, 1862-12-24

IEptClAi correspondence NL1SAeo 4ItuuAc-j !
HELENA. Ark, DECEMBER Is, 1sGs.
It is seldom that ! find i'll any Northern or
Northwestern paper, information from this
portion Of Dixie which can be relied upon as
true. There are difficulties which sometimes
forbid perfect accuracy in the first, hasty dis
patches, but the utter falsity, and sometimes
absurdity Of the news from Helena and yicin-
ity, tclcgraphed from Cairo, has long since
become Standing jest with the army Of East |
ern Arkansas. So far SIS known, bnt a single |
Western paper has had a regular Helena cor |
respondent, and his letters were, If possible,
still more unreliable than the dispatches to |
the Associated Press. It would be easy to
specify many instances, filling under my own
personal observation, where 1he truth has
been terribly perverted, or altogether lost
sight Of in mass Of imaginary circumstances !.
and occurrences, existing only in The brain Of
the imaginative inventor.
Military necessity forbids me to state the
exact, or even approximate numbers Of the
| army now enesmpcd ut this place. can only
say that it far exceeds, in strength, any force
| ever before within the limits Of Arkansas, and
is, Of itself, sufficient to clear the State Of
every armed rebel to be found within its bor-
ders- Seven States represented in lis COM
| position, Of which, Iowa contributes far the
largest number, sending ten regiments and
| two batteries. Indians is next in the list, and
then Illinois. There can be no harm in saying
that from the Prairie State we have with us
the veteran 18Th, Col. Naynar, the Sd, ;th,
and 9th, and part Of the 10Th cavalry, and
| Dayidson's Peoria battery Many Of the rcgi-
naJ,,o Jn
which any State might well be proud, while
others, just entering the service, only await
the opportunity to initiate excel they cannot
-thcir more war worn compecTs.
Many brave leaders, On whose shoulders
slcam star, lave won their honors with the
army Of the Southwest, Of which the army of
: Eastern Arkansas, rs it is now called, is but
/ larger growth. Words Of praise are needless,
for to fame and their country they are widely
known, Only for the sake Of a complete
record recall them. Beginning With Curtis,
VIC have Carr, 0sterhans, White, Dodge, Her
l.; ron, A5both, Davis, Washburn, and more
lately, Steele, Benton and Hoyey Of Indiana.
Of these, only Steele, Hovey, osterhaMs and
Washburn, are with us now. To these, add
= Chas. E. Hovcy. lately Colonel Of the SD ILL
: nois, aud John NJ. Thayer, Late Colonel Of the
> 1st Nebraska, and sou have thc list Of Gen
;. erals commanding In this army, with the ex-
c ccption Of tle district commander, to whom
q devote the next paragraph.
Gen. Steele had 50 recently rc-assuucd com.
;. mapd here and there we're SO many indica.
= tions of pefmanency in the new arrangement
=. TINT it was with no little surprise that wt
were one day informed that Brigadier General
IL ". 4 German, Of Minnesota, bad arrived fol
lie the purpose Of spperseding Gen. Steele: Sc
N,n f3o1,1 r.,
~ that It was several hours before it became
~ eeneral1y known, and then every one WAS OF
u tie ozH v;,e to see and know something Of him
n Tie former was not hard to do, nor yet tn
3, latter to those who had ID watshea ana read + n
I'd Potomac What the future may have In ator,
st for hin, may not say, and 1t is not for me Il
clethe him Witl pnmesitcd and pncarnei