Weekly national intelligencer., 1863-02-19
Mr.. Davton 10 M. Drouyn de L'Huys.

-,
MONSIEUR LIE MINsTRE: In recent conversation had
with your Excellency you asked sumo questions IN Tea
lion 10 the population Of the Southern States OF he uea
States, and the position oi the severai DIVISIONS " eu
army This in connex,on with statement IN your de-
sortcb of the Both October his Maesiys sadors
Mt London and at st Peersbnreh, oheiay published Ia
duced me TO make you this communcation.
Although that despatch not addressed 10 me or 10
my Government vet it Intimately concerns the latter
that am sure shall be excused If refer to II 10 con-
nectoD with the sujectmatter OF your conVeisauuh.
6 this not with TO any criticism on the expression
az any opnoc b-y ond those already given by me- ou 10
correct so far what seems TO me msappfenen
zion Of facts do this 10 The nope that snouu ne qs
t;on o,.aent sef for consideration the future your TX
sIsacy may bs Ldrced review your opinion rs 10 tne
strength Of the parties involved in the war no" existing
the United States ,r..l
hlIgerrnt- lrom the very outset Of the war; an equality
If strength which has been almost constantly hanoiuea
ever since aud alter much bloodshed th@y are no"
in this respect very nearly in the same PoStoh as st
6rst Nthia. iusihes the expectation OF any more de-
cidrd military operations at an eaiiy oay. :,
Ia answer to your questions in our conference of the
II instant eudeayored With tina aid OF map to point
out the di-tcts of county occupied al present py the
several divisions OF our army
II YOUR Exceency from memory recall these ques
lions and compare them with t5e condition OF thu rs at
. ,,. rrv Outset of the war; (or as it mas been
S hi, the past earl you will find cause am sure Tor
grave doubt 10 the accuracy OF the opinion
she above extract, -, r. 49, o,
States south of the Potomac aud Ohio aud west OF the
Mississippi thirteen in all were 10 possession Oh lns
gents except only small locality IN vig9a oppo% ~ -
Wasnpton tract Of country in the same otae 10 tue
west of the Aegiany mountains. IN hich tDere was
mixed possesson The nor hern parts OF hentucRy ana
perhaps half of Missouri With these
h. Ia sway of the entire country Of The soutb
They at the time, the military arseDa a.
Rsrpers Ferry and the vast naval arsenais and dock
yards at Norfolk and Ptnsscoa They ma likewise pos
a. sson Of the shore of Chesapeake Bay which 10
oune xion with the command OF he Potomac gave them
control over the by water 70 Washing o. ne ca2
ta Of the They have los durl's the year toe ea
srn shore o the Chesapeake aud the command OF the
tomac the city of Norfolk, with its arsenas and dock
yards and gbboring country aaa tbe doc ara %
sacoa They have Loaf al Virginia west % Inc Allethi-
MES Kentucky and Missouri and part OF Tennessee COM
pris,up among other points, Nashville The captil and
Memphis, it's commercial port on tue hssisspp I6ey
have every port harbor and orhhcaon on the ATTAIN
tic coast Of any value (ho.e at Charleston alone except
ed from the mouth Of the Chesapeake 10 the southern
point Of Flord aud thence around the Gull coast TO
Pensacola.
the year lost New Orleans the great commercial -tro-
polls Of the South with the numerous Notifications etao-
fsbed Tor ITS defence. They have likewise lost tie Ms
slssipp with every leland and rlver toruhcauon (saVe
that at yicksburg) by which it defended This river
which drains the entire valley Of the West and cuts 10
two the Slave from Caro- to the Cult aud on which
could oat the nsvies q tae world when can reher be
frde, nor or,dged, must forever separate the four
Slave States lDd their contiguous territories on It's west
eide from IN the east Ih7 loss OF the rlVer was
more Injurious the OF the insurectonts Than
the loss nf MANY baIes Conscious that this would be
so it was fortified yoor ESceeOcy viii remember not
only its mouth and below and at New Orleans ou az
every available point upwards vet IT, With lis many for
tic csuons (Vicssbure aious excepted has within the
year been ost the South The Tennessee and the Cum
berand great interior rivers Of the West with their de-
f ces and Notifications have likewise been taken after
a hs,d struggle, by the armies OF tie Union.
In word, the insurgents do not now hold foot of
ground wbisl they did not hold early ia the whe the
dag of the Uoian beeu conssny sdvanced aud now
Aoats somewhere on the soil the forticatons of
every slave State (sass cne Their armies have in the
mean time been driven from area OF country embracing
in the aggregate not less than hundred thousand
.auars nile and occupied by populahoa Ringing from
one million and half to two millions OF people
But IN war equality in strength consists not 10 these
things only. Permit me, therefore, REMIND your E1-
csency that while sl the incpsnt eHorts ~ the part OF
the south 10 create navy have been defeated aad Der
vessels the navy Of the United States has, within
year grown from very small io very great power
closing the ports OF the South precudng save with
Consent all entrance exit from them unless by &c ah
cr acc dent THIS power which the South has little to
almost exclusively the growth of the year ana on
ard the ports hsrboFs and rivers OF the
Soath II bit be 10 tue future most eeen means
of attack or defence
There are two other eieuaents Of strength which spe
cislIy require consideration and money he armies
az the South been large beyond esaye NJ compared
with the erient OF population from which hey been
dawn 10 rails. them to their present standard the con-
scTtion law of South has embraced al FROM The age
OF eighteen to forty6se years. Their armies like our
own waste away By the casualties Of aud there can
be little force in reserve to supply the Srsn.
An examination of the preliminary report q tie census
of 1850 f VIII ch have had The Eonor 10 transmit you
cpy) wi, show Oh page 49, that the body Of the popua
tion upon which the sou must draw Tor the supply Of
this drain is than suR gesed ia or rsseat
conversation.
The aggrt gate free population Of all the Slave States,
including Maryland, Delaware Virglna, Kentucky and
Missouri is only $50 1853 but irom thi. must be de-
ct.d the population Of those Slave States in the posses
son of the United States where conscrption law Of
the South could possibly be enforced, aud likewise the
free blacks nf the South IN whose hands they dare not
Mace arms The free population OF thosc States, shown
H. the cru.us OF 1860 is follows Delaware ll0416;
MARYLAND 500 $50; Kentucky 20; Missouri 0s7 o2l
K,nsuba ar Western VIrgBis, with Jefferson, AccOmac
and Nrthsnpton counties, estimated at 31J774; free
bIachs az the south 10 be deductd d. 25O9sYmaklng an
aggregate Of 2l which number deducted from tbe
sggr. gate free population Of the South, leaves only
ABl 6i2 including men, women, aud children.
The general accuracy Of these figure can readily be
tssted BE- reference to psges 3I and 2S6 49, 1Ss and
259 1 tie census report before referred TO- Ii true
that 10 slight extent troops maY voluntarily 20 INTO
the Southern Amy from portons Of the eoBnry not IN
their possession but these would probably be at sast
bsauced by tbus withholding hsmselves along the coasts
ana the snd cities OF the South subject TO our
control and for which allowance is made IN the above
ejaculation.
iced not recaptuute the popnston OF the Free States
aud of the 30 der States possession he agRre
cate by reference To the report, viii be
seen 20 be- wihip fraction Of twenty two millions,
I2I o96 e45 Daring last summer in addition to the
army then IN the field they raised within the space Of two
cntb, principally by voluntary enlistment, sx hundI ed
army IN the am instructed to take their place.