The Sun.
London, England, 1861-09-24 00:00:00

THE CIVIL WAR IN A3I.E.RICA.

(From the Special Correspondent of the Times.)
WASHINGTON, SEPT. 10.
It may be the peculiar influence of the climate,
affecting the operations of reasoning or the grounds
of belief; it may be the nature of the nitrogen or of
the ozone in the air of this continent, which, vivify-
ing the imagination and turning fancies and sur-
mises into accomplished facts, puts all mankind here
into a condition of credulity and expectation ; but
I really do think that " something will turn up'"
very speedily. When a man lives in an atmos.
phere into which a sort of myth-making, gas has
been pumped by a million-horse power press he
must eventually succumb to the agency, and lapse
into a state, as regards his ability to distinguish
truth from falsehood by the usual tests, very simi-
lar to that which a mesmeric patient experiences in
the attempt,to discriminate between reality and

Having thus cautioned my readers somewhat not
to trust too much to me if I venture upon prophecy,
because of the force of my "surroundings," and to
take me au pied de la lettre only as to what I see
now or have seen and know, I proceed to state the
grounds of my belief that we are on the eve of wit-
nessing a warlike operation of magnitude. On Fri-
day morning Gen. Beauregard, who had advanced
his pickets within a couple of miles of the Federalist
outosts, all the way from Alexandria to Great
Falls, and had occupied Munson's Hill, beyond
Arlington House and Ball's Cross Roads, in front
of the Chain-bridge, opposite which he had shown
some cavalry the previous day, absolutely struck
his tents, packed up his baggage, and made every
preparation to march his army to --. Where
to, if at all ? That was the question. It has not
yet been answered. .Is it a feint—is it intended to
draw the Federalists out of their intrenched and
fortified position, and to invoke battle, with the
view of making more of victory than he did before?
If so, the stratagem was not successful. Perhapsit
was only to distract the attention of his enemy, and
to perplex him by doubts as to the real direction of
the attack? Again, General Beauregard did not
succeed. Then he is really breaking up his force of
quasi investment or attack, and directing it on some
other points above and below the river, leaving at
Manassas and the points covering the roads to
Richmond sufficient to resist any corps which
M'Clellan could spare from Washington to move
on the Confederate capital ? To do that he must
be in very great force, and it certainly leaks out
from the Southern papers that the Confederates
were at the time of the Hatteras expedition direct-
ing the march of every man they could spare to
Virginia. Thus, we read that certain regiments
which were actually on their way to Beauregard
and Johnson were ordered to stand fast or to return
for the defence of the menaced coasts, but, as the
His Royal Highness the General Commanding- movement was universal all over the States, the
in-Chief visited the camp at Aldershott on Friday, contingents of those not in any such danger would
accompanied by Major-Gen. Sir J. Yorke Scarlett, of course proceed on their way. There is reason to
Adjt.-General, Major-Gen. Sir R. Airey, Quarter- think that the Confederates have upwards of
master-General, &c. His Royal Highness inspected 175,000 men between Richmond and the Potomac.
the division, which was drawn up in lines of brigades There are some who assert they exceed 200,000
on the common near the club-house, under the corn- men. The feeling of such a force concentrated in
mend of Lieut.-Gen. Sir J. L. Pennefather. The one place must be one of the most difficult matters
cavalry brigade was commanded by Col. Devereux, possible, particularly in a State which has been
Royal Horse Artillery ; the Ist brigade by Colonel trodden down by the feet of armies for five months
Haines, Ist battalion, Bth; the 2d brigade, by past. They have been sickly at times, and their
Brigadier-Gen. Brown; and the 3d, by Brigadier- component parts are of a nature difficult to be kept
Gen. Russell. After having been inspected, the together without the pressure of excitement. Now,
division was formed in battle array to the west- it seems to me that the advance made by the gene-
ward, and a series of field-day movements took rals which I have mentioned above was very pro-
place, his Royal Highness returning to town early bably intended to cloak some movement off the
in the afternoon. ground by the mass of the Confederates, but if they
On Saturday detachments of the 20th, 52d Light have gone, up to this moment we have heard no
Infantry, and 83d Regiments, from the depot batta- news of them in any other direction. The country
lions at Chatham, left that garrison under the com- is so densely covered with wood that actual recon-
mend of Capt. G. G. G. Munro and Lieut. G. D. nuissance does not effect much in making out
Wahab, 20th Regiment, and proceeded to East- the strength of the enemy, and if it were pushed
bourne to undergo a course of instruction in long- too far it might lead to an engagement, which
range rifle firing previously to embarking for General M'Clellan is not disposed to force at
India. present, though he would be by no means
Yesterday a third detachment of the sth Dragoon anxious to prevent the Confederates attacking
Guards, accompanied by Capt. T. L. Hampton and him inside his works. The balloon, after all, is
Cornet T. Y. Benyon, arrived in Colchester on their not so useful as might be expected in making
way to Ipswich, where two other troops arrived on out details. It must be held to the ground by a cord,
Saturday. - Three troops, with the headquarters, or it would sail away into Dixie if the wind were
have arrived at Norwich, and two other troops have favourable, and it must be kept out of range of
rifled guns, The lines of advanced posts screen, as
proceeded to Northampton.
The volunteering for the 36th Regiment, which it were, the movements of the enemy, although he
is about proceeding to Canada, as well as for the can see a good deal of the position around the capi-
64th Regiment, just returned from India, has pro- tal from his place on Munson's-hill. All that can be
ceeded so satisfactorily at Chatham that, although seen or heard, however, leads to the belief that the
the announcement was only made a few days since, ;Confederates are preparing for some great effort,
no less than 150 soldiers have offered themselves and that they have retired portions of their force ,

Ifrom before Washington, either as a device to blind
their antagonists while making it, or to co-operate
with the rest of the army by a serious demonstration
above and below the city. If the Confederates have
moved, they mean to do some mischief. They can
scarcely retire and hope to make a better leap by
doing so. In inactivity on both sides, coupled.with
prodigious expenditure, are the best if not the only
chance of compromise and peace. Success on either
side revives the hopes of complete ultimate triumph
of the one, and stimulates the animosity and the
display of the resources of the other. There is one
thing to be taken into consideration as an element
of peace. During the winter the armies must go
into quarters. Even so far South as Virginia the
weather is free,uently very severe, snow lies many
feet deep on the ground for weeks at a time. The
Potomac is occasionally frozen over completely.
The roads, always indifferent, become rivers of mud
and slush, through which it would be nearly impos-
sible to move men or guns and baggage. :When the
armies are in winter quarters, will the politicians
work for peace or war ? Or will the leaders of
divisionsbe permitted to carry or in the
ice and snow, remembering the great success of
Washington after the trajet, which is so often re-
presented in bad engravings all over North Ame-
rica ? It is obviously the interest of Beaureguard
to strike a great blow before winter sets in, and
thus strengthen the base for negotiations; but
General M'Clellan, I am satisfied, will not move
a man if he can help it until the very end of this
month or the beginning of October. About that
time there will be kind inquiries about the second
st) millions of the loan, and no doubt increased
vigour on the part of those who are opposed to the
war. But if Gen. M'Clellan obtains any very consi-
derable victory, and is able at the first stroke to
break through the shell with which the Confederates
have covered their soft parts in the interior of the
States, some measure short of secession and inde-
pendence may satisfy them; and when they are me-
naced with destruction they may put up with an
offer to live on fair terms with their conquerors. It
is to be seen whether the latter will then offer them
what they might have easily obtained at an earlier
stage of hostility. I have been in our Warsaw a few
days ago, on my way back from our American Po-
land, and, if I am to judge of the state of the South
where the North does its work from the condition
of things in Baltimore and Maryland, there is a
most melancholy future for the United States. Of
the ultimate power of the Northern and Western

States to subjugate the seceded States in the Soutb,
if they put forth all their strength and means by sea
and land, I have no doubt whatever. The South
must die of atrophy after a time, if every channel of
line is shut to it. By the end of this month the
United States will have a large fleet on the coasts
and on the rivers, and I have reason to think that
an expedition will be• organised also to attack the
Texan Secessionists from the West—far as that is
away. A naval officer said to me the other day—it
seems as if the moment an American sees an Eng-
lishman he thinks the latter is going to say some-
thing about cotton—" You need not be afraid of any
want of cotton in England. By October we will
have a few good ports down South, and plenty of
cotton for all the world." Fernandina may possibly
go soon ; there is an eye on Pensacola also,and New
Orleans is by no means safe. The condition to which
the blockade has reduced many classes in the South
is bad enough ; it will become still worse. Tea,
coffee, and clothing are nearly exhausted, or have,
as the American phrase has it, " given out," be-
cause there is none to give out at all. Lead, sul-
phur and salt are very scarce. Shoes, flannel, quinine,
beef and butter, cloth, tin, and leather are in the
same category. If the blockade be enforced the
distress and want of all things, save natural pro-
duce, will be intense.
And what is the end to be ? There is a notion
in some men's minds that there will be a compromise
—that a strong democratic reaction and a great
peace party will arise which will oust the present
Administration, and carry some measures on which
North and South will find a base to rest propositions
for mutual agreement. To my limited vision the
idea seems quite illusory. The South, if not beaten,
will be content with no terms short of independence
or domination. The North is now irritated ; pride
and passion are aroused, and the peace party is
losing instead of gaining ground, owing to the
action of the Government and to the violence of the
populations, which have resulted in something very
like terrorism. The freedom of the press has ceased
to exist in its full acceptation. It is guaranteed by
the constitution, but that document which with the
empire it created is not as old as thousands of living
men is absolute as the Constitutions of Clarendon.
The grand jury of Winchester county have presented
a batch of five newspapers as tending to give aid and
comfort to the enemy. Mobs have, however, anti-
cipated grand jury presentments. The New York
papers, which are losing circulation and money, are
delighted at this wholesome rigour, and " cry havoc,
and let slip the dogs of war" at their unfortunate
brethren, at the same time doing Fouquier Tinville
to perfection, and pointing out others who ought
to be suppressed in the name of " public safety."
Ominous and terrible words !

It is some consolation to those who approve non-
interference in this great quarrel to see how the
Emperor of Russia's very friendly but very am-
biguous letter has been received by a certain por-
tion of the American public and by the Secretary
of State. Why, indeed, the despatch was written
at all it is not easy to determine, and, perhaps,
M. de Stoeckel, the excellent gentleman who with
so much tact and efficiency represents the Czar near
the Cabinet of Washington, would have been ex-
ceedingly puzzled if he were called upon to explain
the real motive of the paper. People who have
nothing on earth to do with each other may well
have a friendly indifference to each other's interests
capable of expression in any number of fine words.
For myself, I have the most cordial feelings of sym-
pathy in the recent quarrel which has broken out
between the Man in the Moon and his wife and think
they should both make it up at once. I will not,
however, send any messenger to say so, lest the Man
in the Moon, who has a poker in his hand ready for
the next charge of the lady with the carving knife,
should consider I was " counselling him officiously
to yield to an ignoble peace." It would be vary
difficult to convince any American who listens to
what he is told and believes what he reads, and will
not use his intellect and trust his sympathies, that
Russia is not more friendly to the Republic than
England, and that her institutions perhaps are not
more congenial to those of the United States than
are our own. There is the most ludicrous nonsense
talked by men well informed enough on the politics
of their own country about the English aristocracy,
which is supposed to be intimately connected with
the Cotton Lords and to rest on cotton altogether.
But some American misapprehensions are rendered
pardonable by the eccentric language of English-
men, particularly those of the Liberal party, who
feel an intense admiration for slavery, and whose
sympathies are with the Southern aristocracy in
this contest.

.onthrld' in numbers and patine:
Stamb.oul or lii.oseow, nothing wo\
stillness if the Sentries could be prey.
to let their muskets go off occasionally.,
the small hours, in the days of Austrian patriots,
was not more profoundly lifeless. Even the men
who swore and stamped over the stones are gone.
They were mostly of a sporting turn of mind, and
devoted themselves to the study of games of chance
in connection with certain cubes of ivory, packs
cards, and teetotums. Here they flourished, and
large gilt numbers over the doors of the houses,
flaming with lights, in which the sports were car-
ried on, were to be seen in all the decent streets,
and attracted the unwary to be burnt. In one of
these temples to the goddess Fortune presided the
Benicia Boy, and the others were generally provided
also with priests and acolytes of remarkable Lumpi-
ness at the back of the head and over the deltoids,
some of whom must have had their faces sat upon
in early youth or been subjected to the g►entler
touches of a steam hammer. But Fortune had not
only Mars in training by her side, but was in alli-
mice with Venus and Bacchus, and America being
a very young country has as many.sons who cannot
resist such a combination of the mythology as any
of the older portions of the globe. Among these
was a paymaster in the navy, who in the equal con-
test dropped not only his own money, but large
sums, it is said, belonging to the State. The eye of
Uncle Samuel, closed before to all the " doings" and
" goings on" under his very nose, was now opened
wide, and last week descents a la Hatteras were
operated on the houses, numerous arrests made,
money seized, and rooms swept by the authorities.
•As if determined to destroy all the pleasures of
Washington at one fell swoop, the Provost-Marshal
(Brigadier-General Porter) issued orders, about the
same time, that all the " bars" in the city and
George-town should be shut up at 9 o'clock, the
penalties of disobedience being the complete sup-
pression of the bar and the arrest of those found in
front and behind it. The best of it is every one is
pleased with these acts of vigour. We are all quite
ready for a " strong Government" here, and as the
South are ready for the same, or a little stronger,
if possible, we may see another instance of nniver-

sal suffrage being used as a base on which to erect
the fabric of absolute autocratic power with the
consent of the suffragans. The selling of liquor to
soldiers is made highly penal also, and, if repression
and coercion can do it, the vast collection of armed
men here will speedily be licked enough to shape
with a rough tongue. But they kick against the
pricks. With all the love of military display and
parade which exists in America—the desire after
flags, banners, uniforms, arms, and rank, there is as
yet a want of the military or rather soldierly spirit
which begets attention to personal smartness, takes
pride in obedience, and bends freely to the yoke of
discipline. A young man was found guilty the other
day of sleeping en his post in face of the enemy,
and at night he was sentenced to be shot, and Gen.
M'Clellan issued orders for the execution. I never
for a moment believed it would be carried out —it
would have been cruelty to commence with that
victim. Some time ago I heard General M'Dowell
say that, riding over tEe Long Bridge at night with
some of his Staff, he found the sentry at the Vir-
ginia end asleep ; he dismounted, took away the
sleeper's musket, called the sergeant of the guard ;
the sergeant was asleep too ; next the General sum-
moned the officer, and lie was not forthcoming at
all till the whole post had been aroased. The
commonest thing in the world is to see the sen-
tries sitting down on stones and blocks of wood
reading their newspapers, with their firelocks
across their knees. If a man sits down
at night it is hard for him to keep
awake, and I doubt if the temper of the
people, judging from what I heard, would have
permitted the execution of this young man without
condemnation of all concerned in it. They dis-
cussed the sentence in the hotels with acrimony,
and the general feeling, in some instances at least,
seemed to be that a man could not help going to
sleep if he was sleepy, and tat no one had any
right to kill him because he was sleepy. Repre-
sentations were made to the President, who ex-
pressed a wish that the man might be reprieved, as
it was the first case of capital condemnation ; and,
yielding to the wish and the intercession of his offi-
cers, General 11l'Clellan not only remitted the sen-
tence, but ordered the man to be released end to
return to his duty, giving at the same time due
warning to sleepers to come that they need expect
no such clemency in future.
Slovenliness of dress and gait when off duty,
long locks, unbuttoned coats, unpolished boots and
equipments, mark many of the men, and the prac-
tice of saluting officers, even of high rank, is rather
exceptional. But things are vastly improved.
General M'Clellan knows that he has a number of
brave and intelligent men in his hands ; they are
not an army, but they are the making, as we say,
of a splendid 'one. They have been formed into
brigades and divisions, but that is for the conve-
nience of commands, as the brigades are not in a
condition to act in that initial capacity. The drills
to which the men are subjected are still of the most
elementary character, but their marching is very--
good indeed, and some attempts recently made to
direct brigades from point to point, and to shift
them from one camp to another, with orders as to

the observance of time, have been satisfactory. The
cavalry force is now augmented, and one smart
corps, dressed in blue tunics, with yellow braid,
like our 7th Hussars, passed through the other day
in very good order. There are Polish and Hunga-
rian colonels raising a regiment of Lancers and
another of Hussars—which will make the squad-
rons in the field reach a respectable figure. I
should not be disposed to estimate the cavalry
about Washington at more than 1,500 sabres. The
field guns, perhaps may number 15 batteries. The
battalions of infantry must exceed 80 by some small
numbers; but it is very difficult, owing to the con-
stant changes and the confused nomenclature of

the different regiments, to arrive at any sound con-
clusion on that point.
Some of the regiments are sent into the field from
their States in excellent style, and I was very much
struck by the completeness of the way in which the
18th Massachusetts Regiment was turned out, with
baggage-waggons, tents, unforms, horses, commis-
sariat transport, so that it was ready for a campaign
in all respects, except that the men—fine, stout,
hardy-looking fellows, were not acquainted with
their drill. The Vermont Regiment was provided
with splendid attelage, and on Saturday we had a
splendid battalion from Pennsylvania. But there
is still great inequality in the arms, equipments, and
efficiency of the Line. Col. Burnside, now promoted
to the rank of Brigadier-General, is appointed to
take charge of all regiments on their arrival, and
to get them into working order before they are sent
across the river. Everything is done that can be
effected by the superior officers, but the men still
indulge in grumbling, and now and then shoot each
other. Eventually, however, and in no Long time,
there will be a new spirit among them. General
Scott's order, in which he congratulates the army
on the prospect of being paid in paper instead of in
gold, has not produced any effect on the troops,
but at the same time they do not complain of it.
The veteran chief of the American army speaks of
retiring in another month to enjoy an honoured re-
pose. 11l fare they who serve a republic ! 'Washing-
ton's estate is a wilderness—his monument un-
finished. Gen. Scott's name has fallen out of men's
memory in a few weeks. There are great expecta-
tions of the new General, Halleck, a most distin-
guished West Point officer, long connected with the
Government of California, who has come out of pre
vate life in that State to lead the troops of
United States. The Navy Departmentai:,l=l
prodigious efforts to procure caanurreon:s
es here to
Proclama-
English firms, regardless
rep
tion, have sent over their i
steel and other
make offers for contracts to supp
of
thre e
sentativ
ordnance. The weather is cooling down gradually.

The American papers contain details of obscure
skirmishes, and purposeless marches of Pillow
and M'Cullough, Rains and Price, and of the
astonishing atrocity at the railway bridge in
Missouri. I can add nothing to them. Although
martial law has not been formally proclaimed in
the city and district around it, to all intents
and purposes it exists in full force, and I, for
one, as a mere stranger and sojourner in the
land, contrasting the perfect silence and quietude
which prevail at night, and the order in the streets
by day, am not disposed to quarrel with the means
by which the change has been produced. At mid-
night you can hear &pin drop in the streets—it is
quite an excitement for a footfall to come sounding
along the pavement, and it sounds like disaffection
t
for one to cough. Save such noises from infrequent
passers-by, and the barking of the cur-dogs: which

1
CHARGE of OF FORGERY AT BIRMINGHAM.—At the
Birmingham Police-court yesterday, John Bradbury was
brought up, having been apprehended at Torquay on Sa-
turday by one of the detective police of the borough, on a
warrant issued many months ago, charging the prisoner
with forging the name of a lady to a promissory note. No
evidence mos given, the prisoner being remanded tiilWed.
nesday.

r

ALFRED MELLON'S PROMENADE
CONCERTS.
THEATRE ROYAL, COVENT-GARDEN.
LAST WEEK BUT TWO.
THE MOZART NIGHT THIS EVENING.
In consequence of the great satisfaction evinced on the
occasion of the Mozart Night, it will be repeated this even-

The first part of the Concert will consist of a Selection
from the Works of Mozart.— the second part will be Mis-
cellaneous, and include Beethoven's BATTLE Symphony,
performed by the Orchestra, assisted by the Bands of the
Victoria Rifles and the City of London Rifle Brlgade.—Grand
Opera tic Selection, "Robert le Diable."—The Diblin Qua-
drille (on nautical airs).—Grand Volunteer March and Part
Song Part Song by 3lendelssohn.—Songs by Mdlle.
PAR EPA, Madame LAURA BAXTER, Mr. WEISS, and
Mr. VE ttNON &c,
Commence at 8. Promenade, Is.
ron''uctor, Mr. ALFRED MELLON.
On Wednesday (To-morrow), a FRENCH NIGHT.
On Thursday, a MEND ELSSOHN NIGHT.
On Friday, an ITALIAN NIGHT; and on
Saturday, a VOLUNTEER NIGFIT.
On Monday next Mendelssohn's Oratorio, ELIJAH, will
be given.

IIAYMAIt.KET.
Lessee, Mr. J. B. Blackstone.
r EVENING, the nertermanoes will commence with
THE BALANCE OF COMFORT.
After which, a new Comedy entitled THE SOFT SEX.
Mr. C. Mathews, Mr. Buckstone,' ?dr. Compton, Mr. E.Villiers,
Mrs. Charles Mathews, Mrs. Wilkins, eze.
With USED UP, Mr. C. Mathews.
Toconcinde with the Ballet, BACCHUS AND ARIADNE.
Commence a 7

ROYAL PRINCESS'S THEATRE...—
Lessee and Manager, Mr. A. Harris.
This theatre will open on Saturday, Sept. 28, with a new
and original comedy, in five acts, written by John Brougham,
entitled PLAYING VirITEI FIRE ; characters by Mr. John
Brougham (his first appearance at this theatre), Mr, Ryder.
Mr. Ij. Widdicombe, Mr. George Jordan (of the principal
theatres of the United States, his first appearance in Eng-
land), Miss C. Lelc,eicq, and Mrs. Weston. With other En-
tertainments. In active preparation, Shakespeare's tragedy
of 0 P fIELLO, with new scenery, dresses, and appointments
Othello, Mr. Fechter. The box-office will open on *
Wednes-
day, Sept. 25.

ROYAL LYCEUM THEATRE.
Manager—Mr. Edmund Falconer.
THIS EVENING, the new and original farce, entitled
THE FETCHES; or, The Onconvanience of a Single
Lite. Tim O'Reilly, Mr. Edmund Falconer; Mary O'Brady,
Miss Lydia Thompson.
After which, at Eight o'clock, the new and success-
ful comedy of WOMAN; or, Love against the World.
Characters by Messrs. Walter Lacy, Addison, Herman Vezin,
J. Robins, Mrs. Charles Young, Mrs. Weston, Miss Murray,
and Miss Lydia Thomson.
To conclude with AN UNPROTECTED FEMALE, in
which Miss Lydia Thompson will dance a New Volunteer
Quick Step.
Prices as usual. Doors open at half-past 5, to commence at
7 Box-office open daily from 11 till 5.

NEW TH ATRE-ROY AL, ADELPHI.-
Sole Proprietor and Manager, Mr. B. Webster.
Open for the Winter Season.
THIS EVENING, MUSIC TENTH CHARMS. Messrs.
D. Fisher, Romer, Warde, Misses K. Kelly and Laidlaw.
Alter which (233 d time), TUE COLLEEN BAWN. Mr.
D. Bouoicault, D. teisher, Billinzton, S. Emery, Stephenson,
C. J. Smith, Romer, Howard, Ward ; Mrs. Boucicault, Miss
Woolgar, Mrs. Billinaton. and Mrs. H. Lewis.
To conclude with LOVE AND HUNGER. Messrs. Fisher,
Emery, C. J. Smith, Mrs. H. Marston, and Miss B.
Doors open at halt past il—Commence at 7.

CANTERBURY HALL CONCERTS,
AND FINE ARTS GALLERY.
Mr. SAM COWELL every Evening at Nine and a platter
to Eleven.—Also, Grand Selections from TROVATORE,
TRAVIATA, NORMA, MARTHA, &c., by Miss Russell,
Miss Ernst, Mr. Herbert, Signor Tivoli, Mr. Morley, and a
powerful Chorus. The Comic department comprises Messrs.
Harvey and French, "The Nerves " Mr. Marshall—Mr.
Wood and his talented Son and Miss Harriet Coveney.

New Opera by Auber LA CIRCASSIENNE.—A Grand
Selection, arranged and conducted by Mr. Jonghmans, from
this Opera will be produced, FOR THE FIRST TIME IN THIS
coIINTRY, on MONDAY next. Principal Artistes—Miss
Russell, Mr. Herbert, and Signor Tivoli.

Musical Director, Mr. Jongtmans.
Admission—Hall, 6d. ; Stalls and Balcony, le.