Cleveland morning leader. [volume] (Cleveland [Ohio]) 1854-1865, 1864-06-24
Down the Potomac and up the
James.
Incidents Of the Crossing:
THE PARAPHERNAL1A OF WAR
From the Times correspondent we max

From the Times correspondent we make
the following interesting extracts:
HOW THE ARMY LOOKED WHEN oRossIEG
TIE PoEToOE BRIDGE OVER THE JAMES.
The army has been steadily marching
across here for ffty hours-the movement
having been begun on Wedne day morn
ing, and it is row mainly across. The
men march very briskly, musket on
shoulder, and apparently cheerfully. They
do not form line absolutely continuous
in character, but rather in great and ir-
regular and detached lines. A brigade Of
infantry, with possibly thousand cayal-
ry horses and battery Of artillery, has
just gotten over, and ct this moment, not
more than twenty men are marching in
units or couples across the bridge. Now
comes man leading horse; now q can
non; now dozen tesmsters; now 8 bat
talon Of negro soldiers; now q solitary
horsemsn probably sick or wounded
msn) But heavy body of troops Of all
arms is passing out of the woods, fling
on to the bridge; and now they go march
ing over and RloDg-not tramping In
steady columns; it is true for such is not
the order Of march on crossing q poRtoon.
Besides the columns of infantry moving
over and massed on the banks, there are
immense numbers Of horses (mostly cav
airy horses, their riders dismounted, an
told, and marching by themselVes,) long
trains Of wagons, numberless pieces Of
artillery and oaissons.
The grand army is marching onward to
Richmond, though it Is now three times
further sssy from it than it was ten day
ago. .- = ,-s q -
REBEL PRIsoNEEs-THEIRA APPEARAECE.
Rebel prisoners have been described and
photographed often enough. These were
certainly, to use Western phrs.e' Every
or nary" looking set Of white men. In
costume they had the appearance Of q
great crowd Of European beggars. They
had no uniformity whatever Of uniform,
though the general appearance Of almost
every thing was sort Of dirty, dusty gray
They we Of all ages end sizes, many Of
them being hoys Of fifteen, others men Of
fifty; but the majority Of them were yei
in the prime Of life. Iolnfess it is diff
cult for me to fix such bodies Of men as
in the organism Of the South as it existed
before the war. In other years 1 hays
Travelled and resided in nearly all the
States Of the South-in the States east oi
the Mississippi and west Of it. l thought
I was pretty fsmilisr with the style and
physiognony Of the people Of all Glasses
castles and conditions; but have n vel
anywhere seen any large numbers Of any
such faces ss these-faces of such q Low
| fv1a Y,hvainoI doV,alc,,n, anita - s,,od 4,
mean character, intelligenoes 80 dull and
empty. l do remember, indeed, having
seen some few such men in the western OF
mountainous portions Of North Carolina,
and much lower cast still in the middle
and lower portions Of South Carolina
among the sand -hillers and such like; but
| the dominant class, which wss seen and
met with everywhere in the South, was a
very different order Of men from these,
and immessurably superior. Perhaps ii
is, as 1 have heard it suggested, that the
greater part Of the fighting ohivalry Of the
South was actually killed of or disabled
in the first two years Of the war. An Of
fcer Of great militsry experience in the
Southwest once said to me; ave rarely,
if ever, now fight such regiments ss We
fought the first year Of the war. Then ii
was the prime element Of the south-fLe =
proud, full-blo oded, defiant element. Now
it lie poor wretohes, who have been forced
into the ranks hy the CONSUMPTION. And
aoo0unt tVr the OhsDSvi 0OId II, ''by
the fact that the fret GLASS has been nearly
all put hOTI dE combat has been the
terrible havoc of the war in this section" !"
Wellington said Of the British army,
which he commanded and knew so well.
that the "men were despicsble for every
thing but hghting;" and tle same remark
seems to me to be eminently applicable TO
the rebel army, as it here appears. 1t is
true, have hesrd''Of many other recently
captured rebel prisoners, who were Of a
very different cast and character.
PROUD SPIRIT OF THE woUEDED.
ALI these wounded men whom see uu-
der the trees, in the tents, and in the
houses, bear their wounds with degree
Of manliness, rRtence and che 'rfulness to
which have seen no parallel among suf.
ferers from Mains in civil hospital prsc-
tice. The negroes, in particular, of whom
there are large number here wounded.
seem to be actually proud of their wounds
proud that IN this sacred cause the,
have been accounted worthy to shed saeir
blood, or lose limb, OF be pierced bv a
bullet or torn by shell-proud that thew
have been enabled TO demonstrate their
manhood by Glowing that they have the
high courage and the true hearts Of men,
Public TmPatienes In pegnrd = ,bs o.:
tuTe a. nicbmOn| "p-
II