VOL. 48. AMERICAN VOLUNTEER PUBLISHED EVERY THURSDAY MORNING BY JOHN B. BRAXTON. T EE M S Bubsciution. —Ono Dollar and Fifty Cents, paid ft advance j Two Dollars if paid within the year; and Two Dollars and Fifty Cents, if not paid within the year. These terms will bo rigidly adhered to in •very instance. No subscription, discontinued until all arrearages are paid unless at the option of the Editor. Advertisements— ‘Accompanied the cash, and not exceeding ono square, will bo inserted three times for One Dollar, and twenty-five cents for each additional insertion. Those of a greater length in proportion. • ‘Jon-PiinniNa —Such as Hand-bills, Posting-bills, Pamphlets, Blanks, Labels, «fcc. &c., executed with accuracy and at £ho shortest notice.' THE SENTRY. Young gentry, pacing too and fro, A novice hi the tusk I know, ■ Tima back and forth and buck again, In sun and moonlight and in rain, Hour after hour—mclhinks to then They must pass slow and wearily. " What aching limbs anil drooping eyes Aro hidden 'neath that soldier guise; Yet must those byes refuse to close, Those weary limbs to seek repose, .Poor boy! ho knows his life is lost, Were'ho found nodding at his post. Yet late it was his wont to sleep Through hours ho now a watch must keep. Could ho indeed .have dreamed away The time from close to break of day, To'lum, thus pacing to and fro, An hour mustscCm a night, I know. ■ Perchance the sun with strengthening heat, May parch his brow arid burn his feet; It matters not! bo mustnot show. Fatigue, thus pacing to and fro, With musket on his shoulder borne, And form erect, however worn. Yet who the Sentry’s thoughts can road? A soldier’slifo is bard,indeed; Perchance at heart a wayward, boy, And roared life only to enjoy ;, Now* first to value homo ho learns, As for its kindly scones ho yoarna. If so, although perchance severe The duties that ho now must share, The lesson may not bo in vain, Should he to home return again; And in the quiet hours there spent. Ho maybe happy and content-. Perchance, beneath that midnight sky, Ho oft may breathe a. weary sigh, Arid eagerly shall strain’bis oar The striking of the clock to hoar, When e’en, the echo of his tread Seems but the stop of one to dread Whoa all tho world scorns hushed In sleep. And b« alone this watch must keep, . ©till oftou then the sentry may t - “ , The boa.uty.bf tho night survey, . With different feelings far from those With which it Was his wont to close His curtains fur a,night’s repose; • And ho amid the stars may see * Calm angel eyes smile lovingly,— Ejes that were lung since closed to him, And e’en may be to memory dim. Thus then that midnighfwatoh mny lead To sweet communion with tho dead. Or he may think of that bright star Which led tlie wise men from afar, When shepherds watched their flocks, and when, The angels sang “ good will to men,” *• Peace on tho earth”—sweet peace now-lost, War calls thoScutry to his post. Alas ! that youthful heart can ne’er Ask for the strife that hovers near, liut rather wish the angel strain Might as of old bo.heard again; The wise m.on might rise up once more* And peace to all th 6 land restore. - Ood grant the Sentry may not know A lesson far more stern than now; That his young eyes may never see l)ark scenes of death and butchery; . That bis bright bayonet Wear-no stain, .But in its'sliedth may rest again,' Young Sentry, pacing to and fro/ A novice in tho task, I know ; *£huB back ed forth, and hack again, xn auh, in moonlight, and in rain, Hour after hourr—mothiuka to theo Thoymust pass alow and wearily. Mimlinmoiis. ADVENTURE OF A SPY. I have lately returned from the South)'but my exact whereabouts in that region, for ob vious reasons, it would not bo politic to state. Suspected of being a Northerner, it was often to my advantage to court obscurity. Known ns a spy,,a “short shrift” and a ready rope would have prevented the blotting of this pa per. Hanging, disguised, on the outskirts of . a camp, mixing with its idlers, laughing at their jokes, examining their arms, counting their numbers, endeavoring to discover the plans, of their leaders, listening to this party and pursuing that, joining in the chorus of a robelsong,betting on rebel success, cursing abolitionism, reviling Lincoln, traducing Scott) extolmgßenuregard.dcspisit.gNorthfightera laughing at their tactics, and sneering at their weapons,praising thebeauty ofSouthorn belles and decrying that of Northern, calling Now York a don of .cut throats, and Now Orleans a paradise of immaculate chivalry, is but a small portion of the practice of my profession as a spy. This may not seem honorable or desirable. As to the honor, let the country that benefits by the investigations and warn ings of the spy bo judge; and the danger, often incurred, is more serious and personal than that of the battle field, which may, per haps, detract from its desirability. It was a dark, night. Not a star on the glimmer. I had collected my quota of intel ligence, and was on the move for the north ern line. I was approaching the banks of a stream whose waters I had to cross, and had then some miles to traverse before I could roach the pickets of our gallant troops A tooling of uneasiness began to creep over me -1 was on tho outskirt of, a wood fringing the dark waters at my feet, whose presence could scarcely be detected but for their sullen mur murs as they rushed through the gloom. The Wind sighed in gentle accordance. I walked Sl 0r fifty Y ards along the bank. I then CTopt on all fours along the ground and groped my hahds; I'pausod—l groped again y breath thickened perspiration oozed from h«rrolr e n V P. or °.’ nnd 1 was .prostrated with “issod my landmark and know t i h u e 1 B <fi¥".or above, beneath hiddeo 0 Cf .?/, t i' 0 i, b c ank I 7 tho skiff I hV oner„M b «f°ro. wIW I commenced porations among the followers of Jiff Davis' unmilli°M 6tUip V ng £ or breftth ' with all the the b ° pr ° ofs of ™y filing about mo, would l?rn ry ° f a bird or P lun gmg "fa fish d act like magnetism on my frame, not Wont to shudder at a shadow* No matter how pressing the danger may be, if a man sees an opening for escape, he breathes with freedom. But let him be surrolinddd by dark ness, impenetrable at two yards distance, within rifle’s length of concealed foes, for what knowledge ho has to the contrary; knowing, too,’with painful accuracy, the detection of his presence would reward him with a sud den and violent death; and if he breathes no faster, and feels his limbs as free and his spirits as light as when taking tt favorite Fromenade, hois, more fitted for a hero than, am. In the agony of that moment—in the sud den and utter helplessness I felt to discover my true bearings—l was.about to let myself gently into the stream and breast its current, for life or death. There was no alternative. The Northern pickets must beTcaohed in safety before the morning broke, or I should, soon swim, between heaven and earth from; some limb of the black fosost in which I stood.' . At that moment the low sullen bay of a bloodhound struck my ear. The sound was reviving—the fearful stillness broken. The uncertain dread fled before the certain dan ger. I was standing to ray middle in the shallow bed of the river, just beneath the jut ting banks.; After the'pause of'a few sec onds I began to creep, mechanically and stealthily, down the stream, followed, .as I knew from the rustling of the grass and fre quent breaking of twigsj by the insatiable brutep although, by certain uneasy growls, I; felt assured he was at fault. Something struck against my breast. I could not pre vent a slight cry from escaping me as stretch ing out my hands I grasped the gunwall of a boat moored beneath the bank. Between surprise and joy I felt half choked. In an instant I had scrambled on board and began' searching for the painter in the bow, in order to dast her from her fastenings.., Suddenly a bright ray of moonlight—the first gleam of hope in that black night!—fell directly on the spot, revealing the silvery stream; my own skiff (hidden there ten days before,) lighting the deep shadows of the verging wood, and on the log half buried in the.bank, and; from which I had that instant cast the lino that hal bound mo to it, the supple, form of a crouching bloodhound, his red eyes gleaming in the moonlight, jaws dis tended and poising for a spring. With one I dart the light skiff was yards out in the.stream, and the savage after it. With an. par I aimed a blow at his head, which, however, he elu- I. ded with ease. In the effort thus , made, the boat, careened towards my antagonist, who made a desperate effort to got his fore paws over the side, at the same, time seizing hold of the gunwale with his teeth. Now or. never, was my time to got rid of the accursed brute. I drew my revolver and placed the muzzle between his eyes, but hes itated to fire, for that one report might bring a volley from the shore. Meantime the strength of the dog careened the frail, craft so much' that the water rushed oyer the side, threat ening tp swamp her. I changed niy tactics,, threw ray revolver into the bottom of the skiff, and grasped .my “bowie,” keen, as a Malay creese, and glittering, as I released it from the sheath, like a moonbeam on the stream. In. an instant 1 had severed the sinewy throat of the hound, cutting through brawn and muscle to the nape of the neck. The tenacious Wretch gave a wild, convulsive leap half out of the water, then sank and was gone. Five minutes’ pulling landed. me on the other side of the river, and in an hour after, without further accident, I was among friends encompassed by the Northern lines. That night I related at headquarters the intelli gence I had gathered, and in a few days shall again be gleaming knowledge in a Southern camp low Washington Behaved when lie was in tl Wrong. •An incident in “ the Virginians,” repre senting Washington a? ready to accent a chal lenge, h as led Leslie’s Illustrated Paper to reprint the following pertinent anecdote from Weeui’s Gossipping Life of Washington : In 1754, Washington was stationed at Al exandria with his_ regiment, the only one of the colony, of which he Was colonel. There happened to bo at this time an election in the town for the members of the Assembly, and the contest ran high between Col. George Fairfax and Mr. Elsoy. . Washington was a - warm friend of Col. Faipfax.'aud Mr. Payne headed the friends of Mr. Elscy. A dispute taking place in the court house yard, Wash ington, at this time not twenty-two years of . age, contrary to his usual manner, became .excited, and, what was still more uncommon, said something that offended Mr. Payne, ; whereupon the little gentleman, though but ■ a cub in size, raised his sturdy hickory, and by a single blow brought him to the ground.' Several of Washington’s officers being pres ent, they whipped out their irons,in an in stant, and it was supposed there would bo a murder offhand, To njakebad wors.c,'the members of the regiment, hearing how their commander had been treated, bolted put of the barracks, _every man with, his weapon, threatening vengeance on those who had dared to knock down their beloved commander.;— Happily for Mr. Payne and his parly,! Washington recovered time enough to go out and, meet his enraged soldiers, and after thanking them for their expressions of at tachment, assured them that ho was not hurt in the least, and begged them, as they loved him and their duty, to return to their bar racks. As to Washington himself, he wont to his room, and finding, on mature reflection, that he bad boon the aggressor, he determined to make Mr. Payne an honorable reparation by asking his pardon on the morrow. No sooner had he made this noble resolution than he recovered bis natural calmness of manner, dressed himself, and went to a ball, behaving as il nothing had happened. The next day ho went to the tavern and wrote a polite note to Mr. Payne, requesting to see him. Mr. Payne presumed the import of it was a challenge for a duel, and repaired to the place appointed for the meeting, ex pecting to see a pair of pistols introduced.— But conceive his surprise when upon entering the chamber, whore Washington was, ho dis covered a decanter of wine, and glasses upon the table. Upon his entering, Washington arose, and in a very friendly manner mot him and presented him his hand, saying: “ Mr. Payne, to err sometimes is nature, to rectify ’error is always, glory. I find I was wrong in the affair of yesterday ; you have had, I think, some satisfaction, and if you think that is sufficient, hero is my hand, lot us bo friends.” It is only necessary for us to .say, that from that timo.Mr. Payne became ■ one of Washington’s most enthusiastic admir ers and mends. If this conduct had not been deemed in Washington to arise from magifan imity and not from fear, then ho could not have become the immortal hero ho is regarded i in history. K7* TtfE charity which longs to publish it self, ceases to be charity. Newspaper One Hundred Years Ago. Any one who will look over a do of Lon don newspapers, of the reign of Qdorge 111., will be astounded at the frequency with which crimes of violence were committed. Traitors were hung, drawn and quartered; burglary forgery, horse-stealing, sheep-stealing, and almost every kind of robbery, wore punished with death. Shop-lifters, when not hanged, were branded or whipped. It was a common thing for twenty prisoners to receive sentence of death at one session of a, crimnal court, '*] and for half of them to be actually executed. At the same tints, crimes of violence were the great staple of news, and the' papers teemed with horrors. Highway robbery was so com mon, was pursued with so much epurage, skill and success, as a kind of liberal profes sion. We read of gangs of robbers, of the robbery of noblemen within sight of the dome •of St. Paul’s, of the murder of .women for a few shillings, of the most atrocious midnight butcheries. In the column of a newspaper which records several such deeds, we find it stated that at the “Lent Assizes,” in the year 1774, one hundred and forty-six persons were sentenced to death, of whom very few were convicted of any of the few crimesfor which a man is now put to death. . Unexpected Meeting—A Father Finds a Long Lost Son. —Tlio Cleveland papers bring us details of a rather romantic meet ing, which toot place between, a long sepa rated father and sdn in that city the other day.' It appears that while the United States Cavalry corps, which recently passed through here, were loitering at tho depot in Cleve land, ofie of them observed a grey haired man .near the station, whose features struck him as being rather familiar. The trooper in quired the name,of the venerable stranger, and was told thatit was Wren; “Wren!" exclaimed the soldier, with an expletive more forcible-than elegant^—“ he’s my father!" The soldier rushed iiji to the old man, grasped his hand, and asked him if he did not know his son. Then followed explanation, a re cognition, and such hand shakings and words of affection ns the soldier at least had not known, ho said, “for nine years.” The ex planation of the casq is as follows-Nine, years ago the soldier ran away from his fath er’s house in Columbiana county. He went to Cincinnati, enlisted in tho army, and was sent to the. Western frontier. The last letter received by his parents from him, stated that, having shot his captain, lib was himself to he shot. He had bben allowed only fifteen min utes to live, and was employing his time wri ting to his. parents. The letter enclosed a look of the soldier’s hair, and was received by his parents as conclusive of his death. Tho trooper was rescued from his doom, how ever, by two Indians, and had followed the tribes to which they belonged until recently, when he escaped and joined the United States mounted service. His father was delighted with the mooting, and his brother, who was also at the depot, joined in the general joy. The trooper cjitmo bn'With his company, and is now with Gen. Patterson’s command, while his father seems to have had a new lease of life given him in the consciousness that his boy yet lives. Remarkable Winds on the Prairies.-—A oori'eapoi'dont of the Newark Advertiser, wri ting from Henry, 111., gives the following in teresting account of the prairie winds; “The fierce and blasting winds that fre quently sweep across the prairies, unobstruc ted for many miles by timber, form a feature in our Western experience with which your Eastern people are happily unacquainted.— Very frequently one will see a house braced on its eastern side .yvitli strong poles, and the dwellers therein are often in great fear. We have recently had two or three days of these severe winds, which remind us of the burn ing simoon.. I have seen clouds of sand sweep across the' prairies fifty feet -in height, re sembling show blasts and covering the corn five or six inches high, so as entirely to oblit erate it. Where the surface of the soil is not so movable, clouds of dusk darken the air, and penetrate to every crevice and crack of door or window. The winds to which I have re ferred as prevailing here, have a blighting ef fect oh all vegetation, parching the leaves of the trees, and whipping the leaves and stalks of oats, wheat and corn, so that they look as if they have been subject to a severe frost.” An Ingenious Rebuke.— A general officer, who was in early life addicted to profane oaths! dated his reformation from a remarkable check he received from a Scotch clergyman. AVhen he was lieutenant and settled in Newcastle,-he got involved in a brawl with some of the lowest class in the public streets; the altercation was carried bn by both par ties with an abundance of impious language. “Oh, John .! . John { what is this I hear? only collier-boy, and swearing like any laird ! .Oh, John ! have you.no fear of what will becorrie of you ?. It may do very well for the gallant gentleman (pointing to the lieu tenant) to bang and, swear as pleases, but for you, you John', it is not for.you to take in vain the name of Him in whom you live and have your being..’ , Then turning'to the young lieutenant, he said: ■ • . “You’ll excuse the poor young man, sir, for he’s an ignorant boy, and kens na better.” The, young officer shrunk hivay in confu sion, unable to make any reply. I’henextday he waited on the minister and thanked him very sinccrly for his well-timed reproof, and was ever after an example of purity and lan guage. Rise in Bunting—The Flag Trade.—A reporter for one of . the New York papers has taken the pains, to inquire as to. the number of United States flags made and sold in that city, since the bombardment of Fort Sumpter. Ho ascertained the aggregate to bo 16,995. — In one establishment alone, the books show, that from the 15th of April to the Ist of July, the firm sold 2874 flags, independent of those ordered by large stores, hotels, newspaper of fices, &c. In the period named, eighty-five women were employed'in making flags, and two thousand yards of bunting were cut up in twenty-four hours. The total amount of ma terial used Was 36,720 yards of bunting, 20 pounds of tin cad, and 40 dozen spools of cot ton. Who can say the people of the North are not patriotic. Ages of the Generals. Lieutenant-Gen eral Scott is seventy-five years old; General Wool is seventy-throe; Harney, sixty-five; Mansfield, sixty; Totter (head of the Engi neer corps;) eighty ; Craig (head of the Ord nance.) seventy ; Sumner, sixty-five; Lamed (Pay-mnstor-Gonoral,) seventy | Gibson, Ouni inissary Gonoral; Churclpll, Inspector-Gen.; and Thomas, Adjutant-Gen. are all old men, having entered (ho army in the beginning of the present century-—Gibson in 1,807, and Churchill in 1812. ■ General McClellands not yet 35 ; General Fremont is under forty-eight; General Lyon is about, forty-four.: General Banks is forty-four, and General MoDon'ell is about forty.- “OUR COUNTRY—MAY XT,ALWAYS BE RIGHT—BOWRIGIIT OR WRONG, OUR COUNTRY.” CARL From tile point I mention, where the.road slopes down to a protected, ravine, wo caught the first glimpse of the enemy. -A line of in fantry were drawn up across a,meadow in the extreme distance, resting, .clos'd upon woods behind them. We could see th,e reflection of their bayonets, and their,j-ejgolar disposition showed them expectant or an attack. After a moment’s inspection, General Tyler ordered Carlisle to advance with . his tothe front,and here one could 'think of nothing but Milton’s line— ■. “Vanguard! to right and left in front unfold.” The ancient order for thedisposition of ad vance ranks is still in military usage. For the second and third Tyler-brigades under Sehenck, were at once formed, in line of bat tle, in the woods on cither side—the First Ohio, Seeond'Wisconsin, Severity-ninth, Thir teenth arid Sixty-ninth New York Regiments, succeeding each other qn .thfV right, and the Second Ohio, and Second Slew York being similarly placed on the left, while the artil lery came down the road between. A great 32 pound rifled, Rarrot gun—the only one of its calibre,,in btfr .field service— was- brought forward, made; to bear on the point where we had just seejrithb enemy, (for the bayonets suddenly disappeared in the woods behind,) and a shell-vVas fired at 6 15 A. M., which burst in the air; but the report of the piece awoke the- country, for leagues around, to a sense of what was to be the order of the day. The reverberation was tremen dous, shaking through the hills like the vol ley of a dozen plebian .cannon, and the roar of the revolving sheUindescribahle. Through out the battle that gun, whenever it was fired, seemed to hush and overpower every thing else. Wo waited a momont fdr an answering salute, but receiving none, sent the second shell at a hill-top two miles oflf, where we sus pected that a battery had been.planted by the rebels. The bomb burst dike an echo close at the intended- point,-but . still no answer came, and Gen. Tyler ordered Carlisle to cease firing, arid bring the rest of bis battery to the front of the woods and ,’bur column ready for instarit action. It was, now about 7 o’clock. For half an hour but-little more was done; then skirmishers deployed imp the forest on each side, in order to discover the whereabouts' of our nearest,foes. Bbfore us lay a rolling and comparatively open country, .but - with several hills and grovps cutting off any ex tended view. In the western distnriee on the loft, wo could see the dutsltirts of Manassas /Junction. , . , ". ' ; The woods, <t{; our lino of bat* tie formed, nround-tha open tl)d'arms of ,tbia our ffimhishera advanced. Soon wo began to hdar random shots exchanged in the thicket on the left, which proved the existence of an enemy in tliat direction. (What can bo.done against men who, to all the science and discipline of European warfare, add more than the mean ness and cowardly treachery of the Indian ? Wo had, all through the day, to hunt for the foe, though ho numbered his myriads of men.) At the same time, a scout on the ri&hl cap tured a negro native, who was led to the Gen eral, shaking with fear, and anxious to impart such information as ho had. Through him we learned that the rebels were quartered among the woods on the right and left, and in the groves in the open country; that they, had erected a battery on the distant hill, and had kept him at work for three days assisting to fell trees, so that a clear range of the road wo occupied could be obtained. By this time our scouts reported the enemy in some force on the left. Two or three Ohio skirmishers had been killed. Carlisle’s bat tery was sent to the front of the woods on the right, where it could bo brought to play where needed. A few shell wore thrown Into the opposite thicket, and then the Second Ohio and Second New York marched down to rout out the enemy. In ten minntos their musk etry was heard, and then a heavy cannonade answer. They had, without doubt, fallen upon a battery in the bushes. Por a quarter of an hour tho : r firing continued, when'they came out in good order, confirming our sur mises. After advancing a furlong, they saw the enemy, who exchanged their fire, and re tired through the forest. Suddenly, from a different direction, a voice was heard exclaim- ing, “Now, you Yankee devils, we’ve gut you where wo want you!” and several heavy guns wore opened upon them with such effect that Sehonek finally ordered them to retire, which ■they did in perfect order. The hoys came out, indignant at the practices of the rebels, and swoarihg'they would rather fight three times their force in the open field, than encounter the deadly mystery of those thickets. No sol diers are willing to have their fighting entire ly confined to storming infernal earth-works at the pointof the bayonet.- Every regiment, yesterday, whs at times a “forlorn hope/' A few dead and wounded began to be brought in and the battle of Mantissas had com menced; Carlisle’s howitzers and the great ri fled gun were opened in the direction of the battery, which answered promptly, and a brief but terrific cannonnading ensued. In less than half on hour the enemy's guns were silenced, two of Carlisle’s howitzers advano- ing through the woods to gain a closer p'osi-, tion. But a fatal error was here made as I thought, by Gen. Tyler, in not Ordering in a divison to drive out the four rebel regiments stationed behind the battery,'and to seize its oightguns. Through some inoxplicable.fatui ty, ho seemed to assume that, when a battery, was silenced it was convinced, and there it re mained, with its defenders, unheard from arid unthought of, uqtil the latter portion,of the day, whoa it formed one cause of our final de feat. It is actually a fact, that .while .our whole forces wore pushed along the right to a co-operation with Hunter’s flanking column, and a distance of miles in advance, this po sition on the left, close to tho sconeof the com- mencemonfc Of the fight, and just in front of all our.trains and ammunition wagons—a po sition chosen by all spectators as the most se cure—was, through the day, within five min utes’ reach of a concealed force of infantry, and a battery which had only been “silenced." No force Was stationed to guard the rear of our left flank. It was near this very point, i and .with the assistance of this very infantry, that the enemy’s final charge was made, which created such irretrievable confusion and disumv. And after the first few hours, mi officer could bo found in this vicinity to pay'any attention to its, security. All na gone forward to follow the lino of the cop tost. Meantime, Bichardson, on. ho extreme left, could hot content himself with maintaining his position," for we heard occasional dis charges from' two of his- guns. However, he, took no other part in the' aotion than by slid- SLE, PA., THURSDAY, AUGUST, !, 1861. XIII 3 BATTLE AT Bi ll Ul A. AN INTERESTING BY AN EYE WITNESS; The New York tPbrld gives the following interesting account of the recent battle at Bull linn; ' ' THE BAtTlii | ling the forces of the enemy, Which were stent rapidly from his vicinity to the immediate point of contest. From the bill behind we could see long columns advancing, nnd nt first thought that'they were Ilichnrdson.’s men , moving on .Bull Run; hut soon disooVer ’ ed then - true character. Indeed, from every southward point the enemy’s reinforcements began to pour In by thousands.' Great clouds of dust arose from the distant roads. A per son Who ascended a lofty tree could see the continual arrival of cars at the nearest point on the Manassas Railroad, with hosts of sob diers, whoformedin solid squares, and moved swiftly forward to join in the contest. The# whistle of the locomotive was plainly audi- I ble to those in our advance.' It is r believed j that at least fifty thousand were added dur ing the day to the-thirty thousand rebels op posed to us at the outset. It was hard .for our noble fellows to withstand these incessant reinforcements, but some of our regiments whipped several corps opposed to them in quick succession, and whenever our forces, fresh or tired , met the enemy in open field, they made short work of his opposition . At 10J A. in. Hunter was heard from on the extreme right. Ho had previously sent a courier to General McDowell, reporting that he had'safely crossed the Bun. The General was lying on the ground, having been ill dur ing the night, but nt once mounted his horse and rode bn to join the column On which so much depended. From the’ neighborhood of Siidley Church he saw the enemy’s in battle array, and at once advanced upon them with the Fourteenth New York and a battalion of regular infantry—Colonel Hunter order ing up the stalwart Rhode island regiments, one led by tbat model of the American volun teer—Burnside—the Second New Hampshire, and our own' finely disciplined Seventy-first. Gov. Sprague himself directed the movements of the Rhode Island brigade, and was con spicuous through the day for gallantry. The enemy were found in heavy numbers opposite this unexcelled division of our army, and greet ed it with shell and long volleys of battalion firing as it advanced, But on it wont, and a tierce conflict ensued in the northern battle ground. As soon as Hunter was thus discov ered to be making liis way on the flank, Gen.. Tyler sent forward the right wing of his column to co-operate,’nnd a grand force was thus brought to bear most'pffootunlly on the enemy’s left and centre. ■ The famous Irish, regiment, 1600 strong, who have had so much of the hard digging to perform, claimed the honor of a share in the hard fighting, and led. the van'of Tyler’s at tach followed by the Seventy-ninth (High landers) and Thirteenth Now York, and the Second Wisconsin., It was a bravo sight—that rush of the Sixty-ninth- into the death struggle 1 With such cheers as those which won the.battles in the Peninsula, with a quick step at first, and then a double-quick, and at last'a run, they dashed forward and along the edge of the ex tended forest. Coats and knapsacks were thrown to cither side,, that nothing might im "pciid'thelr worln but we knew that na guns would slip from the hands of those dertermin ed fellows, even if dying agonies Were heed ed to close them with a firmer grasp. As the line swept along, Meagher galloped torward the head, crying “Como on boys, you’ve got your chance at last!” I have not since seen ■him, but hear that he fought magnificently and is wounded. Tyler’s forces thus moved forward for half a mile,, describing quite one fourth of a cir cle on the-right, until they met n division of the enemy,' and of course a battery of the enemy’s most approved pattern. THE HEAT Of THE CONTEST It was noon, and now the battle commenced in the fierceness of. its most extended fury.— The batteries on the distant hill began to play upon our own, and upon our advancing troops, with hot and thunderous.effect. Carlisle an sweted for us, and Sherman for Hunter’s di vision, while the great 32 poupder addressed itself resistlossly. to the alternate defences of the foe. The noise'of the cannonading was deafening and continuous. Conversely to the circumstance of the former engagement, it completely drowned, at this period the volleys of the musketry and riflemen. It blanched the cheeks of the villagers at Centreville, to the main street of which place some of the enemy’s rifled .shell were thrown. It was heard at Fairfax, at Alexandria, at Washing; ton itself. Five or six heavy batteries were in operation at once, and to their clamor was added the lesser roll of twenty thousand small arms. What could we civilians see of the fight at this time? Little; yet perhaps more than any who were engaged in it. How anx iously we strained our eyes to catch the vari ous movements, thoughtless of everything but the spectacle and the successes or reverses of the Federal army. Our infantry were en gaged in woods and meadows beyond Our view. We knew not the nature or position of the force they wore fighting. But now and then there would be a fierce rush into the open prospect, a gallant charge.on one side and a retreat on the other, and wo saw plainly that our colums were gaining ground, and stead ily pursuing their advantage by their gradu al movement, which continued toward the dis sanoe and the enemy’s centre, , , Wb'indeed heard continuous tidings of he roism and victory; and those in the trees above us told.us of more than we could dis cover with our field glasses fpoin,below; We heard that Hunter had fairly rounded the en emy’s, flank;, and then wo listened.for our solvjs to, the sound of his charges in the north ern woods, and saw for ourselves the air gath ering up smoke from their branches, and the wavering column of the Mississippiansas.they fled from their first battery and wore- forced into the open field. 'Then wo saw, our Sixty ninth and Seventy-ninth corps, animated by a chivalrous national rivalry, press on to the support of the more distant column. Wo could catch glimpses of the continual advan ces and retreats; could hear occasionally the guns of a battery before undiscovered ;:.oould guess how terribly all this accumulation of death upon, death must toll upon those un daunted men, but could also see—and our cheers continually followed the knowledge that our forces wore gradually driving the right of the enemy around tliof second quarter of a circle, until by 10 o’clock the mam bat tle was raging at a point almost directly op posite our standing place—the road at the edge of the woods—whore it had commenced six hours before. _ There was a hill at the distance of a. mile and o half to which I have hitherto alluded. From its height, overlooking the whole plain, a few shells had reached us early m the day, and as it was nearer the Manassas road than, almost any other portion.of the field,'more of ! the enemy’s rpinforepments gathered about its ridge than tor the aid of the beaten rebels in the woods and valleys., Hero there was an open battery, and long lines of infantry in support; toady, for n wonder, to lot our wea ried follows see the fresh forces they had to conquer.’ An tho Sixty-ninth and Seventy-ninth wound round tho meadows to tho north of this hill,' and began to. cross the rood apparently Mth the intention of scaling it, wo saw a coldmn coming down from the furthest perspective, and for a moment believed it to bo a portion of Hunter’s Division, and that it had succeeds cd in completely turning the enemy’s rear.—■ A wild shout rose from us all. But soon the look-outs saw that its ensign bore secession banners, and we knew that Johnson, or some other rebel General, was. lending- a horde of fresh troops against our united right and cen tre. It was tune for more.,regiments to bo sent forward, and Keyes was ordered to ad vance with the First Tyler Brigade. ' The three Connecticut regiments and the Fourth Maine, came on with. a. will; the First Con necticut was posted in reserve, and the other three corns Swept up the field, by the ford on the right, to aid the struggling advance. All eyes were now direetedito the distant hilltop, now the centre of the fight. All could see the enemy’s infantry ranging darkly against the sky beyond, and the fifst lines Of our men moving with fine determination up the steep slope. The cannonading upon our advance, the struggle upon the hill-top, the interchange of position between the contes tants, were watched by us, and as now forces rhshed in upon the enemy’s, side the scene was repeated over and ovttr tlgain, .It-must have been here, I think, that the Sixty-ninth took and lost a battery eight times in succes sion, and finally were compelled, totally ex hausted, to resign the completion of their work to the Connecticut regiments which had just come up, The third Connecticut final ly carried that summit, unfurled the stars and stripes above it, and paused from,the fight to cheer for the Union cause, . : Then the battle began to Work down the re turning half of the circle, which the enemy de scribed during the day, driven before the des perate charges ofour troops, until they reached the very point where Tyler’s advance com menced the action. Down the hill and into the. valley, thickets oh the left, the Zou aves, the Connecticut and Now York regi ments, with the unconquerable llhode Island ers, drove the continually enlarging but al ways vanquished' columns of the enemy. It was only meet more batteries,. earthwork succeeding earthwork, ambuscade after am buscade. Oitf fellows were hot and weary ; most had drank no waterduring hours of dust and smoke, and insufferable heat. No one knows what choking the bottle atmosphere produces in a few moments,, until he has per sonally experienced it. And so the conflict lulled for a little while. It was the middle of a blazing afternoon. ’ Our regiments held the positions they had one, but the enemy kept receiving additions, and continued, a flank movement toward our left—a dangerous move ment for us, a movement which those in the 1 rear perceived, and vainly endeavored to in duce some general officer to guard against. : Here ions the.grand blunder, or misfortune of the battle. A misfortune that wo. had. no troops in reserve after the Ohio regiment were again sent forward, this time to,. assist- in building a. bridge across the run bn the War • rentbn road,, by the side, of the. stone bridge known to be minedv A blunder,.in. last reserve was sent forward at all. It should have been retained to guard the rear of the left, and every other,.regimout pn the field should bare boon promptly recalled over the route by Which it had advanced, ordered I only to maintain such positions as rested on a supported, continuous lino: Gen. Scott says, to-day," that our troops had already accomplish ed three days’ work, and, should have rested long before. But McDowell tried to vanquish the South in a single struggle, and the sad result is before us, As it was, Capt. Alexander, with his sap pers and miners, was ordered to cut through the abattis by the side of the mined bridge, in the valley directly before us, and lay pontoons across the stream. Carlisle’s Artillery was. detailed to protect the Work, and the Ohio and Wisconsin reserve.to support the artillery. Meanwhile, in the lull which I have men tioned, the thousand heroic details, of, federal valqr and,the shamelessness of;rebel treach ery began to reach our.ears. We loarned.tho loss of the bravo Cameron, the wounding of Heintzolman and. Hunter, the fall of Hagger ty and Slocum and Wilcox. We heard of the dash of the Irishmen and their decimation, and of the havoc made and, sustained by the Rhode .Islanders, the Highlanders, the Zou aves, and the Connecticut Third; then of the intrepidity of Burnside and Sprague—how the devoted and. daring young Governor led the regiments he had so munificently equipped again and again to victorious charges, and at last spiked with his own hands the" guns ho could not carry, away. The victory, seemed ours. It was an hour sublime in unselfisl ness, nnd apparently glorious in its.results! At this time, near 4 o’clock, I rode forward through the open plain..to the-creek .where the abattis was being assailed by onr engi neers. The Ohio, Connecticut and Minne sota regiments wore variously posted there about: others.were in distant portions of the field ;' ail word completely exhausted and part ly dissevered; no General of division, except Tyler, could be found. Where wore our offi- cers? Where was the foe? Who knew whether we had won or lost? .... The question was quickly to bo decided for us. A sudden swoop, and a body of cavalry rushed, down upon our columns near the bridge'. They came from the woods qn the left, and infantry poured out behind them. Tyler and his staff, with the reserve, wore apparently eat off by the quick manoeuvre. I succeeded in gaining the position I had just loft, there witnessed the capture of . Carlisle’s battery in the plain, and saw another force ofcavalry and infantry pouring into the road at the ycry spot where the battle commenced, and near which the South- Carolinian, jvho manned the battery silenced in, the morning, had .doubtless all day been lying concealed. The ambulances and wagons had gradually advanced to this spot, Und of course an in stantaneous confusion and dismdy resulted. Our own infantry broke ranks in the field, I plunged into the woods to avoid the' road, and got up tlio hill ns best they could, without loaders, every man saving himself in his own way, ]?y tho time I reached the top of tho hill, tho retreat, tho panic, the hideous headlong confusion, wore now beyond a hope. I was near tho roar of tho movement, with tho brave Capt.- Alexander, who endeavored by tho most gallant but unavailable exertions to cheektho onward tumult. It wqs difficult to believe in tho reality of our sudden reverse does it all moan?” I naked Alexander moans defeat,” was his reply. “Woare beat ten ; it is a shameful, a cowardly retreat 1 Hold up, men!” ho shouted, “don’t be such infernal cowards!” and he rode backwards and forwards, .placing his horse across tho road and vainly trying to rally the' running troops.,, Tho. teams and wagons confused and dismembered every corps. Wo now cut oS’ from tho advance body by tho enemy’s in fantry, who had rushed on tho slope just left by us, surrounded tho guns and sutlers’ wa- gons, and wo apparently pressing up against us. “ It’s no use, Alexander,” I said, “ you must leave with the rest.” “ I’ll bo d d if 1 will," was his sullen reply, and the splen did fellow rode back to make his way as best ho bouhh --Meantime I saw officers with leaves hrid eagles on their Shoulder-straps, majors and colonels; .who hod deserted their com mands, pass me galloping as if for dear life. No enemy pursued just then; but I suppose all were afraid .that htsgttns would.be trained down the long, mirrorVavonuo, nhd,'mow the re trcatiug.jthdusahds, and’hatlofto pieces army, l wagons and everything else whioh.orowded it. Only one field officer,.so far as,my observation , extended, seemed to.have: remembered..hid duty. Lieutenant-Colonel Speidel, a foreign-. er attached to a Connecticut regiment, strove” against the current foVa'league.; v ‘ ’’ '" - But what a scone'? ttnd how terrific thd on- i, set of that tumultuous ..retreat.For. three. 1 miles, hosts of Federal troops—all detached . from their rogiments. al] jni nglcd. j n one ilis- • orderly rout wore fleeing along, the road, but mostly throughithelots oneifher' side.' Army wagons, sutlers, teams and private carriages, : choked the passage, tumbling .against, each, other, amid clouds of dust,.and tokening sight-; and sounds. Hacks containing unlucky spec- - tatbrs of the late affray, were smashed like glass, and tho.ocoupantsrivero lost sight of in the debris.. Horses, flying widly from thobat- , tie field, many-of them;in death,agony, gtillo- . ped at random forward, joining in the stam r pedo. Those on foot who could catch them rode ’ them bavebiick, as much to save themselves 1 from being run over, ns to make quick time. ; Wounded men, lying along the banks—the . few either left ,ou the field not taken to tho i. captured hospitals,,appealed vfith.raised hands.' to those who rode horses, bogging to be. lifted behind; .but a few regarded such petitions. Then the artillery, such as Was saved; caind > thundering along,ismashing,and overpower--r ing everything. The regular cavalry, I roc- . ord it to their shame, joined in the melee, ad J . ding to its terrors, for they rode, down foot l , .', mdn without .mercy;, One of the grtiat guns was overturned,; and lay amid the ruins of a ; caisson, as I passed it. I saw an artillery-., man running between the ponderous fore and ' after-wheel of his .gun carriage, hanging with both hands, and Vainly striving tojump ■ upon the ordinance. The drivers were spur-, ring tha-horseshe could hot cling muoh lon ger, and;s more- agonized, expression nevejh fixed the features of a ,drq wning man. - The . carriage bounded from the.,roughness of. a ' steep hill leading to a creek, he lost his hold, ' fell and. in an instant the great Wheels had cm-: ‘ shed the life out of him; ; -Who CvCr sawsuoh-;' a flight ? Could the retreat at Borodino ,havd; ; exceeded it in confusion and tumult ? I think ' not. It did not slack in the least until Con- ; trevillo was reached. There the sight of tho, < reserve—Miles’ Brigade—formed in order on., tile. hill, seemed somewhat to reassure the van., But still the teams and foot soldiers pushed / . on, passing their own camps and heading ' swiftly for .the, distant Potomac, until for ton miles the road over, which the grand.arrny had -solately passed southward, gay with unstained, banners, and flushed with surety of strentli,. was covered with tho fragments of. its retreat-, ing forces, shattered _and. panic stricken in a single- day. From the branch route, the trains; attached to Hunter’s Division had, caught the contagion of the fright,' and poured • [into its already swolen.oui'fent another tur bid freshet of ..confusion and dismay; ~Whq-: ovor saw a more shameful abandonment of munitionas gathered at such vast expeso ? The' teamsters, many of whom, cut the traces of their horses, and galloped ,;fronl the wagons;- . Others* threw,.out their. loads to accelerate; . their flight, and grain, picks and shovels, - provisions of cvel'y . kind, lay trampled in the „ dust forioagucs. Thousands of muskets stro- • wed the route, when some of us succeeded in. rallying a body of fugitive?, and forming them; ; into a lino across the road, hardly one but had . thrown away his arms. If tho enemy had[ ’brought up his artillery and served it Upon the retreating train, or had intercepted our; progress with five hundred of his cavalry, ha; might have captured, enough supplies for a ; week’s feUst-of thanksgiving. As it was on- -, ough was left behind to tell the story of the ' panic. DC7*Tho difference between rising, creryi morning rtt six and eight, in the course of for-- ty years amounts to. 29,200 hours, or. three years, pne hundred and twenty one days, and, sixteen hours, which are equal to eight hours h diiy for. exactly ten yearsj so that rising at' six will he the same aS if ten years of life were added, whore iye conintand eight hours; every day for the cultivation of our minds and' the dispatch of business. CilidKES Story— AVo last night hoard of n remarkable hon owned by a, man in Florida.' She. lays ho eggs in thd best bedroom of the house,' wipes her feet attho door before enter ing the house, lays an ogg every day. in. the week except Saturday, when she' layd' two eggs,.or oud with a double yolk, and none on Sunday. ■ . JJ@~ A llot.llouEo —'‘Father, what do you. mean by rasing things in a hot-house ?” “AVhy my dear boy, you aro being raised in a house 1 too hot to hold, me sometimes,’’ The mother, seized a broomstick, but the manomado tracks. ■ OlT’Durlng an examination a 'medical stu dent was asked thoquestiori, “AVho does mutw. tification ensue?” replied, “AYhen you pop' the question and are answered ”No." . - 1 {®“Jlrs Alice Yell, a:, few days ago, cow hided Mr Lay, of Camden, (or promising to-, marry her and notporforming. As ha woud-' n’t make her Lay, she made him Yell. • ffy-Tho nerve which never relaxes—the, eye that never blanches —the thought.which, nevor wanders —those are the masters of vie- - tory. B@“Do Quincy being asked why there wore more women than men, repliedlt iep in eonfority with the arrangements of Nature, wo always see more of ■ Heaven than Earth,*' O“An independent man is said to lie one who can live Ttdthout whiskey and tob acca and shave himself with brown soap and cola water without a mirror. Bggrlt is true , ts Franklin says, that “thel slopping fox catches no poultry,” but it is ecfutilly true that poultry nislcop upon their, roost are generally in very little danger'Of foxes. - “ What “ It OCT" An editor down South apologises for delay in the issuoof his paper, ns hehad imox-* 1 tra “male” to attend to during the week.- The editor of the Charleston Mercury 1 001+ plains that his water pipe has been cut. Jgityi it hadn’t been his wind pipe; st*Sf Bgy A man never has the least difficulty id finding a devoted- except when b? need# one. ' ’ v " NO. 8.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers