The Sun.
London, England, 1869-01-15 00:00:00

AMERICAN LITERATURE.

(From the Anglo-American Times.)
Report to the War Department. By Major-General
Lewis B. Parsons, Chief of the Rail and River

Transportation.
People speak glibly of the movement of armies,
of victories and defeats ; and while discussing the
battles, their mind's eye only sees glancing bayonets,
reserves hurrying up, squadrons of cavalry hurled
against the enemy's flanks, and batteries unlimber-
ing to drive their shot through the advancing lines.
It is in the roar of the cannonade, in the rush of ca-
valry, thundering through the smoke and fire, with
death around, that interest centres and excitement
rises. Few but the tactician, thestatesm an, or the pro-
fessional soldier give a thought to the prodigious ef-
forts by which alone the combatants, on a great scale,
with all their material, are placed opposit e to each
other iu fighting array. The American war bewildered
the European more than any other, for the distances
were so great, the places where battles were fought
so widely separated and so unexpected, the means
so unkno 'n by which armies supposed to be directed
on one point, suddenly appeared some 300 miles
away, being found to be directed against another, so
that Englishmen could not trace the strategy of the
war. and were content to drift, many believing that
it was an affair of chance, the one army endeavour-
ing to meet and annihilate the other wherever it
appeared in force. This is due to the geographical
features of the continent, whereon a flood of light is
thrown by the circumstances related in the report
of General B. Parsons, Chief of rail and river trate-
sportacion. To understand the civil war in Ame-
rica, the first thing is to have a general idea of a
country differing in many features from any other
in which grand military operations were carried
on before. The valley of tile Mississippi was, in
truth, the theatre of the struggle, of which to con-
vey a conception to the mind of an Englishman,
we may say is drained by twenty-three thou-
sand miles of navigable water. When hostilities
commenced this gigantic network of rivers was
more or less in the hands of the Confederates,
the struggle from the beginning to the end being
to NI rest it from them, when the Confederacy,
pierced to death, fell a prey to the Northern
general in the position to seize the prize. " At
the commencement of the war the Government
held no point south of Cairo, and all Southern
rivers were blockaded till the fall of forts henry
and Donelson in February, 1862, which opened
the Tennessee and Cumberland, and also the Mis-
sissippi to island No. 10. The fall of island No.
10 and Corinth in the spring of 1862 led to the
fall of Memphis, and opened the river to that place.
But it was not until July, 1863, after the capture
of Vicksburg, that the Mississippi from Cairo to
New Orleans was at all passable for Government
transports, and even till May, 1865, the enemy
claimed to hold most of the rivers] through the
Southern States by his moveable batteries and
roving bands of guerillas so as to prevent their
navigation being of any practical advantage." The
rivers most used were the Cumberland, the Ten-
nessee, Lower Mississippi, White, Arkansas, and
Upper Missouri. The means of transportation on
all were of a similar character, and available for
service at any point, and Gen. Parsons, in detailing
some of the army movements through their agency,
gives an idea of the immense advantage the Govern-.
ment derived from the organization he and others
had effected, and we select an instance to con-
vey to our readers the nature of these services. In
the fall of 1864 the Confederacy made its final
effort to raise the States behind Sherman and check
his march on Atlanta. Price invaded the State of
Missouri in force, and it was necessary to gather
an army at the shortest notice. Seven thousand
cavalry were transported as by magic from Cape
Giradeau to Jefferson city, and at the same mo-
ment Capt. Metcalf, who superintended these opera-
tions, carried the army corps of Gen. A. J. Smith, num-
bering 16,000 men, from Jefferson city to Franklin
on the Pacific Railroad, whence they marched to
Dozier's landing on the Missouri River, where
seventeen steamers waited to carry them to Jeffer-
son city, where the two commands united, and the
rebel General at once checkmated had to commence
his disastrous retreat. The same officer then carried
Smith's corps to the Tennessee to strengthen General
Thcmas at Nashville, then threatened by the last
great military movement of the Richmond Govern-
ment, that of Hood, after he had doubled round
Sherman's army in the vain hope of drawing back
that General, by operating on his line of communi-
cation. General Smith's command, although at
the time 500 miles away, was so speedily thrown
into the State capital of Tennessee that it took a
decisive part in the brilliant series of actions which
struck the death-blow to the flickering life of the
Confederacy. The perfection to which this machi-
nery for water carriage had attained may be seen by
comparing the first movements in boats, with the abi-
lity in the end to convey armies on the grandest scale,
and in the shortest periods vouched for by Gen- Par-
sons, and in some instances performed. On the
Ist August, 1861, four thousand men under Gen.
Fremont were embarked in eight boats at St. Louis,
and this was termed iu the papers of the day " the
great fleet." It is now practicable, says General
Parsons, on 24 hour's notice, to embark at Boston
or Baltimore a larger army than those with which
Napoleon won some of his most decisive victories,
and landing it within three days at Cairo, 1,200 miles
distant, there embark it on transports, and wi hin
four days more time disembark it at New Orleans,
2,200 miles from the peiut of departure. Boats
could easily be gathered at Cincinnati, Louis-
ville, and St. Louis, which could within a week
precipitate two hundred thousand troops, with
all necessary munitions and supplies, upon Cairo
or Memphis. A despatch to the Secretary of
War detailing the movement of the 23d Army
Corps shows that this is no vain boast. It begins
with the laconic announcement that, " in accord-
ance with your orders, Major-General Schofield
and army have been transferred from Clifton on
the Tennessee to the Potomac." This letter is dated
February 2d, and the transfer was made in the

middle of the previous month ; that is, in the bit-
terest period of winter. The corps consisted of
10,000 men. They appear to have commenced the
move on the 17th January, the order having only
reached a few days, but before the mosth closed
Schofield and his army were encamped on the banks
of the Potomac ready after hood's decisive defeat
to take part in the great attack soon after to be
made by General Grant on Lee's lines covering
Richmond.. The distance was 1,400 miles, equally
divided between land and water ; the time but
eleven days of a severe mid-winter, without any pre-
paration beyond the means upon which Gen. Parsons
could at once put his hands, and the only soldier
even hurt owed -(tie loss of his life to his own
imprudence, for the hard frost having injured
the rails, he considered lihnself in danger at some
spot, sprang from the car, and was killed. This
is an extraordinary feat, and shows with what im-
mense power the North was then operating, for iu
five days after the movement was decided on at
Washington the march was commenced in Tennes-
see, 1,400 miles away, and in eleven days more
that corps, with its baggage, its animals, and
its great military trains, in mid-winter, was
between Washington and Richmond. We bay°
shown the power thrown into the hands of the
North by the use made of the marvellous net-
work of river communication, and we wish now
to direct attention to the ability with which every
difficulty was surmounted. Col. Arthur Edwards,
one of the General's subordinates, was directed
by Rosecrans to put steamers on the Tennessee
river above the Muscle Shoals. As these shoals are
an effectual bar to steamboat navigation on the
Upper Tennessee from the Ohio these steamers bad
to be built, and Colonel Edwards had not a scrap
of material except what he could extract from an
old dilapidated saw-mill, the only structure which
marked the spot on which once stood the village of
Bridgeport. The war had spread wide destruction
for hundreds of miles around, and Colonel Edwards
had before him only the primeval forest, too often
the cover for the enemy's picquets. The saw-mill
was immediately repaired ; spikes, nails, iron, paint,
pitch, oakum, were brought from the North, and
fourteen barges were at once constructed. Govern-
ment steamers on the Cumberland river were dO-
- and this officer, in the month of October,
after making his barges, built a steamer, the Chat-
tanooga, which ascended the river to the astonish-
ment of Roseerans' army, which, by her timely
services, was probably saved from a disastrous re-
treat. He then repaired the Dunbar, in time t°
render valuable services in transporting troops M
the splendid victories of Look-out Mountain and °le
Mission Ridge. Perceiving the necessity of steam
power and machinery, and regarding the waste of
muscle from a stand-point peculiarly American,
Colonel Edwards confiscated an engine and boiler,
which he found at Stevenson, Alabama, and
setting it up beside his old mill at Bridgeport, be
built a machine shop, and proceeded to turn out four
gunboats ironclad from the main to the upper deck,and
nine other transports, making 13 steamers in nine
months! having cut up 750,000 feet of lumber, out
of logs dragged a distance of from one to three
miles. We would like to know what other service
in the world could parallel this instance ;
we doubt whether the whole range of the An3e;
rican war tells with more force the aptitude °`
the people to do " any mortal thing." On the
grand march until reaching the sea for Sherman, °
operations, Nashville was the base whence his 004
and the enormous force operating in Tennessee were
supplied. During the months of February, March,
April, and May, 614 steamers and other boats arrived
there, and discharged 158,016 tons. By changing
the contract for transport from the day to the Piece?
in the carriage alone the Government was saved the
enormous sum of three millions of dollars ; and
well was the system conceived that the cost
of
moving troops did not average a third of a cent Per
mile for each soldier, with gold ranging from 206
to 280. Au army of 20,000 men, with officers an`,
baggage, would ba moved 400 miles on the Alls-
sissippi for $25,000, while stores and animals were
conveyed at a similar ratio. On the 30th of June'
lled
1865, the Government owned 114 boats prope 0
by steam, and 486 barges. During the war tilt,
loss of the United States Navy was two WI
destroyed by torpedoes, eleven by batteries, four t°
prevent them faking into the hands of the enenli
and seven sunk. The number of boats destroye,
tau
from all causes was 335, of 152,450 tons, value
at 8,255,000 dollars. An idea may be forint"'
of the trust imposed on the Transport Department
as well as of the cost of the work to the United States'
and of the magnitude of the carriage, when we 531
'
that, for the fiscal year, ending June 30, 186°fo
$48,491,132 were disbursed, including all kinds
Army Transport throughout the United State,
Over a fourth of this was paid for the Wester
rivers alone. The number of officers and der
carried was close on 4,000,000, and the cattle ()cc,
700,000. A quarter of a million men were prisoae':
of war. It is generally supposed that the Goirerlit
ment worked most of the railways themselves, 19110
this is a mistake, as it was only where they Were
abandoned, and had been damaged by the 03°111,,'1
that they were repaired and run on Governll37),
account. During that year the railroads.owned
companies transported 5,614,537 tons of stores'
while the Government carried but 354,638 10,
The proportion, however, was in favour of the u
ViB
vert:tient as regards steamers and barges, bn-
t
presume that the boats generally belonged t° pri
vate persons, and were taken up by the Quarters
master's Department for the time. We may Pficl
add that the officers never hesitated to seize 3by
appropriate anything required on emergenei.de,
the State, but almost invariably with such cons' it,
ration that the owners were compelled to gamed
• t
however inconvenienced, that they were jug ig„00
by the necessity. Amidst the "shoddy" fortntPie
made out of the country's emergencies it is sao..
factory to turn to the able and upright admitus tr
o'
tion of these difficult departments by United Stet ,
officers, who, while fingering millions, and srej
rounded by dishonest contractors, seldom ine°,theit
even the breath of suspicion. Grand as werq i
achievements, furnishing a history which calla,
read with as much astonishment as interest n h°-
rope when fully told, yet, perhaps, their biglie-0 the
nour, reflecting most credit on their country, IS,ely
purity of their administration, contrasting straubthe
with the shameful peculation which marked to,
conduct of many loudly professing patriots, 00
nuirably satirised by Artemus Ward.

Oleg
~,0
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l,
rd
GO',
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Births. l Y 0'
ar
CLARKE —On the 13th inst., the wife of H. Saville C I
Esq., Bayswater, of a daughter. OP 0
HAMILTON—On the 12th inst., at Charlton, the s
Capt. It. V. Hamilton, R.N., of a daughter.
?rol'clt
WIIINNEIC—On the 14th inst., at 90, Regent's-par-
the wife of F. Whinney, Esq., of a daughter.

Marriages. Otro
STEPHENS —DYNG—On the 13th inst., at St. Peter or:js,
slow-gardens, Frederick Stephens, 2d Lifo Gift 144
Cecilia Mary, eldest daughter of Captain llyng,
Quendon Hall, Essex.
„tOD, ‘sf
Swivros —KENDALL - On the 14th inst., at pr'ea,
H. Swinton, Coinina.nder R.N., to Caroline JO-13cie
daughter of Henry Kendall, Esq., Sussex-square,

ton. t,
Deaths. a 9,,CATI,f
BROOKING—On the 13th inst., at 9, llorbnrY-c-, 9'-'
Ladbroke-square, Thomas lioLsworth Brut.)lii"' 6,,
aged 78. , OP
CIIINNOCK- On the 12th inst suddenly, at 3,7 - ° j,
~ f I
place, Fred. Chinnock, Esq., aged 63.
~eO, o
JONES -On the 12th inst., at Kinffston-on-T1137,t 00'
ward Jones, Esq., of the Bank or England, 403" lei'
It. 11. Jones, Esq., of 11, Ilolford-square. Also
MANLEY- On the 12th inst., at Bedford, Joho
tI4,
_
Esq., aged 52.
-flev ,frP,''
NASA—On the 13th inst. at at 2, Windsor-road, •-• 11'
hill, S., Alfred Nash, 'Esq., Retired FLlP"stel.
aged 52.

- - 9+
London : Printed and Published by WtLLIAg 1-
44.;
of No. 112, Strand, Printer, at Lath SUN 01-ec3;i3otl
Strand, in the Preeinct of the Savoy, in the
Ildddlesex.—Friday, January 15,
.15119.