An English Combatant, Lieutenant of Artillery of the Field Staff., Battlefields of the South from Bull Run to Fredericksburgh; with sketches of Confederate commanders, and gossip of the camps.

Introduction.

Having travelled and resided long on the American continent, carefully studying national characteristics, he was not surprised by the inevitable disruption of the Union, nor at any time unaware of the causes tending to that result. Rather, his surprise has been that Southerners should so long have refrained from rising in arms against the accumulated insults and injuries which, for a long series of years, have been heaped upon them. They would have been unworthy of their origin, and must have shown themselves less than men, had they longer submitted to the degradation of being deprived of free speech and action amongst a people whose prosperity had been fostered by their industry, and whose history they had ennobled by heroic deeds.

Apart from all untruthful bias, although serving in a cause he enthusiastically espoused, the author has followed the fortunes of Southern armies in this narrative with an honest intention to present facts, uncolored, and exact in detail, so far as space would allow or his position and facilities enabled [xii] him to obtain them. Every statement he has made can be fully substantiated; he would esteem it unmanly, unsoldierly, and degrading, to speak untruly of these events.

The real source of Northern prosperity has been misunderstood; so, in the author's opinion, has the real character of the Yankee people. The nasal-toned, tobacco-chewing, and long-limbed gentleman of the present day inhabiting the New-England States, speaks the English language, it is true, in his own peculiar way, but Indian, Canadian, Irish, Dutch, French, and other bloods, course through his veins; and from his extraordinary peculiarities of habit and character displayed in this present war, it is extremely difficult to imagine which caste or shade predominates in him. He is a volatile, imaginative, superficial, theatrically-inclined individual, possessing uncommon self-confidence, and is very self-willed, arrogant, and boastful. His self-conceit is boundless: any one who disputes his ideas is a fool.

The peculiarities of Yankee character displayed during the present war are very amusing, but sometimes, it must be confessed, very offensive. When General Scott was in chief command at Washington, and promised to “disperse the rebels within thirty days,” the Northern editors were lavish and servile in praise of “the great chief” Columns upon columns of editorial flattery daily issued from their journals. A thousand anecdotes and incidents were narrated of him when a precocious child, and, if remembered rightly, it was said his first plaything was a cannon. McDowell, his talented lieutenant, came in also for his share of praise, although thousands asked: “Who is McDowell?” When the reports of the Washington Administration claimed a victory at Manassas, the whole nation vociferously chaunted the praises of Scott and McDowell; but when the truth leaked out the day following, not a newspaper in the whole country but vilified them both, calling the first a stupid, ignorant old blockhead, and the latter a traitor.

Butler had appeared upon the scene some short time before. Being from Massachusetts, (where none are found, of course, except men of extraordinary talents, genius, veracity, and bravery,) he was going forth from Fortress Monroe to massacre or “bag” the entire Confederate force at Little Bethel. The press was in ecstasies; a swarm of reporters repaired to [xiii] headquarters, and Butler could not sneeze but the fact was telegraphed North as something very ominous, and presaging no good to the rebels. Magruder and Hill whipped him completely in half an hour; and the press, as usual, poured out their vials of wrath, and he was treated to all the derision and vilification of an angry and disappointed populace.

McClellan next appeared in the arena, and the whole country was awe-struck at the supposed magnitude of his genius. None dared approach him save on tip-toe; dead silence prevailed wherever he went; reporters stretched their ears to catch the least word he uttered, which, after being highly ornamented and rendered very romantic, was blazoned forth to the North as the “last” good thing of the “Young Napoleon.” All the world was supposed to be standing in breathless curiosity to know “what was-coming next;” artists of various illustrated journals sharpened their pencils, and anxiously yearned to sketch the rapid succession of victories which were promised to be forthcoming; but time jogged along, and even Northern journalists began to grow weary of McClellan's inactivity. They had fully exhausted all their store of flattery and praise, and were now utterly fatigued with the task of fruitless and never-ending laudation.

The “Young Napoleon” had been compared to Alexander, Caesar, Hannibal, and Napoleon the Great ; but nothing in the history or character of those famous leaders was considered fully adequate to the heaven-born qualities of George B. McClellan. His eyes, hair, mouth, teeth, voice, manner, and apparel, had all been described in carefully prepared leaders; and even his boots had something pertaining to their make and style indicative of the surpassing talents of the wearer.¹ His [xiv] servant was idolized, and nothing could be too good for him; for it. was through this important functionary that a gaping and delighted public were favored with the last and latest anecdotes illustrative of the great man, his master. Time went on, and the “Young Napoleon” suffered a series of defeats, not only fatal, but humiliating. ² Although he attempted to conceal his [xv] disasters, the truth became known at last, and the long pent up expectation of the Northern press burst forth in a torrent of abuse. The English language being incapable of illustrating their feelings, new epithets were invented to denote their [xvi] accumulated contempt and scorn for the “Young Napoleon.” ³ Yankee character delights in extremes: it is all adulation or all abuse.

Fremont, who once ran for President of the United States, had also experienced the changeful feeling of the Northern masses, and bore their strictures, we are told, with but little grace. When appointed to command the forces in Missouri, the newspapers, as usual, were literally crammed with sketches, anecdotes, and illustrations of the “great Pathfinder.” Nothing too absurd could be said in his favor; all the river cities of Missouri were preparing grand receptions for him; Dutch lager-bier brewers were laying in large stocks to meet the forthcoming demand: for on Fremont's arrival, the land was expected to flow with milk and honey. Fremont was called “the coming man,” “the great unknown,” “the master mind;” in truth, he was extolled and looked upon as a demigod. St. Louis and the West ran riot with delight. Dutch cheese, Dutch beer, Dutch bands, Dutch every thing was the order of the day, and delightful guttural Dutch was the language of Fremont's embryo court, held with mock state in Choteau avenue. The “ragged” Confederates, however, put a sudden stop to the round [xvii] of conviviality and expense in which he indulged. Disaster attended the Federal army in the West, and Fremont sank low in the opinion of even his former admirers. He was suddenly removed, and the Northern newspapers turned against him.

What had become of John Pope, late Commander--in Chief of the army of Virginia, was matter of speculation among all classes; but, from the fearful clamor raised throughout the North regarding his late series of brilliant defeats, it was considered possible that he had been sent on a reconnoitring expedition among those mountains where, as his despatches stated, he had driven poor Stonewall Jackson. ⁴ Rumor said that the [xviii] Washington Cabinet had exiled him among the Indians of the North-West, where he night practise the art of war without [xix] sacrificing from five to ten thousand men at every exhibition of his genius. McDowell, Porter, and many old officers, who had [xx] been accused of “treason” by this great and veracious Incapable, were said to be temporarily deprived of their commands, [xxi] and enjoying whiskey-and-water among the anti-Administration party of New York.

While the Yankee is extremely bitter towards unsuccessful [xxii] men, and ungenerously visits upon them all manner of contumely and disgrace, he is equally unjust to those in subordinate commands who betray tokens of ability and success; particularly if they are so unfortunate as to entertain political opinions contrary to those of the Administration. It matters not what ability an officer may possess; if he is not politically identified with his masters, promotion is denied, and the press so effectually gagged that no word of commendation may escape it. Sigel, ⁵ Sturges, Grant, Buell, Rosecrans, and others, [xxiii] who have displayed traits of genius under adverse circumstances, have never been called to chief command, simply because they were foreigners, or opposed to the dominant party in politics. Men of ability, without politicians to assist them, can never expect to rise; and if it were known to-morrow that a foreigner was in the ranks capable of guiding the destinies of the nation, he might remain there in obscurity, and the continent be reduced to anarchy, ere Northern pride would succumb to be led by any one who was not born on the soil.

The Yankee proper hates all foreigners, when any thing is to be gained or given away. It is conceded, indeed, that Europeans are serviceable as food for powder, and great pains are taken to keep up a plentiful supply of this food by numerous agents, who are busily engaged for this purpose in Europe. But, although they cannot deny that the foreign element has been the stepping-stone to all their past prosperity, and that it has proved itself superior to native blood upon every battlefield, they will unblushingly protest on all occasions that “we Americans” are the great rulers and master-minds, capable of achieving any thing and every thing of which a mortal man might dream. Poor unfortunate foreigners may sweat and toil, and fight or bleed for them; but, were the war to cease to-morrow, hundreds would be shot down in the public streets, as happened in Louisville and Baltimore: and for no other reason, perhaps, save that they dare to think for themselves in the use of the suffrage.

In the appointment and dismissal of their generals, the constant practice of the North has made them ridiculous alike to Southerners and to all Europe. A man is called to command because a political faction admires or thinks him capable; though, probably, he has no notion of the duties of an officer. Every new appointment serves to create a “sensation,” and, for a time, it appeases the clamor of the press. The newly-fledged commander, however modest he may naturally be, finds himself instantly transformed into a genius, and the eyes of the nation are fixed upon him in ecstatic hope. Something in his eye [xxiv] betrays vast penetration, if not positive knowledge, of the future; his walk may be slow-he is a studious, long-headed man, and all will be well; his step may be quick and elastic — a sure sign of brilliancy and activity. If his speech is loud, he was born to command; if soft, he is dealing in mysteries. It matters not, indeed, what he is, or might have been, or what he has or has not done-he is a new man, and an untried one. He has many things in his gift, and is quickly flattered out of them by crowds of sycophants, who care not a jot who rules, amid the rack and ruin of the times, so that they themselves have secured something from the national plunder.

If the genius of the hour proves unsuccessful, he is immediately kicked from high places, and sinks into deeper obscurity than he had known before. No inquiries are instituted to ascertain how much he might have been to blame, and whether the disgrace has been caused by himself or his more culpable subordinates; it is sufficient that he has been unsuccessful. The Yankee demands success: it is the master passion of his life; if he cannot obtain a whole victory, he is willing to purchase half a one at any cost. Northern victories have been frequent on paper; but these, he is fully aware, are not sufficient to gratify European tastes, however much they may delight and comfort excitable and inflated Northerners.

The pride and self love of the North are so extravagant, that the bare idea of defeat in any undertaking is hurtful and humiliating. They think themselves born to unprecedented renown; and it is a foregone conclusion, that no nation ever did, or ever can, approach them in those talents with which they suppose themselves to be transcendently endowed. In machinery of all classes, in ship and boat-building, in railways, telegraphs, cities, in energy and success, other nations of the world are supposed to be infinitely their inferiors. And, as to fighting on land or water I they firmly believe that one Yankee is worth any six “Britishers.” In truth, the Yankee proper has hitherto thought, or been taught to believe, that the nations of Europe are seized with fear and trembling whenever an American stump-orator rises to speak.

Not long before the present war began, Yankee programmes of future operations in the Eastern and Western hemispheres [xxv] were freely circulated and discussed; and the preposterous magnitude of them would have excited smiles of compassion in any but the inflated petty politicians of New-England. The whole country, from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific, was theirs; England was to be deprived of the Canadas, and American emissaries were already there laying plans for any expected or presupposed uprising of the people. England, of course, could do nothing in the matter. It was known that she was much averse to any American quarrel — in fact, feared it: and should she dare to lift a hand in defence of her possessions, a fortnight would be all-sufficient to “clean out” the whole British empire, east and west. Ireland was to be made a republic, with Thomas Francis Meagher as president. England was also to be revolutionized, and Brown, Williams, or Jones, placed in the presidential chair. France was next on the list; Louis Napoleon was to be deposed, and the country partitioned. If Ledru Rollin or Louis Blanc were unwilling to take charge of affairs, the empire should be offered as a gift to their particular friend, the Emperor of Russia, as a token of commiseration for the injustice done him by the Western Powers. All the petty German kings and princes were to be sent to the right about; the Sultan was to be thrown into the Bosphorus, and his lands settled by Russian peasants or free negroes. Mexico was to be appropriated, and all Central America with it; Cuba, of course, was to be annexed; and many predicted that few months would elapse ere the Stars and Stripes should float over the walls of Moro Castle! The West-India, Bahama, and all other islands were to be appendages to the American Republic; and if no other use could be made of them, they were to be converted into coaling stations for the omnipotent Yankee navy, rather than that the detested banner of Old England should wave over any portion of territory in the Atlantic Ocean. From the Equator to the North Pole, and from the Canaries to the Sandwich Islands, no spot of earth was to be under any rule save the sway of the omnipotent Yankee; who, complacently picking his teeth on top of the Rocky Mountains, might at one view take in half the world, and call it his own.

This is scarcely an exaggeration of the wild dream of universal empire which haunted the brain of the excitable and self-sufficient Yankee. But the intoxicating idea was rudely [xxvi] disturbed; though not by any aggressive power desirous of forestalling Northern ambition by a similar career of conquest and domination. ⁶ When hostilities began, the Southerners were comparatively helpless for all purposes of war; their resources were inconsiderable, and but little of the material of war was at their command, save brave hearts and willing hands. Yet one short year had not elapsed ere this heroic people stood before the world resolute to defend their independence, armed with the spoils of victories in many a hard-fought battle-field. [xxvii] The valor and triumphs of the South by land and sea, under the most adverse circumstances, are recorded in these volumes. No people, no nation has struggled more manfully for freedom; and could England truly know the privations, sufferings, and patriotic self-sacrifice of the women and children in that far distant land, compassion would assume some material form to relieve the necessities of these descendants of her ancient and noble emigrants.

Yet the South is just as far from subjugation as when the strife began, despite the almost superhuman exertions of her enemies; and there is little doubt but that she will ere long claim recognition from the European Powers as an independent nation. [1]