be seen, too, that all which has been said of the enemy ontflanking the Federalists' left is rubbish, and that the main contest was, as I stated, on the right of the line. Mr. Davis returned by train to Richmond on the 23d a conqueror. His conduct is thus described: man did not also forward any little scraps of news he could collect I am in error. Again, a series of maps prepared with great care, for the use of General McDowell's staff, are given out to be photographed, and are so scarce that superior officers cannot get them. Nevertheless one is found in a tent of a Con[Here he gives the account of Jeff. Davis's federate officer, in the advance of Fairfax Court reception, with the report of his remarks,-House, which must have been sent to him as soon given in Doc. 7.-ED.] as it was ready. The medical appliances and surgeons of the army. The luxury of ambulances " is a new and curious ground of complaint, and I suspect that there were not many articles of the kind in the rear of the Confederate army. Apropos of this subject, I must remark that one class of officers in the Federal army did their duty nobly—the surgeons remained on the field when all others were retiring or had left. One is reported killed; six are prisoners in the hands of the enemy, engaged in attending the wounded of both sides-an invaluable aid to the scanty medical staff of the Confederates. There is no reason to believe the treatment of wounded or prisoners was what it was reported to have been. There may have been some isolated acts of atrocity in the heat of battle or pursuit, and it is only too likely that a building in which wounded men were placed was set fire to by a shell, but it is only justice to the Confederate authorities to say that they seem to have done all they could for those who fell into their hands. Much irritation has been created by the false statements circulated on this subject, and the soldiers on guard over Confederate prisoners here would not permit them to receive some little luxuries which had been ordered by sympathizing inhabitants, on the ground that they did not deserve them after the treatment given by their friends to the Federalists. Treason exists in every department of the Federal Government-What Mr. Russell saw in the United States Post Office. And as I have used the word "sympathizers," let me add the expression of my belief that there is scarcely a department, high or low, of the public service of the United States in which there is not "treason "I mean the aiding and abetting the enemy by information and advice. It is openly talked in society--its work is evi dent on all sides. I went into the private department of the Post Office the other day, and found there a gentleman busily engaged in sorting letters at a desk. The last time I saw him was at dinner with the Commissioners of the Confederate States at Washington, and I was rather surprised to see him now in the sanctum of the Post Office, within a few feet of Mr. Blair, of the sangre azul of abolitionism. Said he, "I am just lookiny over the letters here to pick out some for our Southern friends, and I forward them to their owners as I find them;" and if the excellent and acute gentle It is also asserted that General Beauregard knew beforehand of McDowell's advance: but the Confederates left in such haste that much credence cannot be given to the statement that the enemy were fully informed of the fact any considerable length of time beforehand. The "On to Richmond" cry. The battle having been duly fought and lost, the Federalists are employing their minds to find out why it was fought at all. The convulsions into which the New York press have been thrown by the inquiry, resemble those produced on a dead frog by the wire of Galvani. "Who cried On to Richmond?'" "Not I, 'pon my honor. It was shouted out by some one in my house, but I don't know who. I never gave him authority. I won't shout any thing any more." "Who urged General Scott to fight the battle, and never gave anybody any peace till he was ordered to do it?" " Nobody!" "It was that other fellow." Please, sir, it wasn't me." "I never approved it." "I'll never say a word to a soldier again." "Mr. President knows I didn't." It is really a most curious study. I begin to thing that the best possible instructors may sometimes be in the wrong at this side of the Atlantic. The Tribune declares that General Scott, being absolute master of the situation, is re sponsible for the battle. But the New York Times gives a statement of what took place before the battle at the General's table, which, therefore, is probably published with his sanction, as it is impossible to suppose a gentleman would print it without express permission, from which it would certainly appear that the veteran commander was not, as I hinted, a free agent in the matter. Here is the statement: [Mr. Russell here furnishes Raymond's Washington letter to the New York Times, commencing with:-"General Scott, it is said, discussed the whole subject of this war, in all its parts, and with the utmost clearness and accuracy. He had a distinct and well-defined opinion on every point connected with it, and stated what his plan would be for bringing it to a close if the management of it had been left in his hands," &c.--ED.] Can the Government meet a reaction? General McClellan at work. It remains to be seen if the plans of General Scott can now be followed. The reaction along | Gen. Tyler's action, and of these it will be posthe Mississippi will be great, and Major-General sible for me to speak safely; but the particular Fremont, with great respect for his courage movement of the divisions under Col. Hunter and enterprise, is not the man, I fear, to con- and Col. Heintzelman should be told of by duct large columns successfully. others who accompanied them. Missouri is any thing but safe. Cairo is menaced, and my friends at Memphis seem to be stirring from their rest under their General. I regret that I cannot give any more interesting or important intelligence, but I have not been able to go out for the last two days to the camps, as in common with many people in Washington, I was suffering a little from the weather -thunderstorms, rains, bad odors, which produce the usual results in garrisons and ill-drained cities. However, it is some consolation that there is nothing of consequence doing. There was an alarm the night before last. Some foolish people got the loan of a steamer and a big gun, and went down the river with them. When they were opposite one of the enemy's batteries, some three or four miles away, they fired their big gun, and "Oh'd," no doubt, at the shot as it plashed short in the water, the enemy treating them with a proper silent contempt all the while. Having done this, they returned in the evening and amused themselves by firing away as hard as they could just below the Long Bridge-I believe without ball-and it may be imagined there was some commotion, as the reports shook doors and windows. General McClellan is doing his best to get things into order, and the outskirts of the city and the streets are quieter at night; but there is rough work with Zouaves and others in Alexandria-houses burnt, people shot, and such like sports of certain sorts of "citizen | soldiery." They will soon be shouting "money or blood," if not kept in order and paid. These men form a marked exception to the general behavior of many regiments. Doc. 4. N. Y. TRIBUNE NARRATIVE. A CORRESPONDENT of the New York Tribune writing from Washington, under date of July 23, gives the following account of the battle: My narrative of this extraordinary battle can accurately embrace most of what occurred with the division under Gen. Tyler, which opened the attack, which was, with the exception of one brigade, desperately engaged from the beginning to the end, and which, so far as I can judge from the course in which events ran, was the last to yield before the panic which spread through the army. It is well understood that the conflict extended over a space of many miles, and that the experience of a single observer could grasp only those details which immediately surrounded him. The general progress and effects of the entire engagement were apparent from the advanced positions of For the clear understanding of this record, the plan of battle, although often given, must be once more briefly set down. The enemy's strength had been tested and affirmed by the hot skirmish of Thursday, the result of which did not justify a second serious attempt upon the same ground. There was, moreover, abundaut evidence that the entire line of defences along Bull Run was equally formidable, and that any attack upon a single point would be extremely hazardous. It was therefore determined to open the assault in two directions simultaneously, and to offer a feint of a third onset, to divert attention, and if possible, confuse the enemy's defence. Accordingly, Col. Richardson was left with a considerable battery of artillery and one brigade-the fourth of Gen. Tyler's division-at the scene of the skirmish of Thursday, with directions to open heavily with cannon at about the moment of the real attack elsewhere. The remainder of Gen. Tyler's division, his 1st, 2d, and 3d brigades, with powerful artillery, but without cavalry, was sent to cross Bull Run at a point a mile and a half or more to the right, upon a road known as the Stone Bridge road. stronger wing, comprising the divisions of Col. Hunter and Col. Heintzelman, was carried around a good distance to the right, with the purpose of breaking upon the enemy in flank and rear, and driving them towards Gen. Tyler, by whom their regular retreat should be cut off. Col. Miles's division remained at Centreville in reserve, and had no part in the action. A Long before dawn, the three divisions which sustained the battle moved from Centreville to the attack. The march was slow, and, to a certain degree, irregular. Even at that hour, there seemed a lack of unity and direct purpose among the officers, which sometimes was made too evdent to the troops not to affect their spirit and demeanor. I believe it just to say that, at the very opening of the day, it was plain to all that real and sound discipline was abandoned. I do not mean that this was the case with separate regiments, many of which were always prompt, sure, and perfectly at the disposal of their commanders, but with the brigades, the divisions, even the army, as a whole. The march was continued until, at 5 o'clock, Gen. Tyler's division had reached the place of its attack. His Second and Third brigades, under Gen. Schenck and Col. Sherman, were arrayed in lines of battle, the former taking the left, and the latter, after some changes, the right of the road. Skirmishers were pushed forward, who, when close upon Bull Run, encountered the pickets of the enemy, and presently exchanged irregular shots with them, by which slight injuries were caused on both sides. Nothing further was attempted by the infantry for hours. A heavy 32-pound rifled cannon | action by artillery must have extended over was brought well forward on the road, and five or six miles, from Richardson's position at threw a couple of shell among the rebel lines, the extreme left around to Hunter's at the which were indistinctly seen formed and form- right. The roar and rattle were incessant, and ing a mile before us. These were not answer- the air above the vast field soon became thick ed, and, for a while, the cannonade was dis- with smoke. continued from our side. Our position was less commanding and less clear than that we had occupied on Thursday. We were still before the valley of Bull Run, but the descent from our side was more gradual, and we were surrounded by thick woods down almost to the ravine through which the stream flows. The enemy, on the contrary, had cleared away all obstructing foliage, and bared the earth in every direction over which they could bring their artillery upon us. Clumps of trees and bushes remained wherever their earthworks and other concealed defences could be advantageously planted among them. The ground on their side was vastly superior to ours. It rose in regular slopes to great heights, but was broken into knolls and terraces in numberless places, upon which strong earthworks were successively planted, some openly, but the greater part concealed. The long interval between our first discharge of artillery and the positive attack afforded abundant opportunity to overlook the ground. In no spot did the enemy seem weak. Nature had supplied positions of defence which needed but little labor to render them desperately formidable. How thoroughly these advantages had been improved we know by the enormous efforts which were required to dislodge the troops, and by the obstinate opposition which they displayed before retiring from point to point. While our division waited, quiet and alert, Gen. McDowell led the colurans of Hunter and Heintzelman far around by the right, to the enemy's flank and rear. The march was long and doubtless slow, for it was not until about 11 o'clock that we were able to discover indications of their having met the rebels. From Richardson's position, to the left, however, we heard, at 8 o'clock, the commencement of vigorous cannonading. The deep, sullen sound from his distant batteries was all that broke the silence for nearly an hour. Then the hurrying of our officers up and down the hill, and through the woods, told us that our assault was about to open. The skirmishers had detected a thick and tangled abatis at the banks of the run, into which, before advancing, a few shell were thrown. As these burst, the rebels swarmed out from their hiding-places, and took up their next fortified post beyond. Gen. Schenck's brigade was moved forward at the left, but, before reaching the run, received the full fire of a battery masked with bushes, before which they retired to their first line. Again all operations were suspended by our division, and antil 11 o'clock the contest was carried on by the artillery, which, indeed, at that hour, resounded from every point of the field. The Suddenly a line of troops was seen moving over the open hill-slope precisely in advance of us and within a mile the least distance at which the rebel infantry had been seen. The 3d brigade under Col. Sherman was now drawn from its shelter among the woods and led rapidly around by the right across the run and towards one of the enemy's best positions. Brisk volleys of musketry were soon after heard, but the smoke hung like a veil before us and it was impossible to discover by whom, or against whom, they were directed. A puff of wind afterwards cleared the view, and we saw the brigade still in firm line, and advancing with great speed. A few shots, and a round or two of artillery, next came from the right upon the 2d brigade, which had not yet moved forward, and which, as a whole, held its post squarely, although some squads broke and ran into the open road. Orders were given to the men to lie upon their faces when not in motion, and menaced by artillery. However proper this precaution may have been at this time, it afterwards turned out to be one of the most fatal causes of the demoralization of the division. It was so frequently repeated that some regiments at last could not be made to stand at any point whatever, the least report of cannon or musketry sending them instantly upon their knees; and I saw an entire company of the New York 2d grovel in the dust at the accidental snapping of a percussion cap of one of their own rifles. At 114 o'clock the cannonading was lighter from our side, and the attention of the enemy seemed to be distracted from us. We were then able to descry great volumes of smoke arising in front, in the precise spot at which Hunter's column should have arrived. This gloomy signal of the battle waved slowly to the left, assuring us that Hunter and Heintzelman were pushing forward, and driving the enemy before them. At the same time, our right brigade disappeared over the eminence for which they had been contending, and the distant cheers, which evidently came from them, proved that the present triumph was their own. To sustain and re-enforce them, the reserve brigade of Colonel Keyes was then brought down, and marched forward, in spite of a tremendous cannonade which opened upon them from the left, in the same line as that which Colonel Sherman had followed. The left brigade, under General Schenck, did not advance, but still remained on the ground where it had formed at the very outset. The result of this inaction was, that our left was at the close of the battle assailed and successfully turned; and although the enemy did not pursue this final triumph, it was not the fault of the commander of that brigade that great mischief was not done. Colonel Keyes soon vanished with his | a peculiar activity among the enemy at the four regiments, and the Second brigade was left spot where they had been most vehemently isolated at the edge of the battle-ground. Its repulsed by Heintzelman. A long line of apbest protection then was furnished by the 32-parently fresh regiments was brought forward, pound Parrott rifled cannon, which some rods and formed at the edge of a grove through to the right, among the brushwood, was raking which our men had penetrated. Four times the road far ahead, and plunging shell among we saw this line broken, and reformed by its the strongholds which the enemy still main- officers, who rode behind, and drove back those tained. who fled with their swords. A fifth time it was shattered, and reformed, but could not be made to stand fast, and was led back to the fortified ground. This afforded us who looked on from the lower battle-field, a new ground for the conviction that the triumph would be with us. of Schenck's brigade a few hundred rods on the open road. But as many of us, lookers-on, had long before passed ahead to Bull Run, and assured ourselves that the field was open for nearly a mile in advance, this was not regarded as of much importance. From Bull Run, the aspect of the field was truly appalling. The ene At half-past 12 o'clock the battle appeared to have reached its climax. Hunter's and Heintzelman's divisions were deep in the enemy's position, and our own force, excepting always the 2d brigade, was well at work. The discharges of artillery and musketry caused a continuous and unbroken roar, which sometimes For nearly half an hour after this we were swelled tumultuously to terrific crashes, but left in great uncertainty. The enemy languishnever lulled. On the heights before us, bodies ed, and our own movements seemed clogged of infantry were plainly seen driving with fury by some mysterious obstacle. All that was one against the other, and slowly pressing tow-done within our view was the leading forward ards the left-another proof that our advance was resisted in vain. At one point, the rebels seemed determined to risk all rather than retreat. Many a regiment was brought to meet our onset, and all were swept back with the same impetuous charges. Prisoners who were subsequently brought in admitted that some of our troops, especially the 71st New York reg-my's dead lay strewn so thickly that they restiment, literally mowed down and annihilated ed upon one another, the ground refusing space double their number. Two Alabama regi- to many that had fallen. Few of our men had ments, in succession, were cut right and left by suffered here, although it seemed that further the 71st. The flanking column was now fully on they lay in greater numbers. But the attendiscernible, and the junction of our forces was tion of those who gazed was quickly turned evidently not far distant. The gradual aban- from these awful results of the battle to the donment of their positions by the rebels could imminent hazard of its renewal. Down townot be doubted. At some points they fled ards our left, which had so long been exposed, precipitately, but in most cases moved regularly a new line of troops moved with an alacrity to the rear. It is probable that they only de- that indicated entire freshness. As they swept serted one strong post for another even strong-around to the very woods upon which the Second er, and that however far we might have crush-brigade rested, the artillery from the last ined them back we should still have found them intrenched and fortified to the last-even to Manassas itself. But they had positively relinquished the entire line in which they had first arrayed themselves against Tyler's division, excepting one fortified elevation at the left, which could and should have been carried by the 2d brigade an hour before. How far the enemy had retreated before Hunter and Heintzelman, I cannot say, but I am given to understand that they had forsaken all excepting one powerful earthwork with lofty embankments, upon the highest ground of their field. It was this work, which, later in the day, was stormed by the Zouaves, and other regiments, and which, in spite of a daring and intrepidity which our rebel prisoners speak of with amazement, resisted their charge. But other important works had been carried by the 3d and 4th brigades on our side, so that little appeared to remain for our victory but to perfect the union of the two columns, and to hold the ground we had won. The fire now slackened on both sides for several minutes. Although the movements of our own troops were mainly hidden, we could see trenchments they held upon this field-that which should have been overrun betimes by our idle troops-opened with new vigor. Grape and round shot, most accurately aimed, struck the ground before, behind, and each side of Gen. Schenck and the group of officers about him. The Ohio regiments were somewhat sheltered by a cleft in the road, but the New York 2d was more exposed. Gen. Schenck was in great danger, to which, I am glad to say, he seemed perfectly insensible, riding always through the hottest of the fire as if nothing more serious than a shower of paper pellets threatened him. But more than this Gen. Schenck cannot claim. Nevertheless, our work progressed. Capt. Alexander, with the engineers, had completed a bridge across the run, over which our ambulances were to pass for the wounded, and by which our artillery could be planted in new po sitions. Even then, although that stealthy column was winding, awkwardly for us, about our left, no person dreamed that the day was lost. The men of the brigade, at least, were firm, although they began to suffer severely. rible gaps and chasms appeared once or twice in the ranks of the New York 20. Four men Hor were torn in pieces by a single round of grape | to cover the retreat of Tyler's division. With shot, and their blood was flung in great splashes Heintzelman's it was better: Lieut. Drummond's over all who stood near. The carnage around cavalry troop keeping firm line, and protecting seemed more terrific than it really was, so hid- the artillery until its abandonment was impereous was the nature of the wounds. atively ordered. The extent of the disorder was unlimited. Regulars and volunteers shared it alike. A mere fraction of our artillery was saved. Whole batteries were left upon the field, and the cutting off of others was ordered when the guns had already been brought two miles or more from the battle-ground, and were as safe as they would be in New York at this moment. A perfect frenzy was upon almost every man. Some cried piteously to be lifted behind those who rode on horses, and others sought to clamber into wagons, the occupants resisting them with bayonets. All sense of manhood seemed to be forgotten. I hope, and I am sure, there were exceptions, but I am speaking of the rule with the mass. Drivers of heavy wagons dashed down the steep road, reckless of the lives they endangered on the way. Even the sentiment of shame had gone. Some of the better men tried to withstand the rush, and cried out against the flying groups, calling them cowards, poltroons, brutes," and reviling them for so degrading themselves, especially when no enemy was near. Insensible to the epithets, the runaways only looked relieved, and sought renewed assurance that their imagined pursuers were not upon them. Every impediment to flight was cast aside. Rifles, bayonets, pistols, haversacks, cartridge-boxes, canteens, blankets, belts, and overcoats lined the road. The provisions from the wagons were thrown out, and the tops broken away. All was lost to that American army, even its honor. A few minutes later, and the great peril of our division, that which should have been foreseen and provided against, was upon us. The enemy appeared upon the left flank, between us and our way of retreat. Why they failed, having once secured it, to pursue this enormous advantage, it is impossible to conjecture. I am inclined to believe that the coolness and precision of Col. McCook of the 1st Ohio regiment saved us from this disaster. It is certain Col. McCook displayed a firm resistance to the charge which menaced him, and that the enemy wavered, and then withdrew. But, at this time, the first proofs of the panic which had stricken the ariny were disclosed. From the distant hills, our troops, disorganized, scattered, pallid with a terror which had no just cause, came pouring in among us, trampling down some, and spreading the contagion of their fear among all. It was even then a whirlwind which nothing could resist. The most reluctant of the officers were forced from the valley up the hill, in spite of themselves. Whoever had stood would have been trodden under foot by his own men. Near the top of the hill a like commotion was visible, but from a different cause. The rebel cavalry, having completely circumvented our left, had charged in among a crowd of wounded and stragglers, who surrounded a small building which had been used for our hospital. Nothing but the unexpected courage of a considerable number of unorganized men, many of them civilians, who seized the readiest weapons and repelled the enemy, saved that point from being occupied. If I could learn the names of that brave handful, I would be glad to set them down as shining lights amid a great and disastrous gloom; and I will say that if our flying army could have forgotten for a moment its affright, and paused to see what those true men could do, the nation might still have escaped the saddest disgrace which stains its history. The secret of that panic will perhaps never be known. All essay to explain it, and all fail. Whether Gen. McDowell did or did not give an order to retreat I cannot say of my own knowledge. I am assured by one who was with him that he did; and by others that he also failed to preserve his self-control. If this be so, we shall know of it in time, but all we can now be sure of is the afflicting fact of our utter and absolute rout. How nearly one great object of the day had been accomplished may be understood when it is known that Gen. Tyler and Gen. McDowell had actually met. Many who came into the battle with Col. Heintzelman and Col. Hunter fled by the road over which Gen. Tyler had advanced. In the race from a fancied danger, all divisions and all regiments are mingled. There was not even an attempt The agony of this overwhelming disgrace can never be expressed in words, or understood by those who only hear the tale repeated. I believe there were men upon that field who turned their faces to the enemy, and marched to certain death, lest they should share the infamy which their fellows had invited and embraced. The suffering of a hundred deaths would have been as nothing compared with the torture under which the few brave soldiers writhed, who were swept along by that maniac hurricane of terror. But suddenly their spirits were revived by a sight which so long as God lets them live, they will never cease to remember with pride and joy. Stretching far across the road, long before the hoped-for refuge of Centreville was reached, was a firm, unswerving line of men, to whom the sight of the thousands who dashed by them was only a wonder or a scorn. This was the German rifle regiment, and to see the manly bearing of their general, and feel the inspiration which his presence gave at that moment, was like relief to those who perish in a desert. At least, then, all was not lost, and we knew that, let our destiny turn that night as it should, there was one man who would hold and keep the fame of the nation unsullied to the end. I need not speak much in praise of the action of Blenker and the officers who served him so |