It Has Been Very
Uproarious, And Some Of Its Men 'retreated' On The Way From Bull's Run
To New York,
On the principle that, once ordered to retreat, they had
better 'retreat right away home.' There can be no
Doubt, however, that
the bulk of these men fought well - but were, like most of the
regiments, badly officered - zealous men, but lawyers, store-keepers,
and political partisans, who could do nothing in handling bodies
of men.
"But to go back: about 60 miles from Boston, and just as I got into the
bed-berth in the car, several companies of one of the Vermont regiments
joined the train, having been discharged, on the expiration of their
three months' term, the day before. These men had to be dropped in
companies at various stations all along the road; and every hour or so
I was wakened up by bell ringing, gun firing, and cheering, as each
section got back home to their friends. In the morning I got amongst
those who were left, and heard their adventures. They had been in
nothing but skirmishing, however, and only had had three men wounded.
They seemed a nice body of young fellows, many very young. All were
voluble and in high spirits (coming home), and were very large
about the hard biscuits they had eaten - some, as one 'boy' said - for
they are all 'boys,' not 'men,' as with us - with the stamp of 1810 upon
them, - of camping out - keeping sentry at night, &c., &c., &c. They had
three young fellows, girlish-looking lads, with them, 'sick;'
two - one certainly - sick under death; just get home to die! I went into
the baggage car and saw them lying on the floor, covered up in
tarpaulins and blankets, poor fellows!
"I have been to the Catholic Cathedral at Montreal to-day, and heard
high mass. I visited it in 1851. Fine church, fine music, and a good
sermon, in French; but I thought I should have preferred Mr. Woolnough
and the little church at home.
"The matter of business I have in hand is surrounded with difficulty,
and there are here, I fear, two classes in connection with the concern.
Mr. Baring and Mr. Glyn have been, I can see already, deceived by over
sanguine estimates - and they do not know all yet, but they shall, if I
can find it out.
"Letters leave here to-morrow, and I shall open this before I post it
should there be any new feature. As at present advised, I shall go to
Quebec on Wednesday night, and spend four or five days in that
district. Then I shall come back here, and then go to Toronto and the
western portion of the line. After that, all will depend upon whether
the Government will call a special session, or not. We shall see. I
shall know, perhaps, in time for the following post."
"HAMILTON,
"Sunday, I Septr. 1861.
"I left Toronto on Tuesday and went to Samia, stayed till Wednesday
morning, and then went on to Detroit. Spent the day in Detroit, and
then went on to Chicago; stayed Thursday in Chicago, and went on Friday
into Illinois, over the Prairies as far as Urbano. Came back to
Calumet - near to Chicago. Near Chicago I visited poor dear Ingram's
drowning place. Alas! More about it hereafter - and came on thence to
Detroit and this place, which I reached yesterday at 2-tired and
irritated with tooth-ache, which has never left me for some days and
sticks by me yet. I have travelled 1,300 miles since last Tuesday, and
3,070 in all since I landed at New York. This has necessitated
travelling during eight nights out of the eighteen I have spent in this
country. However, I have thereby cleared off some subsidiary work and
have seen the extremes of the territory over which I have to work and
plan, and by to-morrow I shall have looked at, and taken account of,
most of the people I shall have to deal with. This will enable me now
to go to work, and will, I hope, so much shorten my stay on 'this
Continent,' as they call it. I have a hard and difficult job before me,
but hope to scrape through it with credit, if not with much success. It
is a very different country: and they are not only very different, but
very difficult, people to manage. Socially, every one has been very
civil and kind, and I have had no lack of company or advisers - the
latter sometimes giving rather odd suggestions. Everyone is expecting
to hear daily of a great battle near Washington, and it may be that the
fate of one or other of the contending parties will be decided, for the
time, at least, before I leave. At present there is great hatred and
animosity, and every possible evil passion abroad. If it were not for
the actual loss of dollars I believe they would cut each other's
throats to all eternity: but the hope is that their rapacity may check
their ferocity. As to any high purpose about the war - it is moonshine.
It is a war for supremacy and to find out which brother shall rule the
house and run away with the dying old man's goods. [Footnote: The
following Resolution passed the United States House of Representatives,
February 11, 1861, by a nearly unanimous vote: -
"Resolved - That neither the Federal Government, nor the people
or Government of the non-slaveholding States, have a purpose or a
constitutional right to legislate upon or interfere with slavery in any
of the States of the Union.
"Resolved - That those persons in the North who do not subscribe
to the foregoing proposition, are too insignificant in numbers and
influence to excite the serious attention and alarm of any portion of
the people of the Republic; and that the increase of their numbers and
influence does not keep pace with the increase of the aggregate
population of the Union." ] I am spending to-day with Reynolds, and
dine to-night with Brydges.
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