The western Democrat. [volume] (Charlotte, N.C.) 1852-1870, 1863-06-23
yANKEE OPINIONS OF THE BRAVE
ny OF THEIR OWN AND CONFEDE-
RATE TROOPS.


RATE TROOPS.
The Philadelphia North American, which is
Kent alive BY Government pap, contained on Sat-
arday last the following libel upon our troops:
awe have very much to learn. The bayonet,
of which so much has been said has proved, in
fart almost nullity in the war Oar troops can
uejther.Le got to use 1t to stand against IL. In
mapy actions they have obeyed orders to charge,
and done it WELT but in all such cases the enemy
has never stood the charge. Arthe point Of the
bayonet We have done very little fighting. AH
the successes of ".StoneuaU' jackson ,rere dchieU-
ed bv bavonet charges, ,chich our nep hare refas-
ed to avdh and receive. Very much of what is
written about desperate bayonet charges, and
hand-to-hand fighting between the contending
ranks, is pure romance, as the surgeons on both
sides have repeatedly proved. Yet the use of the
bayonet is what we ought to learn, and must learn
if we hope for permanent military superiority"
But bad as this is, hear what an exchanged
Massachusetts officer who was taken prisoner on
the Rappahannock says Of our soldiers:
nDoubtlcss great many reasons are given for
our most dsgraceful defeat at Charlottesville.
There is only one real reason, and that the SIM
plest possible. Our army didn't fight as well as
that of our enemies. We had every possible ad-
vantage. Our numbers more than doubled theirs,
till Longstrcets. reiuforcements came up, which
did mt then bring their forces up to 100000 to
oppose our 10000 Indeed, i: would now seem
that Longstreet didn't come up at ALL We had
the advantage of position and no inconsderable
amount of entrcnchment. Gen. Hooker's plan
was admirably arranged and excellently carried
out until the fighting took place. He exposed
himself in the hottest place of danger and set an
elecrifying example of herosm to the whole army.
The terrible loss of life among our Generals shows
that on the whole they were not found wanting at
their posts of duty. We had men enough, well
enough equipped and well enough posted, to have
devoured the ragged imperfectly armed and equip
ped host of our enemies from off the face of the
earth. Their artillery horses poor, starved
frames of beasts, tied to their carriages and
caissons with odds and ends of rope and strips of
raw hide. Their supply and ammunition trains
look like congregation of all the crippled Cali
fornia emigrant trains that escaped off the
dessert out of the clutches Of the ramp9ging Co.
manche Indians The men are i'll blessed i'll
equipped, and i'll provided, set of raSamuffins
that man is ashamed to be seen among, even
when he is prisoner and can't help it. And yet
they have beaten fairly, beaten uS all to pieces,
beaten us easily that we objects of contempt
even to their comnonest private soldiers, with no
shirts to hang out of their pantaloons, and cart
ridge boxes tied round their waists with strands
of ropes"
This same officer says the New York World has
good deal more to say to the same effect, and we
hope his statement will be republished in every
New England journal. The intolerable conceit of
that section of the Union, and the teachings Gifts
abolition pulpit press and orators have led its peo
pie to dtspise the South sem-barbarUus and
degenerate because of slavery. Statements like
the above by Massachusetts, ner in Massach usctts
newspapers will rudely dispel the illusions of years
as to the uferiority of the Southern people and
the superior morale of the of New England.
From FLoRIDA.-We make the following ex-
tract from letter dated Lake City, Fla, juno
4th, to the Fayetteville Observer:
Our oat and rye crop now being gathered is the
heaviest raised in the State. The corn crop
fast maturing is very fine and abundant.
Your market prices are three times higher than
ours, and your officers under the Impressment Act
have put the prices double what ours have done
The following are about the prices in Lake City
Bacon 80 cts, lard 40, beef Is to 20, butter rs,
chickens so, fodder, hay and shucks l SO per
hundred, corn l 20, peas l So leather So, nIolass
es 81, suear so, pork 25, salt $40 per bus. cot
ton 3d. sea island do. 81, tallow so. Within my
recollection Fayetteville was the cheapest market
in the South, and why it is now above Lake City
is beyond my ken. One reason l may suggest:
public sentiment is great regulator in all new
countries and it will not tolerate or allow either
SPECULATION or cxtoTtion in the neccssares of lie
Hence fer the last Is months not bushel of corn
has been bought in this market for the purpose of
selling again, and with all other necessaries
except -four. During this year have seen this !
same public sentiment exerted to compel
parties to sell slaves in families, when the parties
for gain desired to separate them.