Daily Ohio statesman. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1855-1870, 1863-06-03


describing his journey through the Southern
Confederacy from vIcksburg to Richmond, and
printed in the World of May 2S. Mr.. CoBuRN
was on board the brig Sturges, which ran the
gauntlet Of the Vioksburg batteries on the Sd
Of May. The boat passed the upper batteries
amid storm Of fire, and for twenty minutes
was not hurt or hit, the propeller moving at
about eight miles an bour. The party on board
numbered about thirty, and twenty-five were
captured after the vessel was blown up, three
having been killed and two wounded. About
one hundred guns were fred, twenty after the
hoat was disabled and on fire. The rebel pick
ct boats that took the prisoners of said they
could not venture ont sooner for their own fire.
Mr.. CoBURN was taken as prisoner of war
and sent forward to Richmond, where he was
released by the Confederate authorities, His
transit from Vickaburg to the rebel capital oc-
cupIed about three weeks. during which time
hevisited jackson, Miss; Montgomery, Ala;
Atlanta, Ga; and other important points, hav-
Ing an excellent opportunity for making obs
aervations on the condition OF things in the In
terror of the Conlsderaoy, which he appears to
have improved to good advantage. He gives
the following as the reaultof his experience as
to
THE RKELISas OF THE PEOPLE.
II is only the truth to say that great major.
| ity OF the higher class of people of the South
are unanimous In their belief In the virtue,
wisdom and Justice Of their cause. They pro.
fees to believe In Southern independence"
Southern wealth. and eventual prosperity and
greatness. There may be Union "sehtlmenp
at the South, but IL has, like other sentiments,
very little expression. The South has all the
unison itneeds to carry on war. 10 aimilitary
sense. tho South is united.
Yet there are Union men and Union women
in the South. They are confined 10 no section,
but abelnd most In the region described in o
circuit Of hundred and fifty miles around At
lants. Northern Alabama, Northern Georgia,
East Tennessee and Western Virginia contain
them; Richmond itself does In numbers We
have discovered the best evidences OF IL in many
inasances. When travelling along the route and
the propriet0rs Of eating houses secretly thrust
back our money into our hands-when men
come up and shake us warmly by the hand ana
entfeat us to represent 60 the North the need OF
pressing on; when they seud us bouquets and
other friendly assurances, we feel In epeoial
sense the profoundness of this "sentiment."
But our experience is tame beside that of the
gallant officers and men of the lndianOla and the
''rsIders" under Col. SReight These people had
bouquets, with money concealed in them, thrown
to them; the tars had plugs of tobacco, offer
iugs Of food, and other substantisls.
OF the existence of come Union feeling am
assured by Sontherners themselves lt is not
large, but, like that In Kentucky, genuine, in.
tense what remains OF it. Very many persons
of rank and intelligence we're accustomed TO get
our little party int0a conversation as quietly as
possible and put 1t to us seriously what We
thought Of the chances of the struggled There
is with them strange and significant redund-
ance OF the inquiry, "When do you think the
war will end7"
We select from Mr.. CoBURS's interesting OBJ.
servstons, the following on
4 THE REBEL ARMY.
The rebels believe and affirm that they have
the best army and the bIayest soldiers in the
world. There ia enough Of truth aud enough
of falsehood about the remark not to treat 10 as
a lest. The military spirit aud power and Or
panzuti of the South are to my mind some
thing marvellous. Officers pay more study to
the profession; the men are like the French,
either more easily inspired with martial zeal,
or like the Cossacks, less capable of choice or
iudqment The officers, however, are more
thoroughly welded to the business of arms.
IL has become the work Of their lives. This
NAV be by the force of circumstances, and the
only work In which their whole energies were
F, bent. Of this necessity they make a virtue
There ia an intense and Interviewing talk OF
war, warriors, plans, battles, movements, forti-
fcations, etc. The chief officers manifest q
more intimate acquaintance with the nomencla-
ture and terminology of the art than do the
same ranks in our army. The men have d
binder, il may be, but more enthusiastic at
tachment to their leaders and the corps
MILITARY aPIRIr.
| That they should have been able to make
every male between the ages OF fifteen and
6fty Perceptions noted) soldier Of the State,
and to drive into the ranks nearly the whole
able.bodied population, is Q remarkable stretch
Of power in the history of Republics, and po-
tent engine of war.
The mass of these men love fighting moro
than do we The people, their provisions, their
roads, their houses, their newspapers-all are
at the call of the State. What sympathies
could not be enlisted were few enough to be ig-
nored. All things-the law itself-bend to the
limperious militnry necessity" 10 material
tn0y COmm6uCcu WIN iubto1 put unNOB W vhO
expedient and another, gotten larger stock
Clothing they still lack, but one can not but see
that neither in the field Of war nor in society,
do the clothes make the men. In equipments
they are short; bat here again they have hit up
ION wonderful expedient--to use less. Medi
cines they are scant of. So much the better,
perhaps.
DIscIPLINE OF THE ARMY.
+ Whisky Ia scarce article In the Southern
camp. We saw little or no drunkenness among
soldiers and officers. The usual price is a dollsr
= dram for whisky, go that to have Q moderate
spree private might spend three months' wages.
|. The pay Of the men and officers is about the
{ same as our own, the cost Of living much dear
, er; the consequence is they muat expend their
accumulated substances or live more plainly -
, This they do both In food aud Isiment. Too
many of their men and officers are wearing our
blue coats and psnts--taken from US. Ia this
We can not Fetaliate
Another remarkable feature of their armies
is their mobility They are un!ncumbered
/. with such vast amount of baggage, stores,
tents and camp chests. They have no suffers,
' and consequently no government transportation
, ia used In this traffic.
In connection with the foregoing. we copy
: the following from Mr.. CoBURN on