St. Cloud Democrat. [volume] (Saint Cloud, Stearns County, Minn.) 1858-1866, 1861-08-29
More Light On the Rebel Loss
at Manassas.

Why the Rebels did not follow up their
success at Manassas by vigorous pursuit of
our disorganized battalions, and even
march straight upon Washington, was, for
a brief period after the battle, wholly un-
accountable. 1t soou became apparent,
however, that the reason was that, except
in the single matter of a disorderly retreat,
they were worse beaten than ourselves, and
had neither the power to pursue nor the
ability to do any more fighting until their
very serious damages were thoroughly re-
pailed. There can be 40 doubt now that
their first dispatches South-that "night
had closed on hard fought field" "'that
they had "won a dear-bought victory"
and that their casualties amounted to
"three thousand killed and wounded'-
were but the premonitions Of still more
sorrowful tidines still to come.
The full extent Of their losses will per.
haps never be known until the war is
over; for at the date of the latest intelli-
gencc from Richmond, all information re-
specting the killed and wounded was still
suppressed This cruel policy, SO agoniz-
ing to the relatives of those from whom no
tidings had been heard since the battle, is
being sharply criticized in some of the
Southern journals. A Richmond CORES
poudent of the Charleston Mercurv, writ
ing upon this point, complains that the
Confederate Government 'seems zealously
to conceal everything they can from the
public. Up to this day, August 4, no re-
port is made of the wounded or dead, nor
will they allow those who have sons and
brothers at Manassas to ascertain their
| tate, and administer to their necessities if
wounded. All we learn is from the news
Fpapers, which obtain their information
from the wounded who are brought here
The death of Col. Fisher was not known
until his body arrived on It's way to North
Carolina.
But one inference can be drawn from
this inhuman course, and that is, that
there would be no such concealment unless
the Rebel losses at Manassas we're so great
that a knowledge of them would appal the
Confederates at home, and check all their
efforts to procure the reinforcements SO
much needed in Virginia. Upon this
point we refer to somo remarks dropped,
incidentally, by the Richmond Dispatch,
concerning the Seventh and Eighth Geo..
Regiments. In the course OF a compli-
mentary notice of their conduct in the
battle. the Dispatch observes of the Sth :
"At length they withdrew from the fight.
Their final rally was with some s;rty men
out of the sin hundred they took im."-
This regiment, thus cut all to pieces, was
succeeded by the Georgia Seventh, which
according to the Dispatch, appears also to
have been repulsed with almost equal
slaughter, and its Colonel (Bartow) killed.
Now, if we take the admitted losses of
these two Georgia Regiments, and of the
Louisianians, who suffered so severely-to
the extent of three hundred, as they say
and OF the Hampton Legion, which was
reported to be ''almost annihilated," and
OF the Alabamians, who were cut down by
the charges Of the New York Goth and
79th-they alone, without estimating the
losses Of all the other regiments engaged,
will sum up an aggregate Of killed and
wounded. far beyond ours. II - :