The Sun.
London, England, 1862-04-24 00:00:00

TIIE CIVIL JVAR IN AMERICA.

(From tlw Special Correspondent of the Times.)
WASHINGTON, APRIL 3.

Before I proceed to write the last letter, in all
probability, which I shall have occasion to date from
the United States of America, it will be necessary
to state the circumstances under which I am com-
pelled to abandon the post to which I have been so
long faithful, under an ordeal the severity of which
can be known to none but myself. While there
was a chance of my being useful in correcting the
exaggerations and misstatements whioh were sent
across the Atlantic, I endured the hostility that
bad been engendered against me, and 1 did not
despair of the American people in the Northern
, States eventually doing justice to the integrity of
my motives, particularly if fortune should give me
an opportunity of recording a victory, instead of
detailing the incidents and the close of a defeat.
Although I had extenuated much, I was conscious
I had never set down aught in malice concerning
them. I bore the attacks made upon me in silence
which I shall not qualify by any adjective, and
from time to time my patience was rewarded by
unexpected marks of sympathy and by tokens of
friendshipand goodwill which I shall always cherish.
But new a power is brought to bear against me
which I cannot resist nor evade. The Government
ofithe United States of America not merely refuses
me permission to accompany its armies in the field ;
it not only gives me orders not to do so, but the Se-
cretary of War, if not with the original sanction, at
least without the dissent of the President, prevents
the General in Command of the Army of the Poto-
mac receiving me in his camp, after he had invited
me to attend the progress of his army ; and, through
me, treats the officer who was but a few weeks ago
the idol of statesmen, journalists, and people, as he
is yet the favourite of his army, with marked dis-
courtesy. The guest of General M'Clellan is for-
bidden to embark on board the ship on which he had
received a passage, by his express authority, and
is removed by the express directions of Mr.
Stanton from under the charge of the officer of the
General's Staff to whom he had been consigned.

I shall now proceed to relate the circumstances
under which I was made subject to this interference,
without a word of comment, save such as may occur
incidentally in the way of correction in this brief
narrative. On my return to Washington, after the
time for winter quarters had passed away, and after
I had waited vainly in daily expectation of an on-
ward movement, I became aware that Gen. M'Clel-
lan was about to take the field. I at once made ap-
plication to him for permission to accompany the
army, with any facilities he could grant me. To
that request I received no reply for some time.
Various officers of the army in command of corps or 1
brigades informed me they would gladly allow me
to go with them if I could obtain the leave of the
Commander-in- Chief. After several days had passed,
seeing the magnitude and completeness of the pre-
parations, and feeling uneasy at the silence at Head
the Secretary of
guarantee
War
uaarr
such
euresh, e st
toeurgs ht
as t ow
oo
ub
ltda nbefrostunincient
for my friends to take me, in case Gen. M'Clellan
did not object to my presence 'with other corps in
the field. Mr. Stanton, to whom I was introduced
at his own house, gave me to understand there
would be no objection whatever on his
part to my
accompanying the army, and said that he would see
whether he could grant my request to be allowed
to purchase food and forage from the Commissariat
at contract prices in case of need, observing at the
same time that ho had been obliged to refuse nume-
rous applications from the American journalists of a
similar character,but that he would do everything in
his power to meet my wishes. Previous to that inter-
view I had seen Mr. Watson, the
Under-Secretary
of War, who told me Mr. Stanton had decided on
leaving all applications for authority to accompany
the army, and for facilities in doing
so, in the hands
of General M'Clellan, that he might deal with them
as he pleased, and that he had resolved not to inter-
fere at all in the matter. This latter conversation
took place at the War Department, in the presence
of Mr. Ashman. Not having heard from Mr.
Stanton in reference to my request,
I wrote to him
again, begging he would be kind enough to decide
the point, as time was rapidly passing away; and I
also renewed my applications to General M'Clellan.
I pointed out in conversation to the
authorities that
I had not the means of accompanying the army
which were posse seed by the correspondents of the
American journals, sow of them actually in the

public service on land and by sea, and all of whom
were acquainted with officers, who received them
in camp and afloat without any risk of exposing
themselves to censure or attack by unpopular hos-
pitality. Those officers with whom I was acquainted
were the very last men I would care to expose
to slander or disparagement by
my presence near
them, unless I had the sanction of higher authority
for accepting their kindly invitations. I was a
stranger, and I did not belong, as Mr. Seward had
pointed out, to the press of the United States.
Without some kind of recognition, I could not pos-
sibly take the field. At last, on the 22(1 of March,
I received a letter from General Marcy, Chief of the
Staff, requesting me to call upon him that morning
at his office, and on going there he informed me
that General M'Clellan bad directed him to say he
had
.not the least objection to my accompanying
the army, and he not only gave me permission to
do so, but would be glad to be of any assistance in
his power. The General made some remarks, which
need not be repeated here, in reference to other
matters bearing on my presence at Head-Quarters.
Two or three days afterwards S.A.R. the Comte de
Paris, Aide.de-Camp of General M'Clellan, was
sent in from Alexandria to say that the General
would be very happy to take me and some mutual
friends with the expedition, and the message was
duly delivered. Brigadier-General Van Vliet, the
Quartermaster of the Army of the Potomac, and
Aide-de-Camp of General M'Clellan, had meantime
received authority from-theoGeneral to take us on
board his transport, as indeed General Marcy gave
me to understand would be the case when I saw him.
Each of us was to take his own land transport,
blanket, and provisions, to lay in stores, and to
provide for himself without any charge to Govern-
ment. The day afterwards I received from General
Marcy a written pass for all places inside the lines
of the Army of the Potomac, which was intended
as a general authority for me to go where I pleased
within the Federal lines. Having made the neces-
sary purchases and arrangements, laid in a stock of
stores, and prepared for all emergencies—minus the
appearance of the Merrimac—the party, which
consisted of Colonel Neville, Scots Fusilier Guards ;
Lieutenant-Colonel Fletcher, Scots Fusilier Guards;
and Mr. L'Amy (I hope they will pardon this in-
troduction of their names) yesterday morning, at
10.30:proceeded on board the steamer Canonicus,
lying in the river, above the Navy-yard. General
Van Vliet came down soon afterwards, and as his
staff and horses, and our baggage, including a light
waggon, &c., were on board, we were indulging in
the hope of being able to get a glimpse of the de-
serted Confederate batteries on the river before sun-
set, when a messenger from the War Department
arrived to say that Mr. Stanton desired to see Gen.
Van Vliet immediately. He went on shore promis-
ing to be back very soon, but more than two hours
passed before he returned. I shall not dwell upon
the kindly embarrassment and expressions of regret
with which he fulfilled the duty he assured me was
so disagreeable and distasteful to him, but in effect
he told me Mr. Stanton had finally given him the
most positive orders not to permit me to stay on
board the transport. I reminded him as gently as
possible that I was General M'Clellan's guest, and
that I had General Marcy's written pass in my poc-
ket. He was aware of the one fact and of the other,
and I showed him the General's order as a formal
step in the proceedings. But what could General
Van Vliet do ? As he said," Here are the Secretary
of State's orders." He held in his hand two papers
which he read, and which he permitted me to copy
They were as follows :

(No. I.)
" To BRIGADIER-GENERAL VAN VLIET, QUARTER-
MASTER AND A.D.C.

" War Department, Washington City, D.C., April 2.
" The Secretary of War directs that no person not in the
public service be permitted upon tho transports, except by
permission given by the War Department.
" I am, respectfully, your obedient servant,
" M. C. MEIGS, Quartermaster-General."
The other ran thus :
(No. 2 )
" To BRIGADIER-GENERAL VAN VLIET.

" War Department, City of Washington, D.C., April 2.
" Colonels Neville and Fletcher and Captain L'Amy, of
the British army, having been invited by Major-General
M'Clellan to accompany the expeditionary force (or expedi-
tions) from Alexandria, you are authorised to exempt them
from the operation of the order of this date.
" By order of the Secretary of War,
" M. C. MEIGS, Quartermaster-General."
It was obvious that the intention of Mr. Stanton
was directly personal to myself, and that he had
taken all this trouble to exclude me especially,
although he was made aware that I was as much
the invited guest of General M'Clellan as Colonels
Neville and Fletcher, or Mr. L'Amy. What his
object may have been it is not worth while to in-
quire; but if he sought to make General M'Clellan
unpopular, or to expose him to assault because of
his courtesy to me, his motive could scarcely be re-
conciled with h.s cwn very great civility to myself
a very short time before, and his assurance that he
would give me every assistance in his power in
carrying out what he knew I had in view. Nay,
more, Mr. Stanton, but a few days previously, at
the house of one of the Ministers, wrote me a pass
which concluded with these words :
, " All officers and persons in the service of the United
States are enjoined to treat Mr. Russell with every cour-
tesy, and to extend to him every protection in their power.
" E. M. STANTON, Secretary at War."
Nothing whatever had occurred meantime to
alter such relations as had subsisted between us.
However, there was now no use in remonstrance. I
went on shore, and with the aid of Gen. Van Vliet
and my friends, I got my baggage on the wharf,
and drove back with my servant and waggon to
Washington. lat once addressed a letter to the '
President of the United States, in which I laid all
the proceedings, as above stated, before him, in
a respectful manner, for his consideration, con-
cluding with the remark that his kindness
towards me led me to hope he would think
the circumstances of the case, as well as my entire
unconsciousness of any cause for the treatment to
which I had been exposed, justified my appeal to
him. That evening I received a letter from Mr.
Hay, the President's private secretary, of which
the following is a copy:—
"Executive Mansion, Washington, April 11
"My dear Sir,—l submitted your communication of this
date to the President immediately upon his return to the
city, from Mount Vernon, where ho has been passing the
day. He directs me to say that, while he regrets your having
been exposed to any inconvenience by the late order of tho
Secretary of War, he does not think it would be proper for
him to overrule the decision of Mr. Stanton without fur-
ther examination of the subject.—l have the honour to be, I
your obedient servant, .

“ JOHN HAY.”

Not having heard from the President's secretary
up to the afternoon of (this) the next day I wrote to
Mr. Hay again stating that I was only waiting in
Washington to know the result, and that I would
feel much obliged by his communicating it to me as
speedily as might be convenient, or by his inform-
ing me when I might expect a communication of
the President's decision. I also addressed a letter
to Mr. Stanton, the Secretary of War, ou my re-
turn, of which the following is a copy as nearly as I
can remember

"457, 17th Street, April 3.

" Sir,—A few days ago you wrote me a pass at the house
of the Minister, in which you desired all persons in the
service of the United States to treat me with courtesy and
to extend to me every protection in their power. To-day I
am refused, by your order, permission to go as the invited
guest of General M'Clellan with the expedition under his
command, along with my other friends, to whom he had
exhibited similar courtesy. . . lam not conscious, in the
interval that has elapsed, of any cause for the change of
treatment which has occurred towards me. If there be, at
least I should have, in justice to myself, an opportunity
of knowing what it is before I leave for Europe, which I
shall do in a couple of days. The very eminence of your
position, and the immensity of your power should rather
strengthen the force of this appeal from one so humble as
myself in any coo—particularly should it do so in the pre-
sent instance." _ .

To that I have as yet received no reply lat the

same time sent a letter to General Marcy, chief of
;the Staff, as follows:

" April 2, 1862.
" Sir!—Some days after you were good enough to inform
tee that General M'Clellan would have no objection to my
xte n effect,ded t,o s butfifrrr:
friends
nroamdn
sdtohorloef
accompanying the expedition under his command I received
through S. A. R. the Comte do Paris, Aid-de-Camp to the
dGeeenideerdaiinaiivsenrbaatul
rme,ewssahigeeh
Subse-
quently I also received a gcncrai samei-
towasthaelsoe
nts lb.: the
at once set about making my arrartgona‘:'
emoioancm,NaVnildoewr!itnh. TAY 2::; fo7gdAcinii,t.a,oasfsstahni.
re
oi invitationPotomac.)ou:ood.
esn
uo
uu
expedi-
tion,sgeh-
which Brigadier-General Van Vliet WAS
to facilitate by procuring a passan) for us in of the
transports. We embarked at 10 :30 or 11 a.m., and Wpre
about sailing, when General Van Vliet was summoned to
the War-office, and on his return, two hours afterwards,
told me very kindly and courteously that Mr. Stanton had
ordered him not to let me proceed with my friends. I re-
minded General Van Vliet that I had your pass in writing,
and the invitation of the Commander-in-Chief of the Army of
the Potomac, as he knew, to accompany the expedition. He
then showed me two orders in writing, signed by General
Meigs, and addressed to him. The first directed him not
to permit any one not in the service of the United States to
enter upon any transport without the permission of the
Secretary of War. The second said that ' Colonels Neville
and Fletcher, and Captain L'Amy, of the British array,
having been invited by Major-General M'Clellan to accom-
pany the expedition from Alexandria, they were to be ex-
empted from the order of the same date of the War. Depart-
owmnhe.onicitho.'vlitThaedhdebryeenwahitemrsen,doaasllteyaornsusurratGieveeynouleefr,alt biirgtit,tortlead,ovnoerltlaitdeolevEasalt,
this moment to intrude so petty a question, so far as it
ruhiroki.ryaw zoliee, but, ou for-mint of the
graver circumstances connected with it, and (mother grounds
I am induced, though with reluctance, to do so. You know,
Sir, how scrupulous I waste obtain the leave of the General
before 1 made any arrangement, and how utterly unex-
pected was such an interference with me. I have only to
say, in conclusion, that I have referred the details of the
transaction to the President of the United States, and that
I have also made a direct appeal to the Secretary of War I
against his treatment, which was aggravated by its con-
comitant incidents. To the General I beg you will tender
the expression of my sincere thanks for his intended kind-
ness towards me, and say how much I regret I shall not
have an opportunity of showing in Europe that he can lead
the army he has trained so long to great and glorious com-
bats. To you, dear Sir, I tender my best thanks for your
unfailing courtesy."

It is now evening, and as I have not received any
reply, I shall close this narrative as it stands,
reserving the continuation, if any, till to-morrow,
with the sole remark that there will be, no doubt,
an attempt made to prove that the rule, if observed,
is not and was not specially intended for me. From
words which fell in quarters it would be injudicious
in me, having regard to their interests, to indicate
particularly, I am led to believe that Mr. Stanton
was actuated by a desire to show his power in a
manner which might at once gain him the approba-
tion of certain journals in the North, and at the
same time make General M'Clellan feel his subordi-
nate position ; and, if the same authorities do not
err, he is influenced by the jealousy which has
been openly attributed to him of that officer on
political and personal grounds. In that conclu-
sion, however, I may do Mr. Stanton an injustice.
It is certainly incontrovertible that the military
authorities decided some • time ago they would
permit the known correspondents of public journals
to attend the march of the Federal armies; and,
as I said before, the Assistant-Secretary of War
informed me that Mr. Stanton had decided on
leaving the question respecting them exclusively in
the hands of General M'Clellan. In reference to a
remark of mine about the account of the final rout

at Bull Run, he added, "I fear the only fault to be
found with your account, from what I heard, is that

it was but too true."

APRIL 4.
The President has decided the question ; his dec
slot' is ccntaincd in the following letter :

" Executive Mansion, April 4, 1862.
"My dear Sir,—l have referred your communication to
the President, who has given it duo consideration.
" lie directs me to say that, with every disposition to
oblige you, he is disinclined to overrule a decision of the
Secretary of War, founded on what appear to the Secretary
considerations of high public importance. To do so in
your case alone would seem to all others an invidious dis-
tinction.

"The President regrets that ho cannot gratify you in
this matter.—l havo the honour to be, very truly, your
obedient servant,

"JOHN HAY."
The above communication was received about 11
o'clock a.m. In acknowledging the receipt of it I
took occasion to observe that the remarks appended
were not intended as argumentative matter against
the decision of the President, which I accepted with
respect, but were intended to justify me against any
charge of intrusiveness in attempting to perform my
duty. I pointed out that there could be no ground
for any offence, nor would there be any invidious
distinction in my case, had I been permitted to go
with the expedition. I was acquainted with General
M'Clellan, and had been, with three others, specially
invited by him to accompany his army in the field.
Of those so invited by him I was the only per-
son prohibited by the Secretary of War from going.
The camps were full of correspondents of the Ame-
rican journals. From Europe, so far as I was aware,
there were only two gentlemen who desired to ac-
company the army as representatives of the press ;
one was Mr. Vizetelly, an artist, whose sketches
would scarcely be of much use to the enemy ; the
other was myself, whose letters 'would not be re-
ceived in this country till a month after the events
to which they referred had elapsed. There, with my
acknowledgments of the courtesy I had received, all
the more grateful from contrast, the correspondence
ended. Mr. Stanton has sent no reply to my letter.
It may be as well to add that the news of his refusal
to permit General M'Clellan to take me on the expe-
dition was rapidly spread abroad, with many
exaggerations and in many absurd forms, which,
however, produced their effect on the minds of other
officers prepared to afford me similar accommodation, ,
so that I received hints that it would be necessary
for me to obtain papers and passes before the invita-
tions they had given could be ratified or properly
fulfilled.

APRIL 5.

Before I leave the subject I may mention that
last night Mr. Stanton sent advertisements to the
papers to the effect that no persons are to be ad-
mitted on board United States' transports 'who are
not in United States' service, unless with the special
order of the War Department—a good afterthought.
It is further announced in the papers that Mr.
Stanton has resolved not to permit the correspon-
dents of "foreign journals" to accompany the army.
The reason assigned for that decision is very flatter-
ing to their independence and truthfulness, while it
speaks more than many volumes for the condition
of the United States' press and the state to which it
has been reduced. It was in effect that Mr. Stanton
could not punish foreign correspondents if they
stated anything which he considered at all objec-
tionable, while he could deal in a proper manner
with any native journalist who offended against his
canons. At first it was asserted he would not allow
any newspaper to have a representative in the
camps; but this was only a pretence, although the
statement was fortified by the appearance of
be
order from General Buell that no persons sh
allowed to go with his forces in the West o
unless
they were in the service or were employed by per-
sons actually on duty, in which case
they shouldu
ls sioo
accompany a friend
him,
was informed that cas
London
be provided with written certificates.
The correspondent of the Illustrated
oNfehuis
s,
inw hcoomhualdalobitoafina brigade
i
he must procure the sanction of
the Minister of War before he could
geadPecr to
f
make his pro-
mise good. H© accordingly wrote a letter to the
him
Minister and waited upon for an answer. The
waiting took place on the steps of the door of the
l
It was long, War-office. perhaps two hours or so,
and at last a servant—l beg his pardon, "a help,"
but still one of an order 'Which, in regard to pay
and emoluments, trust have been of the lowest
strata of Republican animal life—came out and
gave the following message mr. Stanton says