.
Hence the absence of expressions of surprise.
As in pending disputes between the United States and Great
Britain heretofore the angry public voice has subsided to await the
result of diplomatic formalities, so will it be again.
The particular alarm of the British government growing out of the
removal of Messrs. Slidell and Mason from the Trent having yet to
be presented the arguments in support must become the question of
controversy, and it is not unreasonable to assume that our own
government will have at least equal advantage and skill and the
discussion. When the
British government shall have made a formal demand for the restitution
of the rebel Ministers, the time will have arrived for such a response
as will show that although we are engaged with the insurgents, there is
still integrity in the government to furnish such a reply as will not be
at variance with our heretofore amply sustained character of national
independence. Questions are
generally asked, what will be the results of the controversy, rather
than the expression of individual opinion upon the subject.
As to the Administration there is reason to believe that neither
the President nor any members of the cabinet will be diverted in the
least degree from the present course of conducting the war.
-----
UNION
FUGITIVES AT TAMPICO.
Franklin
Chase, U.S. Consul at Tampico, informs the Secretary of State that that
city is thronged with loyal United States citizens, fugitives from
Texas, in great distress, some of whom he has relieved so far as his
limited private means would allow.
As Congress, however, makes no provision for the relief of
destitute citizens in foreign countries, unless they are [severe?], the
cases of the fugitive mentioned by Mr. Chase appeals strongly to the
sympathies of the charitable at home.
-----
Saltpetre.-
The saltpetre used in this country is for the most part brought from
India. It was manufactured
in this country to some extent, however, both in the revolutionary war
and in the last war with England, by preparing nitre beds, and by
leaching the earth taken from beneath old buildings.
It was also manufactured in the Mammoth Cave in Kentucky during
the war of 1812, the earth in the cave being thoroughly impregnated with
it. The quantities obtained by these methods were, however,
comparatively small.
Large
orders have lately been sent to England for saltpetre, which cannot now
be filled. The stock in
importers' and speculators' hands in this country November 30 was 8831
bags, a bag containing, we believe, about 170 pounds.
The number of bags to arrive was 22,833.
The deliveries for consumption in November or 7016 bags. The proportion of saltpetre in the gunpowder manufactured in
this country is seventy-five per cent.
The
Chance for Scrap Books.--Henry A. Brown of 35 Winter street offers a
novel and excellent opportunity for preparing scrap books for children
in a satisfactory manner and at a slight cost.
He has arranged some assorted packages, each containing
twenty-five numbers of the Illustrated News of the World.
Thus in a package costing fifty cents, the purchaser has over a
400 wood engravings, with every variety of subjects, all attractive and
entertaining.
|
A
War upon Speculators.--The Southern orators were certainly wrong
when they held the Yankees responsible for all the sharp dealing in the
South. They have found it
necessary to begin a regular war upon speculators.
They complain that every necessary of life is forestalled . . .
and that shrewd speculators are taking the most heartless
advantage of the scarcity caused by the blockade.
The following joint resolution of the legislature of Tennessee,
which we find in the Louisville Journal, is an example of this contest
with money making patriots:--
"Whereas,
It is believed that there are persons in the State of Tennessee who are
so lost to patriotism as to engage in speculation in articles necessary
for the maintenance and comfort of the army of the South,
"In
many instances, assuming the character of agents to the military
authorities, they have, it is believed, purchased many articles from the
honest and patriotic masses at extremely low prices, which they have and
will turn over to the army at immense profits, thus robbing the
patriotic masses of their substance, the soldier of articles necessary
to smooth his rugged pathway, placing the prices of necessaries of life
out of reach of his family and increasing the cost of everything
purchased by the war department.--Therefore,
"Resolved
by the General Assembly of the State of Tennessee, That we, the
Representatives of the people, do solemnly declare the action of such
people as wholly unworthy the name of Tennesseeans, unpatriotic, selfish
and contemptible, and recommend the producing classes of Tennessee to
give no sustenance to such as speculators, sell them nothing, avoid them
as you would a leper or Judas Iscariot."
-----
The
Charleston Courier publishes the following extract of a letter
from Secretary Memminger:--"We cannot prevent the possession of any
minor point on the seacoast by the feet of the enemy, but I trust that,
whenever they may leave their ships, our countrymen will give them a
Carolina reception. I hope that every planter will burn before
them every blade of grass."
-----
The
Rhode Island Boundary.--A dispatch from Washington says that the
long vexed question of the Rhode Island boundary was finally settled
yesterday in the Supreme Court of the United States.
Governor Clifford appeared for Massachusetts and Messrs. Jencks
and Bradley for Rhode Island. After
the hearing it is reported that the Court ordered a decree to be
entered, establishing the conventional boundary wisely agreed upon by
the parties.
The
controversy which has thus been closed began several years before 1740
and has been maintained at intervals ever since.
Indeed there are traces of it as far back as 1654.
Commissioners have been appointed to run the line over and over
again since the year 1741, but without bringing the matter to a
settlement, and for thirty years it has been litigated in the Supreme
Court of the United States. We
tender our congratulations to our little neighbor that this long
standing dispute is settled. Although
confident in the might of the Commonwealth, we have been led to think
within the last nine months that Rhode Island is a very tough customer;
it is therefore as well do have the matter out of the way.
But this venerable topic of education being removed, we shall
next expect some final disposition to be made of the herring fisheries
in Taunton Great River. |
|
WEDNESDAY
DECEMBER 18, 1861
THE
BOSTON DAILY ADVERTISER
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THE
FIRE AT CHARLESTON.
A
dispatch from Fortress Monroe 16th inst. says:
Capt.
Millward went to Craney Island to date with a flag of truce, and was met
by Lieut. Smith of the
Island. No passengers came
over from Norfolk. Norfolk
and Richmond papers give full particulars of the extensive conflagration
in Charleston.
The
fire broke out at about 9 o'clock on the evening of the 11th in Russell
& Olde Sash and Blind factory at the foot of Hazel street, extending
to the machine shop of Cameron & Co.
Before midnight the fire had assumed an appalling magnitude, and
Meeting street from Market to Queen, was one mass of flames.
As tenement after tenement was enveloped in fire, the panic
became awful, and thousands of families evacuated the houses in filled
the streets. The buildings
in the lower part of the city where the fire broke out were principally
wood an extremely inflammable, which accounts for the remarkable rapid
progress of the fire. At
midnight the Circular Church and Institute were burning, and the
proximity of the flames to the Charleston Hotel and Mills House caused
them to be evacuated by their inmates.
At
one o'clock the fire attended more southward course the corner of
Archdale and Queen streets, to the rear of the Charleston Hotel into the
end of Hayne street; crossing Market street, the fire spread down East
Bay to Cumberland street, and across to the Mills House, including in
its destruction the Circular Church, Institute Hall and Charleston
Hotel, and all the buildings in King street from Clifford nearly to
Broad street, were destroyed before 3 o'clock.
Gen.
Ripley, who superintended the troops, who arrived at the scene about
this time, ordered several buildings to be blown up. After some delay the order was executed, but not before the
theatre, Lloyd's coach factory, opposite the Express office, and all the
houses from this point to Queen street caught fire and were destroyed.
At about 3 o'clock the wind changed the direction of the flames
or to Broad street. Soon
after, St. Andrews Hall
took fire, and subsequently the Cathedral, the spire falling over after
five o'clock.
The
fire made a clean sweep through the city, making its track from East Bay
to King street. The
Charleston Courier of the 13th gives a list of between 200 and
300 sufferers, and says the loss is estimated at from $5,000,000 to
$7,000,000. Mr. Russell, at
whose factory the fire originated, thinks it must have been an
incendiary, or by the negligence of Negroes employed there.
A
dispatch from Charleston dated 13th, says that the Mills House, although
threatened and several times on fire, eventually escaped and is only
slightly damaged.
A
message was sent to Congress on Friday by Jeff. Davis in relation to the
conflagration at Charleston, recommending an appropriation in aid of the
sufferers. The resolution
was accordingly unanimously adopted by Congress appropriating $250,000
as an advance on account of the claims of South Carolina upon the
Confederate States.
The
latest particulars in regard to the fire are as follows--Five churches
were destroyed, viz, the Roman Catholic Cathedral, St. Peter's,
Episcopal Church, the Cumberland Street Church and the Circular Church.
The
Charleston Mercury says 576 buildings were destroyed by the fire. |
It
is unquestionably a point of great importance that in the Slidell and
Mason case England is proceeding upon an entirely incorrect if view of
the actual occurrences. Smarting
under the mistaken notion that the James Adger had been ordered
to lie in wait near the English Coast for the La Plata, the
English government have been led to believe that our government had
ordered the San Jacinto to the duty which she performed.
They have acted upon accounts which represented the proceedings
of Captain Wilkes as harsh and insulting.
The clamors of secessionist agents have filled the public mind of
England with the idea that a studied insult was intended to the British
flag, and upon this the government is acting.
It will unquestionably occasion a certain degree of reaction,
when full intelligence sets the English mind right on these and other
points to which we have before preferred, and we cannot help indulge in
the hope, that England will then see that the occasion is one that calls
for proceedings of an entirely different nature from those for which her
own press gets her credit.
Still
it must be borne in mind that none of the changes, which will thus be
made in the position of the question, go in fact to its merits. Assuming, as we think we are justified in doing, that the
London Press is correctly informed as to the views of the English
government, it will still remain true that the seizure complained of was
made, and that capped and Wilkes did not obtain the decision of a Court
of Admiralty upon the facts. All
the rest is matter of aggravation, not of substance.
The great points in the case are not touched by the corrections
which full intelligence will make in the received version--and less
indeed England is moved to recognize the claim upon her consideration,
founded on the motives of Captain Wilkes's forbearance, to which we
referred yesterday.
It
is speculating entirely without grounds then, we are forced to conclude,
to anticipate any essential change in the course of England, although
that is a result which may still be hoped for.
We saying the anticipation is without grounds, not only for the
above reasons, but for others. We
know not how far England may find herself committed, by acting in the
spirit of the false impression which she has received, if we only know
that it is difficult to exaggerate the danger of such hasty action.
And beyond this, there is the alarming doubt, which we find it
impossible to shake off, as to the purpose with which England acts, the
spirit of willingness or unwillingness in which she takes up this
difficulty, or the strength of her desire to hold herself aloof from our
domestic contest. With
satisfactory assurances of the latter point especially, there is no
reason for supposing that trouble needs to grow out of this affair;
without such assurances, we apprehend that it is difficult to see how
troubles can well fail to grow out of it.
In
case the English government does not push its demands so offensively as
to render adjustment difficult, and in case it proves that England does
not now gladly seize upon an occasion on which to exercise that
influence which, and as she idly hopes, might end our war, it may
perhaps be found that arbitration will settle the whole dispute, without
loss of honor on either side. It
is then the old story of friends who fall out in a matter where each
believes himself to be in the right.
Shall they waste their substance in litigation, or refer the
dispute to a common friend? We confess, however, that we should look with no little
suspicion upon any arbitration by France, the power whose interest in
the original cause of controversy is identical with that of England, and
which acts in concert with the latter.
To an arbitrator like Russia, however, a power which acts upon
the English policy of neutrality, and is yet friendly to the United
States, there might be fewer objections.
|
|
THURSDAY
DECEMBER 19, 1861
THE
NEW HAMPSHIRE SENTINEL |
|
WAR
NEWS.
GREAT BATTLE IN WESTERN VIRGINIA.
Cincinnati,
Dec. 14.—A special dispatch from Cheat Mountain to the Commercial
says:--Yesterday one of the hardest and best fought battles of the war
was fought at Alleghany Camp, Pocahontas, Va., between Gen. H. R.
Milroy, commanding the Union troops, and Gen. Johnson of Georgia,
commanding the rebels. The fight lasted from daylight until 3 o’clock,
P.M.
The
Union loss is about thirty and the rebel loss over two hundred,
including a Major and many other officers, and thirty prisoners. Gen.
Johnson was shot in the mouth, but not fatally.
The
12th Georgia regiment suffered the most. Gen. Milroy’s
force numbered 1000 men from the 9th and 13th
Indiana, and the 25th and 32d Ohio and the 2d Virginia. Gen.
Johnson’s force numbered over 2000 men.
The
9th Indiana regiment fought bravely to the last. After
driving the enemy into their barracks, no less than five times, our
forces retreated in good order. The rebels set fire to their camp and
retreated to Stanton. Gen. Milroy has driven the last army out of
Western Virginia.
-----
THE
FIGHT AT PENSACOLA.
The
government has received dispatches from Fort Pickens, confirming the
previous statements that Gen. Brown has silenced Fort McRae, destroyed
the navy-yard, and burned the town of Warrenton, and the bombardment was
a complete success. Our loss in the engagement was one man killed and
five wounded.
A
letter from an officer of Fort Pickens, giving an account of the affair,
explains the motive which induced Col. Brown to open fire upon the rebel
forts and batteries. It seems that the engagement was opened for the
purpose of creating a diversion in favor of Gen. Sherman, at Beaufort,
and to prevent the withdrawal of more rebels from Bragg’s command to
strengthen the rebels at other points likely to be assaulted by our
expeditions. The plan succeeded perfectly, and forced Bragg not only to
stop the transfer of his troops to other places, but to ask for
reinforcements for himself. The fire of Fort Pickens is represented to
have been most effective, and only the lack of a sufficient number of
national troops prevented the entire discomfiture of the rebels.
-----
GEN.
BURNSIDE'S EXPEDITION.
The
New York Times of last Friday, says: Extensive preparations have
been going on for some time at the various ship yards and iron-works in
this city, in altering, repairing and fitting out vessels which are to
form a part of Gen. Burnside's expedition.
These vessels consist of steamers, barks, schooners, ferry-boats
and barges, many of which are finished, and are now receiving their
stores and ammunition. A
large number of rifled and smooth-bore cannon, of heavy caliber, will be
used in this fix petition. Thus
far, about fifty vessels have been attached to the fleet, and others are
to be added. It is expected that the expedition will leave his port in a
few days. It will proceed
to Fortress Monroe and there be reinforced.
Three
hundred floats, each thirty-two feet long by five and a half feet beam,
are now being shipped in government transports from Pier No. 9 North
River, for the expedition.
|
THE
STONE FLEET.
The
following vessels, comprising the second Rat-Hole Expedition, are now at
anchor in the roads, and awaiting a fair wind to sail South.
Bark
Peri, 265 tons register, Capt. D.P. Nickerson, with 225 tons stone.
Bark
Jubilee, 239 tons register, Capt. Erastus Fish, with 210 tons stone.
Bark
Newburyport, 341 tons register, Capt. E. Kendall, with 300 tons
stone.
Bark
Messenger, 216 tons register, Capt. James E. Carbury, with 220 tons
stone.
Bark
Stephen Young, 200 tons register, Capt. Alexander Banter, with
175 tons stone.
The
bark Marcia, 343 tons, will also sail in a few days, as also ship Timor,
289 tons, with as much stone on board as prudent for them to take. The last
named vessel belonged to the first stone fleet, and sailed from New London,
Nov. 20, but was obliged by stress of weather and loss of sails to put in
here for repairs.
Seven
vessels sailed from New Bedford on Monday; five are to sail from New London
and two from New York to-day, making, including those from here, the twenty
vessels comprising the second fleet. We
understand that these vessels have cost the Government about $12.50 per ton,
and as they are all good staunch and stronghold of vessels, we doubt not
that they will safely arrived at their destination, which they can only get
at by exercising our Yankee privilege of guessing, as they sail under seal
orders. If judiciously placed,
we consider this mode of blockade as most efficient, and as also most
economical, as it enables the commander of the blockading fleet to dispense
with several of our vessels of war now employed for that purpose, and use
them at other points much more advantageously.--Boston Traveller.
-----
A
DESERTER SHOT.
William
H. Johnson, a member of the Lincoln cavalry, convicted of desertion, was
shot Friday afternoon, in the presence of about seven thousand soldiers
belonging to Gen. Franklin's division.
The detachment of twelve men were detailed for the purpose.
Eight of them fired first, when Johnson fell in his coffin, but life
not being extinct, the other four in reserve fired with the required effect.
This is the first execution in the army of the Potomac since the
commencement of the rebellion.
-----
Winter-Quarters
for the Army.--Curious primitive-looking little villages are those which
the soldiers are erecting along the military lines in Virginia.
Log-cabins, generally diminutive in size, built of poles and thatched
with corn-stalks and spruce boughs, are the habitation news of the
volunteers. The cracks between
the poles in the walls are closed up with clay.
Where large wood can be conveniently obtained, it is a hewn or split
into planks, and the walls are built of these.
These preparations are made entirely voluntary on the part of the
soldiers, and not according to any orders from headquarters.
Wherever of the army winters every man can be his own architect,
without incurring of the expense of government contracts for barracks.
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FRIDAY
DECEMBER 20, 1861
THE
BARRE GAZETTE (MA) |
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THE
EUROPEAN NEWS.
A
War with England Probable!
Halifax,
15th.--The royal mail steamship Europa, from Liverpool 8:30
A.M. Nov. 30, and Queenstown Dec. 1, arrived at this port at 12:30 P.M.
today.
The
Europa sailed for Boston at about 2 P.M.; She was detained at
Queenstown twelve hours by order of the British government.
She has the Queen's messenger on board with dispatches for Lord
Lyons.
By
Telegraph to Queenstown.
Queenstown,
Dec. 1.--The Observer states that the Government demands from
President Lincoln and his cabinet the restoration of the persons of the
Southern envoys to the British Government.
Yesterday
afternoon, after 5 o'clock, Her Majesty held a privy council at Windsor
Castle. Three of the
ministers, including the first Lord of the Admiralty and the Secretaries
of State and of War, traveled from London to Windsor by special train to
be present. Previous to
leaving town, the three ministers had attended a cabinet council at Lord
Palmerston's official residence.
The
Observer says that a special messenger of the Foreign Office has
been ordered to carry our demands and Lord Lyons, and will proceed by
the packet from Queenstown today. The
public will be satisfied to know that these demands are for an apology,
and the restitution to the protection of the British flag of those who
were violently and illegally torn from that sacred asylum.
The
Observer adds that there is no reason why they should not be
restored to the quarter deck of a British Admiral at New York or
Washington itself, in the face of some ten or twelve British men-of-war,
whose presence in the Potomac would render the blustering Cabinet at
Washington as helpless as the Trent before the guns and cutlasses
of the San Jacinto. If it is no fault of ours if it should come even to this.
On
Friday the Cabinet directed Lord Russell to prepare his dispatch to Lord
Lyons; on Saturday the Ministers met again to revise and finally settle
its terms, and it was sent off the same evening.
The Times understood that this communication, though
couched in the firmest language, presumes that the Federal government
will not refuse to make a favorable reparation for the illegal act.
The Times says, however, that it has but a small hope of a
disavowal, as at the date of last dispatches the act of the Captain of
the San Jacinto had been accepted by the Northern public.
The New York journals were urging his promotion.
That a naval officer had the spirit to board a British vessel and
carry off the rebels is enough to ensure a storm of popularity.
By the time the Earl of Russell's dispatches shall arrive the
multitude may already have declared to the Government the treatment
Capt. Wilkes is to receive.
The
export of saltpetre and warlike goods is formally prohibited.
If it was stated that one ship with a large cargo of saltpetre
for America had been stopped, and that relanding of the warlike stores
already shipped had been required.
The
naval volunteers were offering to come forward to protect the honor of
the British flag.
The
Australasian has been chartered to convey troops and a battery of
artillery to Canada, and would sail about the 12th. |
The
Morning Post says the acknowledgement of its error and the
surrender of its prisoners would be received with great joy, but if the
Federal government fails to do so, no man in England will blind his eyes
to the alternative that England must do her duty.
Her rights and duties were never more completely blended then in
the present case.
The
Times continues to assert that it has been Mr. Seward's policy to
force the quarrel with England, and both it and the Post call for
energetic military preparations.
A
serious decline is daily taking place in Canadian securities, amounting
to fully 12 per cent.
The
Times says it may reasonably expect that the three things will
immediately follow the out break, viz, the destruction of the Southern
blockade, a complete blockade of the Northern ports, and a recognition
of the Southern Confederacy by France and England.
The
Daily News rejoices that the American Congress meets before the
English demands can get out, in hopes that it will act with honor and
dignity without foreign pressure. It
hopes the golden opportunity will not be lost.
The
London Post says—“It has been decided by the law officers of
the crown that the action of Captain Wilkes was unjustifiable; that he
had no right to arrest peaceful citizens sailing under the British flag,
and the deed he has committed amounts to a flagrant violation of the
code of nations, and is a direct insult to this country.
Under the circumstances we need hardly point out that the
government will lose no time in seeking for the prompt and complete
reparation which it is its duty to require in this case.
It will assuredly receive the unanimous approbation of public
opinion. We are unwilling
to place the worst construction on the outrage committed by Captain
Wilkes, and look on it as an intentional affront on the part of the
Government of the United States. We
hope the American government will at once disavow the act of their
officer, make suitable apologies, and restore the persons of the
gentlemen arrested, and, in fact, make every compensation in their
power.”
-----
A
Union Newspaper to be Started at Port Royal.--The transport Atlantic,
on her return to Port Royal, will take out a printing press, cases,
type, &c., with a view of starting a newspaper, to be conducted
under the supervision of Gen. Sherman.
A proper person will be selected as editor, and it is
contemplated to issue a weekly sheet, which shall express the sentiments
of the government, and at the same time aid in suppressing rebellion on
the soil of the Palmetto State.
-----
A
Noteworthy Incident.--A little incident occurred in the Senate on
Thursday last, which is worthy of note.
Mr. Grimes, in reviewing the findings of the court of inquiry in
the case of Col. Milles, intimated that he could put no trust in any
public man addicted to intemperance.
This sentiment called down such a round of applause from the
galleries that the Vice President had promptly to rebuke it.
There were present at the time quite a number of our brave
volunteers, from whom this outburst of feeling spontaneously preceded.
We learn that there [are] a number of temperance societies in the
various regiments, while there are whole regiments that refuse to touch
a drop of ardent spirits, enhance it was that the remark was so signally
responded to.--National Intelligencer
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SATURDAY
DECEMBER 21, 1861
THE
PORTLAND DAILY ADVERTISER (ME) |
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The
Late Battle and Missouri.
Sedalia,
Mo., Dec. 20.--Col. Palmer's brigade arrived here last night, and
Gen. Pope is expected to-day.
All
information from the west and south is to the effect that no efforts
have been spared to send Gen. Price and ample supply of clothing for the
winter. All or nearly all
of this has fallen or will fall into our hands.
Nearly two hundred heavy wagons are already in our possession,
together with a large quantity of ammunition and arms, 1000 horses,
tents, camp equipage. Between
1,800 and 2,000 recruits have been taking prisoners.
Maj.
Hubbart, of the 1st Missouri Cavalry, has captured over sixty rebel
recruits within the past few days, and killed several others. He has also taken a considerable number of tents, several
wagons, a quantity of baggage and arms.
Altogether
the rebellion has received a terrible shock in this section within the
present week, and it is thought by many that Gen. Price will cross the
Osage to [meet] his Generals, Stein and Black.
Early
yesterday morning our source brought in information that the large rebel
train and reinforcements which we had marched south to intercept, had
divided, and the larger portion was marching south towards Waverly,
intending to camp at night near Milford. Gen. Pope brought the main body
of his army in position a few miles south of Waverly, and send a
scouting force under Col. Jeff Davis a few miles south of Warrensburgh
and Knob Noster to come on the left and rear of the enemy, at the same
time sending Merril's cavalry to march from Warrensburgh and come from
the right.
Col.
Davis pushed rapidly forward, and came up with the enemy in the
afternoon, drove in his pickets, carried a strongly defended bridge by
an assault, and drove the enemy into a timber, who finding themselves
surrounded, surrendered 1,800 mne, including two Colonels, one Lieut.
Colonel, one Major, and seventeen Captains. Sixty wagons heavily laden
with supplies and clothing, and a large number of horses and mules, fell
into our hands. Our loss
was two killed and fourteen wounded. That of the enemy is considerably greater.
This
was the best planned and executed action of the war, and reflects great
credit on the General commanding, and the officers and men who so
faithfully carried out his plans.
-----
Frail
Tenure of English Dominion in Canada.--The Washington correspondent
of the New York Journal of Commerce remarks that in case England
should force us into a war, the French population of Canada, almost to a
man, “would side with Jonathan, and we all know that the hearts and
interests of Canada West have, for a long time, been identified with the
‘States.’ Where to place the Irish population no one could hesitate.
And the fact is significant, that the wealthiest man in all
Canada, Harrison Stephens, Esq., of Montreal, is a native of Vermont,
and owns property in New York city in an immense amount.
Indeed, those who would cling to the cause of England, in the
event of a rupture, would be reduced to a few hundred and composed
chiefly of government officers, and of the veritable machines who
constitute the provincial soldiery.
Unless my personal experience deceives me, the annexation of
Canada would be a very easy matter to accomplish, so England had better
beware.” |
Important
News.
Two
important items of news were received a day or since by telegraph:
first, that Humphrey Marshall, of Kentucky, swears he will eat his
Christmas dinner in Lexington; second, that the soldiers under the rebel
General Jackson, are ready to "go to the devil" with their
leader. We're not surprised at Humphrey Marshall's swearing, for
swearing is an accomplishment in which the Kentucky Marshalls excel all
other men; they are in constant practice, and have arrived at that pitch
of perfection which excites the envy of flat boatmen and ruffians
generally. If Humphrey
Marshall keeps his oath, whiskey and "chicken fixins" will
suffer; it requires a liberal commissariat to supply the provender for
Humphrey's elephantine bulk. But
why should a Gen. Jackson's men be so ready to profess a willingness to
make the acquaintance of "the party" of the cloven foot, in
company with their gallant leader?
Do they see already the end of their journey at the end of a
rope? The rangers and their
redoubtable general must not be too hasty in professing their
willingness to go to the Devil, for they may get snubbed; it is rumored
that the potentate referred to, declines entertaining secessionists in
his dominions; it would be a pity, should the rebel professors, after
inviting themselves to an entertainment be left out in the cold after
all, and we hope the leaders of the Federal forces will give them all
the aid in their power towards arriving at their chosen destination.
-----
The
Saltpetre Supply.--It seems that England does not enjoy a monopoly
of saltpetre production, and she imagines.
The Newark Mercury says:
“Large
quantities of nitrate of soda, or South American saltpetre, as it is
called, are obtained in Chile and Peru, and this may be easily converted
into the purest of saltpetre, as it was during the Russian war, when the
markets of that country were supplied with saltpetre thus manufactured
in this country, and shipped to Russia by way of Hamburg.
Saltpetre
can also be obtained in the United States from the limestone caves that
abound in Kentucky and other sections.
This was almost hour only source of supply during our last war
with England, which cut us off from our dependence upon her Indian
possessions. Earth Yielding
fifteen per cent. of nitre is said to be found near Nashville, Tenn., in
quantities sufficient to supply the entire country.”
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