From the North.
The latest Northern papers furnish us further interesting news. It is now stated that Gen. Pope was relieved from command ‘"at his own request."’ General McDowell, whose division was almost destroyed by our army, has met Pope's fate. He has been ‘"temporarily"’ relieved by Gen. Reno. Gen. Banks is still lying at Willard's Hotel, Washington, from his wound. The draft in Pennsylvania and several other States has been postponed till the 20th inst. The war tax has raised the rates of everything. In Philadelphia the price of beer has been increased, causing much dissatisfaction among the Germans.A flag of truce visit to the battle-field of Manassas.
A letter to the New York Tribune gives an interesting account of a visit to the battle-field of Manassas with a citizen committee from Washington, who went for the purpose of attending to the wounded. The route taken by the writer was the old Warrenton Turnpike, over the ford at Cub Run, the identical spot where the famous Yankee stampede look place July 21st, last year. He says: ‘ The ambulances, preceded by the white flag, and accompanied by an unarmed cavalry escort, wound deviously down the broken slope into the Run, overlooked by a platoon of Southern cavalry — the pickets of their army. But a short distance from the river large bodies of their horsemen came in sight. The 1st Virginia was halting alongside the road — a fine body of men, evidently all of the better order of Southern society, well mounted, well armed, handsome, resolute looking fellows, their gray dress in better condition than that of the infantry, but very much varied. Some were in citizens clothes. Besides these, the road was filled with their straggles, among whom the North and South Carolinians were decidedly the worse looking. The signs of battle were here painfully evident, dead soldiers lay stark in the road and along side the bank; dead horses filling the air with carrion smell added to the horror of the place. At the stone-house used at the first as well as this battle as a hospital, was a large pile of muskets. In the neighboring fields, strewed with dead horses, were also stray caissons, limbers, and cannons, here a Parrot gun, there a blither, while away to the right a battery of five Napoleon twelves was pointed out as having been taken in the last fight. Soon the battle-field could be seen thickly dotted with carcases of horses and bodies of men. Not less than 2,500 killed and wounded were lost here. In the rear of these fields, in a little orchard where the enemy took the Napoleon battery, the flag of truce halted. After a little delay the citizens, to the number of 30, formed a line by themselves, and the soldiers who had been detailed to accompany the expedition to bury the dead, made up another. The latter went off in details to perform their duty, and the civilians, in squads of eight, accompanied the ambulances, carrying stretchers, upon which they have placed the wounded as fast as they found them, and carried them to the ambulances. Attracted by the red bags of Duryca's Zouaves we proceeded to the field where they lay — nearly a hundred of them — sheltered, torn, and bloody, in every conceivable stage of misery. Exhaustion had been the cause of death with some whose wounds were not otherwise mortal. One man still clutched the earth as in the last struggle for breath. Another, a tall, square browed, Roman faced hero, prone on his back, had his face turned to the sky in marble repose. By his side a mere boy laid, as if in death he had sought the protection of the stalwart arm which had befriended his weaker nature in life. All this was very sad; but some of the horrors of that place are almost nameless. The blackened, shattered corpses it is horrible even to think of. As for the wounded, their case was infinitely worse. Away from help, on the bloody ground where they fell, dying by inches, to many recovery was impossible. Although the stragglers of the rebel army had taken shoes and clothing from the dead, and even from the living, none had been ill-treated; on the contrary, all spoke with gratitude of the manner in which they had been supplied with water, and even with a little corn bread, when their victors, half starved themselves, could spare it — They had even had a number of them collected at different spots to facilitate their attendance and removal, and when called upon to help, never refused, but voluntarily came forward and expressed a desire to do all they could for us. The ambulances were soon filled and started for the orchard rendezvous; not, however, before a violation of the flag of truce by some Southern men who look four or five colored drivers off their scats. An English gentleman, present as a volunteer, made a strong remonstrance in the case of a free colored man of Washington, whom a scoundrel in citizen's clothing, with a Major's star on the collar of his greasy coat, had claimed. This man, dismounting from his horse, after remarking that he did not care whether the negro was a slave or no, took him by the collar, and, with the words ‘"I'll make a slave of you, and a slave you are from this moment,"’ dealt him a flat handed blow on the cheek, which drew a rush of tears from the eyes of the trembling wretch. The rest of the rebels looked on approvingly, and the fellow turned to the Englishman and asked him what he had to say to that? The reply that the flag of truce recognizes as sacred all beneath its folds, and that he had grossly violated it, made not the least impression. Other officers of the Confederate army, to whom remonstrance was made, utterly disclaimed such proceedings, and said that Gen. Lee, to whom they would report the outrage, would doubtless return the negroes, if he could find them. Several of the civilians were robbed and others made prisoners; but this last was their own fault, as they straggled away on their individual responsibility in search of trophies. On returning to the headquarters, in the orchard, we found the doctors hard at work, operating on the wounded. It was noticed that some of the surgeons, not being appointed on the amputation detail, looked with contempt on minor wounds, and walked about doing nothing. One of them sported a black eye, gained in a quarrel over the wounded, and one, at least, was tipsy. The best management did not prevail, but it is considered a standing rule in the army for correspondents to wink at all shortcomings, as otherwise it might tend to throw odium on those who deserve it and are responsible for failure. The afternoon passed, and no arrangements were made for carrying the wounded within the lines, but blankets were not wanting to cover them. Large fires were made, around which the party, now tired out, was soon grouped, wondering how they should pass the night without blankets or shelter. It soon began to rain heavily; the wounded were crowded inside some barns and a farmhouse near by till no more could be got in, and the rest had to pass the night on the ground, rolled in blankets. Till a late hour the doctors continued their work. The body of a dead man, shot in Friday's fight, which laid on the porch, and smelt offensive, was buried by three citizens by the light of candles, under some trees alongside the house. A miserable night — rain and then a strong, cold North wind, was finally succeeded by dawn, when work began again; fetching water for the wounded, dressing and amputating, filling into the carriages, and distributing the few spoonfuls of beef soup in camp. Not staying for the main body, a small party of us started for Centreville by way of the Stone Bridge, seeing very little of the Secession army, now well on its way by the Guilford and Gum Spring roads to the Upper Potomac. On reaching Centreville, we found only one company of the 50th Georgia volunteers present, acting as Provost guard in the village. They were making themselves happy with the liquors and other medical steres left in the place; and were a lank, lean, hard looking set of half starved fellows, in light flannel colored dress. Their Captain gave us passes to the Union lines. He looked a cunning fellow enough, and bad more whiskey in him than appeared at first sight; still he was decidedly in good temper with himself, his position, his dirty gang, and all the world.--While waiting, we had an opportunity to see the operation of relieving guard. It would have made a Northern soldier open his eyes. The Sergeant brought the relief up one at a time, and would say, ‘"Brown, Jones relieves you now, and is to stay here till the Captain send, some one else."’ Brown, apparently uncertain, remains on post. Sergeant takes his arm and leads him off a little distance, but seeing a man relieving another on his own hook, leaves B. to go and look into it. We also left, and esteemed ourselves in luck to find some crackers, thrown down and wasted by the retreating Union army. From these we selected the cleanest, and again went on, the Georgian pickets demanding our passes a short distance from Centreville. When about four miles from Fairfax we met Colonel Clark, of the 21st Massachusetts, and four privates, all unarmed, seeking to get within the Union lines. It would have been easy to have added his name to the list with the flag, but honor forbade the use. The best that could be done was to direct him as nearly as could be judged in what position the rebel force was least likely to be found. His regiment had been surprised by the Georgians, who approached the guards declaring their intention to surrender, till they were close enough for their purpose, when they suddenly attacked and dispersed the Massachusetts men, making a number prisoners and cutting up the rest badly. The Colonel, hungry, tired, and in want of sleep, was, as well as his men, determined not to give up if possible, and left us making his way rapidly southwards, previously accepting the offer of two crackers from one of the party, which was all we had. It is not yet Known whether Col. Clark finally escaped. His chances were certainly very doubtful. It was a sad spectacle in its way to see the proud commander of a thousand men reduced to the society of four poor followers, without any distinction but what habit gave, and all equally hunted and forced back at every turn by the counting enemy. After this, to our great relief, we soon fell in with the last of the rebel soldier — a picket of cavalry. They seemed somewhat astonished at first, and two of them rode out towards us. As usual with their mounted men, they were ulterior follows, physically, much more so than the infantry. The passes were examined, the men grouped about quietly with Sharp's carbines, in rest — probably taken from our cavalry, who, en passant, are too prone to throw their arms away. The officer of the picket declared us correct, and remarked that we should find our lines about a thousand yards from us, adding that they had been exchanging shots all day. ’Clear case of Treason at Washington and Elsewhere.
The New York Tribune says that rumors of ‘"a meditated pro-slavery military combination at Washington"’ have been rife for some days, and takes an extract from a Washington letter in the New York Express to show it. The letter is a grand puff for the young Napoleon, and the ‘"treason"’ lies in this part of it: ‘ Such men as Wilson, Chandler, and Lovejoy, should beware how they conduct themselves in these times. They dare not now stand in the streets and hotels of our city and vent their curses upon our leader — the day for that is past; political demagogism has achieved its all, and there is to be no more listening to the carpings of such men. As for Senator Wilson, it does not become him to seek for braver commanders, and to meddle too much in the affairs of the nation. He had better leave that to braver men, if they must be interfered with but for a Massachusetts Colonel, who resigned after having paraded his regiment through Pennsylvania avenue, and having heard afar off dreadful notes of Ball's Bluff, this interference is really out of place. The thing, however, has come to this pass: The people want no more abolition and fanatical intermeddling with the National affairs. Members of Congress should stay at home after Congress has adjourned, and not worry to death the Chief Magistrate of the nation with questions and uncalled for advice. The people are becoming convinced of these things, and they will demand it. Already can be heard the muttering, the disapproval of their traitorous designs upon the President, should be not accede to their demands, and as sure as the sun will rise to-morrow there will be tenfold worse calamities than the present to relate, if Abolition malice and vile political scheming is allowed much longer to rear its head, while the national existence is threatened so sternly. ’ The Tribune finds further traitorous symptoms in the speech of Hon. B. D. Noxon, President of the ‘"Union Constitutional Convention,"’ which met at Syracuse, N. Y., on the 9th. In his address he said: ‘ Gentlemen, the crisis of this hour is appalling. It is not alone that our armies are defeated. The painful truth is manifested that the President of the United States and our Generals in the field are embarrassed and threatened by the leaders of a party whose object is not the restoration of this Union, but the abolition of slavery. Their fanaticism renders them unfit for the high duties of statesmanship, and their sectional malice deprives them of the magnanimity essential in our imperial Republic. Our duty is clear. Let us animate and cheer our soldiers in the field contributing to their wants and swelling their numbers. At the same time, let us crush at the ballot box those reckless men who are ready to throw away their own liberties and destroy the unity of the Republic, so that they may wreak upon States which now are and shall forever remain our sister States, the unmitigated curse of abolition. ’The young Napoleon Redivivus.
McClellan, like the straw to the drawing man, is again important at the North. The Herald, of Thursday, has four articles, occupying as many columns, on the renewed lustre of this star. In one of them it says: ‘ Now is the time for him to prove himself not only a great General, but a statesman worthy of the occasion and of the responsibility which he has assumed. The safety of the country is entrusted to him. He is bound to see that no insidious enemy lurks behind about his base of operations. His own security and the security of his army are involved, and the fate of the republic itself is at stake. He is master of the situation. He is the only man in whom the troops and the country have confidence as a General for-the chief command of the army in the field. He has a right to demand indemnity for the past and security for the future, and he ought not to rest satisfied till he is assured by facts, not mere promises, that his plans shall not be interfered with hereafter. The game is now in his hands, and unless he plays his best trump and disposes effectually of the radicals, as he has the power to do, they will soon dispose of him by striking him down in the very crisis of the campaign now opened in Maryland, on which hang the destinies of the American republic and of millions of the human race yet unborn. ’The panic at Cincinnati — Drilling the troops — effect of martial law — the fortifications, &c., &c.
The city of Cincinnati for the last two weeks has been the scene of a regular panic, and to quiet the people, a little martial law has been put on them. A letter in the Philadelphia Inquirer, willen at Cincinnati on the 9th, gives the following account of the state of affairs there: ‘ Upon the first day that the city was placed under the control of the military authorities, the order to ‘"close all places of business"’ was carried into effect with a vigor which threatened, if not soon abated, to cause the utmost distress among the citizens.--Every grocery, drug store, and even the markets, were closed, and, during the latter portion of the day, numbers of persons — in some instances, whole families — might have been seen, with basket on arm, hurrying hither and thither, trying to buy, borrow, or beg the wherewith to sustain the inner man from their more fortunate neighbors, who had made better provisions than themselves for a ‘"rainy day?"’ Even the ice wagons were compelled, for the time being, to suspend their daily visits, and many were the curses, both loud and deep, which were heaped upon the military authorities by these who were compelled to resort to the hydrant instead of the cooler, as was their usual went. But upon the second day the state of things was somewhat changed, and the order slightly modified, allowing provision dealers, druggists, and ice venders, to resume their usual occupations; but other places of business are still kept closed. Were it not for the vast amount of actual suffering which is entailed upon certain classes of the community, the closing of all the taverns and liquor shops produces an effect which might be somewhat amusing. Hundreds, almost thousands, of dram drinkers and habitual loafers, who are fortunate enough to escape the spade and a place upon the fortifications, may be found at all hours of the day lounging idly upon the shady side of the walks, or huddled together upon some inviting cellar door, discussing the merits and demerits of the order which has robbed them of their occupation and grog at the same time, and wondering when this state of things will cease to exist. The German portion of the community are indignant because the supply of lager is so suddenly cut short. The work upon the fortifications and entrenchments, upon the Kentucky side of the river, is still going rapidly forward, and will be completed in a few days. Upon these defences every able-bodied citizen of Cincinnati is obliged to perform a portion of the labor; none are exempt unless they can show that their absence from their usual place of business would be actually prejudicial to the interests of the Government. Even the army contractors, although a portion of their operatives are sometimes allowed to remain, must take their turn at the work, and spend at least every other day in digging for Uncle Samuel's benefit. You may be sure that this causes quite an amount of grumbling among the upper tendon; but there is no help for it, and over they must go. The troops who are encamped upon the grounds are not compelled to perform any portion of this work, but are kept almost constantly at drill, in order that they may be able to meet the enemy, when he comes, in proper style. In this respect General Wallace has shown that he has a proper appreciation of a soldier and his duties, and he says it would be madness to wear out the men who must do the fighting, with hard work, while there are so many civilians who will answer the purpose just as well, and who, when a battle takes place, have nothing to do but to look on. Troops are constantly pouring into this city from all points both north and west of this. Several Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois regiments have arrived and crossed the river to day. Among them were several regiments of cavalry and two batteries of light articled. We now have in and around the city a force sufficient to reaped any enemy which can be brought against it by the rebels. Of course, I am not allowed to give the exact numbers, but there need now be no fear for the safety of Cincinnati; for in the event of a fight, which seems imminent, our troops will surely win a victory; and should the enemy learn of our force here, and decline the attack, it is not improbable that our forces will be thrown forward, and thus force a fight or disastrous retreat upon them. There are still large numbers of Ohioans volunteering and coming forward for thirty days, to act as a rifle corps for the city defence. Each of these men brings his own weapon, with which many of them are able to kill a squirrel at the distance of from one hundred and fifty to two hundred yards. They are, of course, entirely undisciplined; but better men for manning the rifle pits and earthworks it would be hard to find; and should the enemy give them an opportunity to test their skill upon them, you will no doubt bear a good account of the riflemen of Ohio. Nothing further has been heard of the rebels under Smith since their occupation of Falmouth; but it is believed that he is now either lying there or marching towards this place. In either case there must be a fight between his forces and ours before long. ’The Raid on the bulletins in New York.
A letter from New York, dated the 10th inst., gives the following account of the way the police ‘"suppress"’ the news when posted up there. The ‘"raid of the bulletins"’ continues, but aggressive warfare has ceased upon the newspaper boards, and the police have devoted all their energies to the tearing down of the news from the private bulletins of the news dealers. There has been in the Bowery, for some time past, a large bulletin placed there by an enterprising paper dealer, and from which people could gather an idea of what was going on in the world, without the payment of the customary two cents; but arrival dealer opposite, becoming jealous of the crowds which flocked around his neighbor's door to the detriment of his own business, made formal complaint against the owner of the bulletin, as creating unnecessary public excitement. The Superintendent of Police forthwith ordered its removal, and the ‘"obnoxious paper"’ was torn down by five metropolitans, who, charging gallantly through the crowd, surrounded the board, seized the bulletin and carried it off, amid the execrations of the parties anxious to hear the news.The first Entry into Frederick — interesting Description.
The Baltimore American describes the first appearance of Confederate troops in Maryland as very quiet and orderly but it is very much out raged at ‘"some of them having passed off Confederate money,"’ which it doesn't think is exactly on the square. It says: ‘ They made their appearance in the city about 10 o'clock in the morning, and marched in quietly, evidently having full knowledge that there was no opposition to be made to them. The force was halted on Market street and a proclamation issued to the people. We have not been able to obtain a copy of the proclamation, but learn that it was to the effect that they came as friends and not as enemies, to believe the people of Maryland from the tyranny by which they were enchained; that they did not propose to interfere with any non combatants, to disturb private property, or to inquire into their opinions; and that whatever stores they might require would be paid for either in Confederate notes or United States Treasury notes, as the people might prefer. Of the latter money the men are represented as having a good supply, supposed to have been rifled from the bodies of the dead on the battle-field. A rebel Provost Marshal was appointed, with a strong guard to preserve order, and during the afternoon the streets were thronged with rebel soldiers, visiting the stores, which the Provost Marshal ordered to be opened, and purchasing shoes and clothing, of which they were in great want. So far as we could learn, strict order was preserved. One of our informants states that a meeting of the citizens was called on Saturday evening, at which an address was delivered by Bradley Johnson, who used the most conciliatory language, and made great predictions as to the power of the rebel army not only to hold Western Maryland, but to capture Baltimore and Washington, and dictate terms of peace in Independence Square at Philadelphia — The rebel sympathizers generally attended the meeting, but the few Union men who had remained kept to their homes. At 10 o'clock at night the men were all ordered to their camps on the outskirts of the city, and the first day of rebel rule in Frederick passed off quietly and peacefully. The Federal flag was lowered from all the poles in Frederick, and the rebel Stars and Bars hoisted in their place. Most of the officers were quartered at the hotels, and at the houses of prominent rebels, though a good many of the latter had also fled the city. The foraging parties sent out in various directions to secure cattle returned during the evening with droves of sheep, hogs, beeves, cows, and horses. They seized everything they wanted, and are said to have tendered payment in Federal ‘"green backs,"’ whether counterfeit or good is not known. These cattle were all driven towards the Potomac, rendering it probable that the whole invasion is only for foraging purposes, and to furnish supplies for the main body of the rebel army on the other side of the Potomac. The purchases made in Frederick are said to have been paid for partly in Federal money, but mostly in Virginia and South Carolina money. ’ A correspondent of the Philadelphia Inquirer writing from Poolesville, Md., on the 9th differs a little from the above. He says: ‘ They are still sending all the cattle over into Virginia, but are not paying Treasury notes, as at first stated; but, where a man declines Confederate money, give him receipts. Some few who are considered Union men, because they come from the North and do not own niggers, received no receipts or money, and had cornfields swept away, cattle driven off, and were nearly ruined. Many who have taken the oath of allegiance threw open their houses and feted and feasted the rebel officers and soldiers, and evinced every token of delight. ’From Harper's Ferry — the Evacuation of Point of Rocks.
The Philadelphia Inquirer contains the following letter: Harper's Ferry, Sept. 6th.
All is not quiet upon the Potomac.
Conflicting rumor, the proximity of the rebel forces, rebel raids, the driving in of our pickets and frequent capture of the same, have raised a ferment which nothing but the presence of an overpowering Union force can allay.
The train which left Baltimore at 5 o'clock on Thursday evening is detained at this place, and the train going east is stopped at Cumberland, a repetition of the attack at Manassas and Catlett's Station being feared.
On Thursday night the bridge at Point of Rocks was burned, in anticipation of the rebels crossing at that point; and the arrival of a squad of company E, Maryland Home Guards, who had been shelled out by the rebels at Monocracy creek, six miles from the Point, did not tend to allay the apprehension.
The near approach of the rebels to, and actual invasion of, Maryland, has caused a number of secession sympathizers at different points to show their hands, and last night four young men were arrested by Lieut. Lanais.
of the 87th Ohio volunteers, who avowed that they were on the way to join the rebel army.
One of them, Charles Carroll, was brought to Harper's Ferry and placed in the identical guard house in which John Brown was confined, and no doubt considers himself as great a martyr as the individual of ‘"moldering in the grave"’ notoriety.
The others were paroled, and will consequently have another opportunity to extend aid and comfort to the enemy.
They were very insolent to our soldiers, as scions of first families should be, to maintain their dignity among mud-hills, and make no secret of their sympathies.
Point of Rocks was evacuated by the Union forces under Col. Banning, of the 87th Ohio, last night, and a large force of rebels is in that vicinity.
The stores, ammunition and guns were removed to this place, which, it is thought, can be held against any force the rebels may bring to bear against it.
