The Sun.
London, England, 1861-11-12 00:00:00

THE CIVIL WAR IN AMERICA.

(From the Special Correspondent of the Times.)
WASHINGTON, FRIDAY, OCT. 25.
The effects of the rout at Edward's Ferry on New
York and Boston will not be known here until
after this letter has been despatched ; but the truth
must be fully disclosed at last, and it will be all the
more painful, coming after the anticipations which
existed of a very different result to any operation
in which thfereorganized army might be engaged.
General M'Clellan's promise that " there would
be no more Bull's-Run affairs" has not been
altogether carried out. This fresh reverse is a
striking example of the evils of want of military
knowledge on the part of the officers, and of lack of
discipline, perhaps, in the men. Who ever heard
of such a thing as a night reconnaissance, and that,
too, in a wooded country, known to be held by an
enemy close at band ? There is an infatuation
about this "scouting," as it is called, which, in every
case, as far as I have seen—and I have marked 27 or
28 down already—leads to some loss or disaster.
Months ago I ventured to point out the inutility
and absurdity of the practice. It seems as
if an officer can take off twenty or thirty mefi
whenever he likes, and march them towards the
enemy. Then comes a stereotyped account, in
Which "ambushes, ambuscades, masked batteries,"
and the like, play their part till our hero retires,
" having killed seven, and wounded, perhaps,
seventeen of the enemy, some probably mortally,
with only two men on our side hit," and nothing
gained whatever in a military or in any sense
except the making of a paragraph. The action at
Edward's Ferry came on suddenly, and before the
news reached Washington all was over, so that it
would not have been possible for me to have wit-
nessed the affair; and, indeed, a reconnaissance on
my own part, as soon as my letter had been sent
off, on Tuesday afternoon, was not at all encourag-
ing as to the prospects of reaching Darnstown or
Poolesville through a drenching rain and roads knee
deep in mud, in time to ascertain any particulars of
what had taken place. I suspected a disaster, but
the positive information which was given to me,
that the Federalists held the Virginia shore for
several miles, diminished the importance which
would otherwise have been attached to the affair.
To-day, however, it is clear that not only were tho
Federalists defeated with loss, but that they were
eventually forced to retire across the river, and that
they have fallen back to the Maryland shore once
more, fearing another attack in force. There le
reason to believe, indeed, that a small landing of
Confederates in Maryland has taken place from
Acquia Creek. It was reported at the navy-yard
that no movements had taken place up to 11
o'clock on Wednesday night ; but it is certain that
the George Page, alheavily armed steamtug, doing
service on the Potomac as a Confederate man of war,
was busy during the night in landing men, and she
was sea as :late as yesterday afternoon crossing
between Evansport and Budd's Ferry, about 25
miles below Alexandria, where the river is a mile
and a•quarter wide, with a deck-load of men.
The Brigade " Sickles" is stationed on the Mary-
land shore, and reinforcements of infantry and
two batteries were sent off on Thursday to the
Brigadier, whose force had been undergoing some
shelling from the saucy Confederate cruiser. To
all intents and purposes the river is now closed
and the project of establishing mortar batteries on-
the Maryland side to shell the Confederates out of
their works is not likely to be realised without
some hard fighting. As affairs stand, it would be
possible for the latter to send over an army into
Maryland without interruption, but the arrival of
the flotilla from New York and Baltimore at For-
tress Monroe may tempt the Federalists to divert
it, or part of it, to make a descent and turn the bat-
teries, covered by the fire of their shipping. It may
easily be imagined there is a general impression
here that " something must be done ;" but it is not
so clear what the thing is to be, for the plain,
straightforward way of solving all difficulties by
fighting and beating the enemy is not in favour at
present. No one is afraid and everybody is anxious
for an action ; but somehow there is a notion that
everybody is not to be depended upon " yet," and
that the preparations are not sufficiently complete;
and, as is often the case, while there is some im-
patience on the one side on account of delays oc-
casioned by reverses and deficiency of organisation,
there is on the other side an impatience, because
considerable successes in much of what they at-
tempted are not absolute success in all they (the
Confederates) boasted they would accomplish.
The vaunting three months' men who came I
down from the North filling the air with their
promises to be in New Orleans in a few days dis-
appeared with the 21st of July, and there are now
a more sober set of men in the army who would be
content to compromise with Richmond before winter
is over. On the other hand, the Confederates who
wished to dictate peace in Philadelphia and " old
Faneuil " itself would perhaps be glad to put up
with Washington and Baltimore as a base of nego-
tiations, although the Richmond papers are begin-
ning to groan over a long war in prospect, arising,
as they► think, from the defensive attitude assumed
by the Southern armies. For the details of the
action at Edward's Ferry I must refer you to the
A merican papers, which gradually are getting at
an idea of the truth. In one regiment there " were
only two swords and no firelocks left." All the
others were lost, captured, or thrown away. The
15th Massachusetts regiment may be looked upon
as non est for the time. Two guns have been taken
by the enemy, who, it is admitted, had no cannon
whatever. The scramble to the river is described
as frightful—another Beresina—masses of drowning
men. Oa colonel escaped by swimming, having
thrown his pistol and sword into the river. :.:ad
the enemy been provided with artillery there would
have been a pitiable massacre, for the posting of CO
men on the island "to check pursuit," which was
done by one of the officers, would scarcely have
effected the object. There is some reason to think
the force of the Confederates suffered severely, for
they might have driven the Federalists out of Vir-
ginia if they had advanced in the moment of success,
as the guns on the other side could not have played
on them without destroying their own men. There
is a regiment marching out now towards Darnstown
which looks beaten already, the men gloomy and
silent—do what they will bad news flies through
the air. It was reported at head-quarters on
Tuesday that large columns of troops were seen
marching from Manassas towards Leesburg, so
Beauregard does not intend to have his corps of ob-
servation, which is posted there, disturbed without
a fight, and General M'Clellan, if he moves, will be
exposed to harassing demonstrations on his right
flank and rear, unless General Bankes succeeds in
another effort to establish himself on the Virginia
side of the Potomac: There seems no inclination to
renew the attempt at present. His retreat to the
Maryland side can only be accounted for by the
supposition that ho was afraid of being driven into
the river or cut off by
the enemy, who cannot have
more men than he has, or could get if it were de-
sired. But the movement was probably dictated by
Gen. M'Clellan himself, who returned to the city
late last night. He has been lauded for a hard ride
of 40 miles in the papers. He actually drove over
in a waggon.

OCTOBER 23.

By cleg:Tes the extent of the loss in the action
near Leesburg on the 21st is oozing out, in spite of
all the efforts of the authorities to preven.t undue
disclosures. Telegraph clerks have been dismissed
or cautioned, newspaper correspondents have been
refused permission to send despatches, and the New
York papers angrily boast that the Post-office is
not yet submitted to similar censorship, although
the telegraph is under a surveillance quite Russian.
Colonel Baker, whose loss is so much deplored,
wag senator from Oregon. Ho was born in Eng-
land, and originally a newsboy and then a weaver
in Philadelphia, but by extraordinary perseverance
and natural acquirements he rose to be one of the
leading politicians of his party, after a career of
,laborious industry in California and Oregon. Mr.
Lincoln was deeply affected at the news of his death,
8.114. it is sald he. paced up and down his room all
night. Mrs
the White goose,
refused to see any visitors at
to have the body e
It w.as the desire of the President
in the house, but, aa ttned to one of the apartments
present the upholsterers and