The Sun.
London, England, 1862-12-04 00:00:00

THE WAR IN AMERICA.

QUEENSTOWN, TUESDAY.

Tae Inman steamer City of Baltimore has arrived,
having left New York on the 22d of November.
She brings 41 cabin and 139 steerage passengers,
and 1,277,500 dols. in specie on freight.
Washington advices say it is believed that the
Confederate President has resolved upon meeting
the Emancipation Proclamation with very severe
retaliatory measures. The report is thus stated:—
" A report is current here, and very generally
believed, that General Lee, of the rebel army, has
recently addressed a formal communication to Gen.
Halleck touching the proposed issue of an emanci-
pation proclamation on Jainuary 1. It will be re-
membered that after the exciting debates in the
rebel Congress as to the propriety of retaliation the
Whole matter was left to the discretion of the Pre-
sident of the Confederate States, with instructions
to take such measures as would compel the with-
drawal of the proclamation, or bring home to the
Northern troops some of the evils it threatens
against the Southern people. It is stated that Gen.
Lee's letter is exceedingly elaborate, and discusses
the question from every point of view. The
points it is said to contain are as follows :
First, the unwarrantable nature of the proclama-
tion, so far as the recognised measures of military
warfare are concerned. The fact is pointed out that
in no work on military law is the instigation of a
servile war recommended, endorsed, or ever men-
tioned ; that, as General Halleck himself never
thought of it in discussing the various means that
might be used by belligerent enemies, the threat of
servile war and insurrection is clearly not a proper
military procedure ; that, being outside of military
law, the Southern people are justified in regarding
it as coming under the brutal and savage expedients
of a barbarous people, and resenting it as such ; that
the enemy that uses it does an act as unjustifiable
as the poisoning of wells or of fr.,l ,
and murdering of prisoners, and the outraging of
women. On this g:ound it is demanded that the pro-
clamation be withdrawn. Second, it is further urged
by General Lee that in case the proclamation is not
withdrawn the Confederate military authorities,
sorely against their will, but strong in the justice of
their position, will be compelled to retaliate in the
sternest manner upon all the Union prisoners that
fall into their hands. It is not specified what
punishment will be inflicted, but it is distinctly in-
timated that if through the instigation of the Fede-
ral troops any women or children are murdered by
infuriated negroes an equal number of Union troops
will be promptly put to death. On this matter the
Confederate Government wishes the Federal Go-
vernment to understand that it is very much in
earnest, and will do even more than it threatens.
Accompanying this document, and addressed to
other members of the Government, it is stated that '
a letter from a high member of the Confederate Go-
vernment is now in Washington for members of the
Cabinet, arguing the question as to the propriety of
rescinding the objectionable proclamation. In addi-
tion to the military arguments urged by General
Lee, an argument drawn from the recent elections
in the North is made use of by the Confederate
statesmen. If the Union shall be restored, this
document urges, it will be better not to have this
gulf of blood between the North and South, and
even should the South succeed in their efforts there
would be fewer unpleasant memories to rankle.
Notwithstanding these communications, it is still
asserted here that Mr. Lincoln is determined to ad-
here to the proclamation, and to carry out the Ra-
dical programme to the bitter end."
The completeness of the knowledge of Federal
movements in the Southern army is a source of
bitter complaint. A communication in the World
says:--
" The public are doubtless not surprised to hear
almost daily of the perfectness of the rebel spy sys-
tem, and of the stupid, blundering one in force by
our authorities. But the rapidity with which the
enemy obtained information of General Burnside's
recent movement is somewhat surprising, to say the
least. It is now quite generally believed that one
week from Thursday last Generals Halleck and

has just occurred. .Oa Friday, the succeedinlaitY,'
Getieral Wiegrapbed from Gordonsville to Fre-
dericko3urg, via Richmond, that the Federal army
would reach ,Fredericksburg about Sunday noon ;
and citizens of that place expressed surprise to the
officers of our advanced guard that they did not
reach there till Monday noon, for they had been
anticipating them for 12 hours. The intelligence
of the change was communicated to Lee from War-
renton by the hundreds of rebel emissaries there
who heard our officers discussing the change. It
is proper to add that but a single Northern news-
paper published the same news four days after
Lee's telegram, and one day after the army had
reached Fredericksburg."

Reports from General Burnside's army state that
General Sumner's corps had advanced to Falmouth,
on the Rappahannock, opposite Fredericksburg.
The march from Warrenton is thus deecribed by the
special correspondent of the Inquirer :
" The Federal amry, under the immediate com-
mand of General Sumner, arrived within a mile of
this place about noon yesterday, having made
the march from Warrenton, some 40 miles, in
two days and a half. Shortly after the army
got in motion yesterday morning, cannonad-
ing was heard some four miles in our ad-
vance. Parties were sent a-head to ascertain what
it meant, when it was ascertained that a body of
the enemy had crossed the Rappahannock as a re-
connoitering party, and while marching down to-
wards Falmouth the rebels opened on them, causing
some considerable consternation in their ranks.
About a dozen rounds were fired before it was ascer-
tained that they were firing 'on our own troops.'
The fact of the rebels firing on their own troops
proved to WI that they had one or more batteries
planted on the opposite shore, for the purpose of
sweeping the road as we advanced. Generals Sum-
ner and Conch soon came to the conclusion that these
batteries must be at once silenced, so that we might
have free access along the river road. The 57th
New York, Lient,-Col. Chapman commanding, and
the 53d Pennsylvania, Col. Brooks, advanced as
skirmishers along the Falmouth road until within
a mile of the town. These two regiments were
followed by the remainder of the brigade to which
they belong, consisting of the 2d Delaware, Col.
Bailey; 66th New York, Col. Pinckney; and the
52d New York, Col. Frank—the whole brigade
commanded by Col. Zook, of the 57th New York.
Capt. Pettit's battery, the Ist New York Artillery,
and Owens's and Tompkins's two Rhode Island
batteries followed. Instead of taking the main road,
as the enemy thought the Federals would, that they
might have a chance to pepper them, the command-
ing officer ordered them to make a detour around
Some high wooded hills into the valley, where a
branch runs into the river, across this, and up on a
very high and
the
:ear of
Falmouth,
commanding elevation, directly in
Capt. Pettit's battery was at
in
once placed Position on the brow of this high hill,
with Zook's brigade
directly in the rear, completely
secured by the neauraulhposition of the hill. At about
half-past 3 the first g
w sighted and brought to
bear upon the enemy, which at
fromh tonce brought on a re-
joinder. The first shot
fromrebels burst directly
ever our battery. The firing
hadntr battery
eleffect of driving
very rapid and precise, which became
were
etseilly silencing
the rebels from their guns, thus cm
Fredericksburg;
them. Just after the rebel guns
trains of cars were observed leaving two
our batteries opened on them, hurrying them awayurg;
full head of steam. Our forces passed
under a
n ton in three columns, Gen• it
through Warre ancoch
Gem French on the centre, and Gen,
on the right,
left. This constitutes Gen. Conch's
Howard on the
corps, commanded by Gen.
corps. The ninth tarry
--, and Couch's corps, tire under the command of
the road direct to
Gen. Sumner, The troops took
Warrenton Junction early on Saturday morning,
and encamped on the evening of that day in the
vicinity of the junction, near the
campuier being
and again started early on
Sunday morning, making the next
Spotted Tavern, in Stafford county, Nothi
the county we bad been passing through.
Fanq
of any great moment occurred during the march,
except that it was conducted with great order—few
or no stragglers to be seen—and such was the ra-