The Sun.
London, England, 1861-12-30 00:00:00

THE FEDERAL ARMY,

A letter from Alexandria, Virginia, dated Dec.
13, says—There is no country existing which could
have raised an army of 650,000 men in so short a
time as it has been done here in America. This army
is well paid, fed, and clad, and even tolerably well
disciplined and drilled. I have seen regiments which
might vie in this respect with any in Europe. All

that could be done by money has been done, and
the Americans are proud of this army, and think
themselves able not only to crush the rebellion in
the South, but also to fight England and whoever
should dare to attack them.

Notwithstanding Bull's Run, I think the Ameri-
cans as brave as any other nation, and if they arc a
little conceited and over-confident, it is rather liked.
But it is far different if the American Government

are of the same opinion—as really is the case. From
a Government we do nut only expect courage,
but prudence and knowledge also. I heard not long
ago members of the Government call this American
army the finest and best that ever existed, and I
must admit that they believed what they said, for
without this their politics would be inexplicable.

All the calculations of the Government are based.on
one great error, and the country may have to pay
dearly for it. This great error is the belief that
they have an army of 650,000 men, while they have
only 650,000 armed men. There is a great difference.
The American army, in its present condition, is no
army at all. By force of money a machine has been
built and put into good working order, but there is
nobody to work it. Only reckoning three officers
to every 100 men, an army of 650,000 would re-
quire above 20,000 officers. To find such a great
number of competent men would be difficult even in
countries where everybody is a soldier, although
sergeants and privates might be made lieutenants
and captains ; in America it is quite impossible.
Yet all the places are filled up here, and if I say that
there are among these 20,000 officers only 1,000
nearly fit for their places, I make a very bold guess.
Corporals and privates may do for captains and
lieutenants in case of need, and the lieutenants may
become colonels, but the difficulty increases the
higher we go. Captains who are just able to go
through the drill of their companies are very rarely
fit to command divisions and larger bodies of troops,
and an army of 650,000 men requires an experienced
general or a born military genius. We have here
mostly politicians or inexperienced captains, with
the epaulets of generals, and nowhere can we dis-
cover up to this time even the shadow of a military

genius.
When pointing to the defects of this army, the
Americans generally say, when they are hard put
for an answer,—" Well, our consolation is that

the rebels are not better off." I will admit this
for the moment, and only answer that the two
armies have very different tasks, which places
that of the Southerners in the greatest advantage.
They are on the defensive, and fight from behind
their fortifications, a manner of fighting in which
young soldiers are almost as good as old ones ; but
the army of the Union has to attack such fortifica-
tions, a kind of work difficult even for the best
troops in the world. I might say more about the
officers of this army, which would startle Europe,
but I have other means to prove that the American
army is almost as useless to the Union as Hercules'
club would be to a child.

There is a deal of talk about the advance of the
army on the Potomac, without its having the means
to advance. There are not even pontoons to cross
the numerous rivers, nor pioneers to clear away the
obstacles ; there are not even means to convey am-
munition or provisions ; and I am convinced that
if the army should advance for 40 miles they would
be starved to death in Virginia, where the provi-
sions are already eaten up by the Secessionists.
Moreover, there is not even a proper general staff
existing, the urgent necessity of which these people
cannot understand. If most of the commanding
generals know the army regulations they think
themselves very good leaders ; of strategy, or tactics,
in the proper meaning, engineering, &c., they have
not even the least idea. Such disasters as that of
Edward's Ferry must occur very frequentclifice n:,
the lives of the brave volunteers will
be
:Li
as soon as the troops stir, in the most criminal
man-
ner by the ignorance of conceited military know-
nothings.
great deal to bring
do not know yet ; he has done, e__d we all think him,
Whether General M'Clellan aais
the army to the present state, great general I