New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1861-11-14

lea heard that 4" our army swore terribly IN Flan-
der, and having accepted swearing as a means OF
victory they are rendering themselves mvincioIe as
fast as pcssible. IF hard swearing really was an
srmor of defence, every private in the 80 New
Hampshire would now be bomb-proof, and some Of
the officers wouldn't be vulnerable % anything less
than n % Mound riacd cannon. As an Offset, how
ever. they sing plenty Of Hymns princig ay Of tie
Methodist invention. Indeed, there is q report hat
en- ingenious sergeant musical by nature and profane
by practice has succeeded in adapting string Of
original and highly elaborate oaths 10 the tune Of
81 would not live Away" and tina. be nightly con-
situtes himself the cen,erof an aduring and enyous
crowd, by his sweet-;oned swearing in seuibreves.
j have not myself heard this prodigy, aud perhaps
the whole story il scandal.
Last evening. Monday, October 2S, were issued
from the head quarters Of the 6sg-ocer, the orders
for the feet TO saii this morning, getting under way
as rapidly as they could take tler respective places
in line Before sunrise this golden morning, every
vessel had the Union Jack at her masthead, as a
tisasl for getting up steam, and at y the gunboais
and other armed vessels that were to form the line
in front Of tie transports began 10 take up position,
ard shortly to steam out Of the bay.
No serious accident occurred, though the sailing
yeesel Golien Eagle ran on the inside bar, and
scand.lized tie whole fleet by sticking in the mud,
and Displaying the signal Of Distress most inoppor-
tune At such time. She was soon, however, drag
ged off by couple Of tugs, and by the steamer
Illinois, who is appointed to tow the Eagle to her
place OF destination
To those who are unfamiliar with the difficulty Of
moving large bodies Of men and great masses Of
waIliIe materel it win doubtless seem unaccounta-
bic that IL should take long TO get feet under
way when the railing orders were perfectly under
stood beforehand and the hour and minute Of start
ing exactly Get down. Wei, good people, the mill
tary precision and exactness the perfect system and
order Of every thing done under military supervision,
about which so much Is bOased, is to great, rcry
great extent, myth
Punctuality Is 10 military men often as impossible
virtue to gentlemen not Of the warikepersuasion.
Hence, though we, the feet, got our pioneer ships
under way at 81 Of the o'clock a. H., it certainly
must be placed on record that We the feet, did not
lift the tarly anchor Of our rearmost ship until it
was so near dinner time that every perfumed gale
that passed the galley, to us heavily laden with
the grateful but perhaps pebean aroma Of the beef
and onions.
But at Il, noonday,we were all under way, hope
fnl of good weather, q short and pleasant voyage,
and such a GROWING success to our undertaking az
may transform the toughest among us into heroes,
though it should leave the Of the tenderest
necroogic materiel for hm who shall write the his
tory of this Rebellion.
Our vessels sail four cables lengths apart sideways,
and one and a half cables length distant, one in adj
vance of the other.
Marine mathematics being one Of the abstrus5 sci
ences reduction Of sea-slaDg 70 the vernacular viii
doubtless crafty my much-requirng friend the pub
lie. Be it known then, that a " cables length Is
generally reckoned at 100 fathoms-tbat iatbom is
2yardsthat there 200 yards to mile, and that
therefore the battlefront of the Grand Expedition
stretched nearly six miles from wing to wing. From
front 10 rear, from the stately Wabash TO the
gunboats Mohcan and Seminole that protected our
rear from the desperate ventures Of audacious prva
teers the distance is not far from three miles while
If we chose to extend the line to the little feet Of our
coal schooners that follow on still further behind, we
might adj another mile or so to our figures.
A sight most beautiful, considered ashetieslly;
most gratifying, considered belligerently; most
grand, considered morally. Although by fsr The
most formidable exhibition yet made Of the great
strength and almost hmtless resources Of the North
IL ia merely an iaguiyiag gesture, made with Of
the mighty limbs of the half-aroUsed giast as
necessary preliminary to the putting forth in terrible
earnest Of that resistoss strength that shall eventu
ally sweep this Rebellion Ike very straw before it,
And yet, il so much looks as if nothing but some
tremendous disaster could fully awaken the North
ern Titan to his true danger that, could he be certain
the event would be followed not by crushing de-
spondency, but by that deep and thorough awaken
ing and arising that yet must come il is by means
certain that he were not the truest patriot who could
wish to see this splendid feet sent covering back TO
seek tie shelter of congenial ports-who could
from his heart desire to return bruised, bat
tered, and beaten, TO the North again. Such a man
might well argue, that if Bull Run disaster on the
land reused half the county similar fortune on the
seas would wake the other half, and that then
am not thank my lucky, hopeful stars, patriot
of such respondent dye Hoping for the fullest sue
cess Of this expedition, and fully believing in it,
shall rejoice to set down its daily steps toward the
achievement of its object.
Leaving Fortress Monroe behend we have dis
covered that rate Of speed was TO be very low;
q curb was to be put on the mighty engines Of the
great Ocean steamers, and vessels that have been
hitherto in the habit of making their Ia Is miles
al hour, to be permitted to run but four OF FIVE.
And worse: not only is the racer to be checked down
70 the pace Of the cat-horse but he must buckle
80 and help draw the cart The Vanderbilt the Bal
tic and the Illinois, all splendid steamers, have each
her sluggish tow, sailing vessel, TO drag behind;
and not content with this still further curb is put on
in the shape Of general order from headquarters 50