, 1862-09-10
Glimpse Reh1Hd the rebel Ltnes-The
StFen@tn of the fkebeI y rmy Exar-
Eexafe0-1ts True Condition.,
ICotIeapondence Of the New York Trihnnal

lcof1eapondence OF the New York Tribnne1
WASHINGTON, Sept. s, 1862.
a. LITTLE drawing aside Of the curtain which
has hidden The battle fields from our Sight has
given us d glimpse BEHIND tie rebeI lines.
words dropped, and stories told bv our men
who have been released from captivity, aud
the sad sight Of hunger worn, tired. battIe
~orn soldiers, and the corruborating adnls-
81 rs OF rebel prisoners, give us sh arper
scmberer picture Of the rebel condition tn,n
We have been willing to make for ourselves.
The panic stricken wretches, who come inst
1fom 4 patle and last on march, have been
all along sprsaoing stories that our enemy WIS
fresh WHEN We were weary, well fed when we
went hungry, that he had all talent Tor victory.
~ c6ances tor success, and Ioat, IRON rna
Rapidan to the banks Of the Potom1c, he had
crushed and overwhelmed us By lis fearf,I
supremacy Of pumbers.
Ale miracles p rfurtned by God for the ben
etit of the enemy? Has H. placed the soriug5
CT eternal youth by their pAuhs, so thai toey
can drink and be new mtn? Is il given to
tht III and their beasts to live without foud or
fleep? And if rot, why should Northern ~
ptrs say, and Northern people believe, that
jackson and Lee are headiog an army great
ID 1umhefs as sSar.n OF l0tust6, thofou ..Aly
supplied with provisions, aud butter OF IS vel.
urm-d as our own? Whys Bsc4rsa the
bind guides forbid the papers to til the
The truth. and these pretty theories Of rebel
superiority have grown like mushrooms, fro n
1at heated bed OF smothercd public iatelli-
gence.
The enemy has had no more men, no: so
Mncn ordIauce, nor provisions, no. trauspor-
tAt1on facilities, nor nearly SO much encu n
otriEE baggage, but he has out.enerAled u,
from Slang ntef Mountain TO Edwara's FecTy.
and Gud Knows but he will i } SO hereaftee'
Make ycur display of capital headings @ to your
"ar news, harp upon Our driving thS eua1lya =
mile ttis morning, and four rods the " alter
tomorrow, but take your map and see how
the enemy has crowded us a.ilca upon mules.
and leagues upon leagues, from Cuipep ger to
tEe very gates Of the capital, fankiuy Us at
gone ziss-zag day after day, r=pel,ing feints
that solue OF our generals br ieyei rei attacks
sacrificing brave men By the hundreds to no
purpose, burning stores that should have
bstn saVrd, losing men that shonld never have
been taken prisoners, abandoning territory
that 5nonld have been ne1d- See h3w, pursu.
Ing the even course of 4 fixed and definite
purpose, the enemy has baffled our counsels,
"reeted victory after vic cory from us, aua il
now threatening Baltimore or Washington.
This is the pl .in, untrnished truth; We have
been whipped bV an inftrior force Of inferior
MeB, better haed1ed than cur o@n.
A few facts from the l,er2oaal experience Of
.u1 olheefs recently captured, and just r.
leased on and WITHOUT parole, show Snat the
condition Of The rebel army is actually 10: as
good as onr own, The R-Y, Daniel G. MI
l.ry, chaplain 5ist PennsylYania volunteers,
uitno,s division who was captured on SIT
ufoay last and has just reached to@n, gives
me the following particulars:
At the time when the fght was hottest. Mr.
Malie1y- moved of to the left OF his regiment
TO search tor the amb1lan:. cor ps, and StrAyed
away 20 far that the brigade had muyed off
betore he could rejoiu it. Wandering apout,
ne soon teN in with our 6kirmishers was ar
FIX Efk,Fin ind cs3Tf+
Identification, but on the way Was Captured
By rebel skirmlshsr5. That night aud the
ntSt morning he passed OF the bat.1e-fis
suo"g the heaps OF dead and wounded Of b 9TH
parties which lay by hundreds there. With
him we're some n'ty Officers aud o7er 1,Ooo
pFlvafes, representing HftF regiments-3nich
would seem to Indicate plainly enough that
they we're stragxlers.
These men had nothing given them to eat
uLtll GU day afternoon, when each ha1 lit
Tie bit Of meat which might weigh perhaps
SIX ounces, but no crackers or any OTHER kind
OF food. The rebel guards Jared NO better,
however, and, indeed, they told Mr. MallerY
that sometimes they had gone two and three
days together without 4 bite Of food, except
such berries or what-not as they could iud On
the line Of march. Their pursuit of our col
umns had been 40 rapid that thsy had f4iflY
u ran away from their supply trains: Whit
they captured from US In their raids to the rear
they could not carry away, except what each
man could stuff In bis hsVers Ick, so it had to
be barnt- Over aud over again the escort Of
Mr. Ma1ery's party would beg them not to
walk 30 fast, fer The J were SO weak aud weary
They could not keep up. This to men who
bud been retreatlng ninety miles, With their
supply trains far In advance to keep them out
OF harm's way.
Monday morning our men cot an
other little piece Of meat, but no more 70 ID
ehat day, none Tuesday, and none Wednes-
day, until, alter their release aud long cir
cuitous homeward march, the faintiug, fam
shed men came within our lines aad we're
saved from stafC1tion.
At the fist place Of rendezvous, Mr.. If H.
[ery encountered Dr.. Calvin Cutler, Reuo's
.ee1Lg division surgeon. Although nomio ally
prisoner, he seemed to have made c1ptiqe
Ill the rebel officers and men about him, for
~ith that positive uncompromi=ing way OF
bis he was ordering them about in graud
style. They gave him all the mea be
asked for to bring il the wounded,
fetch water, huot after food, b1aukets,
clothing, everything. At CsntfErille, the
second rendezvous, Mr. M4llery S aw the doc
tor agatn, and he says that although j7ded
hardly drag one foot after the other, he had
10 sit down and laugh to see him with his
hospital tent pitched alongside tue rebel hos
pftal, carrying every til ng before hin.
When lii. Mal1ery Was captured he WAS led
MO the presence of general, who treated
him with kindness when he kuew the nature
ot bis profession, and promised to have hi n |
.ase vas overlooked, aud the frail little c!er-
.yman hsd to go afoot through mud and
niFe. sleep without fire OF blanket on the
.rourd through the thunder-sho Eess, aud /
AXE his chances for starvation along with th5 |
3r1vates.