The American Civil War

January 1, 1862 —The year closed under gloomy auspices; with a check at Dranesville, and a rumored disaster in Missouri. The year which has begun opens with evil tidings. We fear that there is no doubt of the fact that the Northern Union has consented to the surrender of Mason and Slidell; and with that event all hope of an immediate alliance between the Southern Confederacy and Great Britain must cease.

Under other circumstances we might derive a consolation for the loss by considering the ineffaceable disgrace that falls on the enemy. Never, since the humiliation of the Doge and Senate of Genoa before the footstool of Louis XIV., has any nation consented to a degradation so deep. If Lincoln and Seward intended to give them up at a menace, why, their people will ask, did they ever capture the ambassadors? Why the exultant hurrah over the event, that went up from nineteen millions of throats? Why the glorification of Wilkes? Why the coward insults to two unarmed gentlemen, their close imprisonment, and the bloodthirsty movements of Congress in their regard? But, most of all, why did the government of Lincoln indulge a full Cabinet with an unanimous resolution that, under no circumstances, should the United States surrender Messrs. Slidell and Mason? Why did they encourage the popular sentiment to a similar position? The United States government and people swore the great oath to stand on the ground they had taken; the American eagle was brought out; he screeched his loudest screech of defiance—then

“Dropt like a craven cock his conquered wing”

at the first growl of the lion. This is the attitude of the enemy. It would greatly console us to contemplate him, did we not know that no new exhibition of insolence and cowardice could sink him lower in the world’s estimation. The United States have lost no character by an exhibition of poltroonery as yet unknown in the diplomacy of other nations. That country had already sunken beneath the reach of infamy. The only charge of bayonets made during the war by Lincoln’s soldiers, was that of Fairfax’s marines on Miss Slidell; and the surrender of her father at the first menace of Great Britain, will create neither more disgust or further surprise.

Nor can we hope for a popular revulsion in the Northern people against the folly and pusillanimity of their rulers. People and rulers are alike. It is only in the sentiment of England that we can find a ray of encouragement. It is certain that the British wanted war; that they were confident of getting it, and that they will be bitterly disappointed at the unsatisfactory result. Now, this result, though apparently due to the lily livers of the Yankees, is partially attributable to the management of the Palmerston ministry. That Cabinet gave Seward and Lincoln the chance of humiliation, when it could have taken redress with the high hand, and shut the door to apology by recalling Lyons, sending home Adams, and setting the British fleet at once in full sail for the scene of action. The Palmerston ministry is the friend of the North, and is directly antagonistical to the majority of the British nation. On these data we venture the prophecy that in less than three months this ministry will fall from power.

Whenever it does so, we may anticipate immediate intervention by Great Britain in the affairs of this continent. The inclinations and interest of that people are so closely united on this one point that we do not hesitate to declare the result a moral necessity. But for some time we may be left alone in this quarrel. Let us not repine, though the task be heavy on the arm. If we would respect ourselves, consolidate our nationality, insure our future independence, and transmit a heroic memory to posterity, we must prove to ourselves and to all others, that our own unaided strength is sufficient for our own redemption. If it is not, there remains one resolution, by which every citizen that is worthy of freedom can avoid the sight of its extinction and the spectacle of his country’s ruin — to die in the last ditch of their defence.—Richmond Examiner.

—Mason and Slidell left Fort Warren, Boston harbor, about eleven o’clock this forenoon. The arrangement for their return was very quietly made, and nothing was known at Boston in regard to the affair, until the hour arrived for their departure. The steam tugboat Starlight was employed by the Government to convey the prisoners to Provincetown, Cape Cod, where they were to be transferred to the British gunboat Rinaldo, which arrived at that port last night. Accordingly the tugboat Starlight left Boston shortly before ten o’clock this morning, and stopped at Fort Warren, where she took on board Mason and Slidell, and their two secretaries. After receiving their baggage, etc., the tug proceeded on her way to sea, leaving the fort about eleven o’clock. The whole affair was conducted without any display, in perfect quiet, and in the ordinary manner of conveying passengers. The tugboat reached Provincetown this afternoon, and the prisoners were transferred to the British gunboat, which immediately proceeded to sea.

—The Court of Inquiry, in the case of Colonel Miles, charged with being intoxicated at the battle of Bull Run, honorably acquitted him of the charge. The decision is furnished in a report of Reverdy Johnson and R. S. Gillett, in which they declare that the bulk of the evidence produced on the trial goes to show that the charges arc entirely false.

—The British prize bark Empress, of Hull, arrived at New-York from New-Orleans bar. She was bound from Rio Janeiro for New-York, as her captain reported, and had been ordered off from Pass a l’Outre previously, and was captured by the United States sloop Vincennes. She had a cargo of six thousand five hundred bags coffee.

—All the Yankee prisoners from Charleston, including Colonel Corcoran, arrived at Columbia, S. C, this afternoon, in a special train. They were met at the depot by the rebel-guard of this city, and conducted to prison.—Richmond Dispatch, January 3.

—The rebel batteries at Pensacola, Fla., having repeatedly fired at the national vessels, Fort Pickens opened on the rebel 6teamer Times, which was landing stores at the navy-yard today. The rebel batteries responded, and the firing was continued till evening, Fort Pickens firing the last shot The rebel guns were well aimed, and most of their shells burst inside of the fort; only one man was wounded, however. A shot from Fort Pickens made a large breech in Fort Barrancas. In the evening the National guns set Warrington on fire.—(Doc. 1.)

—The Knoxville (Tenn.) Register of to-day expresses the opinion that Parson Brownlow’s release was a great blunder, and gives the following reasons: In brief, Brownlow has preached at every church and school-house, and made stump-speeches at every cross-road, and knows every man, woman and child, and their fathers and grandfathers before them, in East-Tennessee. As a Methodist circuit-preacher, a political stump speaker, a temperance orator, and the editor of a newspaper, he has been equally successful in our division of the State. Let him but once reach the confines of Kentucky, with his knowledge of the geography and population of East Tennessee, and our section will soon feel the effect of his hard blows. From among his own old partisan and religious sectarian parasites he will find men who will obey him with the fanatical alacrity of those who followed Peter the Hermit in the first crusade. We repeat again, let us not underrate Brownlow.

—Twelve of the Buckner Guards, under Lieut. Hines, crossed Green River, Ky., twelve miles from Morgantown, surrounded a house in which four Federal troops were concealed, and took them prisoners. They got ten guns and the sword of Capt. Phelps, which he had left there. After recrossing the river, they attempted to arrest a man who had several times fired at the Confederate soldiers across the river. The man shot at Mr. Cook, one of the guides, but missed him, whereupon Cook shot him dead.—Bowling Green Courier, January 4.

—At Richmond, Va., there was a more general observance of “New Year’s” than usual, owing to the fact that the war had brought to that city a considerable addition to the population from other cities, where the anniversary is always a period of social festivity. The streets were thronged with ladies, and every body looked gay and cheerful. Among notable events of the day was the President’s reception, which commenced at twelve o’clock, and continued three hours. The President stood at the door of the large reception-room, and thousands of persons took advantage of the opportunity to give him a friendly grasp of the hand. Mrs. Davis was not present, but her place was well supplied by her sister, Miss Howell, Mrs. Col. Davis and Mrs. General Jones. The ceremonies of introduction were conducted by the President’s aids, Colonel Joseph Davis and Colonel G. W. C. Lee. The armory band was present, and every thing passed off delightfully. — Richmond Dispatch, January 2.

— A joint expedition of gunboats, under command of Commander C. R. P. Rodgers, and a column of infantry, commanded by General Stevens, left Port Royal Harbor, S. C., yesterday evening, and this morning proceeded across the Coosaw River, and shelled the rebel fort at Port Royal Ferry. On taking possession of the batteries, it was found that the retreating rebels had removed all their guns but one, though quite a number of shells were discovered in the magazines. Port Royal Ferry was immediately reopened by the Union forces, and the fort garrisoned by the Pennsylvania Roundheads. After its occupation, the rebels appeared in force and in line of battle, whereupon the gunboats opened upon them with shot and shell, driving them into the woods, and causing great havoc in their ranks. When the firing ceased, which was after sunset, a rebel officer was sent with a flag of trace, to ask permission to carry off their killed and wounded; but the gunboats reopened fire before General Stevens’ reply was obtained, which caused the rebel messenger to put spurs to his horse, and gallop off in hot haste.

December 31.—The Canadian press comments upon the release of Messrs. Mason and Slidell in the same spirit which has prompted its various representations hitherto in their treatment of the rebellion. The Leader uses the most abusive language at its command. It pronounces the surrender one of the “greatest collapses since the beginning of time,” and has much to say of the “humiliation” of the National Government. The Globe talks much more moderately, and heartily congratulates its readers on the result; and the Montreal Gazette speaks of it as a “bitter, bitter pill for the fire-eaters to cram down their noisy throats.”—N. T. Times, December 81.

—In the United States Senate a communication was received from the Secretary of War, to-day, stating that it is incompatible with the public interest to furnish the correspondence which has passed between General Scott and General Patterson, relative to the conduct of the war.—N. Y. Herald, December 31.

—Captains Shillinglaw and Mason, of the Seventy-ninth New York regiment, Lieutenant Dickinson, of the Third United States infantry, Lieutenant J. W. Hart, Twentieth Indiana, and Corporal Thomas McDowell, of the Seventy-ninth New York, arrived at Fortress Monroe, from Richmond, Va., by a flag of truce from Norfolk.

—At Washington, D. C., Daniel S. Dickinson presented a costly stand of State colors to the Dickinson Guard, Eighty-ninth New York Volunteers. E. H. Duell received .them in behalf of the regiment, delivering a felicitous address. Vice-President Hamlin, Gen. Casey and Staff, W. S. Doane, Augustus Schell, and others, were present.

—At seven o’clock this morning an expedition, consisting of three U. S. gunboats, with an additional force of marines, left Ship Island, in the Gulf of Mexico, under command of Commander Melanchthon Smith, U. S. N., for the city of Biloxi, Mississippi. No resistance being met with, Commander Smith landed at the wharf, under a flag of truce, and held a short conference with the Mayor of the city, who, after an hour’s consultation with some prominent citizens, surrendered the town and the battery commanding the harbor. The guns of the battery were dismounted and carried to the boats by U. S. sailors—the inhabitants witnessing the proceedings. While this was transpiring on shore, a schooner was discovered working her way back of Deer Island into Biloxi Bay. A boat was instantly manned and sent in pursuit. After rowing about nine miles, the vessel was overtaken and forced to surrender— she was on her way to New Orleans with thirty thousand feet of hard pine flooring boards as a cargo. It not being Commander Smith’s design to hold Biloxi, the expedition returned this evening to Ship Island with their prize in tow.—(Doc. 245.)

—The Richmond Examiner of to-day, publishes the following on the Confederate Tax Bill: In the Tax bill enacted by the Confederate States Congress there is a clause placing a tax upon “all interest-bearing bonds.” We learn that, according to the construction of the law given by Secretary Memminger, the taxpayer will not be permitted to deduct his liabilities from the amount of money due him, although he may be, in fact, in arrears.

Thus, if his liabilities amount to one hundred thousand dollars, and he holds “interest-bearing bonds” to the amount, of fifty thousand dollars, he has to pay a tax upon the fifty thousand dollars, when, in reality, he is worth nothing. Again: A has purchased a farm at forty thousand dollars, and sold his own for thirty thousand dollars. He is in possession of the forty thousand dollar farm, and has to pay a land tax thereon; at the same time be holds the bonds, “interest-bearing,” for the thirty thousand dollar farm, because the “stay law” prevents their execution. He is, therefore, required to pay a tax upon the thirty thousand dollars, and also upon the forty thousand dollar farm; thus paying a tax upon seventy thousand dollars, when in reality he holds only forty thousand dollars’ worth of property.

His bonds are fastened upon him, and he cannot collect them. Again, B holds A’s bends for the forty thousand dollars farm; B must, therefore, pay a tax upon these bends. Therefore, the land purchased by A from B is paying a double tax; Be is the land sold by A to C; for A pays a tax on C’s bends for thirty thousand dollars, and C pays on the land in kind. Such a law, or the construction of it, is certainly wanting in uniformity and justice.

—At Berlin, above the Point of Rocks, in Maryland, an affair occurred which illustrates the necessity of extreme caution in dealing with the rebels. Two men approached the river on the Virginia side with a flag of truce and begged to be brought over, stating they were refugees. Captain Pardee, of Company A, Twenty-eighth Pennsylvania, gave orders to so dispose of his force as to cover a boat to bring them over, in the mean time entertaining those on the opposite side by conversation to distract their attention. When all was ready he despatched a sergeant and two men in a boat to bring them off. As the boat approached the shore a company of dismounted rebel cavalry showed themselves on the hill above and fired a volley upon the boat. The crew threw themselves overboard toward the Maryland shore, and thus protected pulled the boat across. In the mean time Pardee’s concealed riflemen opened on the cavalry with such effect as to came a stampede with great loss in wounded, at least. One of the boatmen had an ear lacerated by a ball from the cavalry.—N. Y. Evening Post, January 4, 1862.

December 30.—The Richmond Examiner of this date has the following on “Yankee worship”: We had thought that we were incapable of being taken by surprise by any new act of indulgence or deference toward Yankees by a government that entreats them here to enjoy the fats of offices and contracts, or by a public which has not forgotten its old standard of “society,” as measured in the amount of court and dirty toadyism they might be permitted to pay to Northern notabilities. But we were mistaken. We are intensely and altogether surprised at the latest event of Yankee impatience and Richmond servility. We are surprised to learn that a certain Yankee, Dr. King, from Newport, Rhode Island, has been permitted to come here to see a sick son, a prisoner. We are surprised to learn that the doctor, his lady, and son, are occupying very select rooms at the Arlington House. We are surprised to learn that these persons are called upon by the would-be elite (a very feeble would-be,” though, we suppose) of Richmond, and that women of Virginia, making such social pretence, have been flocking to see the Yankee family circle and to perform daily the debasing work of paying the greatest civilities to the enemies of our country and State. If Mrs. Lincoln was only holding court at the Spotswood, in her celebrated green silk and Illinois witchery, we have no doubt that there are creatures in Richmond who would bend their necks for the social honor of licking a little dust in her presence.”

—The third battalion of the First Massachusetts Cavalry, under Major John H. Edson, an old army officer, numbering four hundred and twenty horses and men, arrived at New York this morning.

—The Confederate Secretary of the Treasury, in his correspondence with the Tennessee delegation in Congress, stated the inability of the Confederate Government to settle the sums expended byTennessee in behalf of the war.

—In the rebel Congress at Richmond, Va., Messrs. Thomas and Burnett, of Kentucky, appeared, qualified, and took their seats.—General Stuart’s report of the battle of Dranesville was ordered to be printed.—Richmond Dispatch, Dec. 31.

—A Cutter, under command of Acting-Master Alick Allen, and a gig, under command of Acting-Master Henry L. Sturges, were sent from the U. S. steamer Mount Vernon, to-night, to destroy a lightship used by the rebels off Wilmington, N. C. The expedition found the vessel deserted, though pierced with guns, and almost prepared for harbor defence. She was burnt to the water’s edge by the National troops, who escaped the fire opened on them by a rebel fort.—(Doc. 243.)