Washington telegraph. [volume], March 09, 1864, Image 1

About Washington telegraph. [volume] (Washington, Ark.) 1839-1871

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The Soldier's Farewell to his Love-
BY COL. n. L. GRINSTEAD.
Farewell I I go where duty calls,
And fatih and honor point the way,
Where many a high-souled hero falls
Upon each bloody battle day.
I go ; for I would scorn to be
A laggard in the glorious strife,
That shapes our nation's destiny,
And wakes us to a nobler life.
I fain would gird my idle sword,
That all too long hath lain at rest,
While I, upon’thy lightest word.
Have hung till now supremely blest.
O ! oft amid the din of fight,
When thick the hurtling bullets fly,
Thy image pure shall glad mv sight.
And nerve my arm for purpose high.
Like crested knights of ancient song,
Who fought to please their haughty loves.
I 11 think of thee, and still press on,
Knowing thy soul the deed approved.
For thou art worthier far than they
Soulful and modest, fair and true,
Like the sweet flower that shuns the day.
But opos to drink the evening dew,
I covet not the warrior's crown.
Nor other boon or guerdon claim.
But as I fleat life's stream adown.
Dearest, to know thy love the same.
As when beneath the star-lit dome,
1 woo ■<! and won thy guileless heart, ■
S ieh a< now bids the tear-drops come
To bath j thine eyes ere we part.
O '. brighter th in Italian allies.
And purer th in the lily’s hue,
Thy beauty shames the dolphin's dyes
And sends the life-blood coursing thro’
My veins, as speed.’ the lightning flash,
When mountain storms ail wildly roar.
And foaming billows leap and da«h,
And, wearied, break upon the shore.
Timo c i i lot dim such love as ours —
Distance n > barrier interpose ;
Its light shall guild the fleeting hours
Uaqnenehed, till life itself shall elosc.
Weep not '. 1 soon will come again
To claim and clasp my gentle bride ;
I go to prove how madly vain
Th’ insulting foeman's boasted pride.
Special Correspondence of the Chicago limes.
Washington, J*n. 29. —Mr. Schenck,
of Ohio, made the astound ng statement
in the House yesterday, that the rebels
were making a last despairing effort tn
raise men enough to break through the
Union lint's, and to transfer the seat ol
war to Northern soil. Mr. Schenck is
very much in the daik, and he has a|
very confused idea of the real military '
strength of the rebels, or of their de
signs for the campaigns of 186 t. It is
curious, to >, to c nitrast the utterances
of Mr. Schenck to-day, with what he
waid, an 1 with what his fell >iv-re.pubh-
CUis said, two years ago. Two years
a"- > Mr. Schenck and Iris fellows de
fla.ied that the back-bene of the rebel
lion was broken, and that the rebellion
was on its last legs r and that, in s:x'
m mths more, every vestige of rebellion I
would he crush td out. \\ ell, here we;
are, clo.e to the end . f the third year
of the war, and now what docs he say?
Why, tiiat the military power of tire
rebels is s > great, that /A 7/ fire lt >
luuutlc t/ic w/rth 'j teciiiil tiTie next sum
mer ! Mr. Schenck is right this time,
but he has not tdd half the truth. The
simple fact is, as we will prove to our
cost when the spring campaign opens,
that the Confederates will have a far
more effective military force in the field 1
by next March, than they have ever had ,
before. I have seen several very intel-1
ligent men direct from the South, quite
recently ; ami 1 am convinced, from .
their accounts, that the South will have
fully 500,000 troops, actual effectives,
for the spring campaigns. My infor
mants all agree in this: that the opera
tions of the Confederates will be di vid
ed, first, to the recovery of Chattanoo
ga, Knoxville, and East Tennessee, for
which purpose Gen. Johnston will have
150,000 troops ; that this will not be
attempted by assuming the offensive at
first, but that Gen. Johnston will retire
towards Atlanta, intending to draw
Gen. Grant after him into the interior,
and then to return and take possession
of the point named ; second, to the in
vasion of the North, to which task an
other 150,000 troops are assigned; third,
to the defence of Richmond, Charleston,
Wilmington, Savannah and Mobile.
A very nice little plan for stealing the
homes and furniture of the Southern
people, as well as their barns,granaries
and cattle, has been cunningly intro
duced into the Senate by Mr. Wilson of
Massachusetts, in the guise of “A bill
to secure homesteads to persons tn the
WASHINGTON, ARKANSAS, MARCH 9, 1864.
military service.’’ This bill provides
that all lands in the Southern States,
with certain unimportant exceptions,
shall be deemed “ unappropriated pub
lic lands,” under the operation of the
confiscation act. and shall be subject to
entry, under the provisions of the home
stead law. by any officer or soldier, white
or black, who shall have served two
years during the present rebellion; the ’■
houses and buildings erected on the ■
lands, with their contents, to go with
the lands themselves. The design and
purpose of this bill shows plainly the
object of the republican party in pro- j
longing the war. The leaders of that'
party are already provided for, in the .
way of fat contracts, offices, etc , and j
for more than a year past they hrve >
been promising the rank and file of
their party that, at the end of the war, ■
each man should have a snug farm in
Alabama, or Georgia, or Virginia. It
is in order to fulfill this promise that this j
atrocious bill is now brought in by Sen- I
ator Wilson. Suppose a Southern man
was President, and that Southern men ;
controlled the action of Congress, would
not the whole world ting with indigna
tion if a bill were passed to confiscate
the estates of Northern men and confer '
them upon Southern soldiers ? Surely
the enormity is none the loss because
the deed is to be done by the North.
The exposition of the unconstitiition-1
ality of the confiscation act, which was '
made in the House, on the 'doth instant,
by Fernando Wood, was an effort which I
reminded mo more of the constitutional
arguments of Daniel Webster than any
thing that has been hear 1 in Congress
for a long tim?. It was literally unan
swerable, and it will remain unanswer
ed. Nor was that part of Mr. Wood’ 3 '
speech which enforce ! the expediency
of bringing the war to. a close less wor ,
thy of admiration. X.
Riehmond, Jan. 25 —The number of soldier* j
who have been killed or die I in the service ■
from each State, may bo somewhat approxi- I
mated from the following statement:
To the first of last mouth the- followi. x ip
plications had been file ! in tho Secon I Dili- •
tor’s office by widows and orphans of deceased i
soldiers:—Fro' i Virginia, 4.Forth f’tro 1
lina, 8,261; South Caroli, a, I.oil; Gsoigii, l
9.501; Alabama, 8.Q50; .Mi M--ip-pi. :’.,27‘; ,
Texas, 1,221; Tennessee. 87 : 551; i
.Arkansas, 861; Louisiana, 3.7.
General Orders No B'>, issue 1 on the 30th '
of October, 1362 requires c -.n I ts i f com ,
panics immediately on tho death of a soldier,
to make out -in I forwar I to th : Se ton I Au li
t- r bis descriptive list, .-hewing his nam -, ;
when an 1 where enlisted, fr« -n what e i se he
die 1, and when he was last pai 1.
Surgeons in charge of ho-pita's are al« ■ re- 1
ftired to make a sim’lar report of a ! - -1 tiers
who die. I’he following n i.aoer■ 1>• •••i re
p rte-l »p *o the Ist of Deeembet lie’.-—From
Virginia, 5,913; North Carol na, 7,952; S■•nth
C.iro'i - a, 2,000; Georgia, < 277; Alabama '
8.9-7; Tennessee, 2,839; .'.li-M-sipi.i, 5.367:.
L t'iisiana, 3,1’9; Florida, 1,119; Arkansas, I
1,918; Texas, 6,377.
rhere returns show a giant deal < f neg i
gcnce by captains anil surgoo s in reporting ;
the deaths of soldiers.
llicinnoud, J ia. 25.—The House to-day J
passe l the Senate bill to appoint a:i agent of j
the I’u-t-office Department We.-t of the Mis- 1
si.-.-ippi with a slight aniendin •u’. A resolu
tion was offered that the bill to continue in the
service during tho war all persons now in the I
service, bo hereafter considered an 1 acted ,
upi n in open session, and an open vote on the
resolution was asked. The yeas and nays !
were called, but the call was m t sustained, I
and no Vote was taken.. A resolution that in
the judgment of the House it is earnestly de- ,
sirable in order to secure comfortable subsist- (
cuce to our valiant army, an I allay discontent
known to exist in certain localities, that the
present Commissary General be removed, was
laid on the table. Yeas 46, nays 20. Mr.
Gartrell, fiorn the Judiciary Committee re
ported back the Senate bill to fix the time of |
meeting of the next Congress, with a rccom- ;
mcndition that the House concur in the bill •
which fixes the first Monday in May. A mo- '
tion was made to insert the 19th if February;
another motion was made to postpone the con
sideration of the whole matter until the 15th
of February. The questi u was taken on the
last motion by division—ayes 29, noes 30. The
House then went into secret session.
In the Senate a comm mication was received
from tho Secretary of th-.. Treasury relative to
the public debt, in response to a late resolu
tion. In consequence of not Knowing the pre
cise amount of notes funded, the liabilities of
the Government cannot be accurately stated.
The funded debt is $297,871,650; call certifi
cates, $89,206,770; interest bearing notes,
$102,465,450; non-interest bearing notes,
720,893,098; small notes, over $10,000,099
As near as can be estimated, the whole liabili
ties of the Government of every kind are about
$900,000,000.
A Vienna letter of January 23d says,
the acceptance of the crown of Mexico by
Maximilian is now an irrevocable fact. His
Imperial Highness will return to-morrow to
Trieste to make final preparations for the gov
ernment. A second deputation wdl arrive in
March, with which the Emperor elect will
leave for Mexico.
Governor Letcher on the War.—Tn his
late message to tho Virginia Lcgisliturc, Gov.
Lrtcher speaks thus on the war:
1 hi’ war has now been in progress nearly i
three years. Whatever of respect or confi
dence or affection existed at the commence
ment nf cur trouble", has been effectually ■
crushed and forever destroyed. There is not
even the shadow of a possibility that respect
can be revived, or confidence restored, or af
fection renewed. The chain that bound ns
together has been broken, and never can be
re-united; the magnificent structure reared by
our wise and patriotic forefathers, has fallen
into ruins, nnd it never can bo reconstructed.
The Union they formed, the Government thev
established, have had their allottsd time, and
arc now numbered with the things that are
gone. A people imbued with sound principles
and animated by a pro er spirit, who hate ns
with the intensity which the Northern people |
have exhibited, and who know that we detest '
them, wcnld not desire a longer alliance, i
Honor, justice, propriety—every consideration ■
that should influence good and patriotic men,
show the necessity of our eternal separation. •
It is sai I that we have some men among u« ;
who are the advocates of what they call an
honorable peace, which, when properly inter
preted, moan’ nothing more nor less than sub
mission. It is pleasant to know that the num
ber of such men is small; but whether large or j
smn’l, spurn them as yon would the viper. [
Men who preach peace under present circum-.
stances are fab: ■to u’ a 1 1 to llio Confederacy.
It is time enough to speak of an honorable
peace when Lincoln shall have withdrawn his
armies from our soil. * * * So far we
h>v? accomplished a’l, nay. more, thau wc
could have reasonably anticipated. We have
an army in the field well appointed nnd well I
equipped, uns rpn e-I in spirit, uneqnale I in
devotion to tho ciuse, enure 1 to service, dis
ciplined, true and courageous. Our people,
ol I and young, mile nnd female, nre of one .
mind in their hatred of the Yankees and in I
their determination to separate from them.
Can such a people be brought under a tyrant’s
power, and be forced t» submit to a tyrant’s
exactions? Can such a pecplu bo conquered
and subjugated? Never.
New York, Februar • 12—-The steamer
Fulton, from Port Royal on tho 9th, ahd
Charleston Bar on the morning of tho 10th,
with the 67th Ohio Regiment on board, ar
rive I this eve: ing. Purser McManus fur
ni-hes the following for thi press:
A bl< cka le-runncr gronr.de 1 during the fog
of the 7’h, and was destroyed by our fleet and ,
batteries in Charleston harbor.
An expedition left Port Royal on the "th,
under Gen. Seymour, cinsisting of three bri
gades nn 1 one light battery, and landed at
Jacksonville, Fiori li. on the morniog of the
Mtn, with ml any ci ualties. The reported ex
pedition will push o:i to T'dlr.haai>o«.
Genera'. Gilmore and staff failed on the
Bth for Pott It >ynl to join the expedition.
Toe British war steamer Petrel, with di’- I
patches for one Benjamin, itebel Secretary of
Vv ,r, arrive I off Charleston Bar on the sth,
and requested permission to communicate with
the Briti.-li consul nt Savannah, which Ad
ia ri' Dahlgren declined to grant, nnd the
Petrel put out to sc i immediately.
Wa-dnngton, Feb. 11 —During tho debate in
the Ifiu't, Fernand » Wood s iid the Confede
rate Congress was now debating propositions
of peace, while we have war legislating inno
vations of the Constitution.
Mr. Cox favored tho propositions, nnd be
lieve 1 if Mr. Wood was sent on a mission to
Richmond, peace would be rest l red in sixty
days.
Mr. Fmiib, of Kentucky, believed lie was
the last m in t) treat with rebels, who must lay
down their arms and yield to the Government
unconditionally.
Admip.al Wilkes—Admiral Wilkes,
wc see it stated by a Washington cor
respondent, has been brought to grief
by a collector of autographs. Under
the law, he was not eligible for promo
tion to his present rank, if he had at
tained a certain age, at which heshould
have been placed on the retired list.
His answer to the c rcnlar asking his
age was somewhat evasive, but con
veyed the idea that he was not past the
active limit, so he became an Admiral.
Meanwhile, the autographist, in mous
ing among some waste papers cleared
out from the garret of the Navy Depart
ment when an additional story was put
on that building last year, found a bun
dle of letters filed from tho Admirals
father, and others who joined in apply
ing for his original admission into the
navy, and these show his real age, which
disqualifies him for active service.
Heir to the British Crown. —It is
more than a hundred years since an heir
apparent to the Britifch throne has had
a son. The eldest son of George, after
wards H-. died a few years before his
father, leaving his son, George 111., sur
viving. Since that time there has been
no such state of things as now exists.
The children of George 111. were all born
while he was on the throne. George
IV. had no son, either before or after he
ascended the throne. Wilhain IV. had
no children. It was reserved for Queen
Victoria, of all the late sovereigns of the
house of Brunswick, to sec during her
own lifetime two generations of male
heirs destined in dne time, if tho order
of nature is not inverted, to succeed to
tho British throno.
1 he Memphis Bulletin learns from
|Ed. Ford, clerk of the Atlanfc, that on
Wednesday, the 27th nit., as the steamer
I Arago, out on a cotton trip, was lying
at Red River Point, a little above Pren
tiss, nearly opposite Arkansas, on tho
Mississippi shore, sho was fired into
by guerillas. She was receiving cotton
at tho time. They first seized a man
who was bringing cotton to the boat,
who afterwards contrived to escape from
them. Tho commander of tho boat, Cap
tain Finney, saw what was doing, as he
stood on the texas at the time. He at
onco leaped to the hurricane deck and
th re v an axe to one es the hands, di
recting him to cut the line which con
nected the boat with the shore ; then,
hastening to the engineer, he had one
wheel-set at work, so as to turn the boat,
presenting her stern to the attacking
party. Quick as his movements had
been, the guerillas were near finishing
his days, for, when they discovered him
standing near the pilot-house, 'they fired
a pistol at him, nnd tho ball passed
through the tail of his coat. While tho
mancenvcrs ordered by Captain Finney
were in process of performance, the as
sailants fired volley after volley of mus
ketry. No less than 300 shots wero
fired, hitting portions of the boat, es
pecially the stern, like the small-pox on
a man’s face. No material injury was
done the boat, except a general smash
in tho ladies’ cabin. There wero nn
passengers on board, and, happily, no
person on the boat was wounded.”
—
Dominoes.—The gamo of dominoes is
not quite as popular in America as it in
in Paris, where the click of the littlo
bits on the cafo tables makes so charac
teristic a part of the evening’s panora
ma of Parisian life. But some people
do play dominoes in America, and theso
will bo interested to know how it camo
to pass that a Parisian player declared
“domino” before his partner and one of
adversaries had played a single piece.
A held the double-five, six-and-five, two
and-five, blank and-five, blank-and-ace,
thrce-and-blank, and four-and-blank. I»
the fourth to play, held six-sind-blank,
two-and-blank, double-blank, five-and
four, five-and-threc, five-and-aco, three
and two. C and I) held tho rest, of course.
A plays the double-five; C and D pass ;
B plays; C and D continue to pass, ami
finally declares “domino,” B retain
ing still his tbrccand-two.
France and Mexico.—Tho report of
tho committee upon the supplementary
credits requested by tho French gov
ernment has been published. It «on
cludes as follows : “ Our mission is to
wards the executive power with affec
tionate respect, anil to hold it back
upon the brink of dangerous antanglc
ments. The best devotion is that which
knows how to speak salutary truths in
lime of need. Wo aro unanimons in
advising that an end should bo put to
the Mexican expedition, far be it from
ns to say at any price; but as the inter
est an<l honor of France will permit.
The expression of this wish certainly
ret ponds to the general sentiment of the
country, and we think tho government
of tho Emperor will receive it with
favor.’’
The committee unanimously propose
the adoption of tho bill.
Cheap Mail Contract. —The Richmond
Examiner of tho 15th ultimo says: “A
party, yesterday, entered into a con
tract, at the contract Bureau, to carry
the mails on a certain route for the ono
qnintillionth part of a cent, which is
about the hundred thousandth part of a
mill. That is about equal
the mail for nothing, and paying some
thing for the privilege. The force of
figures could no further go.”
<9*An Irish gentleman having taken
home a large turtle, placed it in the ser
vant’s bedroom in order to enjoy her
surprise. Next morning, first thing,
Biddy bounded into the breakfast room,
exclaiming : “ Be jabers, I’ve got him I”
“ Got what ?” inquired the head of tho
house, feigning surprise. “ The bully
bed-bug that’s been atein tho childer the
last month ; I’ve got him sure.”
Lamkrtink. —It is B,id that the will of Mad
ame de Lamartine is informal, and consequent
ly that tho poet will loee the property bequeath
ed to him by his wife. The poet ie about to
assuage bis grief by espousing • Russian
Princess—with
tar- Gov. Aleton, of South Carolina has
presented a thorough-brsd horse to General
.Morgan.
NO. 7.