, 1861-06-21
GREAT BETHEL AFFAIR.
WHAT A NEW YORK ZOUAYE BAYs.

\ a NGW 4CIk AoUaVs-ouo' u 0u1yeo -
writes to his friends letter from which the
following is part, Wefiud It in the World:
Our colonel (Dn1yee) was in the thIckest Of
the fight, under those terrible discharges Of
1i1ed aud the several pieces in battery,
c1earness Of comprehension which nothing
but q thorough knowledge and sound judy
mentlu the science Of war can give The
Fifth Regiment Of Zouavcs Is 8 body, officers
and mer, dis Istinguished themselves IN theeyes
Of their enemy, as We have since learned from
our flag Of truce, which went for the wounded
a asaa ea. aa a ete e ea b coma an sg u s
Me same consmand Of gentrals asat prexnt Ihis
Is al NtK ask to vasure ltem continued repuze
qf our attacks, and final r;ctory. This Ia q aig-
n1fcant fact, aud deserves profound inyestiga~
ton from the War Department. It is boldly
and universally said that our generals, both
to command, having been made OF red tapa
and political favoriteism, without mind Or
the education to form campaign, Or even to
draw up m order of battle This want OF
gene1alship was undoubtedly the reason Of
our repulse at the battle Of County Creek
ton, We could and would have carried the bat
tery had ourr reserves come up IN their place aud
time, and had not our left wing filled t. flank
the enemy and taken 4 false position tbfaVe
enough am glad to say, but still false pc,
eition), almost in front Of the battery, anu
their mietaking our skirmishers on the e1.
t1eme left for the enemy about TO surround
them. A retreat was ordered Just at tho most
hopeful moment But After ali, It WIS IN hon.
orubse retreat 81 far a3 the Advance Guard
was concerned, and indeed as respects all but
the reserve whose business 1t waa to cover the
rot done. Lieut.. Col. Warren imp1ored them
to maintain the integrity Of their poaltion,
but In vain. Lieut.. Col. Warren and Captain
WinsloW, the last upon the fa1d, remslnad
with only about dozeu men to rescue aud
protect all who might be disabled. They
we're repeatedly fired upon while IN the act
Of carrying off the dead and wounded: And,
having collected aQ within their reach, they
wcreleft with two carts and one ambulance at
least mile In the rear Of the rear guard, with
eeven men, and the carts to drag BY baud, sud
IN ambulance with one man to be carried by
hand, and only dozen men, worn aud e1-
hausted, and come OF them wounded, to help
them. The fatigue of cur men soon obliged
them to halt, which caused Us to fall still iur
ther In the rear. We had slow and misera-
BILE time. What with the suffering OF the
wQnded and the exhausted condition ofthose
wn6 formed the motive power, and particular
ly the weight fthe ambulance, we were soon
be made. We concluded to leave the ambu-
lance and the wounded man {Who has since
died) at house about two miles and q halt
from the battlefield, aud thus reduced our
burden to the two carts, which ne continued
to drag on for about seven miles, when horse
and wagon overlook Is. The wagon Was
cleared Of its occupants and the wou2ded re-
moTed into 1t. At this moment troop Of
cavalry WIS discovered In our rear, who gave
chase and fred upon ua. The shots were re-
turned. In the mean time the one who drove
the Wagen went of on gallop, md thus
escaped with the wounded. The Lieutenant
Colonel had previously gone on for assistance,
but 1t was impossible to obtain It In time for
our relief; 40 some pushed on as best they
could upon the road, and escaped By running
fire; others plunged Into the wood, and thus
/ escaped, after delay OF some hours, aud others
were captured Chaplain WInslow, with a
physician from Newport News, lay in q thicket
| Of catbriers and dense wood, with their faces
| On the ground, over two hours aud q half,
| within thirty yards Of sentinel posted, Whi1e
! abont eighty cavalry passed and re2assed
| within that distance, In full view and herring.
| They returned home safe to camp at about
! midnight, when thay we1o about given up a.
| lest The whole was entirely lesson, and O
| profitable one to our men, and to those In
command; and, while weregret the loss Of our
| men through the fault of our chiefs In COM
| mand, We earnestly hope it may be the means
Of removing our New York Ioopa, at least,
| from Massachusetts, Generals, who have been
| 1e6ged In the foul nest ofpar:y politics, with
| cut the least military merit. / feaz, II such
| generalship is to be continued, It will doom
| Thousands TO an untimely end, II not bo the
| doom Of our cause and our country.