St. Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1845-1863, 1862-03-27

at tins momcnt. suffering considerable Bri-
vations frcm the scarcity of many of nsir
accustomed csmforts 'fhe price of these
articles, coffee especially, at New Orleans.
Charleston. aud Mobile, is a measure of
the pressure. But who that knnws the
sentiments of mingled ambition, h4lred
and contempt that have long been fcstrr-
ing in the bosom Of the Sousherncr; his
passion for the independence and gran
deur Of his native province; his love for
his STATE: his profound Indifference to the
Unson: his dread of Northern interference
with his slavrs-can believe for moment
that the want of c.if:.c. Of wine. Of luxu-
rious clothing. or Of European fancy arti-
cles, will induce him to come to terms
with his gonist-Inrch less to yield,
and throw down his arms: The dislike
which existed towards the North before
the war began. and which was confined
I" classes and sections then, has ripcncd
aud dccprncd into fcroci,us animosity
now, aud has become general and all
but unanimous The South will never
-,iclI except under compul>ion; and this
c"npul.inn the North cannot apply
Therein lies the whole kernel Of the
question.
The South has two marked advanta-
ges over the North. one Of which We
have already referred to. II is standing
on its defence, and the composition Of
its army is decidedly superior. The
size of the Northern army is injurious
to it in other ways besides It's cnormous
cost. 1t il impossible i: should be even
dccently "ffccrrl To begin with 1t i,
nearly imposSill. that it should become
81 till after l"ng years of warfara. Th'.
original stanllng army "f the United
States was, as VIC all know, very
small one. But the officers commanding
it, who were educated at the Military
Academy at West Point, We're. as 4
rule. very competent and scientific mcn
The maj"ri;y o. these, however. were Of
Southern extraction. alIl when the scvc-
rance came, cast in their lot with their
nalive States. The consequence is. not
only that the Confederate army is IN
conpara!iy the best ofiiccrcd OF the two,
but that The Northern army is scarcely
offc, Fed at all. With frw exceptions.
its generals, its coloncls, and its cap
tains, are men who have seen 10 ser
wee. who have received no training, who
deserve no commands and who have Oh
tanned their appointments either hy the
election Of their own volunteer trnors or
from rliiical or social considrratinns.- -
la addition to this, the army is cs>enti-
ally merccnary. heterogeneous, aud only
tn limited "xtrnt national. We do
hot mean that thousands of the troops,
perhaps II majority, are not JEALOUS Tn
inni>is. hearty in the Cause, anh not
avcrsc to the adventures AMI cx ci:cmcl t
Of campaign. But OILY portion of
them are native Am rican, and of Amer
lean descent: the rest. and among them
sn,nc cf ;hc bcs, soldiers ,-arc Irish and
Germans. whose patriotic sentiments cam
not be either very deep. very consistent,
or very strong. All Of them. too. re-
q"ire to be paid, and to be well paid
Lastly, few Of them are accustomed. or
arc inclined. to discipline or obedience
They are free citizens, and do not choose
t" be- c"rrcel They have never been
either drilled at home or foggcd at
s.h""l. They cannot get out Of their
heads that. as enlightened Republicans
and as volunteers. although paid. they
have right to have their own way
aud to hold their own opinions. even
against their c"mmanling officer. The
dcmoralizing eff cts of pure Dcmocra-
cy is telling fearfully against the eff
cheney Of the Federal army. Probably
the rawest recruits in the O.d World
never gave their officers so much trou-
blc or reduced them to such absolute
despair, as these intelligent and indcpen-
dent patriots.
The constitution Of the Southern army
is sup, rior upon all these points. The
m-u ale better ofiiccred, and much more
inclined to obey their officers. who are.
for the m"st part. meL of social rank
and position. as well as Of military
knowledge and experience. The pri-
Yates are usually men trained to field
sports and to the use of arms. nearly
all native Americans, ardent and pa
triotic citizens. according to their own
notions, aud in great proportion gcu-
llcn,cm OF independent mcalis. wh" eth
er Go moi receive pay. or are nearly IN
litfercut whether they receive it or not
Some entire COMPANIES are comp'scd of
personal friends. especially in the ar.iI-
lrry corps. One regiment marched ou;
Of New Orleans. of which the leading
tro"p was worth" in the aggregate,
two millions of dollars \ very COM
u:on arrangement fos men of subtaEcc to
agree t" furnish to the Guvcrnmt MT, aud
to keep i'll the field as long a. the war
ta>is. SIX or ten men fully armed, equip
ped. and paid, and to provide substitutes
ior any who may fall, desert. or become
invalid.
An army thus formed. fighting on its
own territory. and fighting for its own ci,-
ties and plantations. its own families. its
own institutions. its own passions anil pre-
jadiccs, ify"u will. is scarcely susceptible
Of defeat IN a rar, whatever may be il.
fate in u single campaign.