The Sun.
London, England, 1861-07-29 00:00:00

THE CIVIL WAR IN AMERICA.

(From the Special Correspondent of the Times.)
'WASHINGTON, JULY 12.
1 arrived in Wabhington the evening before the
meeting of Congress. On my way I had been
amused by seeing grave men enter the car with
long wands and odd bulging projections at the end
thereof covered with bright paper, which I was in-
formed were " rockets"—in fact, the citizens were

preparing for their great jubilee, " the 4th of July,"
and fathers of families were providing for the wants
of their families in Catherine wheels, Roman
candles, and blue lights all along the line. But for

the density of the crowd before Willard's and the

other hotels along the great avenue which runs from
the State Department and the American Whitehall
to the unfinished pile of the Capitol, one familiar
with Washington would not have perceived any in-
dication that the most important session of the
United States' Congress that ever took place was on

the eve of being opened. He would, indeed, have

seen many soldiers in the streets, many flags floating

from the houses, commissariat carts, and the various

waggons of volunteer regiments rattling over the

stones, and all the signs of war or of a great mili-
tary demonstration ; but there were no placards on
the walls—no parade of pamphlets and speeches,
such as might have been seen in the earlier part of the
contest while there was yet room for argument and
men's minds were vehicles of debate. The follow-
ing morning opened with all the accustomed pomp
of martial display ; the blast of trumpets, the roll
of drums, the roar of distant guns, the tramp of
men reverberated through the highways, and the
New York regiments passed in review before the
President and many of his Ministers in front of the
White House. What a change since the heir of
England stood there by the side of one who may
prove to be the last President of the United States
—united, at least, as a voluntary entirety ! The
feeble courtliness of Mr. Buchanan is replaced by
the straightforward purpose and energy of Mr.
Lincoln, on whose broad shoulders has fallen the
grievous legacy of his predecessor's vacillation and
errors ; and the letters, despatches, and messages
which nurtured civil war are succeeded let speeches
to armed legions who are about to end it by conquest
or in defeat. It is probable the English public me
already familiar with the lines of the sallow, long,
and strongly marked face of the present President,
which to me is indicative of shrewdness, honesty,
and some love of humour ; the eyes are deeply set,
dark, not very bright, but penetrating and kindly ;
the tall lank body, set on long loose legs, with
powerful arms swinging by his sides, is inclined
with a slight stoop forwards, and in his movements,
if there be not much grace, there is no lack of
vigour. Beside him, towering over the crowd and
topping even the President, stands General Scott,
the veteran, but for whom it is not too much to
say, in spite of heaven-born warriors and citizen
soldiers in civil life, just as Cabinets exist in the
Militia and Volunteer regiments, the President
would probably not be there at all. The bold leonine
front of the man, the massive head and broad
forehead, the full fine eye, the mouth broad and
distinctly cut, and the square resolute chin arrest
attention and recall the types of some better known
commanders ; but Americans are justly proud of
one who in a military career extending beyond half
a century has been uniformly successful, and who
has not been less fortunate in any diplomatic or
political functions he has undertaken to discharge.
The Virginians, who burnt the house in which he
was born lest it should see the birth of another
traitor, and who changed the name of a county in
their State called after him to that of Davis, will
not do him any harm with posterity. His look and
manner indicate that his mind is still vigorous,
though the snows of 76 winters have wreathed their
honours round his brow ; but when the towerlike
frame and great torso are set in motion there is a
feebleness in gait and a want of power in the limbs
which show that age and wounds and hard la-
bour have taken their hostages and securities.
When one turns to the keen, clear face of Mr.
Seward, strongly reminding us of Mr. Douglas
Jerrold, the contrast between the military charac-
ter, as developed in the principal support of the
Cabinet and of the Union, and the civilian element
displayed in the statesman who is considered to be
the best politician for American purposes in the
M inistry, is very striking.
The march past of the troops would not be
thought much of by the critic in such matters who
has seen the vivacity of the French allure, the
measured beat of Austrian infantry, the automaton ,
precision of the Muscovite line, or the solid tread
of the British battalions, but when it was known
that these regiments had been called out at a few
weeks' notice as volunteers, and were equipped and
sent to a Government which last April had neither
men, money, nor credit, and was now at the head
of an enormous army, with all the resources of the
Free States of America at its back, the moral force
of the fact overwhelmed all the little exceptions to
uniform, arms, and that which time alone can give—
discipline. The American element is not aa yet so
large in these troops as one would have a right to
expect in American troops, and when the Italian
and other foreign companies threw bouquets and
sprigs of green on the estrude and at the feet of the
President and the General, the vivas uttered in
"Various tngues were the charters of the emigrants
to freedom, end the rebuke of those Americans who
would accept the labours and the blood of those
men, and refuse them all right save that of living in
and dying for the Union. Let us pass over the noise
and crepitations of the day, which were like a pro-
traction of a bombardment at Cremorne, or of a
hattlepiece in fireworks in bygone Vauxhall. The
Congress sat and elected their officers, and the
rumour went forth that the Message would be de-
livered in the morning. In front the lines were
quiet, but it was reported the enemy made a de-
monstration in the morning which was not perse-
vered in. There has thus bee many a Southern pro-
phecy falsified, and the 4th July, 1861, has seen the
opening of the 37th Congress of the United States.
At night 1 visited the camp of the 12th New York
Regiment, commanded by Col. Butterfield, which is
situated in one of the squares on the outskirts of the
city. The huts and tents were gaily illuminated with
lamps, and a crowd of well-dressed people, never
tired of the novelty of actual military life, strolled
about among the lines, and enjoyed the music of the
regimental bands. There was no drunkenness, but a
great deal of gaiety, and finally a dance before
visitors were compelled to withdraw. As an in-
stance of the good conduct of the regiment, let
me say that the colonel gave all the men leave,
en masse, for the day up to 4 o'clock. At that hour,
every man had returned out of the 900 except two,
who afterwards appeared much bemused with lager
beer. And this is a large city, with many grog-
shops, and spirits very cheap, and dreadfully in-
toxicating. The sick list shows 30 invalids, mostly
suffering from diarrhcea. On the surgeon's table
lay returns furnished by Professor Henry, of the
Smithsonian, to be filled up with statistical facts as
to the birthplace, age, height, weight, and size of
chest &c., of the men. The sheet I looked at referred
to a section of 12 men. Of these only two were
citizens of the United States, born therein, four
were natives of England, six were Irishmen, and of
these one half showed more beef and bone and
stature than their comrades. Colonel Butterfield
is a New York merchant, who held Militia rank
before he commanded this regiment, and his men
are, Without a word of flattery, a credit to him and
his officers. The following day (July 5) I went to
the Capitol to hear the President's Message read,
Zit throughch the courtesy of the Hon. Charles
Chairman of the Committee on Foreign
Relation's
Chairman, andoftbSenator, and of the Hon. J. Wilson,
Senator, I Was
introduced
Committee on Military Affairs and
Pnatrodut.ed on the floor of the Senate.
le halls and
will, when cornpiestr in the vast building which
trite, and present fitlyexternally Occupy a commanding
altogether sustained by the •
grand aspect, not
nterior, were tolerably
well filled with people, but thereea Was no crowd, no
rcely even the noise
earserness, no excitement—,
of conversation. The heavy ill-ventilated cham-
ber in which the Senate sits Was by
no means
crowded, although free ingress
was Permitted
till the 'Vice-President took the
chair, and
the sitting commenced ; nor were the commo.
dioua s—at least very Spacious—galleries open toe