The Sun.
London, England, 1862-08-15 00:00:00

AMERICA.

LIVERPOOL, THURSDAY.
The Canadian mail- screw steamer North Ame-
rican; Captain Burgess, Which left Quebee,en -the
2d inst., arrived in the Mersey at twelve o'clock
last night.

A telegraphic summary of the news has already
appeared.
The New York Herald of the 31st ult. says :
" No military movements are reported in General
M'Clellan's army since our last. The wounded and
sick continue to be sent down the river, and the
personal attention of the General is unremitting.
" A report was prevalent in Washington yester-
day, which originated with some contrabandists,
that the rebels were evacuating Richmond. Large
bodies of troops, it is stated, are crossing the James
River and moving southward. It is pretty evident,
however, that the movement of these troops means
something very different from an abandonment of
Richmond.
" General Pope reached his head-quarters at
Warrenton, Virginia, on Tuesday at noon, and was
received with enthusiasm. The Secessionists ap-
peared to be considerably excited upon his arrival,
but it is said are not disposed to take the oath of
allegiance. A portion of General Siegel's advance
drove out the rebel cavalry of Robertson from Ma-
dison Court House on Saturday without loss. The
rebels are making no demonstration along the rail-
road near Gordonsville, though from information
received there appears to be little doubt that Gen.
Ewell has quite as large a force in that vicinity as
we have before reported.
" It was rumoured in Norfolk that the rebel gun-
boat New Merrimac, and a ram just finished in
Richmond, intend to run through our fleet in the
James River, and attack the Minnesota and other
vessels at Norfolk, and make an attempt to take
the city.
" A special dispatch from Vicksburg, on the 23d,
recounts a gallant but unsuccessful attempt to cap-
ture the rebel ram Arkansas. It appears that ac-
cording to agreement between Commodores Davis
and Farragut, the fleet from below was to engage
the lower batteries, and the fleet above would en-
gage the upper ones, while the gun-boats Essex
and Queen were in the meantime to attack the
Arkansas and tow her out. In consequence of a
misunderstanding only a few shells were fired from
the mortars below, and had no other effect than to
divert the fire from the Essex, which attempted to
run into the Arkansas and jam her against the
levee, but the latter swung round, and the Essex
grazed her side. As she passed she gave the rebel
craft three 11-inch shots from the bow guns. Upon
finding herself unsupported she dropped down the
river. The ..ming to her aid, ran into the
Arkansas, making her tremble from stem to stern.
Recovering herself, the Queen ran on her again,
but so forcibly as to strain her own works badly.
Both boats then returned up the river.
"The guerillas in the West are becoming bold
and troublesome. We learn from Louisville that
the Kentucky wandering bands under Morgan took
possession of Russelville on Thursday, after a col-
lision with the Home Guard, wounding a captain
of Kentucky Volunteers, and killing two lieuten-
ants. To counteract this disaster it appears that
on the following day a large party of guerillas from
Boon county attacked Mount Sterling, and were re-
pulsed by the Home Guard defending that place.
During the retreat the guerillas were met by a party
of the Bth Kentucky Volunteers, who drove them
back towards the town, where they were again
attacked by the Home Guard. The result was a
complete stampede of the guerillas, who lost all their
horses, eight killed, and 48 taken prisoners. The
number of wounded is not known, the loss on our
side was three wounded. This class of marauders,
which seems now to comprise the remaining portion
of the rebel armies in the South-west, have also
shown themselves in large gangs, and are now en-
camped beyond the state line, in the counties of
Howell and Texas. Our troops stationed at Hous-
ton, Texas county, however, are said to be numer-
ous enough to repress any advance of the guerillas.
"We learn from a dispatch from Nashville that
a rebel mail has been captured by our army. The
letters contain valuable information. Beauregard
has resigned, and gone to gone to the Springs in
Alabama. Bragg is at Vicksburg with 20,000 men,
but is scarce of horses. An artillery company from
Georgia could not be supplied with either guns or
horses. The rebel letters seized were from Tupello,
Mississippi, 50 miles south of Corinth. The writers
are anticipating the early re-occupation of Tennes-
see by rebel troops, and every rebel warlike indica-
tion favours the supposition. The rebels are re-
ported to have uvocuated Lebanon, with the inten-
tion to mass their troops at a given point for a
sudden dash o❑ Nashville.

"The guerillas along the Mississippi banks are
equally active. Dispatches from Rolla, Missouri,
state that at Stillville, on Sunday night, at least
1,500 mounted and armed men had crossed the State
' Road from Potosi to Jefferson, within 10 miles of
that place. About 1,500 have organised, and put
out from Salem and vicinity within the last three
days. Within that time they have passed across the
railroad in great numbers between Rolla and Mer-
rimac. They take horses, clothing, and ammuni-
tion, and supplies of every kind they require,
wherever they find it.
‘i The steamer Platte Valley, to'Caire,'•
Sallie
news of the capture of the despatch
boatl'icksburg,
V/ ood by the rebels 150 miles
aboved succeeded in
The rebels had a masked battery, and bringethe
They took
hitting her steam pipe, disabliudg
fired into on her
The Queen of the West was a
quite a number of prisoners, and destroyed the boat.
way up. Two or three
West wandering bands of
Thus at all points in the
us and obstructing the
killed, and several wounded.
rebels are annoying
our troo,
river navigation.'' 7
it isstated on good authorit that when the
A Washington telegram, of the 30th ult.,
news of the departure of the three ilea-clad fri-
gates—La Couronne, L'lnvincible, and La Nor-
mandie—for the Gulf of Mexico, together with se-
veral wooden frigates and line-of-battle ships,
reached WashingtoN, our Secretary of State (Mr.
Seward) wrote immediately to the French Go-
vernment, and made strong remonstrances against
the presence in the vicinity of the United States,
of such a formidable fleet. Mr. Seward gives as the
reason for his protest that the Mexican expedition
being of too little consequence to qualify the send-
ing of such a tremendous armame at in Americanwaters, the American Government could
not help
thinking that it is destined to act against the
United States. It would, in eonseq uence, ask from