The Sun.
London, England, 1862-08-23 00:00:00

TUE SOUTHERN CONFEDERACY.

The Washington correspondent of the New
York Herald writes:—" No persons unacquainted in
secession circles in Maryland and the district can have
a true idea of the extent to which contraband travel
and communication are now carried on between the
secret sympathisers of the South within our lines
and the rebels in Richmond. The lower counties
of Maryland, bordering on the river, embrace the
strongest secession districts in the State, and the
community of inhabitants are secretly engaged in
eluding the gunboat patrol on the Potomac, and
keeping open regular routes of trade, travel, and
communication with the region of the Rappahan-
nock, where the Virginia rebels take charge of the
operations and extend the route to Richmond. This
is the principal route now ; regular mails are re-
ceived over it by parties in Baltimore, Maryland,
and the district, and travellers pass with apparent
impunity. If private accounts from Richmond, via
underground, are to be believed, somebody has been
terribly fooled in regard to the demoralised and ineffi-
cient condition of the rebel army around Richmond.
These accounts represent it to be well drilled,
severely disciplined, well clothed, and now well fed
since the commissary and supply departments have
been organised on a scale in proportion to the sud-
den increase of numbers which the situation there
demands. The men are drilled daily in the cool
hours, and it is understood that on no account will
these regular exercises be dispensed with. Promo.
tions are made strictly according to merit. Position
or wealth are of no avail to procure a commission,
and cases are plenty where the officers are poor men
from the common grade of society, while the pri-
vates under them number some of the wealthiest
men in the land," The Baltimore correspondent of
the same paper declares that "the rebels have now
700,000 men in the field, and their war department
has made provision for keeping up that number by
sending to each regiment new recruits (conscripts)
us they are wanted. This obviates much delay ; a
few new recruits in each regiment, surrounded
on all sides by disciplined soldiers, very soon
become as proficient as they. Of course
there is an abundant supply both of cannon and
muskets, as well as swords and equipments for
the cavalry and artillery. The rebels had to
start with, when the rebellion broke out, the
:580,000 muskets which John B. Floyd had sent to
them from the national armories, besides the
110,000 muskets which were seized by the insur-
gents in the Southern arsenals. They have since
received, by means of 32 vessels that ran the block-
ade, between the Ist May, 1861, and the Ist July,
1862, 270,000 more. They have had also, during
the last 12 months, factories for the manufacture of
muskets at Charleston, Savannah ; Augusta and
Columbus, in Georgia; Branchville, in South Caro-
lina ; Mobile and Tuscaloosa, in Alabama; Jackson,
in Mississippi; Fayetteville, in North Carolina;
i
Lynchburg and Richmond. The struggle s for
independence. I have myself, during the progress
of the war, and particularly since last March, con-
versed with dozens of the rebel officers, prisoners,
all men of education and intelligence, and I have
always remarked that they speak of Southern in-
dependence as the cause for Which they took
up
arms and for which they are struggling. I have
yet to find the worst one who went into the war
on account of slavery. They say they like the
institution of slavery because it is suited to their
climate and productions, and because their inte-
rests, in. the light of political economy, require
slave labour. But,' they say, we would sacri-
fice that, as we are sacrificing our lives and our
fortunes, if it is necessary, in order to achieve our
independence.'"

A CONFEDERATE ACCOUNT OF THE
LATE BATTLES BEFORE RICHMOND.

We (Charleston Daily Courier) have been fa-
voured with the following letter, descriptive of the
late battles near Richmond, from the pen of a gal-
lant young captain, not yet of age, in Kershaw's
brigade :

" Camp on James River, Thursday
Morning, July 3, 1862.

" Dear Father,—l take the advantage of this,
my first opportunity, of penning a few lines to let
you know that I am quite well, and, with the ex-
ception of a few bruises, am, by the mercy of God,
still on my feet, and ready for another round. But
I will endeavour, in my limited time and space, to
give you a few details of our exrerience alma, i
wrote to you on last Thursday. On the next day
our regiment was sent down to make a demonstra-
tion in front of the enemy's batteries, to attract
their attention from Jackson's forces, who were
moving in their rear. After waiting until the
afternoon, the regiment was drawn up in a line of
battle, and my company and Harrison's thrown out
us skirmishers. We advanced in front of our
pickets, and encountered those of the enemy in a
very thick wood, where they waited our coming,
and opened on us with a heavy fire of rifles, which
killed Albert Miles, and wounded two of Harrison's
men. I received a shot through the breast of my
jacket, but none of my men were hurt. We drove
the picket to the reserve, and the reserve to the
regiments in rear, when the enemy opened on us a
terrible fire of grape and shell, which wounded se-
veral men in the regiments in our rear. Having
discovered the enemy's position, and accomplished
our object, we fell back, and were much compli-
mented on our little action. This having been the
first time our men had been under musketry or
fired a gun, I was much pleased with the gallant
manner in which they stood their ground.
Night closing in soon after, we returned to camp,
where we spent the next day in resting. On
Sunday morning about two o'clock we were
reused with orders to cook rations and prepare to
march, as the enemy were falling back from
their position in our front. About five o'clock
the regiment was formed, end the brigade moved on
towards the
Chickahominy. About 8 o'clock we
passed through the enemy's fortifications, and came
upon the rear of their column. As soon as we came
in sight our brigade was formed into line of battle,
skirmishers thrown out, end immediately after their
artillery opened upon
us. We advanced slowly ,
through some terrible swamps in which we often
sunk waist deep in mud and water. About sun-
downe upon their
we cam position, just beyond a
skirt of thick woods, Upon reaching which they
opened on us with a very heavy fire of grapeshot
and shell, which cut down the bushes and trees on
Forawe lay •
every side of us. while.
down in the
of our
bushes, when a volley cutting.. down
_ many
men, and taking off both legs of Sergeant
, Hill
volley
(a particular friend of Ben's and
. mine), and 4
poured into us by a line of infantry just in our
front, proving too hot, we rose and charged about I
u quarter of a mile, driving back the enemy's line
about 300 yards, and coming within about 40 yards
of a brigade of infantry, which was formed just in
front of our regiment ; here we halted under a ter-
rible fire, and begun to return volley for volley, our
men coolly loading and firing, and making
every
shot tell. During the fight the right and left wings
became separated, and I took command of the left
wing. Just then the fire was most deadly, and our
men were falling on every side, but not one quailed.
As I passed down the line encouraging the men, a
grapeshot struck me on the left thigh, and brought
me to my knees, but, concealing the pain, I moved
down to the rear of my company, and took my po-
sition where I could watch them. Just then Ben
Taylor, who was capping his gun alongside of his
brother, turned his head to the rear rank, and said,
Give it to them, boys,' and put his gun to his
shoulder to fire when a ball struck him in the head,
and he fell upon his face dead. He never spoke
again. Poor Jim, I felt so sorry for him ; he laid
:loin his gun, turned Ben over, and gazed upon
him in mute sorrow. Stepping up to him, I put
my hand upon his shoulder, and said, ' Jim, I have
no consolation to O'er you except that Ben has fallen
at bin post; there he lies, yonder is the enemy,
avengl2 him. He picked up his gun, and turning hii
pale, quivering face to me, he
said,Captain, I can
fight them
now, and he did fight them right gal-
lantly. About the yam© time
Doinbus Johnson was
shot in the thigh, the ball ranging upwards and
,
lodging in his groin. Bill German, suot through
the lower part of the ankle,Sergeantwest through
the arm just above the wrist, and Corporallt. Rear-
don through the arm above the elbow. Not O. gum