University of Virginia Library

CHAPTER XLIX.

July 20th.—The great battle which is to arrest rebellion,
or to make it a power in the land, is no longer distant or
doubtful. McDowell has completed his reconnoissance of the
country in front of the enemy, and General Scott anticipates
that he will be in possession of Manassas to-morrow night.
All the statements of officers concur in describing the Confederates
as strongly intrenched along the line of Bull Run
covering the railroad. The New York papers, indeed, audaciously
declare that the enemy have fallen back in disorder.
In the main thoroughfares of the city there is still a scattered
army of idle soldiers moving through the civil crowd, though
how they come here no one knows. The officers clustering
round the hotels, and running in and out of the bar-rooms
and eating-houses, are still more numerous. When I inquired
at the head-quarters who these were, the answer was
that the majority were skulkers, but that there was no power
at such a moment to send them back to their regiments or
punish them. In fact, deducting the reserves, the rear-guards,
and the scanty garrisons at the earth-works, McDowell will
not have 25,000 men to undertake his seven days' march
through a hostile country to the Confederate capital; and
yet, strange to say, in the pride and passion of the politicians,
no doubt is permitted to rise for a moment respecting his complete
success.

I was desirous of seeing what impression was produced
upon the Congress of the United States by the crisis which
was approaching, and drove down to the Senate at noon.
There was no appearance of popular enthusiasm, excitement,
or emotion among the people in the passages. They drank
their iced water, ate cakes or lozenges, chewed and chatted,
or dashed at their acquaintances amongst the members, as

though nothing more important than a railway bill or a postal
concession was being debated inside. I entered the Senate,
and found the House engaged in not listening to Mr. Latham,
the Senator for California, who was delivering an elaborate
lecture on the aspect of political affairs from a Republican
point of view. The senators were, as usual, engaged in
reading newspapers, writing letters, or in whispered conversation,
whilst the Senator received his applause from the people
in the galleries, who were scarcely restrained from stamping
their feet at the most highly-flown passages. Whilst I
was listening to what is by courtesy called the debate, a messenger
from Centreville, sent in a letter to me, stating that
General McDowell would advance early in the morning, and
expected to engage the enemy before noon. At the same
moment a Senator who had received a despatch left his seat
and read it to a brother legislator, and the news it contained
was speedily diffused from one seat to another, and groups
formed on the edge of the floor eagerly discussing the welcome
intelligence.

The President's hammer again and again called them to
order; and from out of this knot, Senator Sumner, his face
lighted with pleasure, came to tell me the good news. "McDowell
has carried Bull Run without firing a shot. Seven
regiments attacked it at the point of the bayonet, and the
enemy immediately fled. General Scott only gives McDowell
till mid-day to-morrow to be in possession of Manassas."
Soon afterwards, Mr. Hay, the President's Secretary, appeared
on the floor to communicate a message to the Senate. I asked
him if the news was true. "All I can tell you," said he, "is
that the President has heard nothing at all about it, and that
General Scott, from whom we have just received a communication,
is equally ignorant of the reported success."

Some senators and many congressmen have already gone
to join McDowell's army, or to follow in its wake, in the hope
of seeing the Lord deliver the Philistines into his hands. As
I was leaving the Chamber with Mr. Sumner, a dust-stained,
toil-worn man, caught the Senator by the arm, and said, "Senator;
I am one of your constituents. I come from—town,
in Massachusetts, and here are letters from people you know,
to certify who I am. My poor brother was killed yesterday,
and I want to go out and get his body to send back to the
old people; but they won't let me pass without an order."
And so Mr. Sumner wrote a note to General Scott, and another

to General Mansfield, recommending that poor Gordon
Frazer should be permitted to go through the Federal lines
on his labor of love; and the honest Scotchman seemed as
grateful as if he had already found his brother's body.

Every carriage, gig, wagon, and hack has been engaged by
people going out to see the fight. The price is enhanced by
mysterious communications respecting the horrible slaughter
in the skirmishes at Bull's Run. The French cooks and hotel-keepers,
by some occult process of reasoning, have arrived at
the conclusion that they must treble the prices of their wines
and of the hampers of provisions which the Washington people
are ordering to comfort themselves at their bloody Derby.
"There was not less than 18,000 men, sir, killed and destroyed.
I don't care what General Scott says to the contrary,
he was not there. I saw a reliable gentleman, ten minutes
ago, as cum straight from the place, and he swore there was
a string of wagons three miles long with the wounded.
While these Yankees lie so, I should not be surprised to hear
they said they did not lose 1000 men in that big fight the day
before yesterday."

When the newspapers came in from New York, I read
flaming accounts of the ill-conducted reconnoissance against
orders, which was terminated by a most dastardly and ignominious
retreat, "due," say the New York papers, "to the
inefficiency and cowardice of some of the officers." Far different
was the behavior of the modest chroniclers of these
scenes, who, as they tell us, "stood their ground as well as
any of them, in spite of the shot, shell, and rifle-balls that
whizzed past them for many hours." General Tyler alone,
perhaps, did more, for "he was exposed to the enemy's fire
for nearly four hours;" and when we consider that this fire
came from masked batteries, and that the wind of round shot
is unusually destructive (in America), we can better appreciate
the danger to which he was so gallantly indifferent. It is
obvious that in this first encounter the Federal troops gained
no advantage; and as they were the assailants, their repulse,
which cannot be kept secret from the rest of the army, will
have a very damaging effect on their morale.

General Johnston, who has been for some days with a considerable
force in an entrenched position at Winchester, in the
valley of the Shenandoah, had occupied General Scott's attention,
in consequence of the facility which he possessed to move
into Maryland by Harper's Ferry, or to fall on the Federals

by the Manassas Gap Railway, which was available by a long
march from the town he occupied. General Patterson, with
a Federal corps of equal strength, had accordingly been despatched
to attack him, or, at all events, to prevent his leaving
Winchester without an action; but the news to-night is that
Patterson, who was an officer of some reputation, has allowed
Johnston to evacuate Winchester, and has not pursued him;
so that it is impossible to predict where the latter will appear.

Having failed utterly in my attempts to get a horse, I was
obliged to negotiate with a livery stable-keeper, who had a
hooded gig, or tilbury, left on his hands, to which he proposed
to add a splinter-bar and pole, so as to make it available for
two horses, on condition that I paid him the assessed value of
the vehicle and horses, in case they were destroyed by the
enemy. Of what particular value my executors might have
regarded the guarantee in question, the worthy man did not
inquire, nor did he stipulate for any value to be put upon the
driver; but it struck me that, if these were in any way seriously
damaged, the occupants of the vehicle were not likely
to escape. The driver, indeed, seemed by no means willing
to undertake the job; and again and again it was proposed to
me that I should drive, but I persistently refused.

On completing my bargain with the stable-keeper, in which
it was arranged with Mr. Wroe that I was to start on the
following morning early, and return at night before twelve
o'clock, or pay a double day, I went over to the Legation, and
found Lord Lyons in the garden. I went to request that he
would permit Mr. Warre, one of the attachés, to accompany
me, as he had expressed a desire to that effect. His Lordship
hesitated at first, thinking perhaps that the American
papers would turn the circumstance to some base uses, if they
were made aware of it; but finally he consented, on the distinct
assurance that I was to be back the following night, and
would not, under any event, proceed onwards with General
McDowell's army till after I had returned to Washington.
On talking the matter over with Mr. Warre, I resolved that
the best plan would be to start that night if possible, and proceed
over the Long Bridge, so as to overtake the army before
it advanced in the early morning.

It was a lovely moonlight night. As we walked through
the street to General Scott's quarters, for the purpose of procuring
a pass, there was scarcely a soul abroad; and the
silence which reigned contrasted strongly with the tumult

prevailing in the daytime. A light glimmered in the General's
parlor; his aides were seated in the veranda outside
smoking in silence, and one of them handed us the passes
which he had promised to procure; but when I told them
that we intended to cross the Long Bridge that night, an
unforeseen obstacle arose. The guards had been specially
ordered to permit no person to cross between tattoo and daybreak
who was not provided with the countersign; and without
the express order of the General, no subordinate officer
can communicate that countersign to a stranger. "Can you
not ask the General?" "He is lying down asleep, and I dare
not venture to disturb him."

As I had all along intended to start before daybreak, this
contretemps promised to be very embarrassing, and I ventured
to suggest that General Scott would authorize the countersign
to be given when he awoke. But the aide-de-camp shook his
head, and I began to suspect from his manner and from that
of his comrades that my visit to the army was not regarded
with much favor—a view which was confirmed by one of
them, who, by the way, was a civilian, for in a few minutes
he said, "In fact, I would not advise Warre and you to go
out there at all; they are a lot of volunteers and recruits, and
we can't say how they will behave. They may probably have
to retreat. If I were you I would not be near them." Of
the five or six officers who sat in the veranda, not one spoke
confidently or with the briskness which is usual when there is
a chance of a brush with an enemy.

As it was impossible to force the point, we had to retire,
and I went once more to the horse dealer's where I inspected
the vehicle and the quadrupeds destined to draw it. I had
spied in a stall a likely-looking Kentuckian nag, nearly
black, light, but strong, and full of fire, with an undertaker's
tail and something of a mane to match, which the groom
assured me I could not even look at, as it was bespoke by an
officer; but after a little strategy I prevailed on the proprietor
to hire it to me for the day, as well as a boy, who was to ride
it after the gig till we came to Centreville. My little experience
in such scenes decided me to secure a saddle horse. I
knew it would be impossible to see anything of the action from
a gig; that the roads would be blocked up by commissariat
wagons, ammunition reserves, and that in case of anything serious
taking place, I should be deprived of the chance of participating
after the manner of my vocation in the engagement,

and of witnessing its incidents. As it was not incumbent on
my companion lo approach so closely to the scene of action,
he could proceed in the vehicle to the most convenient point,
and then walk as far as he liked, and return when he pleased;
but from the injuries I had sustained in the Indian campaign,
I could not walk very far. It was finally settled that the gig,
with two horses and the saddle horse ridden by a negro boy,
should be at my door as soon after daybreak as we could pass
the Long Bridge.

I returned to my lodgings, laid out an old pair of Indian
boots, cords, a Himalayan suit, an old felt hat, a flask, revolver,
and belt. It was very late when I got in, and I relied
on my German landlady to procure some commissariat stores;
but she declared the whole extent of her means would only
furnish some slices of bread, with intercostal layers of stale
ham and mouldy Bologna sausage. I was forced to be content,
and got to bed after midnight, and slept, having first arranged
that in case of my being very late next night a trustworthy
Englishman should be sent for, who would carry my
letters from Washington to Boston in time for the mail which
leaves on Wednesday. My mind had been so much occupied
with the coming event that I slept uneasily, and once or twice
I started up, fancying I was called. The moon shone in
through the mosquito curtains of my bed, and just ere daybreak
I was aroused by some noise in the adjoining room, and
looking out, in a half dreamy state, imagined I saw General
McDowell standing at the table, on which a candle was burning
low, so distinctly that I woke up with the words, "General,
is that you?" Nor did I convince myself it was a dream
till I had walked into the room.

July 21st.—The calmness and silence of the streets of
Washington this lovely morning suggested thoughts of the
very different scenes which, in all probability, were taking
place at a few miles' distance. One could fancy the hum and
stir round the Federal bivouacs, as the troops woke up and
were formed into column of march towards the enemy. I
much regretted that I was not enabled to take the field with
General McDowell's army, but my position was surrounded
with such difficulties that I could not pursue the course open
to the correspondents of the American newspapers. On my
arrival in Washington I addressed an application to Mr. Cameron,
Secretary at War, requesting him to sanction the issue
of rations and forage from the Commissariat to myself, a servant,

and a couple of horses, at the contract prices, or on
whatever other terms he might think fit, and I had several interviews
with Mr. Leslie, the obliging and indefatigable chief
clerk of the War Department, in reference to the matter; but
as there was a want of precedents for such a course, which
was not all to be wondered at, seeing that no representative
of an English newspaper had ever been sent to chronicle the
progress of an American army in the field, no satisfactory result
could be arrived at, though I had many fair words and
promises.

A great outcry had arisen in the North against the course
and policy of England, and the journal I represented was assailed
on all sides as a Secession organ, favorable to the rebels
and exceedingly hostile to the Federal government and the
cause of the Union. Public men in America are alive to the
inconveniences of attacks by their own press; and as it was
quite impossible to grant to the swarms of correspondents from
all parts of the Union the permission to draw supplies from the
public stores, it would have afforded a handle to turn the screw
upon the War Department, already roundly abused in the most
influential papers, if Mr. Cameron acceded to me, not merely
a foreigner, but the correspondent of a foreign journal which
was considered the most powerful enemy of the policy of his
government, privileges which he denied to American citizens,
representing newspapers which were enthusiastically supporting
the cause for which the armies of the North were now in
the field.

To these gentlemen indeed, I must here remark, such privileges
were of little consequence. In every camp they had
friends who were willing to receive them in their quarters,
and who earned a word of praise in the local papers for the
gratification of either their vanity or their laudable ambition
in their own neighborhood, by the ready service which they
afforded to the correspondents. They rode Government
horses, had the use of Government wagons, and through fear,
favor, or affection, enjoyed facilities to which I had no access.
I could not expect persons with whom I was unacquainted to
be equally generous, least of all when by doing so they would
have incurred popular obloquy and censure; though many
officers in the army had expressed in very civil terms the
pleasure it would give them to see me at their quarters in the
field. Some days ago I had an interview with Mr. Cameron
himself, who was profuse enough in promising that he would

do all in his power to further my wishes; but he had, nevertheless,
neglected sending me the authorization for which I
had applied. I could scarcely stand a baggage train and commissariat
upon my own account, nor could I well participate
in the system of plunder and appropriation which has marked
the course of the Federal army so far, devastating and laying
waste all the country behind it.

Hence, all I could do was to make a journey to see the
army on the field, and to return to Washington to write my
report of its first operation, knowing there would be plenty
of time to overtake it before it could reach Richmond, when,
as I hoped, Mr. Cameron would be prepared to accede to
my request, or some plan had been devised by myself to
obviate the difficulties which lay in my path. There was no
entente cordiale exhibited towards me by the members of the
American press; nor did they, any more than the generals,
evince any disposition to help the alien correspondent of the
"Times," and my only connection with one of their body, the
young designer, had not, indeed, inspired me with any great
desire to extend my acquaintance. General McDowell, on
giving me the most hospitable invitation to his quarters, refrained
from offering the assistance which, perhaps, it was not
in his power to afford; and I confess, looking at the matter
calmly, I could scarcely expect that he would, particularly as
he said, half in jest, half seriously, "I declare I am not quite
easy at the idea of having your eye on me, for you have seen
so much of European armies, you will, very naturally, think
little of us, generals and all."