March 7.—The Eighth regiment of Vermont volunteers, under the command of Col. Stephen Thomas, passed through New-York on the way to the seat of war. It is composed of one thousand and sixty men, fully uniformed, armed with Enfield rifles, and equipped. They have been recruited from among the hardy sons of the Green Mountain State, and arc unusually strong and robust, mostly between the ages of twenty and thirty-five years.
Accompanying the regiment are two light batteries of six rifled six-pounders each, the two companies numbering one hundred and seventy-five men each. They are commanded respectively by Capt Geo. W. Duncan and Capt. Sales.
—In the English House of Commons, Mr. Gregory, pursuant to notice, called the attention of the House to the blockade of the Southern ports, and moved for a copy of any correspondence on the subject, subsequent to the papers already before the House. He expressed his strong sympathy for the struggle going forward in the confederate States, and declared that a separation of the South from the North, and a reconstruction of the Union, were the only means by which they could hope to see slavery abolished in America.
—The rebel steamer Sumter still remained at Gibraltar, the United States gunboat Tuscarora watching her.
—A brisk cannonading took place on the Lower Potomac at four o’clock this morning, when the Freeborn, Satellite, Island Belle, and the Resolute opened fire on the line of batteries extending from opposite Liverpool Point to Boyd’s Hole, including three at Aquia Creek. The rebels returned the fire, but without striking any of the National vessels. Proceeding up to Wade’s Bay in the afternoon, in which direction heavy firing had been heard during the day, the Island Belle and the Satellite again opened fire on the railroad depot and some trains of cars filled with rebel troops that were constantly arriving from Fredericksburg. The depot was riddled by the shot and shell. The enemy returned the fire from a battery on the water-line and another on a hill a little back. Their shots fell thickly around the vessels, but not one of them took effect. The troops at Aquia Creek were constantly receiving reinforcements. The batteries at Cockpit Point and Shipping Point opened fire on Professor Lowe’s balloon, when in the air near Budd’s Ferry, but the balloon was not hit on either side. —Gov. Andrew Johnson, with his staff, accompanied by Messrs. Etheridge and Maynard, left Washington this evening for Nashville, to enter upon their charge of the new government of Tennessee.
—The Richmond Examiner, of this date, has the following: “What has become of the enormous number of arms stored in Southern arsenals at the beginning of this war? Into what proportions have the cargoes said to have been brought in from time to time, by rumor, dwindled through official count? They are certainly not in the hands of soldiers now in the field, nor are they still in the arsenals, nor have they been captured by the enemy. Admit that in the hands of prisoners taken by the enemy there were twenty thousand stand, that half as many more have been broken or lost in marches and hospitals, the total that should be subtracted from the original sum is still too small to account for the present scarcity of muskets and of bayonets.
“But a vast quantity have undoubtedly gone with the sixty days’ men, the four months’ men, the six months’ men; a still greater loss is attributable to the many useless and unprofitable assemblages of the militia. It is certain only that the ordnance department has not the arms for the new levies. There are many more soldiers at the government’s command than muskets. It could find employment for five hundred thousand stand of arms that it has not in possession or in prospect. Under these circumstances no wiser measure could have been adopted by the government than the call for the guns in the hands of the citizens as private property. There are a million of guns possessed by the citizens of the South in this manner, and the country has a right to every one of them now. Most shot-guns will carry a ball, and all of them are good for buckshot. They are as effective as any smooth bore, and are much better made than the musket. Troops armed with double-barreled shot-guns need no bayonets; for any line that attempted to charge them would be annihilated by the second load, which will always be retained, and can be delivered at twenty paces. It is hoped that the government will inexorably enforce its regulation; and no sincere patriot will be unwilling to assist its execution to the utmost of his power.”
—John Park, Mayor of Memphis, Tenn., this day issued the following proclamation:
“To The People or Memphis: Much has been said in regard to the burning of our city. I have, as John Park, (not the Mayor,) to say this to our citizens: That I will, under any and all circumstances, protect the city from incendiaries, and he who attempts to fire his neighbor’s house — or even his own, whereby it endangers his neighbor —I will, regardless of judge, jury, or the benefit of clergy, hang him to the first lamp-post, tree, or awning. I have the means under my control to carry out the above individual proclamation.”
—An excitement occurred in the town of Dover, Del., this day. It appears that two companies of Home Guards had been raised in the town, one called the Hazlet Guards, and the other simply denominated Home Guards. The Hazlet Guards were equipped by the State, but the other organization by the Government. The Government called on the Hazlet Guards to give up their arms, which they refused to do. Persisting in this determination, two hundred Government troops were immediately sent to the town from Cambridge, Md., under the command of Col. Wallace. Five of the ringleaders were arrested, but three were afterward released, Capts. Pennington and Wise only remaining in custody. The town numbers about two thousand persons, and the whole place is now under strict martial law.—N. Y. Commercial Advertiser, March 11.
—The rebel chief, Quantrel, with a party of his troops, entered Aubry, Kansas, this day, killing five Unionists, and carrying off fifteen horses.— N.Y. Times, March 11.
—The United States Senate this day confirmed the following as Brigadier-Generals of Volunteers: Major Laurance Graham, of Second cavalry; Eleazer Paine, of Illinois; William A. Richardson, of Illinois; Daniel Butterfield, of New-York; W. T. Ward, of Kentucky; Major George Sykes, of the Thirteenth infantry; Captain David Stanley, of the Tenth cavalry; Thomas A. Davies, of NewYork; Col. Philip St. George Cooke, Second cavalry; Major George Stoneman, Fourth cavalry; Capt. Joseph B. Plummer, First regiment of infantry, for gallant conduct at Springfield and Fredericktown, Mo.
The Senate also confirmed Henry Van Renssalear to be Inspector-General, with the rank of Colonel, and Thomas Hillhouse, of New-York, to be Assistant Adjutant-General of Volunteers, with the rank of Major.
