The Sun.
London, England, 1861-08-28 00:00:00

AMERICA.

ARRIVAL OF THE NORWEGIAN.
LIVERPOOL, TUESDAY.

The Montreal Ocean Mail Steamship Company's
screw steamer Norwegian, Captain M'Master,
which sailed from Quebec on the 17th inst., arrived
in the Mersey at 2 20 this afternoon.

A telegraphic summary of her news has already
appeared.

The New York Herald of the 15th says :
" It appears that the number of men under General Lyon,
at Davis Creek, Missouri, has been greatly exaggerated.
Instead of 8,000 men being in the action, there were only
5,500, the Home Guard, numbering over 2,000, having
remained in Springfield, and were not in the field at all
There is very little doubt that the rebels numbered
some 23,000. It seems the attack was made in two
eolumns by Generals Lyon and Sturgess, General Siegel
leading a flanking force of about 1,000 men and four guns
on the south of the enemy's camp. The fight raged from
sunrise until lor 2 o'clock in the afternoon. The rebels,
in overwhelming force, charged Captain Totton's battery
three distinct times, but were repulsed with great slaughter.
Gen. Lyon was wounded in the leg at an early hour during
the battle, and had his horse shot. The colonel of one of
the Kansas regiments having .been killed, the men called
upon Gen. Lyon to lead them. He immediately threw
himself in front of them, and while cheering the men on to
the charge, received a bullet in the left breast, and fell
from his horse. He was asked if he was hurt, and he re-
plied, No, not much;' but in a few minutes he expired
without a struggle. He was a gallant soldier, and died
bravely, as a soldier should, in front of his men.
" Judging from the official reports of the battle, it is not
to be regarded as a defeat of the Union army, nor is it so
regarded in Washington, but, on the contrary, in the light
of a masterly retreat from a position which was found to be
very dangerous and exposed, and impossible to be held by
a small force in the face of. an overwhelming superior one.
It is evident, moreover, that the rebels suffered terribly—
lost all their tents and waggons, and were driven back so far
that the Union troops actually occupied their encampment
for several hours after the engagement was ended. Gen.
Siegel made his retreat to Springfield and Rolla in admir-
able order, losing nothing but three guns, which were dis-
abled in the action by the horses being killed, and which he
spiked before abandoning them. The retreat was rendered
necessary from the belief that the rebel forces were about to
'le reinforced by General Hardee, with a body of 12,000 to
4,000 men, who was advancing on Pilot Knob ; and thus the
&tiger of being cut off from Rolla, the terminus of the
rairoad communication with St. Louis, became imminent.
Geteral Siegel felt confident that he could have held
Springfield only for this information; and he seems to be
born( out in this opinion by the fact that no pursuit was
attem)ted. General Siegel will probably fall back to Le-
banon, and there await reinforcements.

" Th. loss of the Union army is variously estimated at
from 15C to 300 killed, and several hundred wounded ;
while the rebel lass is put down at over 2,000. There is
some doubt as to the death of Generals M'Culloch, and
Price, while, unhappily, no doubt whatever hangs over
the fate of the gallant General Lyon, whose body was
brought back to Springfield.

" Major-General Fremont has deemed it necessary to
establish martial law in St. Louis, and to arrest the Presi-
dent of the board of police commissioners, John A.
Brownlee. Major M'Kinstry has been appointed provost
martial."

The Springfield correspondent of the St. Louis Democrat
furnishes a detailed account of the battle ; but all the
main facts agree with the description given by the New
York journals.

The Washington Evening Star has a despatch denying
that General M'Culloch was killed at the battle of Mis-
souri.

A special Washington despatch to the Tribune says it is
understood that Secretary Seward intends informing Lord
Lyons immediately that British subjects are engaged in
furnishing aid to the Confederates, in direct violation of the
Queen's proclamation.

The 79th New York Highland Regiment were in a state
of insubordination at Washington, in consequence of per-
mission being refused them to go home and see their
families and elect officers to fill the vacancies. The regi-
ment was marched to the Navy Yard under an escort of
cavalry, and 40 or 50 of the most active leaders were ar-
rested. It was reported that 62 of the mutineers would be
sent to the Tortugas, to work out their three years on the
fortification.

The New York Tribune says :—" The most reliable infor-
mation concerning the Disunionists is, that they are slowly
moving their forces to the line of the Potomac in force. It
is certainly in their programme to enter Maryland, and en-
courage and support the revolutionary spirit in that State,
with ultimate designs on Washington. Thorn o”e supposed
to oe batteries on Lae r ()comae pzo.u.Lea oy them; and the
steamer Pawnee has left Washington on a reconnoitring
expedition. It is believed that 10 of the ringleaders in the
recent mutiny of the New York 79th Regiment will be sen-
tenced to be shot. Sixty-six of the mutineers of the 2d Maine
Regiment are on the Powhattan.

The Grand Jury at New York had "presented" the fol-
lowing journals of that city :—The Journal of Commerce,
Daily News, Day Book, Freeman's Journal, and Brooklyn
Eagle for expressing sympathy with the "rebels," and
asked the advice of the Court in the matter. The Grand
Jury would be glad to learn that those newspapers' con-
duct subjects them to indictment and condign punishment.
The Canadian news is quite unimportant. The weather
was cool. It is reported that the army worm has eppeared
in the extreme western portion of the province, and has
begun to do mischief.

THE ARREST ON BOARD THE AFRICA.
The New York Herald of the 15th inst. gives
the following account of the arrest of Mr. Muir on
board the Africa—
Considerable excitement was created in and about the
city yesterday afternoon, occasioned by the report that
the British Consul of Charleston had been arrested on
board the steamer Africa, and that upon his person were
found important documents and despatches from the
Southern Confederacy to the rebel Commissioners in
England. It appears, however, that the party arrested
was not the British Consul, but the bearer of despatches
from the British Consul at Charleston, Mr. Robert Bunch.
His name is Robert Muir, and he formerly held the above
position in one of the Southern cities, but at present he
denies being a British Consul, and declares himself a resi-
dent of South Carolina ; also that he is only bearer of de-
spatches from Mr. Robert Bunch, consul at Charleston, to
Lord John Russell. He also stated that he had about 200
letters with him from parties in the South, to be forwarded
to various parts of England, France, and Germany.
When the officer made known to Mr. Muir that he was
a prisoner, and must accompany him to New York, Muir
seemed taken aback, but soon remarked that he would not
go ; that he was on board a British vessel, that he was a
British subject, and claimed the protection of the British
flag. The arrest was the means of causing quite a stir among
those on board, and Captain Shannon of the Africa, com-
ing up, Muir appealed to him for protection. At first Capt.
Shannon was disposed to interfere with the officers, but
upon their showing their authority to make the arrest he
gave way, and remarked that he could not interfere. Mr.
Muir asked the captain if he would detain the steamer for a
couple of hours, as he believed he would be immediately
discharged on reaching the United States Marshal's office.
The captain replied that it would be impossible for him to
detain his vessel one minute after time, and that he would
be compelled to remain behind.
Ho was accordingly taken ashore in charge of Sergeant
Young and officer Farley, and placed in a carriage. De-
tective Eustace, then proceeded to search for his baggage,
which was soon found, and which consisted of one trunk,
a hatbox, and carpet bag.
Before leaving he stated to the Jersey City officer that he
was not a bearer of despatches; that ho was a resident of
Charleston, where at present his family resides ; and that
he was on his way to Europe to get his son, who is there,
with a view of bringing him on to Charleston.