Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1861-08-17

and the Lieutenant's command was stationed
in a wooden church, or school house, by the
roadside. Our passes were examined. The
officer approached u.s. and very politely offered
any information we required. What rowing
race has come from those marshes of Elbe and
Oder Here was our blonde bearded, blue
eyed New Yorker in these Virginian woods,
no unadventurous traveller, nor now for the
first time familiar with war. In fact he had
been United States Consul at Hongkong, but
when the blast Of war blew in his ears be had
| shut up his Office and followed John Bulls
| forces land and sea in their campaigns against
John Chinaman, and had assisted at Fatshan
| and Peiho Number One, and had returned Just
| in time to find that Uncle Sam had removed
him for neglect of duty. The camp of his
regiment lay some mile and half to the west
| ward, and at the Lieutenant's request, we
turned in to visit the Colonel and his corps.
The camp was pitched in a cleared space,
amid the forest, and the small ridge pole tents
glared in the sunlight like Alpine snow, per-
mitting us to see beneath the flaps and sides
the sleeping or card playing warriors who
| found inside poor refuge from the glare The
| colonel, young man with an Italian face and
closely cropped black hair, was seated in his
| shirt in the headquarters tent busy with regi-
| mental affairs, and surrounded by officers
His reception was simple and cordial, and
among others whose acquaintance we made,
Dragons, whose charge into and out of Fair.
fax Court House you have heard Of His
bronzed face. heavy beard and moustache.
white flannel shirt and long thick riding boots
made one think of the gallant swordsmen who
led our PaDjabee horse far away in Hindostan.
and whom in "style and cut' he somewhat
resembled. He told us it is only the enemy's
plekets that hre on the sentries; his men have
strict orders not to pull trigger without ex-
press command. While we were engaged in
talking two men entered the tent-the armor-
er, with musket barrel in his hand and m an
whom he accused of calling him names, because
he could not get his fre-lock in order The
Colonel heard the complaint, listened to a
wraDgle very quietly, and dismissed the case
by SolOmORian judgment; but the easy way
in which the men entered and went out of the
presence was amusing to man who has seen
European COlonels in all their glory As far
as L could judge, the men Of the regiment
were stout and strong material for arresting
traJectorleS. Their arms were roughly han
died, and in one stack saw muskets on full
cock, on half cock, and with hammers on the
nipple. They all want rifles and treat the
smOOthbOres very rudely in order to get rid
of them. Thence the way side was freq uent in
camps; here was battery of artillery parading
In field containing three sorts of pieces-twc
Parrot rified guns which are made of wrought
iron, with a thick band shrunk over the
breech-two brass field pieces and two howit-
zers. Each gsn was drawn by six horses quite
as good as the average in our own batteries
and better than the generality of those in Con,
tinental parks. There the horses of cavalry
troop, or company" as the Americans call
them, reveling in the shady groves; now a pro-
cessiOn of commissariat wagons, covered with
tilts like the old-fashioned Yorkshire stages,
laden with pork and -four; again a crowd
found cart filled with Lager Bier, from which
ha nntO fnl ka n
cents mighty beaker. Mounted orderlies,
always at gallop or canter, alternate with
mounted officers at the same rates along the
road. One camp belongs to the New York
18th, a regiment of ScOtchmen. but not of
Highlanders like the stalwart fellows whom
Douglas and Taylor led in the Crimea and In
Hindostan; near them was a regiment of Wis
cOnsin, and further on, inside a very strong
and well-made earthwork, which they have
thrown up with immense labor, the 69th of
New York, who did not parade for the Prince
OF Wales. The work is a redOubt, with bas-
tions and dry ditch, closed by palisades and
stockades, and mounts, should think, about
IL guns, "a or 80 Founders. 1t was too hot to
make a very minute inspection; the tents were
packed close, and there were signs inside that
when the regiment moves a good deal of bag
gage and boxes must be left behind This
work, which dominates height overlooking
the road to Alexandria, is supported by Il sim
liar and more extensive feldwork, covered at
the flank and gorge by a mOrass and deep
stream, which intersects the road, and can be
turned into Il wet ditch; and the woods have
been felled on the slopes Of the hill, so as to
obstruct an assailing force materially. These
works may be regarded in the light of an ex-
tensive tete-de-YOnt on the Virginia side Of the
Long Bridge, and the force now available for
their immediate defense must be taken to be
at least 5000 men, with three field batteries
In addition to guns of position. which cannot
be less than ~ pieces, besides some detached
guns and howitzers. Arlington Heights was
included in the visit, but enough has been said
of the camp already, and so the party returned
to Washington. 1t needs not to be said that
the destruction of property about the camps is
considerable. Fruit trees are stripped, gar
dens are ruined forests are cut down, fields
are trampled, the crops are deserted-in some,
the plough lying abandoned as it was left by
the Secessionist owner. Another of the ready
modes of defence known to the Americans may
not be omitted. Along the road, at several
places, 1 noticed block houses, made of stout
logs, pierced for musketry in two rows, and
covered with some incombustible material on
the roof. The little garrison can resist any
thing but fire and regular artillery when they
have drawn up their steps and closed the
door, which is on the second story. These
wooden forts are square in shape, and are very
strongly built of stems of trees On arriving
in the city, we learn that there has been an
interesting discussion in Congress, and that
the Opposition had received a very severe de-
feat on a melton hostile to the Government.
thunder storm, preceded by dust storm,
and followed by tornado worthy of Rohil-
cund, closes the day Major General Fremont,
who is here to receive instructions, will pro-
ceed to take up his command of the Western
Mississippi district Tomorrow, and / am inform
ed that on Friday morning a general advance
will be made for short march towards the
enemy's position.