®Tj|* ||rus.
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 1861.
EXTRACT FROM THE LAST SPEECH OF
STEPHEN A. DOUGLAS.— I 4 The conspiracy
Is break np the Union in a fact now known to
all* Armies are being raised, and war levied
to accomplish it. There can be but two sides
to the controversy. Every man must be on the
•ide of the United States or against it. There
can be ns neutrals in thin war* There can be
none but patriots and traitors.”
THE LATEST WAR NEWS.
The steamer Illinois arrived at New York yos
tafd&y, with advices from Fort Royal to the 25th
inst. The most important event that has recently
transpired in that quarter is the occupation by our
troops of Tj'bee Island, which is situated in Tybeo
Bay, on the south side of the entrance to the Sa*
vannnh river, in Georgia. The rebel works at that
point hod been evacuated, and our forces met with
no resistance in their attempt to hoist the Stars and
Stripes upon that portion of the soil of the Empire
State of the South. lt Contrabands” continue to
arrive in great numbers at Port Royal, and the
problem of “ What shall wo do with them ?” is evi
dently destined to daily increase in practical im
portance. General Sherman has built entrench
ments across the whole island he occupies, and
the rebels will doubtless find it impossible to
dislodge him. Another expedition, to consist
of two brigades, under General Yielle, is about
to sail for some point, not yet disclosed, on
the Southern Qoftst. The people of the Southern
seaboard are plainly destined to bo constantly ha
rassed as long as they persist in maintaining a re
bellious attitude, and they can never regain peace,
security, or prosperity, until the power of the
Federal Government over the whole country is
thoroughly re-established. >Ye publish on our first
page a description of the expedition now being
fitted out at Annapolis by Gen. Burnside, and the
preparations made to render it effective indicate
ihat it will perform an important share of the great
work of crushing the rebellion.
The rebel Convention at Russelvillo. Kentucky,
made up of a few of the leading conspirators of
the State, have passed an ordinance of Secession,
whic-li is only important so far as it servos to illus
trate tlie absurdity of the whole Secession theory,
and the impossibility of maintaining any Govern
ment which would confess that its existence was
constantly dependent upon the will of distinct
States.
It is reported that the privateer Sumpter has
been captured, on the coast of Texas, by a United
States frigate; but false rumors of a similar
character have so often been circulated heretofore,
that we fear this statement is also untrue.
The people of TFestern Virginia will shortly
lie organized into a new State. At an elec
tion held on the 24th of October they unani
mously expressed a desire to be separated
from the State Government of Virginia. The
Convention is now in session in the city of
"Wheeling to complete the arrangements for a
division of the State, and it is very probable
that dnring the present session of Congress
commissioners from the State of Kanawha will
present their claims for admission into the
Confederacy of the Union.
There are some reasons why it would have
been better if the people of Western Virginia
had postponed this action until another time.
We confess it looks to us like a doubt as tQ
the power of the General Government in
crushing tiiis rebellion. It see ms as if an ad
vantage was taken of the disturbed condition
of affairs to throw off the Statu sovereignty
which is odious, expensive, and demoralized.
And while wc should have wished that these
loyal people had waited until the national
triumph had been assured, we are nevertheless
disposed to assent to their wishes and admit
them to all the rights and privileges of the
Union.
Between the Eastern and Western sections
of Virginia there has been but little sympathy.
The Eastern portion of the State was as ex
clusively and thoroughly a slave community as
Alabama or Mississippi. The people enter
tained those aristocratic and stately notions
which these lordly planters are so fond of ex
hibiting. The source of their wealth was the
development of the slave system and the ex
portation of negroes to the lower Cotton
States. The resources of tlieir country have
been drained to supply an unnatural method of
agriculture, and from the want of that en
ergy and thrift which so characterize the
Northern people their mansions are passing
into ruin, and. their farms are becoming bar
ren and unproductive.
It is not so in Western Virginia. Slaves
form a very small percentage of tlieir popula
tion. Slave labor is but rarely used ; and its
people have been oppressed by the heavy
taxes which the existence of slavery and the
poverty of the Eastern portion of the State
have rendered necessary. They are loyal
men, devoted to the Union as it is, and detest
ing the Southern Government, whose success
would be their ruin. In all the social, politi
cal, and industrial relations of life, there is an
absolute want of congeniality between thebe
sections. It is proper, then, in view of these
facts, that the people of Western Virginia
should be permitted to choose a State Govern
ment of their own. That Government will
be one of freedom, and in this fact W 6 find
a source for self-congratulation ; for as free
dom extends advancement extends, and the
establishment of the State of Kanawha will be
a benefit to its people and a proper tribute
U> the enlightened sentiment of tile age.
Irish-Amencan News.
It is stated in the Drogheda Conservative, an
Irish paper, that several of the young men
who are officers in the Pope’s Brigade, which
went to Italy last year, “ have determined to
emigrate to the United States, and join tho
Irish Brigade which is now being raised under
Meagher, to chastise the Confederate insur
gents.”
Mr. Forrest's Appearance in Philadelphia.
Edwin Forrest, the great exponent of the
legitimate drama, will appear at the Academy
of Music on Monday evening. It is unneces
sary to advert to Mr. Forrest’s genius, and
the rare chapter that will be taken up with his
performance in the history of the stage. Suf
fice it to say, that no man has so satisfactorily
interpreted the master characters of the lead
ing plays, and stands so generally confessed
the great histrionic exemplar of his date and
day. With many parts he is inseparably asso
ciated, all other attempts to individualize them
being Imitations of his style. In Richelieu his
perfection was pronounced by Bulwer.
Lytton j in Lear, no actor since Shakspeare
has approximated to his genius; as Claude
Mihielli he has been as soft and tender as the
present ideal of the dramatist; and many
parts, as Spartacus, Damon , and Metamora,
owe all their prominence to the power and
pathos of Edwin Forrest. Our Boston
letter refers at length to the tragedian’s suc
cess in that city. Supported by a capable
company, including Mrs. Gi.adstase, a beau
tiful and talented woman, and Mr. John Mc-
Ci'lloioii, whose first success was attained in
Philadelphia, Mr. Forrest will open at the
Academy, on Monday evening, in Siiak
speare’s sublimest conception, “ Ilamlet.”
The box office will be open for the sals of
seats to-day and to-morrow, and tire people
will have an opportunity to witness, perhaps
in his last earthly triumph, the eminent trage
dian whose early years were passed In Phila
delphia, and whose fame is inseparably con
nected with this city.
Edinburgh Review. —From tv. II Zieber, agent
here for the republished British quarterlies, and
Blackwood, we have the new number of the Edin
burgh Review. It contains eleven articles, the
most interesting of which are those on tho Disunion
of America, Lord Macanlay’s history, Lavergno
the Agriculture of France, the Story of Burnt
Njab, Thiers's Revolution of tho Hundred Days,
Mrs. Browning’s poetry, and Dr. Hessey’s Bomp
ton Lecture on the origin, history, and present obli
gation of Sunday. This last is an admirable and
exhaustive article.
Italian Marble Groups, Figures, Busts,
Objects of Art in Vbbde Antique, at Public
Sale. —A collection of valuable Italian marble
statuary, Verde antique figures, Ac., will be sold
at public sale, on Wednesday morning next, at the
store (engaged for the occasion) No. 1307 Chestnut
hlreet. These valuable objects of art have been ex
ecuted by eminent artists in Italy, and are well
worthy the attention of amateurs. They will bo on
exhibition three days previous to the 3aie.
jy Mr- J. B. Siddons, Professor of Elocution
in the College of Columbia, New York, will road
Dickens’ “ Chime 1 ,” and some selections from
Lover and Hood, at the Continental Hotel, this
M'MiiZg. Mr. Siddons is grand nephew of John
Kemble, the great tragedian, and we dare say that
many Philadelphians, who met him at Atlantic
City, last snmmcr, will gladly renew their acquaint
ance with him on this occasion.
Colonf.l Ward H. Lamon has gone to
Springfield on a matrimonial mission. He was to
bs mar riel on ths 24ih instant to Miss Logan,
daughter of Judge Logan, of Illinois.-- Chicago
Tribune.
COL CHARLES J. BIDDLE
As a part of the history of these stirring
times, we print the correspondence between
several “distinguished” citizens of Phila
delphia and the lion. Col. Charles J. Biddle,
from the Second Congressional
district in this, State. The object of the letter
to Colonel Uiddle was to request him to re
sign his command of one of the Pennsylvania
regiments in the division of Major General
McCall, which request Colonel Biddle has
complied with in a most extraordinary letter.
The mere matter of resigning a military com
mand, at such a period as this, may be the re
sult of necessity or of taste, and Colonel Bid
dle had a right to choose between remaining
in the army and assuming his seat in Congress.
But we submit whether in leaving the army it
was fairly dealing with his country, we.will not
say his constituents, to indulge in a party
appeal calculated to divide, instead of uniting,
the friends of the American Union. After
reading his letter our grief and amazement
that so excellent and esteemed a citizen should
have put his name to such a missive, gave way
to a settled satisfaction that he had left the
American army. Col. Biddle is an honest
man, and wc arc no less honest in the declara
tion that a gentleman who entertains his sen
timents ought not to remain in this American
army. As a Representative in Congress, such
a citizen can do comparatively little harm;
for, besides having before him the tato of
every man who has attempted to excite parly
feeling in the midst of this great struggle, he
can be replied to on the spot, ids profes
sions exposed, and his theories answered;
whereas, in the military service, as the known
advocate of opinions that would be certain to
he regarded by the troops as the utterances
of a superior officer, dissensions of the most
grievous character would be the inevitable
result.
A few months have worked a marked change
in Col. Biddle's sentiments. When lie ac
cepted the nomination for Congress, wo heard
of him only as a patriotic soldier, an indepen
dent citizen; and so indifferent to party as to
prefer the camp during his owe canvass, and
oven to decline occupying his seat in Con
gress during the calledsessiou. The following
■card, printed in great capitals in the daily
papers, and staring from ten thousand glaring
placards, was his platform before his elec
tion :
“ Came Mason and Dixon's Line, 1
“Beyond Centreville, via Bedford. Pa., ,
Juno 29, 1861. )
“Bon. A. V. Parsons: Tho nomination takes
me wholly by surprise. I thank you all for this great
and unsolicited honor. I am, 1 trust, a trim son of
Pennsylvania, ready to serve herwhon, anil whom,
and how slio pleases. My present position is most
congenial to mo : but I will not place my own pre
ference in opposition to the people's wish. If elected.
I will serve as soon as 1 can quit tho field without
dishonor. Philadelphia would not expeetnio sooner.
I will give no partisan pledges. I will try to do
my duty in whatever sphere it may please God to
place me. Ciiaklks* J. Biddle.”
The following paragraphs from Col. Bid
dle’s Thanksgiving letter to the committee
are a somewhat marked contrast to his .Time
platform above printed:
“XVhen the national (lag was struck down at
Charleston, and the national capital was threatened
by Secession, the North rose like ono man. Tho
world saw with astonishment the great uprising of
the people. Europe prejudged the i-ssue in our
favor ; yet, as if smitten with blindness, the Re
publican leadors seemed striving to waste and dissi
pate, instead of to seize and use the noble maLeriat
for great armies which was, with scarcely any limit,
placed at their disposal. The soldier who offered
himsejf for the public service found that he must
ear-wig some politician before he could he allowed
the privilege to fight or die for his country. Men
began to say that the war was to be made 1 a Black
Republican job.’
‘ 1 Politicians were put at the head of troops—poli
ticians who thought that to wear lace and feathers,
and to pocket pay, was the whole duty of the offi
cer—feasting and frolicing, and speech-making
took the place of training and discipline; and,
while the officer spouted and revelled, the rank and
file were robbed of their first right—the right to
skilful guidance and instruction. The reins were
nominally put into the hands of a venerable chief
tain; but every politician, every ‘able editor,”
took a pull at them, till they upset the coach.
“Amid shouts of ‘Oil to Richmond.’ the North,
with its teeming population, found itself outnum
bered at every point of conflict, and the battle of
Bull Run proved that the Administration had known
neither its own strength nor the enemy’s. ‘ Where
then were our legions V we may welt ask of it.
But the buttle of Bull Run was not without Us
fruits for us. Panic-stricken selfishness, socking
self-preservation, lighted on those who could save
it. The direction of tho army passed into the hands
of soldiers. A general, born here among us, re
stored to their due supremacy the martial virtues
that insure success in war; trained and competent
officers second his efforts, scores of imbeciles have
been pushed out of service; and this good work
still progresses.' :
The commission in the regiment, of which
Col. Biddle was the commanding officer, was
conferred by a “Blackßepublican” Govern
or, and the same “Black Republican” Go
vernor urged liis acceptance of the higher
post of Brigadier General. Hundreds of
“ Black Republicans” voted for him on tho
strength of the above Card, and at least one of
liis organs in this city contended that, if sent
to Congress, he would be among tlie most
earnest of the defenders of the war
policy of the Administration. What, in
fact, is tile duty of the true friend of the
war and of the country now? Is it to re
call the errors of the past—to locate the re
sponsibility of these errors upon public scr»
vants already overburdened with difficulties
and responsibilities—to charge political favo
ritism upoil the Executive, and to insist, in
the rampant rhetoric of partisan clubs, that
“ the war is to be made a Black Republican
job” “ a party job ?” A thousand times no!
By common consent, ail loyal men joined
hands after Bull Run, to bnry tho past—to
move in solid column upon the common ene
my. The politicians who shouted, “On to
Richmond,” repented under the rebuke of
tlioir own followors, and now myriads and now
millions were offered and accepted in the midst
of this great revival—this universal resolution
to remember tlie country alone. "We submit,
with alirospect, that if anyman was doubly hound
to second and sympathize with this marvellous
enthusiasm, it was Col. Biddle. He was
bound equally by his military obligations and
by his voluntary pledge to the people of the
Second Congressional district before his elec
tion. But what has induced his unexpected
change of tone? Even if wc admitted the
justice of his petulant criticisms upon “ Black
Republicans,” and political soldiers, and “laoe
and feathers,” and “feasting and frolicking,”
we would still have to ask him if tho popular
confidence in General McClellan and Presi
dent Lincoln has not beon productive of the
best results on land and sea. Col. Biddle
lives in the past. Discussing party issues
and military mistakes, he refuses to acknow
ledge tlie lesson of the times, and to imitate
the example of other brave men in arms.
There are Democrats in addition to Colonel
Biddle— 11 older, if not better ” Democrats,
who do not look upon this war as a « job,”
or doem it their duty to excite party feel
ings in the present crisis, or to place the
the war upon the wrong
shoulders, or to sit silent under the mani
fold atrocities of the Secession leaders and
armies Democrats, let us add, appointed
to high command by a “ Black Republican ”
President or Governor, and Democrats who
have been elected to high Qivil positions by
“ Black Republican ” voters. Major General
Benjamin F. Butler, of Massachusetts;
Brigadier General John A. McClernand,
of Illinois; Brigadier General Thomas F.
Meagher, of New York, not to name
hosts of others, do not make their Democracy
a boast, and devote their great talents to
assaults upon those authorities to whom the
management of the wav must of 'necessity be en
trusted. Those brave men, all of whom have
been under fire, all of whom have been the
bitterest opponents of President Lincoln,
have declared, in terms of rngmorablo elo
quence, that it was the duty of every Demo
crat who really loves his country to drop the
partisan cloak, to frown upon every effort to
create divisions among the people, to sustain
the President and his constitutional advisers
by the most unqualified support of his policy,
and to strike treason in its strongholds, by every
means known to war between great and free
Governments and unmitigated and savage rebel
lions. The Democratic party, so favorably eulo
gized by Col. Biddle, is not so hugely be
loved by thoso veteran. Democrats and battle
scarred soldiers. They dare to proclaim the
fact that the most busy and mischievous of
I the secret foes of our flag and our country arc
| among the Democratic leaders. IVe think
! we need go no further than to the signers of
the letter to Col. Biddle to find more than
one who only a few months ago were inquired
after by Rmititudos of inhospitable citiaonsj
who would not believe they were any better
patriots because they were such superfine De
mocrats. This was after Sumpter fell.
j It is just to Mr. Dallas to 3ay that, with all
■ his known feelings in favor of the war, he
I could not have signed the letter to Col. Bid
. dlk if he was expected to approve the reply of
that gallant Congressman.
| We trust those excellent and venerable De
mocnits, the aforesaid signers—for, as a good
historian, wc cannot withhold the admission
that the Democratic leader* of the present
day arc Hon. Josiah Randall, George M.
Wharton, Esq., and Hon. John Cadwala
dkr—will not complain if we ask them to look
into tho glass set up for the admiration of their
school by that acctccpd organ of the Breckin
ridge party last year, the lion. Daniel S.
Dickinson, of New York. He said, a few
months ago:
11 Any Democrat that undertakes to embarrass
the Administration, whether he loves or hates it, in
such a crisis as this, is no Democrat and no good
citizen, and ought to be put up as a monument for
scorn to point her slow, unmoving linger at. His
genuineness must bo about equal to that of tho old
Revolutionary soldier I have heard of iu the interior
of Pennsylvania. The inhabitants of the place had
determined on having a Fourth of July celebration
of the old-fashioned, spread-eagle kind, and looked
for a man for a Revolutionary soldier to give in
terest to the occnsion, and finally succeeded in find
ing one, an old German. He was brought a great
distance and placed upon the pi a thrill near tho ora
tor, who waxed grandly eloquent upon ttye daring
and patriotic deeds of the surviving hero, and at
the close of the oration he was desired to give some
of his personal recollections of the war. ‘YoUi’
said the president, ‘ must have known Washing
ton?' ‘ Yes, I knew him.’ ‘ Where did you meet
him?’ ‘At Trenton.’ ‘ Wore you in the battle V
‘ Yes, I surrender to Vashington.’ ‘ You surrender
to Washington! llow was that? 1 vo-s van
Hessian!' [Groat laughter |
“ Now, I think when you find men prating about
tbc Democracy embarrassing the Administration at
such a lime as" this, when you inquire tlioir history,
you will find they were l vtm Hessian.'''
(If the Hon. Wm. B. Reed had been one of
the signers to the letter to Uol. Biddle, the
allusion of the old Now York Democrat might
have been applied to him ?]
— But to return to Col. Biddle. It is some
what inappropriate to the (ext of his letter to
select McClellan and Dcoont as the men
“ who have in charge the honor of our Hag on
land ami sea”—as the men whom “ the Demo
cratic party will sustain.” Are we to under
stand from Col. Biddle that in Congress lie
will show ills regard for these “ men,” by op
posing the Jldministration in the management
of the war 1 If this is his plan, he will receive
very cold thanks from those heroes. But this
would seem to be his plan. He tells his
friends in his letter, “ that tile Democratic
party sought to keep the peace among the
States, with honor to them all; but while
the war lasts, into which the Abolitionists of
the North and the precipitationists of the South
have hurried us,” &c. Here, xvo opine, is
history misread. If Colonel Biddle intends
this as his new platform, lie will probably
liavo to prepare himself lor some such re
ply as was pronounced during the called
session by the gallant Col. Richardson, of
Illinois, when Mr. Burnett, of Kentucky, at
tempted to make good nearly the same alle
gation. Both General McClellan and Com
modore Ditont belong to tlie school of
rncu who do not believe that the “Demo
cratic party sought to keep the peace among
the States, with honor to them all.” Colonel
Biddle was a devoted friend of Breokinridoe
last year ; McClellan was actively for Dov-
OLAS, and Dupont is of the Delaware
DV mints, whose decided Republican pro
clivities are known to everybody in this vi
cinity. Wc know that McClellan was the
bold and unreserved opponent of the Demo
cratic party as maintained by Colonel Biddle
and the signers of the letter to him. Both of
these men have frequently and publicly stated
that if the Southern people lmd hut confided
in the generosity of the free States, there
would have been neither Secession nor war,
and both will, we solemnly believe, now
say, if called upon, that the Southern traitors
worked for and desired dissolution.
Colonel Biddle falls into a worse dilemma
when lie cites the names of McClellan and
Dt'i'ONT as exclusively or especially worthy of
“ Democratic ” support. In Ins anxiety to
fetter the Administration, lie revives the re
collection of the blunders of July, tries to
make the Administration responsible for the
Bull Run disaster (!), and attempts to show
that the President confers military honors
upon his own political favoritos. But why
does not Colonel Biddle admit that it was this
very “ Black Republican ” President, Abra
ham Lincoln, that called the Douglas Demo
crat, George B. McClellan —“ a general
born here among us ” —into the regular army
as a major general, early in the campaign,
and long before Bull Run ? Why not state
the notorious fact that it was a “ Black Re
publican” Administration that put the name of
McClellan above that of Fremont. ■" **“>*
me nrst could rank the second ? Why not be
just, and say that after Bull Run it was the
“Black" Republican” Lincoln that called
the Democrat McClellan to the Depart
ment of the Potomac? And why not, to
crown the column of Congressional candor,
and to illustrate the “ martial virtues,”
say out, in tho face of God and man,
it was this same “ Black Republican” Presi
dent, that of his own motion, in the midst of
military rivalries and political doubters, after
the retirement of Lieutenant General Scott,
appointed the Douglas Democrat, McClellan,
Commander-in-chief of the vast army of the
United States ?
As to Commodore Dupont, Colonel Biddle
should know that it was a “Black Republi
can” Administration that quit him into the
high position he now occupies, and a “ Black
Republican” Administration that reorganized
and reinvigorated the navy, and carried out
the recommendations of Dupont and liis asso
ciates, when they dared popular odium by
rendering tlieir fearless verdict as members of
the Naval Retiring Board. Of these things,
however, the Representative of the Second
Congressional district says nettling,
It will thus he seen that Colonel Biddle is
at fault in the introduction of these two illus
trations of his new platform. They disprove
his charges against Mr. Lincoln’s Administra
tion, and they confute his assumption as to the
origin of this war.
Though we regret that Colonel Biddle
should have deemed it proper to exhibit a
spirit so well calculated—we will not say in
tended —to inflame the public mind, at a time
when disinterested counsels and united action
are vital to the success of the cause of the
country, wo much more regret that amid
plenty or invective for tho “ Black Republi
cans” he has but few sentences against the
rebels. Even the little he says of them is
qualified by putting them in juxtaposition
with the “ Abolitiosists.” It is unnecessary
to elaborate this point.
When Col. Biddle was a candidate for Con
gress, last July, The Press encountered much
opposition, and even abuse, because it refused
to support him. We knew him to be an honest
and straight-forward man; and we believed
that if he had any sympathies they were with
those with whom he had acted in the last
Presidential campaign. We knew his cou
rage, for he had proved it in Mexico. But
we felt that no man, no matter how near to us—
father, brother , or friend —could receive the
support of. this journal who had not in him the
conscience of this fight. Colonel Biddle came
of a family that had shed its blood for the
country in former strifes. He was one in
whom personally wo recognized many noble
elements. It was among our best hopes to see
him throw his high character and storied
lineage on the side of free government as
against the slave despotism ; and for a brief
period this hope was encouraged. But when
he was put forward as a candidate for Con
gress in the Second district, by influences and
under a platform that proved him to be a sym
pathizer With men who had doubts of the jus
tice of this war, we opposed him. Only a few
days before the election in July we said of him:
41 Col. Biddle has many qualities to commend
him to popular favor i hut having anted during the
last Presidential contest with the supporters of
Breckinridge, and being now sustained most ac
tively by the politicians who sympathize with the
Disunionists, who are the authors of all our troubles,
and are eager to throw obstacles in the way of a
vigorous prosecution of the war, he can scarcely
expect to fully gain public confidence, if he does
not pledge himself to give an unqualified support
to the war policy of the Government, and expressly
repudiate all compromise arrangements.”
And again, on the very day of the election,
The Press said:
“ We have spoken of Mr. Biddle’s record, and
here we base our most serious objections to him as a
esndidatb for Congress. We have no guarantee of
bis unwillingness to join hands with the foes of the
Administration and a rigorous war policyHe
was a sympathizer with- Mr. Breckinridge in the
last canvass, and. although this does not dis
qualify him, it justifies us in exercising a cautious
vigilance. He waa among the early friends of
Douglas, but when tho shadows fell across the
path of that distinguished statesman, he sought
the temporary sunshine which nourished John C.
Breckinridge. He is the nominee of a convention
whoso members were ehosen, lest autumn, by the
remains of the custom-house clique, which was im
posed upon us for four years by a dishonored Ad
ministration. He was nominated by men whom we
distrust, and who have given us good reasons for
distrusting them. The resolutions on which he will
be expected to act, if elected, are not what the
times demand; and on tho platform they present,
an enemy of the Administration could act more
efficiently thnn a friend."
Colonel Biddle lias, therefore, fulfilled our
predictions. We take no credit for having
THE rrirgg-THTIADEirniA, FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 1861.
been a true prophet. We should have re
joiced if lie had disappointed us. lie was
elected because he wore the American uni
form. lie honored it in Mexico, and would
have honored it in Virginia. Blit in resigning
his commission iu the American army he lias
paid the highest tribute to lilri sincere opposi
tion to the constituted authorities, and we
trust that his example will be followed by all
officers entertaining the same opinions.
LETTER FROM “OCCASIONAL.”
Strange faces are appearing upon the Ave
nue. Washington has been a city of soldiers
since April—it will lie a city of politicians un
til May. Every train brings delegations of Con
gressmen ; the departments have q bIISV
look; the Secretaries are shut up from tho
crowds of anxious and interested applicants
for interview ; the painters are giving tho last
touch to the Capitol; workmen are plying the
liammnr busily • tho dust and cobwebs arc
being brushed from the halls of legislation, and
both branelies of Congress have a bright and
business look. At the coming of Congress
men wc have an immense crowd of sight
seers from all parts of the country who desire
to spend a winter in Washington, and to hear
the lions roar iu the Capitol. The hotels are
crammed, and a walk through tho lobby of
Willard's or the National would be an interest
ing, if not a disagreeable, undertaking. I ex
pect belore Sunday night there will be more
than a quorum of Senators and members in
attendance, and, when the clock strikes noon,
on Monday, the legislative drama will open.
The legislative drama. There is more fit
ness in this phrase than you will he willing to
concede. It is a great game, this legislation
—every part is filled, the appointments am
excellent, tho moral of the play is a
sublime one; and, if 1 may speak like a
manager, the attractions of tho season
will be of a most unequalled character. No
one can speculate upon what course events
may take in the hands of the national repre
sentatives. I believe, as a general thing, they
are patriotic men, 1 trust they comprehend
tho necessities of this trying hour, and that
they will deal with them like patriots and
statesmen. What a field for fame! Wiiat an
opportunity for the exhibition of true great
ness ! Tho Republic of America presents the
problem with which only tho first of intellects
is capable of dealing, and who shall solvo it ?
Who shall rise to the stem emergencies of the
hour? Who shall comprehend, thoroughly
and fully, what the country'needs to bring hack
strength and health to her wasted frame ? We I
arc in that peculiar condition of affairs when j
only the greatest minds can command obedi
ence and respect, and who among our legisla
tors will command that position ?
Wiiat will Congress do ? I have spoken
with many of the members, and I am con
vinced that they arc ns undecided in their own
minds as arc the people in wiiat they expect
of them. It will be impossible to classify the
members under the old designations—it will |
bo almost as difficult to make a new and arbi- j
trary classification. I never saw such a mill- j
fitude of public men who are what may be ’
called “ oil the fence.” Oil ono point they !
agree. The Union must bo saved, this wav I
must be waged for its salvation, and Congress 1
must strengthen the arm of the Executive in :
pushing it to a successful (close. It will be ,
in flic details, in the method of accomplishing j
these ends, Unit difficulties will arise. You j
may look for them in all quarters, and in all j
questions—on the financial arrangements; on ;
the management of the camjiaign in Missouri; i
on the rates of taxation • on the apportion- j
ment of troops among the States; on the in- i
tcrnational complications arising out of tiic j
arrest of Dr. Gwin at New Granada, and the j
rebel ambassadors on the Southern seas ; on j
the regulation of revenue duties; on the j
management of the blockade; and on every j
conceivable question relating to tlie move- I
ments and control of the army. There will I
be a host of claim-hunters—men who have j
suffered by the march of the army over tlieir I
property; men who have lost by tbc blockade, i
or the enforcement of the non-intercourse i
laws men whose ships have been taken by j
Southern pirates, and people who have been j
banished from tlie South, and plundered of ;
their possessions. Amn,>s things, Con-, j
gress will be called upon to debate the necos- '
Sity Of a general confiscation act. The wisdom i
of such a measure is conceded with justice— j
its propriety will be the only question at issue. ;
I am inclined to think that such a bill will be !
passed, and that tlioso who have endeavored j
to overthrow the Government will lose its pro- i
teetion and support.
I have said it was impossible to classify the
present members; but, while there is apparent
unanimity, I must say that I look for open ,
and angry' divisions in sentiment. In the first ,
place, there will be advocates of peace, be- !
queathed to us by the old Breckinridge orga- ;
nization, who will be more anxious to conspire ,
and plot and overthrow than they were at the :
last session. You may look for any number :
of statesmanlike resolutions looking to the ]
humiliation of the North, and the eventual
recognition of tho Southern Confederacy. I j
have no doubt Mr. Vallandigham has a budget ;
in his portfolio; that Mr. Cox has a speech I
ready in their support, and that Mr. Wood, of
New York, Mr. Ancona, Mr. Johnson, and i
Mr. Cooper, of y'our own State, will he ready
to vote for them. Mr. May remains in Fort
Warren, and Mr. Burnett is with the Southern
Conlederacy, and from these inflictions the
House will he spared. In tho Senate, the
elegant and accomplished traitor, John C.
Breckinridge, will no longer declaim his trea
son in sentences of silvery defiance. I liavo
not heard of Mr. Rowell, but if lie is not
against us in the field he will he against us on
the floor. Mr. Bayard, of Delaware, Mr.
Bright, of Indiana, and tlie Senators from
Missouri, will be as troublesome at this session
ns they were at the last. John J. Crittenden
will, I have no doubt, resume the seat in
wldcli he so long and so honorably represented
Kentucky. Mr. Guthrie is mentioned as his
colleague in the event of Mr. Powell’s seces
sion, and Rcvcrdy Johnson may be a Senator
from Maryland. The place of the lamented
Baker will be occupied by "a Mr. Stark, who
has been appointed by the Governor of Ore
gon, and who, I am told, is a member of tlie
old Breckinridge organization, and openly in
favor of a humiliating peace. My information
conies from good authority, but I sincerely
trust that I am doing Mr. Stark injustice, and
that the country will he spared the mortifica
tion and tlie shame of seeing the seat where
Baker so lately immortalized himself by his
patriotic eloquence occupied by an enemy of
the Republic.
I do not know what will be done in refer
ence to tho perplexing question of slavery. I
regret to say it, but my impression is that j
this question will bo an early source of trouble.
While the extreme Southern men will be will- j
ing to force an issue upon the Administration
on the question of peace and recognition, I
am afraid that those who are radical on this
issue may be tempted to force another issue
upon the Administration on the question of
emancipation. That this is the temper of
many of them it would be vain to deny. My
hope is, however, that these gentlemen, elo
quent, experienced, and talented, as most of
them are, aiul Clinging to their opinions witli a
conscientious tenacity, will see the true duty
which their patriotism teaches; that they will
allow the question of slavery to follow the
fortunes of the war, and they will net attempt
to sacrifice the loyalty of the North, and, per
haps, the very safety of the Union, to what I
believe to be a mistaken idea of our rulers’
duty, for, lot me say it, that the truest friend
of freedom is he who refrains from agitation.
Of course, much depends upon the tone of
the President’s message, and the recommen
dations Of his Cabinet Ministers. The mes
sage of the Executive, I think, will be remark
able for its candor and its conservatism, and
it is said by those who possess the confidence
of Mr. Lincoln, to be a document of great
power. The splendid intellect of Mr. Secre
tary Chase will be abundantly shown by his
financial policy; Secretary Cameron’s state
ment of tho condition of the army will ho
looked for with interest, and his report will
show, I am sure, that he has proved himself
to be an able minister of a responsible depart
ment. Secretary Wolios will have a glowing
story from liis gifted pon, of the achieve
ments of our navy; and the clear mind of the
sagacious Secretary of State will point the way
to an honorable solution of the diplomatic
questions now threatening to embarrass us.
The troubles among the Indian tribes, and the
advancement in agriculture and science, give
Secretary Smith a great opportunity, and his
report will show how well he has improved it.
Washington, November 28, 18G1
Tlie post office department—one of tlie most
ilelicnte and difficult under tlie Government—
is ably controlled by Montgomery Blair, and
Congress will be called upon to endorse many
of Ids excellent reforms and necessary changes.
11l the meantime, tlie army is quiet. Goni
hahints are resting upon tlieir swords. Tlie
cold months are coming upon us, and the days
are dark and dreary. Look out for a busy
winter. The capital was never more lively.
Its business is overwhelming, and the season
upon ns will be a season of strifes and
changes, and grave events. It will be a sea
son of history. Occasional.
LATEST NEWS
BY TELEGRAPH.
FROM WASHINGTON,
“Special Despatches to The I’ress.”
Washington. November 28, 1861
The Reconnoissance to Dranesville.
Surgeon Alexanokk, of tho First Pennsylvania
Rcservo Cavalry, who was wounded at Dranesville
yesterday morning, is now considered out ot
danger.
Joseph Hougjilino, who was also wounded, died
last night.
Thomas Coleman, a rebel guerilla, died last
night, from injuries received during tho same
skirmish, lie was a brother of Charles Cole
man, and tho proprietor of tho hotel at Dranes
villc, who boosted of having exhibited the head of
a Federal soldier in front of that establishment.
Apportion of tho twelve prisoners brought to
Washington were prominent civilians, who wore
found with arms in their bands.
From the Lower Potomac.
Captain Kiehl, commanding the steamer Rein
deer, went down the Potomac, yesterday, to Budd’g
Ferry, and returned to-day. Ho reports every thing
quiet in that vicinity. 110 brought up one contra
band.
A Uniform System of Passes.
An order was issued to-day by Gen. Pouter, the
provost murshal of Washington, endorsed by Gen.
McClellan, empowering Oapt. It. M. Evans to
investigate the subjeot of passes, doubtless with a
view of establishing a moro uniform system, which
will afford better security to tho public sorvice.
Thanksgiving Day in the Camps.
Thanksgiving was generally observed to-day in
the camps, the soldiers being amply provided with
the means for that purpose.
Tbc Transportation of Military Supplies.
Tie report of Major Belger, quartermaster at
Baltimore, la satisfactory to the IVar Department,
shoving that he has despatched the forage of two
hundred and three vessels, by railroad, to Wash
ington within the last thirty days, being an average
of 2,000 tons per day, besides a large amount of
stores to the Subsistence Department. Much va
luable assistance has been rendered by Mr. McFar
i.am to Major Belger.
Another Reconnoissance to Vienna.
Two rcconnoissanecs were made to-day from Gen
erals Porter’s and Smith’s divisions, in tho neigh
borhood of Vienna. They saw what was supposed
to be a regiment of rebel cavalry at a distance.
Washington News and Gossip.
This being Thanksgiving Day, the stores are
closed, the churches are filled, and the streets pre
sent a holiday appearance. The saloons and bar
rooms are well patronized. The streets are filled
with all sorts of rumors. Among them, one tlint
our advanced guard has taken up the line of march
towards Fairfax and Centreville; another, that the
rebels vho reside in Alexandria fired the town in
various places this morning, and many others of
bn eqtlllly absurd character.
The First Pennsylvania Cavalry sent in thirteen
prisoners this morning. They wore captured in
the vicinity of Dranesville. They aro a desperate
set of characters.
It is stated that some of the beef contractors, a
few days before the cattle are weighed, feed them
with as much hay as thoy can possibly eat—thoy
next furnish thorn with as much salt as they will
eat, and then give them as much water 63 they can
possibly dunk. Cuttle “ fattened” in this way
will weigh nearly two hundred pounds more than
they otherwise would.
The officers of Col. Birne v’s Twenty-third Penn
sylvania Regiment intend to hnvo a grand “ re
union'’ to-norrow night at the house of Mr. Queen,
on the Bl&dcnsburg road, near the encampment.
Several ladies from Philadelphia arc expected to
bo present. The services of tho regimental band
w‘ll bo brought into requisition for the occasion.
Gen. Basks hud uu interviow with Assistant Se
cretary of War Scott this morning.
jfho new Fire Department, which will be or
flfjmized shortly .after the meeting of Congress, will
consist of one steam fire engine from Philadelphia
aj-d ene from New York. It L ILo ■’-r a—
oi.i.uct lo have the firemen of both cities repre
sented.
There is much complaint in some of the Pennsyl
vania regiments in regard to the colonels demand
ing onq-half of the profits si the sutlors. This
matter is not confined to the Pennsylvania regi
ments alone. The poor volunteers are the suf
ferers.
In the reconnoissance which was made by the
First Pennsylrania Cavalry on Dranesville, Major
Owen Jones, it the head of a squad, surrounded
the house of Dr Dav, a notorious Secessionist.
The rebel doctor was taken out of his bed. He
protested agafast tho proceeding, said that he was
a loyal man, ind too sick to be removed, iff WAS
brought awaywith the other prisoners. Wo lost
but one man,a private in Company D.
The rebels had seven killed outright. One of
them, who fas wounded, was brought into our
camp. He lad received two balls in the head and
two in the lody. He died this morning. Among
the prisoneß who were captured was a man by the
name of E/rlky, an aid-de-camp to Gen. Bonham,
formerly alnember of Congress from South Caro,
lina, and alieutenant belonging to one of the South
Carolina ligiments. Colonel Bavard, who com
manded th< reconnoissance in person, had two balls
put througl his vlvthes, but was not injured.
Three rgiments of New York volunteers passed
over tlie Lng Bridge this afternoon.
Several nenibera of Congress arrived here to
day. :
The citi has been unusually quiet to-day, But
few straggng soldiers have been seen in the streets.
FROM MISSOURI.
psition of the ReheJ Forces.
RollaMo., November 27. —Scouts arrived this
morning, hinging definite and reliable reports of
the moveients of the enemy in the southwestern
portion 0 the State. They were in the camp of
tho rebelat Sarcoxie, on Thursday last.
Genera McCulloch understands the retrograde
movemenof our army to be an attempt to get in
his rear, is scouts having reported to him that our
whole fece was crossing tlie White rjyer, Mc-
Culloch ien marched to Springfield, where he is
now enenped with a force of 4,000 men.
Goner; Rains, who had command at Sarcoxie
with 7,0) men, left that place on Friday last, and
has joint McCulloch by this time.
Generi Price waß at Painville, McDonald county,
with thealance of the rebel army. He also took
up his arch on Friday, and is advancing north
ward tobin McCulloch and Rains.
Pricejm his march, delated the country, and
destloyl everything, in order to prevent our
troops fjm getting in his rear.
Thorare no large bodies of rebels between this
point ai Springfield.
xherj are over a thousand refugee families now
hero, any of them being in a destitute condition,
with a jiful prospect for the winter, and more are
constazy arriving.
Till! ieasles are raging in the different camps
here toj great extant.
j From Boston.
MOHE jOLITICAL PRISONERS RELEASED THE
STOreIHP RELEASE AT HOLMES’ HOLE—LETTER
t'HOjPOL LEE—THE BEDELS ANXIOUS TO EX*
CHA]E PRISONERS.
Bostf, Nov. 28.—R. A. Carter, a member of
the lsj Maryland Legislature, was released from
Fort Tjrren to-day.
Thebllowing political prisoners from Kentucky
were tb released: J. W. Koberts, Joseph X. Mc-
Feat, j. E. Grubbs, Stephen Wooldridge, J. W.
Giiffiifiouis Holsclaw, Frank Crane, H. Thurber,
J. Baj and A. McDowell.
Xhatoreship Eiliase U reported at IfoUuuS 1
Hole itli six prisoners aboard, destined for Fort
Warn
ColjLee, of the Massachusetts Xwentieth Rogi
mentfritos from Richmond, in a letter dated the
13th it., that, as one of the officers drawn by lot
to offi tho course of our Government towards the
rebeldrates, he is the inmate of a cell in the jail
at Riinond, as also are other officers. His health
is gd, and he gives the same account of Major
Reva and Captains Bowman and Rockwood, who
are efined with him.
Colee adds that he is permitted to say, on
goedebel authority, that the rebels are not only
willii but anxious, to effect an exchange of pri
s*n e/
/he Western Virginia Convention.
ItIEET.iKo, Nov. 28. —The fuil organisation of
je jVestern Virginia Convention was perfected to
ayf The work of forming a State Constitution
is been assigned' to nine committees. There is
) dvieinn of sentiment on tho nan State question.
T e business will be despatched as fast as possi*
a, and an application mode to Congress early in
,e essiou for admittance into the Union.
! Tie general outside opinion is that a gradual
mafeipation clause will be adopted in the Con-
Litition.
1 No News from the South.
I ki/rlHons, Nov. 28. —The bid Point boat has
tied, but brings no nows from Fort Pickens or
Jr'Royal.
FROM OUR SOUTH CAROLINA FORCES.
THE THANSPORT ILLINOIS AT NEW YORK.
The Stars and Stripes floating
on Georgian Soil.
TYBEE ISLAND OCCUPIED BY OUB TBOOPS,
BEAUFORT STILL UNOCCUPIED.
Nkw Youk, Nor. 28.—Tho steamer Illinois,
from Port Royal on Mondny afternoon, the 25th
inst., arrived at this port to-day, bringing a mail,
and seventy-four passengers.
Among the passengers are Captain Vtil'd, of the
sloop-of-war Da!r t who brings fourteen prisoners
captured in tho schooners Sperm and Mabel.
Edward Cuthbert, a planter, who was taken
prisoner on Ladies’ Island, nenr Beaufort, was
landed at Port Lafayette by the Illinois before
coming up.
Tho United States steamer Flag arrived at Port
Royal on tho 24th, and reported that Tybeo Island,
after being slightly shelled by tho United States
gunboats Pocahontas, Seneca, Augusta, and the
Flag, to which attack there was no response, was
taken possession of by the hoisting of tho American
flag by a forco of marines, who wore sont on shore
and found the rebel works evacuated.
Tybeo Island is at tho mouth of the ■Savauu.'lh
river.
Contrabands continued to arrive at Port Royal in
large numbers.
Gen. Sherman has built cntronchments across the
whole islnnd.
Sore-throat diseases prevailed among our troops.
Largo quantities of cotton, uninjured, were still
found in the storehouses and barns.
Another expedition, consisting of two brigades,
under Gen. Vielle, was to sail soon from Port Royal
for seme point on the Southern coast.
Tho steamers Empire City, Cakawba, Marion,
McClellan, Matanzas, Oriental, and all tbo light
gunboats were to bo employed on the new expedi
tion.
Beaufort was still unoccupied by our troops, but
two gunboats were anchored off the town.
Privates V. 11. llubbard and Inflan, of the
Eighth, and Private Nash, of the Ninth Maine Re
giments, had died.
Tho steamer Ericsson has also arrived at this
port (New York), bringing one prisoner and forty
three laborers from Port Royal.
Tho schooner Essex had arrived at Hilton Head,
reporting that sho had been chased and fired at by
a pirate several times between St. Helena Sound
and Hilton Head.
SOUTHERN NEWS, VIA LOUISVILLE.
THE REBEL KENTUCKY CONVENTION.
REPORTED CAPTURE OF THE PIRATE SUMPTER.
Louisville, Nov. 28.—The Bowling Green
Courier of the 21st inst. says that the rebel Briga
dier General George IS. Crittenden, brother of
Thomas T. Crittenden, tho Federal general, has
been promoted to a major generalship, and assigned
to the department of Cumberland Gap.
David L. Patterson, son-in-law of Andrew John
son, of Tennessee, was arrested on the 19th ult.,
and sent to Knoxville for trial.
The Rebel Convention at Russellville, Kentucky,
has made a declaration of independence, passed an
ordinance of secession, and adopted the laws and
Constitution of Kentucky, where not inconsistent
with the aets of the rebel Government.
Richmond advices say that the British steam
sloop Facer was expected soon.
It is reported that the pirate Sumpter has been
captured on the coast of Texas, by the United
States frigate Magard.
The First Thanksgiving in Virginia.
Wheeling, Va., November 28.—For the first
time in tho history of this Commonwealth, to-day
was observed as Thanksgiving, Governor Pierpont
being the first Governor who ever proclaimed one.
Business in this city was entirely suspended, and
the churches were well attended.
The Federal Fortifications on Ship
island.
New Youk, Nov. 28. —The schooner J. N. Gun
nis, which arrived at this port to-day from Ship
Island, near Ncw-Orleans, reports that the fortifica
tions there have been finished, the guns mounted,
and 150 men detailed from the blockading fleet to
work them.
Convicted of Manslaughter.
Halifax, November 28. —Captain Lane and
Burdell have been convicted in
the case of killing a police officer on the ship Shout
ing Star.
Gen. Jim Lane at Boston,
Boston, Nov. 28.—Gen. Jim Lane and staff ar
rived here to-day, and are wuaxtered at the Re
vere House. _
Gen. Fremont at Albany.
New' York, Nov. 28.—Gen. Fremont and bis
family passed through this city this afternoon.
Company O, Twenty-third Regiment F. V.
[Correspondence of The Press.]
Ca.mi* Graham, near YVashinoton, D. C., )
November 25,1501. J
That Philadelphia must feel a particular interest
in this regiment will appear evident when I state
that our colonel, since the last pay day, has issued
drafts to his men, amounting in the aggregate to
upwards of $6,000 —this being for tho laudable
purpose of sending home to their families such
amounts as they oouli possibly sp&ft, many of
them, to my knowledge, sending home every cent
they received from the paymaster, and this in ad
dition to large amounts sent home by other chan
nels—by Aams Express, private letters, and by the
hands of individuals. Of the latter mode, one
person—tho father of one of the men of tho com
pany to which your correspondent is attached—
carried home nearly four hundred dollars. Will
not the above figures show where the local sympa
thies of the Twenty-third Regiment P. V. lie?
Our camp has been so often described in the
papers of Philadelphia that a description of it here
WORld be superfluous. Suffice it to say, that it lay!
in an apple orchard on the farm of a Mr. Queen,
on the Bladensburg road, about three miles to
the northward and eastward of the Capitol,
with a camp on each side of us—the Thirty
first Pennsylvania and the Long Island First.
IV e are right in the centre of the immonse
chain of fortifications, which the Government has
recently constructed, for the present and future
protection of Washington. These works are im
mense, and extend through the whole length of
high land running southeast and northwest of the
capital, and which nature seems to have intended
for the very purpose to which it is now being con
verted. On every peak of this elevation, an earth
fort b&S been constructed hastily, but with care,
and the woods between them cut’ down, so (hat no
enemy can lurk between them, or pass, without re
ceiving notice to leave, by hundreds of guns of
heavy calibre, which would be brought to bear on
him from every point; for not only are the more
prominent , hills now surmounted with these formi
dable batteries, but the smaller ones, on their flanks,
have also earthwork batteries to support them.
There are not less than seven of these forts within
Sight of our camp, the guns from which could
be brought to bear on an area of country
of at least sixteen miles. The largest are
Forts Lincoln and Bunker Hill, about a mile from
US, northeast, and Port Totten, a quarter of a mile
northwest of us. The two latter will mount from
fifteen to twenty guns each, being 32 and 61-pound
pivot, and traversing so as to point in any direction
the danger may come from. Between tho two lat
ter, about 100 yards in the rear of us, is a small bat
tery, consisting of three guns, 32 pounders, which will
completely seal this valley to any enemy who may
dare attempt the capital on this side. Our regiment,
with the rest, composing this division, have been as
busy as beavers cutting down the forests, burn
ing the brushwood, and clearing awny the land
around here generally, so as to leave an unob
structed view between the different forts thrown up,
two companies from each regiment being de
tailed daily. The leaders of this unholy rebellion
against our Government, who havo boen wont to
ride about and rusticate in the country about here
in years gone by, when they were respected and
were looked to by an admirjog and indulgent peo*
pie, should they over return, will look with amaze
ment at the stupendous works which have been
constructed by the patriotic and energetic deter
mination to keep sacred and preserve from traitor
arms that few miles of territory set apart by the
recommendation of the Father of his Country as
the sanctuary of republican liberty.
I have been to almost all parts of the civilized
world, but have never yet seen a traot of territory
so completely defended as is the portion of the old
District of Columbia which lies on the Maryland
side.
Our camp is in a most miserable locality for
health, being low, and consequently very damp.
Long before sunset the deep foggy malaria can bo
seen rising from the damp earth, enveloping our
camp as in a huge cloud. It is not astonishing,
then, that the health of our man has begun to be
sensibly affected by it. Chills and fevers aro very
prevalent, whilst that relentless and deadly foo to
the soldier, the diarrhoea, is doing its work, as is
also the typhoid fever. Ourjflag is now at half
mast. denoting the death of oao of our number,
who died last night in great agony, of the last
named disease. This is the fifth man who has diod
of this eomplaint within the last three or fouc
weeks. Many others ar? now in tho hospital, Suf
fering from it. Oapt. Orr, of our company, went
home on furlough, to recruit from tho effeota of tho
fever. He was so low at the time that an ambu
lance had to he provided. We have had the satis
faction to learn that, under the care of his friends,
he has so far recovered as to promise to return in a
few days. Our second lieutenant is now so fat gone
with it ns to render it necessary to follow the cap
tain—we all hope with like results, as they both
possess, in a pre-eminent degree, the confidence
and oSection of their men. Rank and File.
From Fortress Monroe.
[CorreaptfEdence of The I*r,**•**,)
Fortress Monhoh. Nov. 28>, IB6>l
It might Interest many of your readers to 1 know
that five regiments of Pennsylvania volunteers are
now encamped on the main land between the fbT
trtsa and the village of Hnmpton, to wit: Colonel
Welsh’s Forty-fifth, Colonel White’s Fifty-fifth,
Colonel Powers’ Seventy-sixth, Colonel Guss’
Ninety-seventh, and the Cavalry Regimont of
Colonel Harlan,
Tho Forty-fifth, under Colonel Welsh, arrived
here from Washington on the 21st, and will pro
ceed to Port Royal, Sonth Carolina, as soon as
transportation can ho procured. The troops at thia
place are gonorally enjoying good health. Our
Pennsylvania boys are delighted at the prospect of
passing the winter in the South, striking terrible
blows at the monster rebellion in Us birthplace.
We are daily receiving letters and papers (princi
pally from Philadelphia) addressed to officers and
men of Colonel Koltes’ Forty-fifth Regiment, and
Colonel Gosline’s Forty-fifth Rogianent; and as
there seems to be an error in regard to the number
•f said regiments, it would be well to have it cor
rected. Colonel WfrHh’s regiment was organised
at Camp Curtin, (Harrisburg,) under authority of
tho State Government, and by the same authority
was duly numbered 45—and is so recorded at
General McClollan’s headquarters; consequently
Colonel Ivoltes’ and Colonel Gosline’s regiments
are not entitled to that number; and aa all letters
addressed to tho Forty-fifth Rogiment Pennsylvania
Volunteers find their way to our rogiment, (putting
our officers to considerable trouble in ro-dir6CLiflg
and forwarding them,) it would be well for your
readers to be more careful in the backing of their
letters to their friends in the two regiments al
luded to. Monroe.
George YV. Cnrtis Lectures m Pluladcl
phia.
Our renders will remember that, in deference to
expressed public sentiment, Mr. George William
Curtis 1 engagement to lecture in Philadelphia a
year ago was not fulfilled. The alleged reason for
this was the lecturer's radical views on tho subject
of human slavery. A great change seems to have
taken place. as, instead of the doors being closed
against Mr. Curtis now, he was greeted by one of
the largest audiences ever assembled in thia city,
and listened to, not only with patience, but enthu
siasm, notwithstanding his lecture was more than
usually impregnated with the onca contraband ele
ment of Abolitionism.
Before commencing the lecture, Mr. J. \V.
White, secretary of tho Institute, made a brief
address, substantially as follows:
rk.harks or arn. white,
It surely cannot be inappropriate on this day, set
aport by the Chief Executive of the Commonwealth
as a day of public thanksgiving, to cherish a spirit
of thankfulness for blessings not enumerated in his
proclamation, and. therefore, without any doubts of
its propriety, I beg leave to include in the list tho
healthful change in public sentiment here and else
where.
The mortification and bitter 'Shame which we all
felt when freedom of speech was denied in Phila
delphia has given place to gratitude, unfeigned, for
the triumph of liberty and layp, for tho tri?
umph of the true American idea of liberty
through law, and law for the sake of liberty.
Instead of the anarchy which it was predicted
would follow the attempt to compel obedience to
law, it is one of the most cheering evidences of the
spirit of society that every symptom of disorder
would be now more strongly resisted than ever;
for now. more than ever, since it has cost so much
treasure of life and money to maintain it, do we
realize the blessings of orderly government and
the rights which it guaranties. And the most
sacrod of these rights is fired Speech upon CYery
question of public interest, for no regenerating pro
cess in society can be carried on without it.
Therefore it is with no ordinary gratification that
I present the orator of the ovening, because in him
freedom of speech was once assailed, and in him
freedom of speech is to be vindicated in the city
which threatened him, and in the hall which was
closed against him.
I have now the honor and the pleasure to intro
duce George William Curtis, of New York.
Mr. Curtis commenced by saying that texts* at
this time were as rich and ripe as fruit on the
autumn trees. lle~did not’choose his subject; it
was given to him by surrounding circumstances.
The country to-day was a vast camp, the nation a
great army; tho time was one of way —war that
there might be honorable peace. Peace was health
and strength, and manliness, and justice. National
peace purchased at the price of national honor
would be planted in shame, and could only portend
national decay. At Bunker Hill all had been lost
hut honor ; had that been sacrificed the footsteps of
our fathers then would not now be sounding through
history the glory of the American name. Our honor
was our manhood. In all groups of States, how
ever bound together, the central idea was always
nationality. This was amply and learnedly illus
trated by reference to existing geographic and his
toric facts.
In thia country we had not only the conditions
and necessities of nationality, but we bad that poli
tical union which, ufter all, was the secret of true
patriotism. We, as Americans, instinctively re
pudiated the narao lt Confederacy,’ 7 or league, as
false and unreal. Our idea was union. Union
WA6 the body of which tho nation is tho soul. Gen.
Scott, on leaving New York, a few days ago, had
said truly, Ck My country is the Union. 1 ' And yet
this idea had come upon us somewhat suddenly.
No longer ago than two years, when he had last
spoken in Philadelphia, some very eminent men
had, he said, cherished a secret doubt whether we
really were a nation, or whether we were anything
more than a great commercial company. [Laugh
ter] All through last winter he had looked on
SIWBWi as Step by step* our na*ion, under the
lead of traitors, went down deeper anil deeper into
the Talley of humiliation. Since then, however,
there had been a glorious change; the nation was
aroused, and traitors were being estimated at their
true standard.
The lecturer’s allusion in this connection to the
capture and imprisonment of the rebels, Mason
and Slidell, was received with applause, deafening,
uproarious, and prolonged. .The ladies waved their
handkerchiefs, and. laughed for very joy, and the
men stamped, clapped their hands, swung their
hats, and shouted.
Mr. Curtis’ apostrophe to tho flag of the Union
was a thrilling burst of eloquencCj 03 gracefully
and musically spoken as it was noble and patriotic
in sentiment.
Speaking of the object of the war, he said we
had taken up arms for the Government, in order to
save tbs honor of the nation. He did not say that
governments might not be perverted, or that injus
tice could not be done under form of law, but it
should not be forgotten that this Government was.
made peculiarly format,, and that the cause of the
U nited States was the cause of human nature.
National honor, then, demanded of every national
man his hearty support of the Government. The
hour had arrived now for men to speak their deep
est thoughts, and act their noblest deeds, fie would
that a million patriots, like a cloud, might rise fram
the earth, and sweep the rebellion into the Gulf.
But this armed cloud could not como until we all
felt as deeply interested in the welfare of our coun
try as the rebels feel in the welfare of their Stclion .
This was a time for sacrifice. If, in this conflagration,
it should become necessary to bum his house, he
Eaid let it go. One of the bank presidents in Bos
ton, on a recent occasion in council, bad remarked,
*• Why do we hesitate about taking ibis loan? If
this Government goes down, down will go with it
every bank in tho country.” Speaking farther of
the sacrifices which ought to be.cheerfully made,
the lecturer said, if an honorable peace CpnlA Only
come by an emancipation of the slaves, Amen!
[Thunders of applause, a large portion of the au
dience rising to give vent to their enthusiasm.] We
might, he said, see our duty respecting this matter
u through a glass darkly ” now, but soon fuoe to face.
Ho maintained that the debate on this question
was closed—that it was the settled will of the peo
ple of this country that the slaves of rebels should
be set free, and when this was done we should see
that the key-note of our present struggle was
struck by tho proclamation of General Sherman,
and in the proclamation of General Fremont, of
whom the lecturer said, the cloud which now ob
scured him was destined soon to blow away. We
were now learning many a lesson f in fact, we had
been educated more sinoo last April than before that
in all .our lives. One of the most important les
sons had been learned at Fortress Monroe, from the
New England pedagogue, General Butler, who had
taught us first to call slaves contrabands, SifiOfl
which General Wool had taught us to call them
men and women. With respect to the cause of the
rebellion, he could not endorse the sentiment that
it was merely the doings of a disappointed party.
There hnd been a deep-seated, settled purpose to
destroy this Union, long-cherished by the men now
in arms against us. The tap-root of this rebellion
was slavery, a thing utterly antagonistic to the true
American idea, which was liberty—liberty under
law; and, truo to our Anglo-Saxon traditions, he
hoped that emancipation would soon be accom
plished — mider tho operation of law, however, not
by its overthrow.
The Concert of tue Season, To-sioht.—Tho
concert which will bo given at the Musical Fund
Hall this evening is undoubtedly, par excellence, the
concert of the season, apart from its intrinsic musical
merits, which should be all-sufficient to crowd the
hall to its utmost capacity, an entirely new prima
donna, Mdme. Vallery Gomez, appears on this oc
casion for tho first time in Philadelphia; her Euro
pean reputation should be a sufficient voucher for
her success, but haring heard her sing in Paris, wo
can confidently foreshadow for her tho most bril
liant success. Ridolfi, the baritone, and Garibaldi,
the bneso, are entirely new to us. Wolowski, the.
piAfiiet, has been so highly commended as a pro
fessor of that instrument, that his debut as a concert
performer is anxiously awaited. Mr. Frazer, tho
esteemed English tenor, is too well known to
need eulogy. There is still one lady who merits
special mention in this great cause, and that is,
Miss Annie Lonsdale Do our readers remember
that she was the first lady in Philadelphia who
inaugurated the admirable fund for the lone mo
thers and widows ? Do they remember that sho
shed the rays of her genial talent and artistio grace
over the whole affair, and brought it to a success
ful Quimination? She appears again this evening,
and reoites the beautiful poem of “ Tlfo Volun
teer's Wife.’* Thegentle Annio Lonsdale, all
all heart, alone, should draw a crowded house-
THE CITY.
AMUSEMENTS THIS EVENING
Walnvt-Stuxkt Thnatn*—Ninth ana Walnut «t«.—*
“ 0ct.i0',.,; Or, Lift* in Louisiana”— “Tocdles”— 1 * Hi
chard 111/’
Aa9n-STRfIi,T Tiujthk—ares street, above Blxth.—
” Pauline ” —:!.,*■, j :i In'jL't. *'
Whkatlkv’s OOHTniKNTAL TnMTJtK—Walnut street,
aboie Eiclitli.—“The Cataract of 83» Ganges.”
Musical Fund iitt.i,, Locust Hirwt, above Eighth.—
Kranil Vocal nnii ImOrwrncntal Concrtt, for tho Bonrtit
of the Volunteer KefrsHtwnent SaiooiiH.
Txmple of Wondeks— n. E. corner Tenth aui Olios:-
nirt streets.—Signor Bl'itSs BntertniumcEe.
AsexMBLT Buildings— Corner of Tenth and Chestnut
Street*.—Waugh’a Italia «atl Stereoscopic* Views of the
War.
Celebration of Ttarnksgiving Day.
One ef the most beautiful days of the year wa3
that of Pennsylvania’s War and in
no part of the Commonwealth' it so generally
enjoyed as in Philadelphia, th'v metropolis of the
State. In the morning there wwe clouds, indica
tive of a stormy and unhappy day, but toward noon
the sky brightened up, and the church-bells rang
merrily, calling out the godly citizens tp their Seve
ral churches, where recitals of blessings innumera
ble were to be made, by pastors of a hundred per
suasions, all of whom wero held in great repute by
their followers.
YVe have on recent occasions bestowed so much
attention to pastors and churches, that to-day wo
make some chronicle of less religious but more
popular amusements. In tho first place, the public
schools wero closed, and few children there wero
that made tho ehureh rewdesyowj J their hearts
were upon more sinful and more sensual amuse
ments —the military,, the theatre, the magician, the
concert.
Most of tho pastors of tho several churches
preached excellent sermons, carefully prepared,
and a large portion referred to the war, predicting
the cnrly triumph of the Union army. There wore
innumerable Thanksgiving dinners in staid private
homes, and at more than one public institutiou tbein
mates were treated to an old-time collation. At tho
Church Of the Epiphany services were held in tho
morning, and the subject of discourse was “God’s
Battle,” wherein the war and its*intrinsic morality
was discussed at groat length. In the evening
Bishop Potter, Drs. Howe, Watson, and Brooks,
made addresses, and the occasion passed of very
pleasantly. At the Green-street fit. E. Church tho
choir —one of the best in tbe country—gave a vocal
and instrumental concert, tba-t attracted a large
congregation, and netted a considerable sum to tha
church.
Dr. nenry YVadswortb, in tha Aich-strect Pres
byterian Church, delivered one of his*characteristic
sermons, fulijof self* evident thoughts, poetically ex
pressed, and fully worthy of his high, reputation.
The reverend gentleman’s text was* taken from 1
Thess. 5-18: “ Brethren, in all givo thanks.” Mr.
Wadsworth adverted, under this head, to the suc
cesses of the campaign, and the general blessings of
the year, In his remarks upon the war, Mr. Wads
worth stated, at length, that battles were not al
ways misfortunes, and that most nations*were more
uLhoppy in a time of peace than we in a. period* of
intestine struggle. He was assisted, before and
after the services, by a splendid choir, prominent in
which was Miss Shaw, the celebrated vocalist, who
rendered the poem of “ America” with thrilling
effect, being joined in the chorus by the entire con
gregation.
A prayer meeting was hold in the afternoon at
the Union M. E. Church, in Fourth street, below
Arch. The Hev. Mr. Matthews, late a missionary
in Africa, recounted some of his experience in that
country. The meeting was further addressed by
the ltcv. Mr. Gilbert and Rev. John Chambers.
At the North Broad-street Church, Rev. E. E.
Adams pastor, a collection was taken up for tho
soldiers, and an eloquent sermon delivered by the
pastor, At the Rev. Dr. Boariman’s Church,
Twelfth and YVnluut streets, a popular sermon was
delivered, wherein the attitude of England towards
this country was extensively dweit u-pon. The
Rev. Dr. Stevens discoursed intelligently and for
cibly upon the crisis and the times* in his church,
and was heard by a full and attentive audience.
At the YVestern M. E. Church, a most interesting
discourse was delivered, and likewise by the Rev.
E. YV. Uutter in St. Matthew's Lutheran Churoh.
At the Moravian Church, in Franklin street, abovo
Y'inc, a flue address was delivered before a crowded
house. At most of the other churches the dis
courses were carefully prepared and attentively
heard.
The military preparations for the day were made
on an extensive scale ; but there was a great want
of regularity in the arrangements. Had all the
military organizations made a simultaneous and
connected display, the occasion would have been
one long remembered in the history of the city ,* os
it was, the parade of the Reserve Brigade was the
most creditable proceeding of the time.
I'ARAIIE AND DRILL BP THE RESERVE BRIGADE,
The Reservo Brigade, under the command of
Brigadier General Frank E. Patterson, proceeded
to Camden for field exercise and practice. The
grounds selected were those at Diamond Cottage,
which arc very level and sufficiently large for this
purpose. Tho ground, yesterday, was not in as
fine condition as could be desired, being s&thbr
damp and eoft.- Long before tho brigade arrived
the neighborhood was thronged with several thou
sand people, who enme over from the city at an
early hour. The boats at Market-street ferry,
running to ond from Camden, did a thriving busu
ness during the day.
The brigade arrived on the ground shortly before
11 o’clock. They numbered near two thousand
men, and presented a very fine appearance. The
First Reserve Regiment was commanded by Colonel.
Peter C. Ellmaker and Lieutenant Colonel M. B.
Kneass, and the Second Regiment by Colonel Alfred
Day and Lieutenant Colonel Taylor.
The staff officers of the Fourth Regiment are
Colonel Yeaton, Lieutenant Colonel J. C. Vandyke,
Major E. D. Vanhorn, and Adjutant G. Clark.
The following is a full list of the officers of the
Third Regiment as they appeared on the field yes
terday : Colonel E. M. Eaken, Lieutenant Colonel
J. C, Fainter, Major T. G. Miller, Adjqtflßt B.
Andrews Knight. The companies were commanded
as follows: Company A, John A. Murphy; com
: pany B, rifle company, John B. Calohan; company
C, J. C. Sorver; company D, Charles Y r , Ifagner;
company E, John Harvey; company F, A. J. Baker ;
company G, J. YV. Marticn. The officer of the day
j?as Captain Smith.
As soon as the men arrived upon the ground,
guards Vthte thrown out to keep the crowd from
pushing in. The number of spectators by this time
was immense. The brigade was then drilled in
the various field movements. They went through
the firings and loadings with precision and quick
sees, and all their movements reflected credit upon
the officers in command. The drilling lasted for
over two hours, during which about twenty rounds
of cartridges were fired by each man. The move
ments included everything that must necessarily
take place on the field of battle, and were highly
satisfactory. After the field exercise was finished,
the brigade returned to the city and made a street
parade, when the following route was passed oror:
Down Front to Walnut, up Walnut to Sixth, down
Sixth to Fine, up Fine to Broad, up Broad to Chest
nut, and down Chestnut to the State House, where
they were dismissed. During tho passage of the
parade through the streets, certain localities were
almost impassable, owing to the dense crowd col
lected on the sidewalks.
Brigadier General Patterson was aided by Cap
tain Prevost, both of whom deserve praise for the
manner in which the parade and drill were con
ducted. During the whole affair no acoidents oc
curred, and everything passed off in the quietest
possible manner.
ARTILLERY DRILL.
Company B, of the First Regiment of Artillery,
Captain Hastings, had a battery drill 4fi the Ridge
avenue, shortly after noon. They met .at the ar
mory, at Broad and Race streets, and, after parading
over a designated route, reached the drill-ground,
where an immense number of people was assembled
to rooeivs them. A full b&tiery of cannon, consist
ing of six Parrott guns, belonging to the city, of su
perior workmanship and finish, accompanied the
organization; and, this being the second drill of tho
season, the firing was confined to blank cartridge.
The horses were unhitched, and removed to soma
distance from the guns. It was amusing to witness
their antics at the early and at subsequent firings.
They gradually became accustomed to the noise
and confusion, and, finely, WM6 Md almost to the
breech of the guns, where they remained listless
amid the concussion. The spectators experienced
a relief while witnessing the exhibition; for all felt
that, whatever might be the attitude of foreign
Pmrs with tho North, PbilffiJolphia, at least, waa
safe, while her citizen soldiery were practising with
the city's cannon.
The Gymnast Zouaves paraded in tho morning.
This fine body of men is a pleasant evidence ef tho
perfection to which our citizen soldiery have at
tained, and also an evidence of tho alacrity with
which they seize upon the light-infantry tactics.
During the morning several companies of Cadets,
their offioers mounted, and all the juveniles armed,
marched down Chestnut street, and attracted no
small share of attention.
Alderman Bottlers company of Home Guards
went to Bull * Head for target practice] andsev'eral
fcthfef C&mpMUM M' UMfte Guards made parades
daring the day.
anniversary oy the imuladelyma mule
The 23d fthinveraary of tho Philadelphia Brblo
Society was celebrated last evoning at the Trinity
M. E. church, Eighth street, above Raoe. The ex
ercises were opened with singing of tho hymn—
" Salvation! O the joyful sound!
Wbftt pleasure to our ears—
A Fov’roign balm for wwy wound*
A cordial for our Sears n
After which a portion of the Scriptures was
read by tho Kgvcfqiul J. IT- A. ll4&G>ergar.
After pruyer tho annual report was read by Tho
mas Mackellar, Corresponding Secrotary, from
whioh we glean tho following particulars: Tho
JOport 60mtki6fi66d by saying that the twenty-third
anniversary of the society comes in troublous times*
Steps hud been taken to give to each soldlor from
Philadelphia a Testament, of which more than
20X„dO had fciS6ttifclfed. Some wtre gtv&ft 44
soldiers before leaving the city, and others
i while at the seat of war. The agent among sea
men and emigrants is still successfully pursuing his