The Sun.
London, England, 1861-08-10 00:00:00

defeated. Every hour messengers were hurried off
from the field to the end of the wire some miles
away, with reports of the progress made by the
troops, and every hour the telegrams brought good
tidings up to 4 o'clock or so, when the victory
seemed decided in favour of the Federalists ; at
least, the impression was that they had gained the
day by driving the enemy before them. Then came
the news of the necessary retirement of the troops ;
nevertheless, it is affirmed that up to 8 o'clock in
the evening Gen. Scott believed in the ultimate
success of the United States troops, who under his
own immediate orders had never met with a re-
verse. The President, the Secretary of War, and
other members of the Government, were assembled
in the room where the telegraph operator was
at work far into the night, and as the oracles of
fate uncoiled from the wires gloom gathered on their
faces, and at last, grave and silent, they retired,
leaving hope behind them. It must have been to
them a time of anxiety beyond words ; but of old the
highest honours were given to him who in calamity
and disaster did not despair of the Republic. And
it is to the credit of the President and his advisers
that they have recovered their faith in the ultimate
,
success of their cause, and think they can subjugate
the South after all. If the Confederates have suf-
fered heavily in the battle, as is believed to be the
case, they may be disheartened in spite of their vic-
tory, and the news of a second uprising and levee en
masse in the North may not be without an unfa-
vourable effect on their ardour. Such men as Wade
Hampton, who is reported killed, leave gaps in their
ranks not readily filled, and the number of colonels
reported to be hors de combat would indicate a con-
siderable loss. But the raw levies are not likely to
be fit for much for months to come, and it is difficult
to see how they will be fit for anything until they
get proper officers. Some of the so-called regiments
which have recently come in are mere mobs with-
outproper equipments, uniform, or arms ; others are
in thes:
respects much better, marching well and
looking like soldiers, but still no better than the
troops who were beaten. It is not courage (need it
be said P) which is wanting—it is officers, and with-
out them men are worth little or nothing. The men
of some regiments fought well, others did not. There
was little or no difference between the privates of
the one and those of the other; there was probably
a marked distinction between the officers. The West
Point cadets will all be used up by the increase of
the regular army of the United States to 40,000 men
just agreed upon by Congress; after some disputes
between the Senate and the House of Representa-
tives, and the bulk of the officers with military ex-
perience and education are provided for already.
The President is not exempt from the fate of the
unfortunate in all republics, but he has yet a good
deal of the future to draw upon, and the people are
amused by changes among the military commanders
and by threats and promises, for which they will
all have to pay before the quarrel is adjusted. It is
so generally asserted that General Scott did not
approve the advance, for which his plans . were not
matured (and it is so probable, too), that it may be
believed by those who havenot the greatest faith in
the firmness of his character, and who think he
might be induced to give orders for the execu-
tion of ill-conceived and hasty projects, or, at
all events, to precipitate operations without
the necessary conditions of success. It is certain the
country was becoming fretful and impatient, and
that men like Mr. Wilson, chairman of the Mili-
tary Committee of the Senate, were loud in their
complaints of the delays and inactivity of the army
and of its chief, and of the pretensions of the regu•
lar officers. The schism which must always exist
between professionals and quacks, between regular
soldiers and volunteers, has been greatly widened
by the action on Sunday. The Volunteers indulge
in severe reflections on the generalship of the com-
mander ; the regulars speak with contemptuous
bitterness of the inefficiency and cowardice of the
Volunteer officers. The former talk learnedly of
the art of war, and of the cruelty of being led like
sheep to the slaughter. The latter, without detract-
ing from the courage of the men, inveigh against
those who directed their regiments on the field ;
and the Volunteer privates are glad to add their
testimony against many of the officers, whose pride
in uniforms of gold lace did not permit them to soil
them in the smoke of gunpowder. It is remarkable
that so much hankering after military reputation
should be accompanied, in some instances at least,
by an absence of any military spirit. The tone in
which some officers speak of being "-whipped" is
almost boastful and exultant. Last night I heard
one declaring he thought it was a good thing they
were beaten, as it would put an end to the fight-
ing; " he was quite sure none of his men would
ever face the Confederates again." Another was of
opinion that it was lucky that they had escaped
so well. And so on. It would be, lam certain, as
unjust to the bulk of the officers to suppose they
entertain such sentiments as these as it would
be in the last degree untrue to say that their
men were destitute of courage and were not ready
to fight any enemy, if fairly disciplined and
properly led ; but the expression of these things
is indicative of the want of proper esprit militaire,
and it should be represented by those who wish
to establish the loyalty of the Volunteer army.
No doubt the American papers will fur-
nish detailed lista of killed and wounded, if
you have any fancy to publish them, and
columns of letters from the soldiers and pages
of incidents of the battle which may be consulted
by the curious ; but there is a concurrence of tes-
timony to the good conduct of Blenker's Germans,
the 69th Irish, and the '79th Scotch. Captain Mea-
gher, indeed, I am told, yielded to the universal
panic, and was seen on foot at Centreville making
the best of his way towards Fort Corcoran, with
exclamations which implied that for the mo-
ment he recognised the Southern Confederacy as
highly belligerent. Colonel Corcoran, conspicuous
by his great stature, being a man of six feet and
a-half in height, was an object of attraction to the
enemy, and is lying dangerously, if not mortally,
wounded. The Rhode Island Regiment has been,
however, the most favoured by the voice of praise,
though many competitors are now putting in
claims for at least equal honour.

There are various statements in reference to the
conduct of the regular cavalry and infantry. The
regular officers admit that at one time the cavalry
gave
way,
but they did not break or fly ; they
were rallied, drew up in line again, and showed
front
the enemy. The regular officers declare
it steadily
that it was the infantry which saved the retreat,
covering
in conjunction with the Ger-
mans ; and the losses of the United States' Marines
argue that they had a large share of the enemy's
fire. The artillery who
lost their guns speak, as
artillery will do under the circumstances, of the
infantry which deserted them; and the general
officers, who must after all be the best judgt s, bear
strong testimony to the good services and general
steadiness of tha regulars engaged in the action.
When the statements in the American papers are
compared with the facts I am aware it will be neces-
sarydte charge
made to rely a little on " character," in asking faith
for what I report. There w
made by the Federalist infantrya s n
ot
in
a u braygon h t
e day
ge
there was not a charge of any kind made by the
Confederate cavalry upon any regiment of their
enemy until the latter broke. There was not a
hand-to-hand encounter between any regiment.
There was not a single "battery charged" or taken
iy the Federalists. There were no masked batteries
in play by the former. There was no annihilation
of rebel horse by Zouaves, Fire, or other. A
volley fired by one battalion emptied three saddles
among a body of horse who appeared at some dis-
tancQ, and the infantry which performed the execu-
tion then retired. There were no desperate struggles
except by those-who wanted to get away. The whole
matter in plain English amounts to this. The Fede-
ralists advanced 'slowly, but steadily, under the fire
of their artillery, driving the enemy, who rarely
showed out of cover, in line before them, and gra-
dually forced them back on the right and centre for
a mile and a half towards Manassas. As the enemy
fell back they used their artillery also, and there
was a good deal of pounding at long ranges with
light field guns, and some heavier rifled ordnance,
the line on both sides being rarely within 500 yards
of each other. On one occasion the regiments on
the right were received by a musketry fire from
the enemy which induced them to fall back, but