From the North.
We continue our extracts from Northern papers of the 18th inst.:
Wholesale Desertion of Federal paroled prisoners.
Major General Wallace was ordered to
Columbus to organize the paroled prisoners already there, and those hereafter to be sent there, for a campaign against the Indians.
The General, upon his arrival at
Columbus, found the greatest confusion existing.
On his first visit to Camp Chase he gathered together the paroled prisoners, numbering about 4,000 men, and addressed them at length upon the object of his mission.
The results of his operations there, so far, are detailed by the Cincinnati
Enquirer, of Monday, which says:
‘
The work of organization was at once commenced, and as it progressed the companies were marched from Camp Chase to
Columbus, furnished with new clothing and paid off. The companies were then ordered to
Camp Thomas where the new regiments were to encamp preparatory to leaving for the
Indian territories.
The men were not disposed to remain in camp under this new military
regime, and singly or in squads would invariably desert and return to Camp Chase, lay aside their new clothes, and under another name be re-enlisted and again draw their pay, and desert as before.
Having no regular troops to perform guard duty at camp, companies of prisoners were armed and stationed as sentinels.
The officer of the day, upon taking his rounds, invariably found the guns standing against trees, or in a fence corner, and the guards gone.
A few days since one of the companies was paid, clothed, &c., and started in the direction of
Camp Thomas, but upon arriving at the crossroads--one leading to
Camp Thomas and the other to Camp Chase — they positively refused to obey the order to move northward, and, with a yell and a bound, broke ranks and went southward to Camp Chase, leaving the
Captain and two
Lieutenants in the middle of the street to bereave their departed authority.
Gen. Wallace immediately dispatched Provost Guard company in pursuit, but the deserters turned upon the guard, and, with boulder stones and clubs, drove them back.
The guards were without ammunition, and not being experts in the use of the bayonet, concluded that discretion was the better part of valor, and withdrew from the field, after capturing about 30 of the mutineers.
It is well known in
Columbus that there are at least 2,000 of the paroled prisoners distributed throughout the
State without leave.
The 1st regiment, under
Col. Neff, organized with over 1,000 men, now only numbers 400, and these are only detained by the most diligent and close watching.
’
Execution of ten Missourian.
The
Missourians who had violated their oath of allegiance to the
United States were executed at
Hudson on the 28th ult. A correspondent of the Philadelphia
Press gives the following account of the scene:
‘
The execution ground was about half a mile from the town, and when I reached there I found the troops drawn up on three sides of a square, while the fourth was occupied by the condemned and firing parties.
After some time occupied in the preliminary preparations, each prisoner was blindfolded and knelt in front of his own execution party.
A venerable-looking, gray headed chaplain, now stepped out from among the staff, and in a short, fervent prayer, commended the souls of these poor wretches to the mercy of God, before whom they would shortly appear.
Everything was as still as death.
The perfect bush, if I may say so, was painfully distinct, and I could see, even under the grave, stern face of
General Merrill, a softening look, as if he was still struggling between duty and mercy.
For a moment the silence was awful; then came the clear tone of command of the officer of the day: ‘"Ready, aim, fire;"’ a rattling discharge; a puff of smoke; a groan, and all was over.
The ten had paid the penalty of their broken oaths.
For a moment all was hushed as before, and then you could almost hear the long drawn breath of relief.
The bright sun shone as calmly and clearly as before, but shone on ten courses, stiff and stark, where the moment before were ten men in the full flush of physical health.
A surgeon stepped from the lines and walked along examining each body as he passed, then stepped up to the
General with a stiff military salute, ‘"They are all dead, sir."’ ‘"Very well, sir."’ Not the change of a music, not the slightest relaxation of that out ward sternness, the same grim face, and yet, I thought, a moment ago, you might have saved their lives.
’
George D. Prentice, of the Louisville
Journal, publishes in that paper the following obituary of his eldest son, a
Lieutenant-Colonel in the
Confederate service, who was killed in the late successful attack upon the town of
Augusta, Ky.:
‘
Obituary.--
William Courtland Prentice died on Monday last, at
Augusta, Ky., of wounds received in the conflict at that place on the preceding
Saturday.
He perished in the cause of the rebellion.
It is not in the columns of a newspaper — it is only in the family circle or in the hush of solitude — that the emotions of a parent over such an event should have utterance.
The tears of weeping eyes and the fast trickling drops of bleeding hearts are not for the public gaze.
The deep agonies should be content to fold their sombre wings in the soul.
Consolation could not come from the world's sympathy; it can be looked for only from God and his angel time.
Nay, there are griefs that time itself has no power to allay or soothe — griefs that, like running streams, are deepening their channels forever.
Wm Courtland Prentice was no common young man. He was remarkable in his powers and in his temperament.
A model of manly beauties, he had extraordinary intellectual energy, a strong thirst for strange and curious knowledge, and a deep passion for all that is sublime and beautiful in poetry and nature.
He was generous, manly, high hearted, and of a courage that no mortal peril, come in what form it might, could daunt.
He exulted in looking destruction face to face in all its ways.
He loved wild and dangerous adventures for the very danger's sake.
His eagle spirit lived among the mountain crags, and shouted back to the shouts of the storm.
Although kind, unselfish, and humane, he was impetuous, passionate and of unconquerable prejudices.
He was not unfrequently unjust in his judgments, and he permitted nothing to stand between him and the execution of his passions.
This young man, if he had always directed his energies judiciously, could have made himself a distinguished ornament in any procession of life.
He might have been an able and honored statesman in the service of the
Republic.
But an intense Southern sympathy, in spite of the arguments, the remonstrances, and the entreaties of those who dearly loved him, made an active rebel against his country; and, after a brief five weeks service in the rebel ranks, he fell, soon to breathe out his fiery life, receiving, meanwhile, far away from his family, the kindly ministrations of those against whose cause his strong right arm had been raised.
Oh, if he had fallen in his country's service, fallen with his burning eyes fixed in love and devotion upon the flag that for mere than three-fourths of a century has been a star of worship to his ancestors, his early death, though still terrible, might have been borne by a father's heart; but, alas!
the reflection that he fell in armed rebellion against that glorious old banner, now the emblem of the greatest and holiest cause that the world ever knew, is full of desolation and almost of despair.
And, yet, we shall love to think of
Courtland Prentice, that brave and noble, though misguided youth, during the little remnant of our lives.
Our love for him, undimmed by tears and grief, is and will remain an amaranthine flower upon the grave of our buried years.
’
A Northern Minister on Southern Society.
Among the most stirring episodes in the proceedings of the
Unitarian Autumnal Convention, which opened its sessions in
Brooklyn, N. Y., Monday, was the peculiar feeling excited by the remarks of
Rev. Dr. Bellows, in eulogy of Southern social life and the influences proceeding from it. We reproduce the appended extract from his remarkable discourse, which elicited much bitter comment among the members of the
Convention:
‘
No candid mind will deny the peculiar charm of Southern young men at college, or Southern young women in society.
How far race and climate, independent of servile institutions, may have produced the
Southern chivalric spirit and manners, I will not here consider.
But one might as well deny the small feet and hands of that people as deny a certain inbred habit of command; a contempt of life in defence of honor or class; a talent for political life, and an easy control of inferiors.
Nor is this merely an external and flashy heroism.
It is real.
It showed itself in Congress early, and always by the courage, eloquence, skill and success with which it controlled majorities.
It showed itself in the social life of
Washington by the grace, fascination and case, the free and charming hospitality, by which it governed society.
It now shows itself in
England and
France, by the success with which it manages the courts and the circles of literature and fashion in both countries.
It shows itself in this war in the orders and proclamation of its
Generals, in the messages of the
Rebel Congress, and in the essential good breeding and humanity (contrary to a diligently encouraged public impression) with which it not seldom divides its medical stores, and gives our sick and wounded as favorable care as it is able to extend to its own. It exceeds us at this moment in the possession of an ambulance carps.
I think the war must have increased the
respect felt by the
North for the
South.
Its miraculous resources, the bravery of its troops, their patience under hardships, their unshrinking firmness in the desperate position they have assumed, the wonderful success with which they have extemporized manufactures and munitions of war, and kept themselves in relation with the world in spite of our magnificent blockade; the elasticity with which they have risen from Defant, and the courage they have shown in threatening again and again our capital, and even our interior, cannot fall to extort an unwilling admiration and respect.
Well is
General McClellan reported to have said (privately) as he watched their obstinate fighting at
Antietam, and saw them retiring in perfect order in the midst of the most frightful carnage: ‘"What terrific neighbors these would be!
We must conquer them, or they will conquer us! "’
’
The Philosophy of the elections at the North--no Encouragement for the South to be Derived from them.
It is important that the
South should not be led into even a moment's inaction by any apparently favorable reaction at the
North.
The recent elections there should especially be disregarded as far as they may, in the opinion of the over-sanguine, tend to shortening this war. It is not in the following article alone, from the New York
Herald, that the views set forth there are to be found, for we find its sentiments appearing in different language in every paper we receive from the
United States.
The
Herald says:
‘
The philosophy of the elections now held is war for the
Union to the bitter end, and a repudiation of all factious opposition to the Administration.--It is evident that the people understand the true nature of the issue, and, though the politicians did not shape it for them the voters, aided by the instincts of patriotism and commonsense, have shaped it for themselves.
Party spirit has received a rebuke on all hands, and the
Union sentiment is dominant and triumphant in the land.
The two parties, Republicans and Democrats, are completely demoralized, and they have no longer any confidence in their leaders.
Their faith is in the honesty of the
President of the
United States, and in him alone.
Political leaders, including the members of the
Cabinet, are of no account; and if
Mr. Lincoln, taking his cue from these elections and other signs of the times, could get rid of his present administration, and appoint one more in accordance with popular indications, or appoint a new Cabinet every six weeks, till he found the right men for the times, he would be sustained by the people, who have full reliance upon his honesty, and will rally around him as the preserver of law and order, and the only safeguard against anarchy and confusion.
And as to the emancipation proclamation and the proclamation suspending the
habeas corpus, they are willing to trust him, and he will not abuse their confidence.
Had the
President, indeed, taken this step in the beginning of the war, and arrested the disloyal and factious radicals, as well as the sympathizers with secession, his popularity would now be boundless, and the affairs of the country would be in a far better condition to day than we find them.
Mr. Lincoln is not the
President of the Republicans or radicals, but of the whole people; for, though he only received a minority of all the votes cast — in fact only about a third of them — yet, after his election, he became the
President, not of a faction, but of the whole people.
He was the candidate of a party; but he is the
Chief Magistrate of a nation, and where the great vital interests of the
Republic are at stake it is his duty to consult the wishes, not of a fraction of the nation, but of the whole people.
Not in Republicanism, not in radicalism lies the power of the
President for good, but in the support of the people, without distinction of party.
Let party be thrown to the winds.
The elections have shown that a handful of Republicans are insufficient to sustain the
Government.
Were it not for the loyal Democracy of the land we would not have a Government at this hour.
Those, therefore, who advise
Mr. Lincoln to make any distinction between Republicans and Democrats in this great crisis, are his worst enemies, and the enemies of the
Republic.
It is only by the union and co-operation of all that the country can be saved; and hence it is that, notwithstanding Democrats have had many causes of complaint, they have said but little, because they think this is not the time to make a noise about trifles, while the great temple of freedom, built by our forefathers, is on fire and is in danger of being consumed.
The firemen are throwing the water upon the flames.
The President is the
chief engineer, and he has working under him assistant engineers and various companies commanded by their foremen.
Now, though some of these officers may act badly, and though the
chief engineer himself may err in judgment, and may perhaps do more damage to the surrounding buildings than some would deem necessary, and even proceed to level some of them to the ground in order to arrest the progress of the conflagration, shall citizens who do not belong to the department interfere at such a moment, and insist, with threats of violent opposition, that the
chief engineer and his fire men are all wrong?
Would they get up a riot and embarrass all operation, while the fire consumed the glorious structure to ashes?--If they witnessed mistakes, would they not rather wait till the fire was subdued, and then make their comments, and, if the chief engineer showed incompetence, let him be turned out at the next election and a better man be put in his place, But let one thing be done at a time, and let all things be done decently and in order.
The desire of the people, as evinced at these elections, is to have the flames of rebellion subdued as speedily as possible.
The
Chief Magistrate, who, by the
Constitution, is
Commander- in-Chief of the army and navy, has charge of the fire.
They are revolved not only not to embarrass him in his efforts, but to give him all the aid in their power, not caring to be too critical till the work is done.
When the job is accomplished then they will pass judgment upon the merits of the performance, and applaud or condemn accordingly.
To the sovereign people, the true and only legitimate source of all political power, he is responsible, and will have to render an account hereafter.
But, meantime, no obstructions must be thrown in his way, but all lands must yield obedience, maintain order, and cordially aid in the great work.
’
The Confederates at Frankfort — a Yankee opinion of their conduct.
A letter from
Frankfort, Ky., to the New York
Tribune, written after the departure from there of the
Confederate troops, says:
‘
The conduct of the
Southern soldiers generally was very orderly here, and it is said they are under better discipline than our men. They are rarely seen intoxicated, liquor being very carefully kept from them by the officers.
Moreover, their camps are usually located out of town, and the troops forced to remain there, instead of straggling off to indulge in quarrels and debauchery.
Gen. Bragg issued an order to this effect, and particularly charged the officers of companies and regiments to remain with their men instead of quartering themselves in private houses and hotels, as, I am sorry to say, is too much the custom in our army.
Several of the liquor shops which sold liquor to the soldiers were shut up by the authorities, and the stock in trade destroyed, establishing a wholesome precedent that had its due influence upon all conscienceless rum-sellers.
The rebel troops who came here from
Lexington were usually well clad, but those who arrived from the
South were quite ragged.
At
Lexington they doubtless obtained new garments and such other indispensable articles.
They were generally very well armed, the infantry having muskets and bayonets, and the cavalry carrying shot-guns.
Many of the privates were fine specimens of physical men, but nearly all looked worn and far older than they were, as if they had suffered from disease, hunger, and exhaustion.
No doubt their march over the mountains was very severe, and that their many privations have had a deleterious effect upon their naturally vigorous constitutions.
There were never, I am informed, over twelve thousand troops at one time in
Frankfort, though core Southern officers said they had thirty or forty thousand; while in
Kentucky they declared they had seventy or eighty thousand.
Humphrey Marshall, however, told persons here that the
Confederate force in the
State would not amount to over forty thousand; and I learn from residents of
Lexington that
Kirby Smith never had more than five or six thousand men there.
As I have said before, there is but very little question their force in
Kentucky has been over stated, and that we outnumber them three to one.
A very large proportion of their men are mounted, every fellow who can stealing a horse and enlisting in the ‘"cavalry."’ On this account this section of country is nearly barren of horses, hundreds upon hundreds having been stolen during the last two weeks.
’
A Prospect for the defeat of Wade and Sumner.
The New York
Herald, of the 18th, says there seems to be a respect that
Wade and
Sumner will be defeated for Congress.
It says:
‘
Ohio has gone decidedly Democratic in the recent election, and it is to be hoped that the Legislature is so strongly Democratic as to make the defeat of
Senator Wade a certainty.
In
Massachusetts the people's party are much more powerful than was anticipated, and will give the supporters of
Sumner a very close contest, and probably defeat them triumphantly.
By the interference of these
Senators with the conduct of the war, by their avowed hatred to the
Constitution, and by their expressed repugnance to any restoration of the
Union which does not involve the destruction and perhaps extermination of the
South, they have fairly earned for themselves that overwhelming popular rebuke which we trust they will receive through the representatives of the people in the Legislatures of their respective States.
’
