Daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, Va. [W. Va.]) 1859-1865, 1864-12-30
OH. .gaIttl5Ie|dtllit!gieIsattts;'f,t.. i lig b / II.
An iINiT5IEslREsTING INiT5IEs LETTER
How totaiI Amy IlnlprssGSd d MolbbIe
, Scholar and PhiIantbroPist.

1
't2'o thst Editor Of TIE Daily Nss0a;I ~ l1g
'Sir! Finding that ali was quiet before
Richmond, and that a civilian would be In
no danger and not much in the dWay,
yentured to run down toA the army of the
JRmes.s =. d. ~ as-a4-r7i l-,Ii7ss =,
''The army appears to be in good con-
dition and spirits. The supplies, / belieye,
are abundant;s the hospital accommoda-
tions are evidently ample and good. do
1 npt speak from my own observation, which
of course is very limited and precarfous,
bat from inquiry, ID saying that probably
mo army in history ever wassso well cared
Ifori aS this. p Aad ifysuch is,-thescese,sit Is
sutetZIs 1eE5 sFpng proof that sss 10
not being Waged with mercenRry and
worthless lives.
81 see the same care Tor he dead assfor
the living. The graves ip the lines ars. de-
cent; and many bodies, even Of private
soldiers, are embalmed and sent homo to
their friends. 20
"The soldiers are now lodged in log
huts bnilt by thsmse elves; and there was q;
sort of rivalry in the cbntrivance of some
parts of these hpts which looked like the
work OF cheerful as we'll as Of skiIful
hands. ...-. -r.., 10 ,...e =. g.,.
1The extent of the fortified lines is i'm.
mense; and the perfect finish OF the works
seems to betoken willing labor, or at least
ready obedience to command. -= - 4
u "Everywhere you see skill in the use of
the axe and spade 'dexterity and inven-
tiveuess, the signs of a native American
army.
"The Notifications and the hutting might
seem to indicate that the campaign was at
an end. But the chessbosrd is now very
contracted, and theremaining moves short.
10 yioiIla fam oiOnal
in the lines. .tliat.E.
"Of course cannot pretend to speak of
the military qualities of the army, It must
suffer from the continual retirement of fVet-
rams whose term has expired, aud their re'l
placement by raw levles, who are unwisely
formedinto regiments; iinstead Of being in.
corporated with the old. The oligarchs of
the 6Onfederacy as you know keep their
veterans in the field by very simple expe-
dent. Having induced men to enlist for 8.
year, they voted them in for three, and
then till the end of the war; "a violation OF
public faith to which it would be difficult
to find o parallel AS natural cOnse-
quence they suffer from .desertiou in spite
OF the most vigilRnt Efforts to prevent it,
Their most trustworthy troops, if am not
not mfsinformed, are good deal employed
10 guarding the rest, ''
"The armies Of the Potomac and James
do not live on the country. They ar6 sup
piled from their water base. Hence, per-
haps, il is that in the district occupied by
them, though yon.s many signs of con-
1ict, you see no raVages. But in truth
the country, go far as saw 1t in two days
ride, or, from the top of signal-station
commanding wide view, bids defiance to
the rayager. Though close to the capital
of Virginia, it is, with the exception of
patch here and there, wilderness. Part of
Iu is relapsed wilderness, for 1 saw the
traces of former cultivation covered by
trees of about twenty years. growth. The
soil ia evidently good, and the land will
be fruitful when il is titled by free hands
and opened 10 emigration. Perhaps these
armies may be conquering from slavery
home for the surplus population of Eng
land. f.
s'The fact that the scene Of this war is
vast and almost painless forest (the good
roads about the lines being the work of
the arrates) evidently make ordinary mil
itary criticisms inApPlicable. 1t is diff
cult to imagine hoWA line of battle can
advance, how it can even be formed, or
how artillery can be brought to bear in
battle. A charge of cavalry is. QUITO the
Question; and this makes the cavalry in
effective, and the battles indicative. Re-
connoiteriug must also be extremely diff
cult. isa dIt9t.f So
"The two lines of pickets were lying
close to each other in front OF their re-
spective intrenchments, without any wan.
ton firing. Men whe. thus observe the
courtesies and humanities of war may
surely, when the war is over, live in good
fello Wahip with each other.
| "There seemed 10 be in this republican
army all due military subordination, and
enough of eti quette. At the same timeth
is certain republican equality Of fare. The
Irabode of General Grant at City Point is a
fhut of one room, containing camp bed, q
chest marked with the initials of the. own
ct, a table and two or three chairs.
"Ail Americans are hospitable TO stran-
gers; and the officers of the army of the
James were most hospitable to mA, Per-
haps their hospitality may have prejudiced
me in their favor; but they appeared to me
in manners and cultiYationlt the equals, at
least, OF any soldiers whom had ever
seen. / rode for some hours in company
with one of them who had entered the
army as private, and think never met
\ more perfect gentleman in my; life.
t,I saw, with the greatest interest, the
negro troops encamped close TO the scene Of
one of their most gallant exploits-the
storn1ing of the intrenchment on Newman
ket Height. There can be NO doubt,
think, that these men are now the acknoWl-
edged and respected brethren in arms oi
the whites. THIS tofgive the Beast as well
as thelDevl his due, is the work Of Gen,
i Butler. That mans indomttable energy
Il and iron win Qualities written on his face
more plainly than on any other fsce'I ever
beheid, unless il, be the portraits of Croui,
well) have crushed alb Bhe obstacles thai
stood in the way of this great moral ano
social revolution. Faro iis .IlbertOs PrOucnis
1.-The bayonet shall be their liberator-is
the motto of the medal he has caused Y
be str 1ek for the negro soldiers and he
has made this motto praetical truth. !:
viii not attempt to anticipate the calm