, 1861-06-19

QUIZ WASHINGTON LETTER.
Hashsngpn ha.f sad and half n,ad--1 Gen.
P1trre He mas, uAo tainted tn dierlco ~
FortJy1ng Up Gevtnth Strc<t-our balloon
necessdry--EiH Gen. Sto1 take command il.
Erso"E-dtore cavalry ,eeded-Hot tecalaer
>6syins 70 ta|--0rr 100 in the Hospitdl-
Hote about that Nattonas Sotgf- f-Need7 for
Especial Correspondence Of the Chicsgo Tribunal
WAan1soTox, june Ia, 1851.
For two days now, our city has been half
sad, and half mad, at the news from Great
Bethel, near Hampton Roads. The first report,
as usual, was extrayagant; and, as If twenty.
not enough, the Baltimore Sun published
tone thousand killed and wounded" Every
where the IeTs Was stunning. Some tried to
palliate the evil By Eoying It would quicken
Gen. Scott. Others said 1t would teach the
Administration not to put incompetent men
IN as Generals. Others said Gen. Butler ought
to have had better Reconnaissance. And SO
the comments ran and before they were done
running, there came the ne8s that there had
been capture Of the battery by Gen. Butler,
taking 1000 prisoners; and that Harpcr's
Ferry was also ours. This was more eagerly
credited, and changed the tide for an hour,
IN tbs ,., Was found too good to be true: But
ernl Pierce!" Is be tie same who
tainted and. fell from his horse in
the Mexican war? There seems q veri-
f.miitude Of the men in conduct, as well
% in name. But 1eslly, 1t is cruel and mu7.
derous for euch men to consent to be put In
amount Of tried military men, who ore super
seded by many mere civilians or make-bclIeye
soldiers. The enemy put their Beauregards
and Lees ahead: md as long ago as TiTgns
DAY, It wes written, Jas est doce1 a6 hoste-"it
is right to learn from an enemy"
dctions Of the coming, at such and such
time, Of JEFF DaEta. cannot say the people
are much alarmed, but there are those who
feel uneasy and make others feel SO by their
daily prophecies. One IL reminded bT these
Tatieiratsonf, ! however, Of the E.et that
army gathering not farther from us than Ma
rassaB Gap, whence by cars and forced
march, they might be upon us as the PhIllia-
tines On the Son Of Manoah. I have already
written 50 much on this head that some may
fayI am alarmed, aud an a1a1mlst "Forewarn.
would shave our troops, who are held back
ecmewhere,c8u 1t would seem as II they
were every where, on this and the surround
Ing ground, going on to meet the foe That
come new precautions are being taken Is ev-
ident from the fact that the fortf1catlons haye
been entered upon lso vigorously on Arline-
ton Heights, and that now they have been
commenced On the north side of the ciry,
about the upper end Of Seventh street.
The terrible defeat we met with Of Bethel
tuggests anew the Importance Of the project
Of Of! aerial ~ observations. the experiment was
when Prof. Allen sent up his balloon. But It
Lowe has been detailed 70 this speciality Of
big, who, 1t is confidently believed, viii be
able, by means Of his "navy Of the sky" to
see the movements Of the enemy. # tie tel.
egfaph WILL WORK IRON such On elevation, he
proposes to haTe guy Of wire IS well as Of
rope, and to let us have some heavenly com.
municatlons. But there Is danger Of this
mode Of scouting and its reports Il cur camp.
It may see things that are not and then again.
thlrgs that are, as for example masked batta.
res, nay be eftectually concealed The enc
my Tin be apt to think, however, that we are
looking down upon them; and It viii be q
coed thing for the rebels Il they are taught to
look up. But let cur balioonists beware Of a
long shot from their rifles, should the craft
get too near their camps, for It would be most
provoking to the aristoc1ats to have anybody
above them; and remember to have heard
that In the old Revolutionary War red.coat
came ont on hillside one mile from our men.
and threw himself into q proyoEing aspeet''
when musket ba1l tumbled him over.
II has been published in some of the papers
which are wise above what Is written, that
zen. scott VIII t7ke command at Hafper's
spared from his eag1e's cyrle Of lookout
here But fear he will mount the war horse
no more. He Is too heavy with weight Of
perEon, Joined With. weight Of years, to yeo-
tufe on bis Lundy's Lane days; aud besides
ne would be too good and q too much coveted
shot for the sneaking enemy.
JEFF Davis may essay to lead his battles of fnr-
Io1n hope, for he has nothing to lose By 1t, a.
bis Lie 15 forfeited, any way. All his future ID
O battle Of hope forlo2n, SO that be may %
well die In his saddle and have the honor Of
dylDg soldiers death, instead Of dying By
begged for, but which Washington would not
grant. It has been said that Gen. Scott viii
have no cavalry, as he means to make his reli-
ance on the bayonet. It has, indeed, looked
as though the poetry Of "the horse and his
rider" Tss to be ignored on one side Of the
too tew Of these nayies on ahore. They are
needed, now, every day, for mere picket
guard. They were needed at Bethel, for a bet
ter reconno noisance, so that our men would not
have, fallen into that trap. And, then,
what can be more effective than the dra-
they put twenty times their number to route
Call the South, If you please, horse-ridiug
1aee-they are SO ; and they will get decided
advantage oyer US In this respect If We do not
have more Of this facility for making IS dash."
They have even brought into theIf service, It
ts believed, the Indian riders With their iasso.
Our boys may say they would like to see IN
1ndlan throw rope over their heads. Be 1t
ec-and be 1t, that they who die by the rope
IN this contest. will be chiefly traitors. Still,
mounted men have great facilities Of doing |
eIa aa,1on o. daa1g; and a. athey illustrate what Jef
exercised, the should always do IT on horse
back with a gun, rs 1t gave an independent
feeling" + This is true IN peace, Is ! matter
Of gymnastics, how much more In war as a
matter of life and death. Besides, the hot |
men. have already mentioned that one regi-
had over twenty aun-struck In one day. Tic |
daveloeks canhot FAVE our brave BOYS from |
being over heated IN these days. Their cloth. |
Ing Is too heavy and their marches too long,
when forced. The amonnt Of all my reasons |
given, and which would giye, leads ne to !
conclude that we need mole cayalry, That
thls ts beginning to be felt too by Scott, in |
fer from the fact that va hear Of the accept. |
ance OF more such companies and regiments. |
Bring them On. You have the horses and the |
hoIsemen too, at the Vest
IN Ihe number Of men in the hospital, I should
nave mentioned, is over one hundred. Seve. |
~ ,a 81 these are from measles; many are from |
dissipation; but most are from sun stroke |
and general lsesitude. There Is no epidemic |
except measles; the epidemic of -co1ardice,
and despair, which prevails at Harper's Ferry, |
fas net yet broken out, either In our hospitals |
or campa.
But how about that national songs It is
needed now, to charm away the ennui from
The dreary hours OF the aick, and from the |
hours SO semi-drear Of the solitary caups-
solitary from very numbers. More than all, |
there ts needed some battle song, to be sung
Ike the Marsei1les Hymn. Years ago. nv
ccuein-peace to his ashes-wrots an article
IN literary reTieE, showing that We had no
national song-not one. But, though he was
poet, be could not supply the desideratum, nor
has It been filled BY any other. Ny fearis, that
1sc hundred dollars cannot now produce It.
tnf1d naseafar non III. Mrs. Sigourney and
others hare written poetry for money: bnt
though there il the truc ring of The metal in
such forced productions, there is little ring Of
poetry, either Of the car or soul. A National
Hynn VIII not be mada this month. It will
come, when 1t comes, as all great discoveries. i
have come, By accident. Still lot your minds
york, all ye poets md poetasters- such es
the latter arc brewing now, and beginning
something with q capital letter to each line'
1t Is we'll to offer rewards for genius IT viii
pfo1oke mediocr1ty, and that Is better than
But, o dear me- spare us al 70 pspa.B,
rom any more Verscs on Ellis sworth, and don't
60 any further In killing the memory Of
Douglas With your dead rhymes. Let tbs
next reward offered by any co1nittee be- $500.
TO have all such poetry makers Is praY upon
The dead, put where David put Urtah, in the
fore front Of battle. As many of them as are
loetesses, send them On as svivandiera" TO
the army, where II ball does not hit them
The fever n1ay: This Is not set down In NAL
Ece-and Will take even this back, II these
a5sea which have mistaken sulphur spring
roY Patnaaus-GFv ftnp npo-u3r1 1cf .~Y,{.u p |