Port Tobacco times, and Charles County advertiser. (Port Tobacco, Md.) 1845-1898, 1861-06-27

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Virginia side, and came across some cavalry pick
cts, who retreated Our men followed their exam
pl. by retire ating towards the boat for they sus-
pected-what afterwards proved true-tfat there
was a company of cavalry short distance from
the pickcts. Our men took several small boats
and burned some others. r.t
/ think our stay here will b.; for some time, as
heard to-day that there was coal coming from
Washington for
Batteries Opposite Port Tobacco On the Vir-
| ginia Shore.
The following from a correspondent of the
Washington Star, and dated at Port Tobacco
on Thursday last, we believe to have been writ
ment on board vessel on the Potomac. AS to
what is said about sthe Union men here" we
doubt the truth of the statement.
There are movements at Matthias Point, on
the Virginia Shore opposite here, indicating that
the enemy are silently at work planting bate
ries there Numbers of men are seen lurking
among the bushes by passing vessels, and a long
strip apparently of white cloth, has been
stretched along the beech, possibly as a blind to
work going on behind it. Matthias Point is the
most important stratagetic position on the river.
commanding it even more effectually than the
White House shore. The channel hugs the Vir-
ginia shore, and vessels of the lightest draft
must necessarily pass within four or five hun
bred yards of the Point. A battery once in po-
sition, there would be extreme difficulty to dis
| lodge it. The Union men here are anxious to
see the place looked after.
From Pensacola-The Progress Of Affairs
| The following are extracts from letter from
Confederate soldier at Fort McRae, written I'M
date of the LIST instant:
We want to see Pckens surrender before leav-
| ing here. We came to take it, and we hope to
do so before long, though am of opinion that
there will not be fight here for some time, un-
less the attack comes first from the other side.
It seems as though it were tic pocy of Presi-
dent DaTls to act here for the present on the
defensive. We are doing good service in keep
ing large portion Of Lincoln's naval armament
here, waiting to assist Pickens against our at
tack. 1t is doing us no harm anchored off the
mouth of Pensacola bay, while it could do harm
elsewhere. 1t is Of no avail in these waters,
while at the same time it is a heavy, dead ex
pense to the rotten government now attempting
| to subjugate these Southern States.
| General Bragg is still carrying on his gigan-
tic preparations, which plainly shows that he
does not underrate the strength Of Pickens.-
The latter will not be so readily captured as
Sumter was, from the fact that it is much
stronger fort in build and position; besides, it
is a greater distance from any of our guns or
batteries than was Sumter none that we have
being under mile 1t is also fully garrisoned
and provisioned up to a war-footing and can be
aided in the fight by the powerful arm of fleet.
1t has also been strengthened in every possible
manner. Heavy guns have been mounted on
the parapet, and shielded in immense embra-
sures of sand-bags. Sand batteries have been
thrown up, and heavy guns mounted in them,
on Santa Rosa Island, near and to the east of
the fort, which bear upon the navy-yard, Bar
rancas and our line of batteries along the main
shore, so you can perceive that the taking of
Pickens will be no easy work. It will be the
battle of the war, and when the fight opens
there will be such a roar of heavy artillery as
has never thundered in the new world before
Our line of battle will extend along the main
shore about four miles, and bombs and cannon
balls will pelt Pckens from nearly every point
Of radiation.
Fort McRae is generally supposed to be
weak ratification, and that it will soon crumbe
before the guns of the fleet, Dickens can't touch
it except with baFbette. guns } but I think this
mistake. 1t is of the best brick-the walls
above five feet thick, and then the walls are
braced by immense casemate arches. If it falls,
be assured it will be after we have done good
service in it.
The War-When Shall the End Bes
The following are the concluding paragraphs
of an article on the present crisis in the New
York Journal Of Commerce
We have said, and we now repeat, that the
North has been deceived and misled into this
war by the Northern Republican press and
since the war began they have been as constant
ly deceived and misled in every particular rela-
ting to the force, the ability and the courage Of
the foe. This deception has led to fatal results
already. 1t is now leading US to destruction.
! The suppression of truths which eshow the
strength and resources of the South, the mis-
representation of their financial and commits
sarat resources, the false reports of their disaf-
lection, assertions, sickness, &c., have charac-
terized the editorial and news columns of the
papers alluded to, and have so misled the minds
Of men at the North, that the error could only be
corrected by some such lesson as was received
at Great Bethel, which may thus, perhaps, be
productive of good on the whole.
1t is beginning to dawn on mems minds that
this contest is not an affair of day, or month,
or year. If the end is to be the conquering
of the Southern armies and people, that end is
probably very far distant. Let no man pro-
mise himself that the battle at Manassas juno
ton, now apparently near, will be decisive of
the war. If we are beaten at that point, is
there any Northerner who proposes to give up
the contest If the South are beaten, is there
any probability that Southerners will yield the
contest any more than we would? They are
Americans, blood of our blood, our brothers,
cousins, friends-and they reason, think and
feel just as we should under similar circumstan-
ces. There u.s. therefore, little hope of an end
of the war by decisive battle or short cam
paign.
Another possible end Of the war is one that
may now be talked of freely, though few
weeks since it was impossible to mention it,
We lately published very mild letter from
St. Louis correspondent, suggesting a possible
peace by compromise. The Hartford Times
copied it, and the Hartford Courant burst like
thunder cloud on the Times, charging them
with treason, and fatty pronouncing it to be
treason in any one to propose compromise
before we had finished the war! But we are
living in cooler times.
Another possible end of the war is in the oc-
currence of another revolution in the South IT,