The Sun.
London, England, 1862-03-20 00:00:00

THE CIVIL WAR IN AMERICA.

(From the Special Correspondent of the Times.)
WASHINGTON, MARCH i 7"

Well ! we are not engaged in civil war in Eng-
land, and we cannot judge very well what we might
do if we were; otherwise there are things being
duke livre which. might be criticised. Here, for in-
stance, is a movement of troops going on from Wash-
ing ton to Baltimore and Harper's Ferry;the news
of which would animate the North and strengthen
them very materially; but it is malum proltibituna
to say a word about it lest the news should reach
the enemy. And does any one believe the enemy
don't know of it quite as well as if all the news
were published? Why, Maryland is full of Seces-
*ionists ; Baltimore is, perhaps, as full of Confede-
rates as Nashville was. By whatever means the
newspaper intelligence could have been conveyed to
their friends can also be carried the results of eye-
sight and hearing. So fearful are the authorities
of the animosity of their opponents that they do
tot venture to leave a furlong of the railway un-
guarded. As I came down the Kilo this evening
there were heavy trains filled with soldiers moving
to Baltimore, and at the station others were drawn
up crammed with. men. Caissons and artillery were
shunted in the. sidings. All the way to Washing-
ton, in addi`,:ion to the numerous small pickets posted
with bla7:ingwatchfires in front of their tents,patrols
were r.aoving up and down, and a chain of sentries
was established to prevent any evil-minded Seces-
eaonist from meddling with the rails. The concen-
tration of troops from Baltimore towards Harper's
Ferry, and the reinforcements sent to Banks, who is
now in full possession. of the Confederates' old posi-
tions at the other side of the river, may indicate a
design on the part of Gen. M'Clellan to turn the
outlying corps which covered the left flank of the
Confederates at Manassas, and to get down upon
the Manassas Gap Railroad ; but the movement is
not yet developed sufficiently to enable one to
judge whether Banks is going to operate independ-
ently in the valley of the Shenandoah, to the west
of the Blue Ridge Mountains, or whether he is to
move on Leesburg, on the east of the chain, also.
Some are of opinion he has advanced to enable the
Government to restore the Baltimore and Ohio
Railroad. If it be true that the enemy were shel-
ling the railway trains near Berlin, which is on the
Maryland side of the Potomac, it is evident they
have not yet withdrawn from the country between
leesburg and the Kittoetan Mountains, which are
the east of the Blue Ridge chain. The passage of
Banks's columns was effected in very good order
and without any difficulty, and he has now upwards
of 35,000 men in position and in support about
Charleston and Harper's Ferry, with a numerous
artillery and guns, and men fast coming up to his
assistance in case of need, or with the view of
enabling him to complete his portion of the plan of
the advance which has now been determined upon.
Gen. M'Clellan has returned with his". Staff from the
scene of operations to Washington, and if the wea-
ther permit it, he will no doubt make a forward
movement on his right next week. But as I have
only just arrived and have not yet visited the camps
I cannot tell what changes have really taken place,
though I hear that Heintzelman, who occupies the
left of the Federal line, is front of Alexandria, and
FitzirOhn Porter, who lay almost on the right of the
winter cantonments of the army of the Potomac
towards Vienna, have moved their divisions. It is
hoped these demonstrations may shake the enemy's
line, and induce him to move out from his supposed
strongly fortified lines near Centreville. He cer-
tainly cannot suffer the Manassas Railroad to fall
into the hands of the Federals without much incon-
venience. The roads are now frozen hard, but a
thaw will turn them into mud, and snow, a fall of
which seems imminent, will render them still less
adapted for the movement of troops. There is much
dispute respecting the strength of the Confederates
at Centreville, and it would surprise me to hear that
they had really 75,000 effective men along that por-
tion of their very long line of defence. It argues
singular confidence in their present officers to let
Beauregard and Sydney Johnson go so faraway; but
General Smith is highly spoken of, and, besides, Mr.
Jefferson Davis is within call, and would, no doubt,
hasten from Richmond, as he did before, in case of
another attack. It is not likely, however, that a
-similar movement in all respects will be made by
the Federals. General M'Clellan is apparently about
to try the dangerous game of combined movements.
However, his plans may be modified by the move-
ments of the Confederates, who must naturally feel
that their excuses for a defensive attitude have
ceased with the menacing advance of their enemy.
It is to the credit of the Federal General that he
has endured with constancy, and so far as I can tell,
without irritation, though not without pain, the at-
tacks of all kinds which have been directed against
him by the press and by politicians. He knows full
well they will be quite ready to hurrah after the cha-
riot wheels of their quondam " Young Napoleon,"
(whom they now describe as a sort of a cross between
Vitellius and Elagabalus) the moment he wins a vic.
-tory, and to shout out "There! we always said so."
It is insinuated that he is luxurious, inert, and
incapable, and that he is perverted by Democratic
doctrines; it is declared that he should have
" hurled his legions" here, there, and everywhere,
as if they were cricket-balls, and his accusers have
been free with tongue and pen. Should he fail now
he is in evil case. It he succeed, none can fix
bounds to the extent of his future career; certainly
not to the praise and honour to be bestowed, upon
him. There are people who repeat that the new
Secretary of War, Mr. Stanton, is not satisfied with
Gazer .l IfTlf-Han. His despatches, indeed, have
Nix to the statement by their curious
xy ;nil by certain firinendoes and it p!ied

CO

; :n informed that the Secretary of
War is really a stanch supporter ot the General,
-and that there is no foundation for these stories.
The popular impression has been produced the other
way, and it was in order to rectify it that some
friend of the General placed words in Mr. Stan-
ton's mouth in praise of the Commander of the I
army of the Potomac in the report of proceedings
at ameeting between him and the railway managers
which were repudiated by the Secretary, and have
given rise to comment and correspondence in the
New York papers. As the President now and then
orders a movement, or tells some of his officers, at
least, to perform a particular operation, it may be
conceived the results are not always in accordance
with the programme; but, as a remark generally
applicable to such interference, it may be stated that
'the shrewdness and natural sagacity of Mr. Lincoln
are not more lauded by the naval and military men
who are brought in contact with him from their de-
Partments than his desire to make himself acquainted
with the merits and bearing of every expedition and
mment, and the certainty with which he even-
al
If vehijs
countrymen
the details. He is a fighting man too.
vut
iauntrymen knew how broadly and strongly
Slidell the n his foot on the surrender of Mason and
thou gh he Was forced
perhaps like him all the more,
s forced to give way, in spite of the
erguments in 1,18
projected State Paper on the sub-
ject. lie takes
vaate
the W estern
greatr interest in the operations in
States. By-the-by, that
strong Union sentimeantnd
which flamed out so sud-
denly in Tennessee
seems dying out without much
splutter. Commodorel,oot:
will no doubt rekindle
it with his fleet of mortar
'fessels, which are to
move down as soon as the landforees under Grant
aro ready to Cooperate, The
United
States have
vow no less than fifty-ono
znoluxa of the
heaviest kind afloat on board an manyt_s mortar
vessels, and they aro daily adding
to
ricl ecitteiers-
rade means of getting back States and
into the Union. But the mortar vessels will do
their work. Wherever the Federals can put a 13_
inch mortar afloat within 3,000 yards of open earth-
-works, redoubts, or cities, the day is their own, and
they can settle profit and loss afterwards. The navy
is laughing in its sleeve, and, indeed, out of it now
3nd then, at the army. They claim r.s theirs all the
;eucceses of consequence which have been accom-
plished, and it is positively declared by some of the
United States naval officers that the Confederate ge-
,neral at Fort Donnelson offered to surrender to
Commander Dove, who was in Commodore Foote':
Vac% and that he declined the honour, on the
ground that the offer Bhould be made to Genera
Grant. On the other hand, their fire did little
damage at Roa.noke. A friend of mine, who was