Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1862-08-29

REBEL STRENGTH IN vrReINfA.-There
are many reports ming the rebel strength
in Virginia, but they conflict with each other
in such manner as to make truthful estimate
exceedingly difficult. We give the folio wing
extract from a Fortress Monroe letter. touch
ing this subject, for what il is worth
From one Of the officers have obtained s,ate,ne,,
Of the number Of reinforcomcnts sent into Virginia Inca
the days battles. He had an unusually good op
pnrtunity Of obtaining the information, and think 10
may be regarded correcti Iuget's division, $1,000
Magruder's, $4,000, bongstreets, H0JO; Jackson
AZ 900; Hin 1900; A p Hill, HOJ0 --Grand Total
1877 go men-al conscfipts At Chattanooga there are
collected " old soldiers and conscTips 97OOl. for he
purpose Of making move into Tennessee and operate
against Buell. And force Of about 5000 men has b,n
accumulated At some point at hand operate in
Missouri General Price will lead this force and viii
rely guerrilla aid to swell il to larger size Beau
regard and Magruder In command At Chattanooga
and will probably advance towards Memphis and Nash.
VILE with an Interior design against Kentucky in
grand columns. This grand advance Ia likely 70 take
place by the first Of September before Price the
gathering Of the crops before be begins his move.
Troops are daily leaving hiehmond for Ootdonsvillo
to reinforce Jackson and that General has nearly
hundred thousand men, " not more, 10 advance
ganst Pope and essay TO overwhelm him by force u
numbers The rebels intend to march against Washing
ton and hope possess that city before the under
the late call in the field aud they expect dictate
their terms from the capital itself The troops in and
bout Petersburgh, 10000 in number being transfer
red % Jaekson's command as rapidly as possible, AID
his force will be greatly augmented by the latter ~
this week uther sources ~ Nuulu not DE
Il Il found that he had Al least $1,000 men this
very moment
"Our returned prisoners unanimous in the decar
alton that the rebels have three hundred Thousand
troops in the Richmond armies. Their means Of form
ing an estimate, however, comparisons u different
statements made BY soldiers aud citizens occasional
revelations from persons whom they believed 10 be-
heart Union men, and the results Of their obssrva.
tons IN being transported from one prison 10 another
They think that their Of information va
that systematic deception could Dot he kept up,
though they admit that the rebels would have strong
motives for attempting Il.
They all unite too, in the demand foE Iner- lea Al ans
Of them insist that the present calls Tor six hundred
thousand enough AL declare that the rebels are
Hgidy enforcing their oonseipt law, and that they
bringing into the geld much class " men than
they had six months ago. They declare that southern
Unonism is well night myth, and dwell particularly on
the way they treat their political prisoners from
their oldest and best citizens, than any
the atrocities Brownlow has described praoiiced 10
East Tennessee. In prison, whore they had lil o
these political prisoners. they dying At the rate
four day from diseases brought solely by their mis-
cradle treatment"