, 1861-07-31

= Our troops were Drought to battle tired,
hungry and thirsty, on hot July day, after !
had no dinner, and for three days had been.
deprived of their accustomed me1t 1atIona,
while even the blankets and the camp equfpage
OF the army had been LETT behind in the forced
march to Centreyille. Thus, compelled to
eleep Tor three nights on the bare ground aud
feed On army biscuit and muddy water, aud
were actually marched to attack an enemy
more than double their numbers, and fresh
frcm comfortable camp Life, on this meagre
and dishearsening diet. What had any Geaer-
q right to. expect from even the bravest
more quickly or efectualIy destroys ths
spirits, the strength ard. ambition Of the la-
horer as deprivation of his accustomed et{mu-
lus ofmeat and coffee. How much more with
the soldier, whose work is SO much mora ar
duous than the day ']aborer, and demands so
much more Of ne1 vous. and vital energy? No
great Captaln-nay, 10 man Of good business
iIculty.and common Bense,-could have com:
miHed 60 fatal blunder, when no emergency
existed to require an attack before our army
Was thoroughly rested art provided with full
Eattcua. Fighting On an empty stomach, for
men, lighting the first time in their lives, was
even more fatal than the masked batteries. L.
8. The rebels possessed the advantage Of.
thorough knowledge Of the country; Wills We
we're almost wholly ignorant Of 1t, except up,
on1mpe1ect recounoissances Of day or two.
They could thus apprehend and anticipate all
our movements, We remaining in the mem
time In almost complete ignorance Of theirs
This was itself IN Immense advantage. We
lost time and; made SERIOUS mistakee, from d
lack Of knowledge ORA rough and difficult
country, with every foot Of which they we're
= The enemy had agreat superiority in cav.
ie1s than 9sRa eaEa ~ haYa aSss BEEN Sss %.
gaotzed and armed, and the majority Of these
were all near Bull's Hun that day. One thou
eand cavalry retreated there from Fairfax
alone, II. we may believe the, inhabitants
bnt four small companies Of cavalry than
20-tn the entire. division under Gen. Nc
Dowen Their cavalry dashes againat our In
fantgy,, especially those of the formidable
Black Hossen troop are. described rs fear:
fully distinctive, and the final cause Of the
alizing our entire army; was tho ;s*o: .iashes
made into their ranks ny this guerilla band o
mounted rebela..:11 Their, artillery, moreover ;:
bad tho. aavantsge OF being planted in . 1Arge
part behina breastWoras, where It could BE-
worked In satety, while the remainder was dis
t1ibuted IN masked batteries Ike series Of
honey combs, all over the field.
81 Our troops lost confidence early In the day,
from several causes, The most conspicuous
Of these were, the loss OF woundIng Of many
Of their .1egsmcntal officers, thus depri,ing
them Of their accustomed rallyipg command
erp, and coniuaing their ranks terribly; ,2nd, q
Slight panic which vas inspired among the
van troops, By tie masked batteries. Whpae
oeadly exploits in,mowing doRn cur ranks
were 60 pe:cept;hle; and 3rd, lack Of conf. .
denco III Gen's Mcdowell and Tyler, the two
most p1omipent uffctrB In command on the
fled. Gen. Tyler was almost universally dis.
tnkted, and Cen Mcdowell, hitherto unlis-
l3DguiEACd and but little known to the rank
:.nd flle- On the other hand, the rebels were
led On to battle by Generals Beauregazd, JeE
Davis and Johnsten, ,tn1ee able and well known
,Generals, whose very uanes were toaer Of
'lt1snEth 10 the soldiers Who rlilied to their
call Tic rrtxtncs Of Gen. Scott, or Gen.
MtCletia3, CT Gen. Ficnlou:, amopg our ranks,
Would hAye one lar to change the fortunes Of
The Gay- G:h,. The s;su Of Iha leading gem
era;s:in cel11ban1 vas Eu la1ly orgaaizad That
the most yi.ailJ Important orders Bomatimes
talled to reach thnst fer whom they were do
EisEed. Gen: MeDowell had but three aiaes
dl-cslaE-Gen.1yls but TWO; Te. the whole
Held ci t'aitic Ess widely extended, coVs1iD.
mnny tq1a1e miles of ground. :EAch general
RE0 cs1uEel ehCN1u have been in prou1pt mud
scstsin ccnlm mun:entton with the Commander
In Chief ppou the field at every 1nument' But
no e}ena:s were a1rauged to .kat end, and no
sn1htttht force Of a1es employed fJt the ttans
nits:cp Of orders aud intelligence from ono
brigade 10 another. >:
q. But 1t is difficult 10 believe thst anything
could have given thc Federal troops tie vic:
had CO, Geo troops, on modc!ate calculation,
against our barely 10000. With their vast
adyantsge Of position, knowledge Of the conn.
try, freshnee superiority Of cavalry and.ar
tnleFy, and more ttan double our numbers,
the attack Which Sas precipitated ct thu: M.
lucky moment appears rash In the extreme,
It was well known to our generals that Cen
DeauregaI1 had been re enforced by Gan.
Johneton'e entire command. Yet the5 reeo1y.
ed upon encounte1ing this prodjgioua force,
without waiting for orr reserves TO coma up,
and without the Rlfghtest probability Of being
who bad been sent to take caro- Of Johnston,
md bad failed Of the. object: OF their mission.
lam aware that our grand army rwas sup
posed, by most OF those upon the field; TO
humber 40 GOO to Sc, 900: men, But careful
/ estimate, prepared on the spot; and among
| at Bulls Run, CentrsviIle, and uelxhbnrhood. i.
|: only shout &, GOO men during the Sunday al
7 the fight: The following isa fahle Of he Reg.
imelts which were there, The Regiments ac..
tuallyp engaged are printed IN, itaues:. :.
- FIRST .DIKzs10N4Das. Gen. TT1xR:, y :.
| !: - *3sxnsr nn1oApx-Col. Keyes., !:
1t 1t eSd s;a,s5 Sd e2aeaae @sasssieat Regiments
SECOND Da.oApr-Br,g., Gen. schenek. Mot en-.
1T and ID Ohio Reei@seSsts. sesa'1 =: ~. !:
. ID New York Regiment. <. /:
!" - '7umD BR1aADE77Col. Sherman. -:
dsh dIs ;r5s sah aad ss.A Nss9 Regiments.
FOURTH na1aADK-co1.s Rteha,dbon.: mot en-
"a saa q Michigan Regiments: ss6as5 ~: :
12,h New York Regineus: -: =. i; -
lat Masea aehusetts Rsgimcnt,:,:i. - IS. =,
. =: SECOND: -D1YksI0k- HuxTEa.. =.
=: FIRST HR1dApx-col PoSter,-
eN and 14A kttu TorE RtaImsaty,:~
Battalion tobotit 100 ri &hs Feyt!or army.
/; / SECOND nn1o4nE Bt1nlide:: : =. .
Ut esd I'd Rhods Lzaad Reoimeats.
III e. hsa1 r. A9gsgsaI.s 9n2s VI i9sgsmeas
THIRD DIFIsI0N-Co1. Hx1x7zkLxAs
4th Pennsylvania Regiment. Went home,l
5kh and 11th .MdStaeausstts RfotmeaGs,
LIT ,Atnnesofa Regiments. : !. :..:: =:
=: III: ekeoxD azioInx=col Wnco4-:. ': ?:
Liza Iii 'es NJ 4ert z& Hoastt. lEu,,sortE. zouaoe,
,..- runD 6-col- Howard. =. ~,
g. "a At,aa, and e R.o'isi,f aaisf R<glsea:..
FOURTH :D1FzsIoR oR-REsERKE:Br1s. Gan..
I, None Of the s697a 1ssehed oent1evtlle1 -.
FxFLH. DIFLaI1N-RESEREE EECol-- MnEs-
FIRST nnra aApr-col. Bleaker. :: ,;:,s <
Sill Regiment. NV Yoik; three month"; vo.an-
+ seers. Went tons:1 ~: =. 50 -
GaribslGi Guard. = - -. :. - .t.;.'-- ;..S
Trina above Brigade were not engaged but Gov
eted tctrtat-1 ....t2<s ~. 80
IT ..nrcoxp 1RIaAz,E-CaL Davis. T: - :
iNene, 1t tho akoy4.7eaGhel Bull's .Raa.}t
= Besides these, ttero were s1x hasterlcs Of nTl
I leI3 md aaI tnztea of eavars.s
I .:Now, estim aHnx. The 9qs1L dxhHng forces