The Sun.
London, England, 1863-05-05 00:00:00

THE CIVIL WAR IN AMERICA.

(From the Special Correspondent of the Times.)
NEW YORK, April 21.
It begins to be whispered that the attack on
Charleston was peremptorily ordered by the War
Department; that Admiral Dupont disapproved
it, unless he could be efficiently supported by
General Hunter; that General Hunter, not having
more than half the men requisite, declined the re-
sponsibility; that their joint remonstrances were
unavailing; and that finally the Admiral was
ordered, nolens volens, to force the passage with his
iron-clads. The officials at Washington appear to
have taken a sudden fancy for the celebration of
anniversaries; and they calculated that if they could
but recapture Fort Sumter, and announce the fact
to the people of New York assembled in Union•square
on the 11th, they would perform a grand coup de
theatre, perpetrate a highly dramatic and agreeable
act of vengeance, fire the Northern heart with new
enthusiasm, and administer a heavy blow to the
South. But the President, though he issued positive
orders to the Admiral, is reported to have taken
counsel with his second thoughts, and to have come
to the conclusion that the War Department was

wrong in disregarding the remonstrances of its
officers, and to have despatched his private secretary
on a special mission to Port Royal, countermanding
all previous instructions, ordering that the attack
should be abandoned, and that the Monitors should
all proceed to New Orleans to co-operate with Gen.
Banks in a new attempt to force the passage of the
Mississippi at Port Hudson. The messenger, how-
ever, arrived too late. The attack had begun and
ended before he reached Port Royal, and many of
the iron-clads engaged in the unavailing struggle
had been so seriously damaged as to be unable to
proceed to the Mississippi without repairs. This
is the story which has been brought from Port
Royal by persons who profess to speak on authority,
and which is in all probability correct in its main
particulars. It will not tend to increase the public
confidence in the wisdom of the Administration,

though it may help to prove that Mr. Lincoln him-
self has more practical common sense than the
people who surround him.
General Banks is undoubtedly in peril in New
Orleans. He was sent to that city against his will,
with the malicious hope that he would so damage
his military and political reputation by his adminis-

tration of that difficult department as to fall out of
the list of candidates for the Presidency. This
question of the Presidency is the stumbling-block
in the way of every Northern man who aspires to
serve his country; and, lest Banks should become
too popular and powerful, it was graciously deter-
mined to give him a chance of ruining himself. But
the military authorities of Washington overshot

their mark. In sending him to Louisiana with a
force wholly insufficient to hold that State, and to
co-operate for the reduction of Port Hudson and
the clearance of the Mississippi, they incurred the
risk not only of ruining Gen. Banks, but the still
more imminent risk of losing New Orleans and the
whole of Louisiana. Hence it has been found abso-
lutely necessary to strengthen his hands; and hence
the iron clad fleet, as soon as it has been repaired in
its weak and damaged places and mounted with
guns of greater calibre, will make its way:to the
mouth of the Mississippi. It is the wisest act of the
Administration, The possession of Charleston and
all the cities of the Atlantic seaboard would have
been of no real value to the North. As long as
they are blockaded, wholly or partially, the South
must suffer; but the capture of Vicksburg and Port
Hudson and the possession of the entire course of
the Mississippi from New Orleans to St. Louis
would do more than defeat the South, where it can
not afford to be defeated. It would sooth the suf-
fering and discontented North- Western States, re-
store some portion of their trade, and sensibly dimi-
nish the chances of a new secession. Unfortunately,
however, for the North, it is not alone Gen. Banks
who is in danger. Gen. Rosencrans is believed to
be in a most critical position. The Cumberland
River, which runs its long, tortuous course through
the heart of Tennessee, and floats the gunboats and
the steamers that supply his armies, is only navi-
gable in the winter months. Its waters have already
fallen four feet, and are sinking so rapidly as to
make it a question of a few days whether he can
continue to maintain himself without making a for-
ward movement against the enemy. The Confede-
rates under Gen. Joseph Johnson, their best, most
popular, and most trusted commander, are full of
confidence that, whether Rosencrans offers or ac-
cepts battle, he will ba defeated. Thus it looks, as
the Americans say, " as if it would soon thunder ail
around." The indications certainly are that within
the next three or four weeks stirring news may be
expected both from Tennessee and Louisiana.
The Loyal League meetings, or, as they are now
popularly and appropriately named, " the Contra:,
" tors' Meetings," are becoming a farce. They are
held in a succession far too rapid, and addressed by
speakers far too well-known and " used up" to offer
any attractions to a public so enamoured of novelty
as that of New York. The anniversary meeting of
the capture of Fort Sumter by the Confederates
having been a failure, not only in number, but as
regards the gratifying announcement of the recap-
ture which its originators expected to make, it was
determined to summon another Loyal League meet-
ing, to celebrate the anniversary of what is called
" the great uprising of the people" two years ago
after Fort Sumter had been taken, and the Massa-
chusetts Volunteers had been killed in the streets
of Baltimore. The venerable General Scott, who
very recently notified by advertisement that the state
of his health and his daily increasing infirmities
would not again permit him to address or be present
at a public meeting, was persuaded to reconsider his
determination. It was arranged that he should not
attend to speak, but that he should preside from the
balcony of the Fifth-avenue Hotel, where he resides,
and that the meeting should be held in the street
below. It was expected by the originators of the
display that curiosity would draw together a con-
siderable crowd—aud it did so. Madison-square
was tastefully decorated with flogs; cannon wdere
t
fired ; at intervals bands of music wore stationc
thea
the street corners and at the stands
owherefsail
speakers were to hold forth ; a procession
dors
front the Navy-yard at 13rooklyn was mate le to
the scene; and the Exrress Companies," which do
the carrying and forwarding business of this
country, sent a long cavalcade of waggons, some
drawn by six and most of t hem by four horses,—
gray, bay, black, and brown—to add to the excite-
ment and attraction of the day, and please the mob
of small boys that congregated to see the show. The
day was bitterly cold, and a cutting north-east
wind was blowing. But General Scott was true to
his word, and took his place on the balcony at four
o'clock, closely misfiled up in a larg great-coat, with
a high collar, which allowed only a po.srtiohn of. .his
face to be seen. He 'was attended by h
lest there should ho guy danger to hie
he a hy cAfterta

PRICE..... —..4d.
STAMPED ....sd.

I about half an hour's exposure he complained of the
; cold, and asked for a shawl to wrap round his neck.
Some one immediately handed him a Federal flag,
and it was wrapped around his chest and shoulders,
amid the vociferous applause of the spectators.
Either from inability to withstani further exposure
to the north-east wind, or from a sense of the ridi-
eulous, the poor old gentleman determined to retire,
which he did about 5 o'clock. The proceedings
lasted until past 7, the principal speakers being Mr.
Bancroft the historian, Mr. John Van Buren, Mr.
Raymond of the New York Times, and other gen-
tlemen whose names figure constantly at these meet-
ings, and without whose presence the programme
would be considered incomplete. Nothing of any
note was said by anybody. It was the old story ;
the old "Buncombe," the old determination never
to listen to peace while there was a rebel in arms
(or a dollar to be made out of the war), and.the old
boast of the immense resources of the Northern
people which would ultimately overpower all oppo-
sition, and defeat not only the South, but Vie world
in arms. The only novelty was the declaration of
IVILIJohn Van Buren—received, however, without a
cheer—that a foreign war would be very inexpe-
dient. "We must," said he, " have no trouble with
any foreign Power. We must make this our sole
controversy until it is ended. We must keep friends
with Great Britain, with France, and with Russia,
so that there will be no interference from abroad.
I have no doubt we can do so." The sensation
headings in the newspapers proclaim that at this
meeting there were " Music, cannon, flags, and
cheers." They do not add, however, that there
was little else beside a crowd of idle people, not
one of whom will, in all probability, be induced to
volunteer into the fast diminishing armies of the
Republic in consequence of anything he may have
heard or seen, or any patriotic sentiment that may
have Tx en instilled into his mind by the speakers.
The Herald, which is not slow in discovering the
current of public opinion, has declared against the
useless folly of such gatherings. " Those who
take part in them," it says this morning, " are
only losing their time and getting themselves
laughed at." Add to this the wide-spread feeling
that it was an act of heartless cruelty on the part of
these republican Barnums to make a show of Gen,
Scott, an octogenarian in very delicate health, and
the verdict of the public on this last Loyal League
meeting will be complete. It is estimated that from
12,000 to 15,000 persons were present. Two noted
Irishmen, Judge Daly and Mr. J. T. Brady, he of
" the silver tongue," were advertised to be present,
and the town was largely placarded with in vitations
to their countrymen to gather around them, but
neither of them appeared. Mr. Brady sent a letter
of apology, and Judge Daly if present made no sign.
The murder of Col. Kimball by Gen. Corcoran
has excited so much ill feeling in the army, and led
to so much unfavourable commeLt everywhere ex-

cept in the eolumns of the newspapers, that the

General has deemed it advisable to explain the cir-
cumstances under which the tragedy occurred. He
says he was on duty at 3 o'clock on a dark morning,
bearing an order to the front for the Major• General
in command, when he was stopped by a man whom
he did not know, but whom ha judged by his sword

to be an officer, and asked in a dictatorial manner
and with a profane oath for the countersign. He
declined to give it until his questioner informed him
who he was and by what authority he acted. An
altercation ensued, much foul language passed, Col.
Kimball would not give his name, rank, or autho-
rity, and persisted in blocking the way. "Bran-
dishing his sword in one hand, and having a pistol
in his other, as I then supposed," says the General,
" he made a movement towards me with the evident
design of using them, and at the same time said, I
will be God -- if you shall pass.' It was at this
point I used my weapon. Nothing but the conside-
ration that my life was in danger—whioh I had
reason to fear—and the duty incumbent on me at

that particular time, when an attack was appre-
hended, would have justified me in my own mind in
taking the measure I then did. It was not until after
the occurrence that I learned who he was; but had
he been my best friend I Jannot see how it could have
resulted otherwise, from the part he acted on that
occasion. With no authority to demand the counter-
sign, I should have been derelict in my duty had I
yielded to his demand." Dead men tell no tales.
Colonel Kimball is in his grave, and in default of
his explanations it is probable that the Court of In-
quiry before which General Corcoran expresses his
readiness to appear may acquit him of all but rash-
ness. But no real judgment can be passed until the
fact be ascertained whether the deceased was or was
not on duty. If he was, he was murdered ; if he
was not, he was cruelly slain ; and as this point can
be cleared up by the evidence of the superior officers
of the regiment to which the dead man belonged, it
is to be hoped that an official inquiry will be im-
mediately instituted. As long as a doubt remains,
even the Irish Brigade will not fight willingly
under Corcoran, and more than ordinary discredit
will hang upon the name of every political general,
without education or experience, who, like him,
was promoted for other than military reasons.
The civil war has either greatly demoralised a
large portion of the Northern clergy, or too many
of the persons who exercise in this country the
sacred functions of ministers of the Gospel are un-
fitted for their calling by want of education, man-
ners, and Christian charity. Foremost among the
abettors of strife, loudest and most relentless in
their denunciations of all who disagree from their
political and social dogmas, fiercest and most perti-
nacious iv preaching a policy of vengeance and ex-
termination, such men as the Beechers and Cheevers
have made themselves conspicuous for every quality
which the meek and gentle teachers of the religion
of love should not exhibit. Hitherto such utter-
ance have been individual rather than collective,
and have sprung in a greater degree from the idio-
syncracies of the preachers than from the corporate
action of the Churches. But now it would appear
as if
.the evil example of the few had corrupted
the many ; that the worst passions engendered by
the war had communicated their contagion to
the pulpit ; and that the clergy as a body had
become as insensate as the crowd, whose mad-
ness and violence it ought to be their duty and
privilege to restrain. No less than 260 clergy-
menlast;
of the Methodist Episcopal Church assembled
in annual conference in this city on Sbntrurce)lfaya
and, in the presence of a vast numane
uttered such ferocious sentiments d
as to justify
themselves in a manner so un.brietchoex
hope that every
all quiet and sensible citizens is
into the ranks of the
one of them may be
`vas unparal•
gwithout the privilege of a
army and forced to fight
before the Conference was
substitute.
hperotrht on the state of the nation. The
ss• that the national
that the rebellion
but with
documentto pre sent
sae
trlef'
leled in wickedness; life was not
of Christ ; that
only cause of civil
Kingdom
to unconditional
intimately identified with the
and religious liberty all over the world,
loyaltytthbee membersbestt
ointereststhethemselves
dvogefrendtmheent ; that thealthough
Con-
ference did not deny the right of the people to dis-
cuss and eritieitT the inatagement of public affairs,
it recommended great caution and
prudence in its
exercise; that the conduct of those " ' who influenced
by political F, flinitits or Southern sympathies," im-
Pedcd the prosecution of the war, was a "covert
t reason, whidi had the malignity without the man-
liness of the rebels in arms;" that it heartily con-
curred in the President's proclamation, which

" guaranteed" the boon of free dam to millions of
slaves ; that it rejoiced in the change of public
opinion abroad, especially in England ; and that it
prayed the Great Ruler of nations " to look on our
army and navy mercifully, and give success to our
arms so that this infamous rebellion might be
speedily crushed.,' Th© reading of the documente
was received with the wildest enthusiasm. Th.
reverend politicians rose en masse, and mark. ed their
approval of the most violent passages, especially that