Indiana State sentinel. (Indianapolis, Ind.) 1861-1865, 1862-09-01
Special Correspondence Of the Chicago Times.
From Washington.

The falling back of The army of VirginiG-Strate
gicat moUealenfs-Light draft lodr steamers on
the OhiO-Failure Of our Western GunbOats
&c, &c.
WASHINGTON, Aug 81.
For few days past 1t seems as If the old for
mulas "All quiet on the Potomac-on the Chick
ahominy-on James River" were about to be-
come applicable on the Rapidan. "All quiet on
the Rapidan" sounds WE'LL and, had it not been
for the unquiet devil which inhabits Stonewal
jackson, it would have probably come into gen
eral use for the next month or two. Jackson,
with a reprehensible disregard of proprieties has
been indulging in some OF his feints, or myster
iOus harlequin changes, whereby our forces have
found it necessary to fall back, which they did in
"gOOd order" and took up "new base" win
ming of course great bloodless victory, aud max
ing the most "masterly retreat on record"
Pope's er-cGthedrd bull, concerning his habits
of seeing the backs of his enemy, and his habit of
not talking about bases of operation, doesn't
seem to work. 1t don't seem irighten the reb-
els as t properly should do. which | can only
account for on the grounds that the ignorance of
the chivalry has prevented ther reading it. Like
Phelps's celebrated pTOnuRcG1nento o, it should
have been sent among the COniederates, accom-
panied by an interpreter. Had they been inform
cd that it was the "habit" of Gen. Pope to inspect
that position Of the enemy which includes their
backbone, heels, &C., they would undoubtedly
have been accommodating enough to have given
diSsOlving and pOsteriOr views OF their forces.
The latest arrivals from the army of Virginia
bring the information that p pc has fallen back
from ten TO twenty-five miles: that ne has mt
taken GOrdOnsville and that he has violated two
of his habts-that of always seeing the backs of
the enemy, and never taking up new lines of
operations To the rear. As a matter of course
:. al - o,.c. =.
but the immediate prelude to some brilliant oper-
alton against the enemy. As a man, in leaping
over fence, runs some distance to give himself
impetus, so has done the Army of Virginia
they have fallen back IA of miles in order
TO give themselves space for a run in their con-
templated bound over the Rapidan.
The intelligence from all quarters is equally
encouraging, il not more So. As a strategic
movement we are allowing the enemy to retake
Clarksville and threaten Forts DOnelsOn and
Henry by "masterly" operation, (the object
of which cannot yet De made puolic.) we have
allowed them to isolate Buell., surround Morgan,
break up the railroad connection betx cen Louis
vile and Nashville. and threaten Cumberland
Gap; in short, by sublime combination of
strategic and other plans, we are in full retreat
everywhere, with the enemy close on our heels.
lf it were not developing strategical secrets,
would hint that the object of the late move
ments Is profound One.-being no less than 10
retreat into Upper Canada, assume permanent
oase of operations, and hold it undl the warm
booded rebels freeze out. 1t is simply retalia-
ton. They drew US into the South and baked
us we will now reeiprocate by nveigling them
into the frozen Morrill, Rowland for their Oil
vera irigid Tor their trOpic. If this be not the
object of their late movements will be happy
to be corrected.
John A. Duble, formerly master of the Cones
toga, ex Governor Dennison and one or two
other gentlemen are here, for the purpose Of ur-
ging the Administration 10 place fleet of light
draft steamers upon the Ohio river. They pro-
pose to use light, swift boats, make them proof
against musketry, arm them with three guns,
and keep them moving ON the Ohio, Cumber-
land, and Tennessee rivers. None of the boats
will draw over twenty-six inches, and conse
quenuv they will be available at all seasons of
the year. and at all stages of the water, The
entire expense of running each boat will be
about SD 900 per month. or about one-third the
cost of running the iron clads for the same time
All our western gunboats have thus far been
unwieldy failures. They took Fort Henry, since
which they have done but little more than burn
coal, plug up shot holes made by rebel balls, and
raise themselves as fast as the rebels choose to
sink them. The Mound City and Essex have
both been blown up, or at least sufficiently so to
scaid 10 a horrible death two-thrds OF their crew ;
the very FIRST action that the costly, much vaunt-
ed, and ''impregnable" Benton ever engaged in,
a rebel shot came ripping through her, as if she
were made of pasteboard-a little later, rebel
ram very nearly butted her out of existence;
two other Of the iron clads gracefully dived TO
the bottom; in short, il has been failure every
where. The light rams had the battle before
Memphis two-thirds won before the heavy gun
boats got into action; and, even in the late bril-
liant achievement before Baton Rouge, the Ar
kansas was disposed Of as fishermen dispose ol
q