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OUR HARRISBURG CORRESPONDENCE.; The Report of a Spy--His Adventures in Carlisle and Vicinity--Ewell's Corps There, Numbering 20,000 Men--Lee's Movements--The Work of the Copperheads--Information to the Enemy--The Rebel Intentions, &c.
HARRISBURGH, Monday, June 29, 1863.
I have just had an extremely interesting conversation with a young man whose name I dare not mention, because if the rebels should ever catch him they would surely shoot or hang him as a spy -- for such he was. He voluntarily went within their lines, and traversed all their camps in the vicinity of Carlisle, with which country he is entirely familiar, While in Carlisle he met an old friend now in the rebel army, and through him was introduced to several of the rebel Generals, who talked with him very freely. They said he could not get out of town, and they did not care how much they told him. He is brave, adventurous, and as cool as a man can be, though he is but a mere boy. He made his escape over the South Mountain, though the rebel soldiers were in pursuit of him, and he arrived in Duncannon at 2 1/2 o'clock this morning. He walked twenty miles in three hours and a half, having left Carlisle at 11 1/2. He arrived here in the 12 o'clock train.
Nearly the whole of EWELL's corps is at and about Carlisle, and it numbers about 20,000 men. Gen. EARLY left yesterday, with a considerable body of troops, for Gettysburg. All the expeditions here-abouts have been made from this corps. Gen. ANDERSON's corps is close behind at Chambersburgh, and advancing. Gen. LEE passed through Chambersburgh yesterday, on his way to Gettysburgh. He holds the centre, which is composed, in part at least, of LONGSTREET's corps. EWELL is on the left, and A.P. HILL, who is now at Hagerstown, on the right. The whole rebel army is on this side of the Potomac, and most of it in Pennsylvania. It consists, probably, of not far from one hundred thousand men.
The information of the rebels is very full and accurate. They showed my informant a complete map of the fortifications here, and told him of fords on the river. They know as well as we do the number of men that we have, and their character. They say that our militia won't be able to stand two volleys of musketry, and that they are not afraid of as many as we can bring against them. There are plenty of Copperheads, who furnish them all the information they want, and point out to them the places where goods are hidden. While they use these men, they despise them. "There," said a rebel officer to my informant, "do you see that man?" (pointing to one of these sympathizers.) "Well he is a -- rebel; and if I were in the place of you people that are loyal, I would hang him as soon as we get away from here." The individual alluded to felt the force of the remark, and left. The rebels concurred in saying they honored an open enemy, but despised a snake. The more I think of it, the more I wonder that a Northern man can be found who will aid the rebels while invading the Free States. That some Southern people retain their loyalty to the Union, and their affection for the old flag, is not surprising, but a traitor to the Union in the Free States is an anomaly.
Gen. EWELL said he should encamp in front of Harrisburgh to-night, and would have done so last night but that he preferred not to travel on Sunday, where it could be avoided. Several of the other Generals said the intention of the rebel army was to capture Harrisburgh at all events, and then march on Philadelphia. They all appear to be in the greatest spirits, particularly the officers, who have of late had very superior quarters to those they are accustomed to. The privates are many of them better clad than the wretched tatterdemalions who are brought in as prisoners; but they seem to feel very well, and marched through the streets of Carlisle singing "Dixie" at a great rate. They are very rude and unfeeling in their conduct toward our prisoners, tantalizing and abusing them when they are taken through the camps. They told my informant that HOOKER had retreated to Washington and that GRANT had been repulsed at Vicksburgh, both of which statements they profess to believe.
A great many desert from the rebel army. The mountains are full of deserters, and they come into Harrisburgh every day. The picket guard has been doubled in order to prevent this. I apprehend Gen. LEE will find a good deal of trouble on this score. Thousands of the privates are tired of fighting and have no heart in the cause. Now that they have got into a Free State and having a good chance, if they once get beyond the pickets, of escaping North, many will leave and regain their freedom. After the first great fight, when the usual precautions to catch deserters are necessarily somewhat intermitted, the rebel army will unquestionably lose heavily in deserters and stragglers. Heretofore, if they escaped, they could only go south. Now the case is quite different. The most of them, however, are very plucky. They say they are fighting for their rights, and that if they can only succeed in staying North during the Summer they are sure to be recognized.
They make requisitions on the inhabitants for all they want. They made one requisition on Carlisle yesterday morning for 1,500 rations, and later in the forenoon another for 500 barrels of flour. They strip the stores, but touch nothing in private dwellings, and they are courteous and polite to citizens, particularly ladies, I am happy to be able to say, also, that our ladies do not follow the example of Southern ladies in their treatment of the rebel soldiers.
Thus, while we of the North have been quibbling, grumbling and criticising, instead of aiding the Government -- manoeuvring for the next President instead of fighting for our country, and quarreling about our Generals instead of following them cheerfully, a powerful, desperate and determined foe has invaded our soil and driven our citizens from their homes. While our peace Democracy have been advocating an armistice, and resisting all our preparations for men, the character of the issue has changed, and now we are obliged to fight or be conquered. Why don't FERNANDO WOOD go down to Gettysburgh and ask LEE if he won't consent to an armistice? I think Mr. LEE would say, if he deigned to answer him at all, that he would talk about that when he should get to Philadelphia. Even now, appalling as the danger is, I hear from all quarters, both high and low, scarcely less vindictive denunciations of the War Department and the Abolitionists than of the rebels. "Why don't the President send up 10,000 men from HOOKER's army," they whine, "and defend Harrisburgh." As though any one would think of such a thing as dividing the army, which is our only hope, to save such a contemptible little village as this. People have got so into the habit of blaming and finding fault that it seems as though they could do nothing else. They are doing better now, however, than they yet have. The whole population is ready to take up arms; very many are formed into companies. The veterans of 1812 have taken their muskets and cartridge boxes. Two companies of negroes were armed yesterday and marched through the streets, strange to say, without being insulted. The thought seemed to impress itself on every mind that there was bone and muscle even if the skin was black. The darkies themselves are highly delighted. They polish up their muskets and stuff their cartridge boxes full, laughing and chatting all the time as merrily as possible -- tickled as a child with a new toy. These men have never been drilled much, and are officered by colored men, but I am inclined to think they will fight as well as the militia. When we consider the fearful risk they run we must acknowledge that it requires a high order of courage for a negro to enlist.
The fortifications are finished, and there are now a great many troops to defend them. They are impregnable, if well defended, and I hope the rebels will find cause to change the contempt they feel for our militia into admiration, when once they test their mettle. I do not suppose the great battle will be fought here; but I have very little doubt of their intention to take Harrisburgh if they can do it. Though they made no use of the capture, it would be a great thing to say that they had taken the capital of Pennsylvania. It would be worth five thousand men to them. If, however, they mean to stay in the North the whole Summer, they could not do better than to occupy Harrisburgh permanently. In the meantime, a few days longer will explain the whole plan up to the first battle.
The Philadelphia Age published on its bulletinboard to-day that there were no rebels near Harrisburgh. A message was sent to Gen. COUCH that the statement was believed in many quarters, and that it had the effect which was undoubtedly intended -- to stop enlistments -- and asking for the facts. He answered that the rebels were within four miles of Harrisburgh and advancing, and that an attack was hourly expected.
Col. COPPIE is relieved of his onerous duties, and his place is filled by WAYNE MCVEIGH, Esq., who is an old newspaper man, and will, I hope, be able to give us more news than we obtained from Col. COPPIE.
There was a slight skirmish over the river to-day. Nobody hurt, but some a good deal frightened. The Seventy-first New-York was engaged; also, SPENCER MILLER's battery. The rebels were about one hundred and fifty cavalry. They have made no advance this afternoon, so far as heard from. A detachment was seen at a point about thirty miles north of Harrisburgh, on the river, but no report has yet come of their operations.
The bridge company at this place keep an account of all the soldiers and teams that cross the river, and intend to present their bill to the State or the National Government, whichever they think will be fool enough to pay it. Patriotic!
THE SITUATION
just at present, seems to be this: LEE's whole army is in Pennsylvania and the borders of Maryland. LEE himself is at the centre, at or near Gettysburgh, with LONGSTREET's corps. A.P. HILL is on the right, and EWELL on the left. The latter corps is much the strongest, and numbers, according to information received by Gov. CURTIN, thirty-seven thousand men. Other accounts place it at thirty-four thousand. LONGSTREET's corps is said to be only ten thousand, but this, it seems to me, must be a mistake. ANDERSON's corps is in reserve, and is now at Chambersburgh. The whole rebel army must number at least one hundred thousand men.
EWELL's corps, which consists largely of cavalry and mounted infantry, and were the first to advance into the Cumberland Valley, is charged with the double duty of watching our movements and making excursions to various points for the purpose of plunder, and also to break our railroad connections. L[
]N is advancing on Bloody Run, probably to capture MILROY's remnant, at the same time a force is at Perryville, thirty miles north of Harrisburgh, and will probably cut the Pennsylvania Railroad at some important point. A force is also at York, and has laid that unfortunate city under contribution to the amount of $150,000 in money and a large amount of flour and other edibles. These points are at least one hundred miles apart. A large force is threatening Harrisburgh, and all these detachments are parts of EWELL's corps. I think the other corps, LONGSTREET's, A.P. HILL's and ANDERSON's, are to be held in hand, while EWELL's does the Work of burning bridges and cutting off our communications with the North, East and West, and at the same time collects together horses and supplies for the main army. I can no longer doubt that the rebels intend to carry on the Summer campaign in the North. It is a desperate movement, but it is their only hope. They must neutralize our victories in the West if they can. If we can beat them the rebellion is crushed, for whether we capture and destroy their army, or whether we only drive them back to Richmond, they cannot live through another Winter. The "black cloud" is gathering in the Southwest. A counter fire is gathering in the Northeast. When the fire and the cloud meet, the bolt that falls will destroy the last vestige of the rebellion. The people of the North must realize the fact that the rebels have actually attempted their conquest, for such is the fact. They trust to the machinations and schemes of their friends here to succeed. May this be discouraged and foiled now and forever.
Gen. COUCH has issued an order forbidding all newspaper correspondents to cross the river.
HARRISBURGH, Monday, June 29, 1863.
I have just had an extremely interesting conversation with a young man whose name I dare not mention, because if the rebels should ever catch him they would surely shoot or hang him as a spy -- for such he was. He voluntarily went within their lines, and traversed all their camps in the vicinity of Carlisle, with which country he is entirely familiar, While in Carlisle he met an old friend now in the rebel army, and through him was introduced to several of the rebel Generals, who talked with him very freely. They said he could not get out of town, and they did not care how much they told him. He is brave, adventurous, and as cool as a man can be, though he is but a mere boy. He made his escape over the South Mountain, though the rebel soldiers were in pursuit of him, and he arrived in Duncannon at 2 1/2 o'clock this morning. He walked twenty miles in three hours and a half, having left Carlisle at 11 1/2. He arrived here in the 12 o'clock train.
Nearly the whole of EWELL's corps is at and about Carlisle, and it numbers about 20,000 men. Gen. EARLY left yesterday, with a considerable body of troops, for Gettysburg. All the expeditions here-abouts have been made from this corps. Gen. ANDERSON's corps is close behind at Chambersburgh, and advancing. Gen. LEE passed through Chambersburgh yesterday, on his way to Gettysburgh. He holds the centre, which is composed, in part at least, of LONGSTREET's corps. EWELL is on the left, and A.P. HILL, who is now at Hagerstown, on the right. The whole rebel army is on this side of the Potomac, and most of it in Pennsylvania. It consists, probably, of not far from one hundred thousand men.
The information of the rebels is very full and accurate. They showed my informant a complete map of the fortifications here, and told him of fords on the river. They know as well as we do the number of men that we have, and their character. They say that our militia won't be able to stand two volleys of musketry, and that they are not afraid of as many as we can bring against them. There are plenty of Copperheads, who furnish them all the information they want, and point out to them the places where goods are hidden. While they use these men, they despise them. "There," said a rebel officer to my informant, "do you see that man?" (pointing to one of these sympathizers.) "Well he is a -- rebel; and if I were in the place of you people that are loyal, I would hang him as soon as we get away from here." The individual alluded to felt the force of the remark, and left. The rebels concurred in saying they honored an open enemy, but despised a snake. The more I think of it, the more I wonder that a Northern man can be found who will aid the rebels while invading the Free States. That some Southern people retain their loyalty to the Union, and their affection for the old flag, is not surprising, but a traitor to the Union in the Free States is an anomaly.
Gen. EWELL said he should encamp in front of Harrisburgh to-night, and would have done so last night but that he preferred not to travel on Sunday, where it could be avoided. Several of the other Generals said the intention of the rebel army was to capture Harrisburgh at all events, and then march on Philadelphia. They all appear to be in the greatest spirits, particularly the officers, who have of late had very superior quarters to those they are accustomed to. The privates are many of them better clad than the wretched tatterdemalions who are brought in as prisoners; but they seem to feel very well, and marched through the streets of Carlisle singing "Dixie" at a great rate. They are very rude and unfeeling in their conduct toward our prisoners, tantalizing and abusing them when they are taken through the camps. They told my informant that HOOKER had retreated to Washington and that GRANT had been repulsed at Vicksburgh, both of which statements they profess to believe.
A great many desert from the rebel army. The mountains are full of deserters, and they come into Harrisburgh every day. The picket guard has been doubled in order to prevent this. I apprehend Gen. LEE will find a good deal of trouble on this score. Thousands of the privates are tired of fighting and have no heart in the cause. Now that they have got into a Free State and having a good chance, if they once get beyond the pickets, of escaping North, many will leave and regain their freedom. After the first great fight, when the usual precautions to catch deserters are necessarily somewhat intermitted, the rebel army will unquestionably lose heavily in deserters and stragglers. Heretofore, if they escaped, they could only go south. Now the case is quite different. The most of them, however, are very plucky. They say they are fighting for their rights, and that if they can only succeed in staying North during the Summer they are sure to be recognized.
They make requisitions on the inhabitants for all they want. They made one requisition on Carlisle yesterday morning for 1,500 rations, and later in the forenoon another for 500 barrels of flour. They strip the stores, but touch nothing in private dwellings, and they are courteous and polite to citizens, particularly ladies, I am happy to be able to say, also, that our ladies do not follow the example of Southern ladies in their treatment of the rebel soldiers.
Thus, while we of the North have been quibbling, grumbling and criticising, instead of aiding the Government -- manoeuvring for the next President instead of fighting for our country, and quarreling about our Generals instead of following them cheerfully, a powerful, desperate and determined foe has invaded our soil and driven our citizens from their homes. While our peace Democracy have been advocating an armistice, and resisting all our preparations for men, the character of the issue has changed, and now we are obliged to fight or be conquered. Why don't FERNANDO WOOD go down to Gettysburgh and ask LEE if he won't consent to an armistice? I think Mr. LEE would say, if he deigned to answer him at all, that he would talk about that when he should get to Philadelphia. Even now, appalling as the danger is, I hear from all quarters, both high and low, scarcely less vindictive denunciations of the War Department and the Abolitionists than of the rebels. "Why don't the President send up 10,000 men from HOOKER's army," they whine, "and defend Harrisburgh." As though any one would think of such a thing as dividing the army, which is our only hope, to save such a contemptible little village as this. People have got so into the habit of blaming and finding fault that it seems as though they could do nothing else. They are doing better now, however, than they yet have. The whole population is ready to take up arms; very many are formed into companies. The veterans of 1812 have taken their muskets and cartridge boxes. Two companies of negroes were armed yesterday and marched through the streets, strange to say, without being insulted. The thought seemed to impress itself on every mind that there was bone and muscle even if the skin was black. The darkies themselves are highly delighted. They polish up their muskets and stuff their cartridge boxes full, laughing and chatting all the time as merrily as possible -- tickled as a child with a new toy. These men have never been drilled much, and are officered by colored men, but I am inclined to think they will fight as well as the militia. When we consider the fearful risk they run we must acknowledge that it requires a high order of courage for a negro to enlist.
The fortifications are finished, and there are now a great many troops to defend them. They are impregnable, if well defended, and I hope the rebels will find cause to change the contempt they feel for our militia into admiration, when once they test their mettle. I do not suppose the great battle will be fought here; but I have very little doubt of their intention to take Harrisburgh if they can do it. Though they made no use of the capture, it would be a great thing to say that they had taken the capital of Pennsylvania. It would be worth five thousand men to them. If, however, they mean to stay in the North the whole Summer, they could not do better than to occupy Harrisburgh permanently. In the meantime, a few days longer will explain the whole plan up to the first battle.
The Philadelphia Age published on its bulletinboard to-day that there were no rebels near Harrisburgh. A message was sent to Gen. COUCH that the statement was believed in many quarters, and that it had the effect which was undoubtedly intended -- to stop enlistments -- and asking for the facts. He answered that the rebels were within four miles of Harrisburgh and advancing, and that an attack was hourly expected.
Col. COPPIE is relieved of his onerous duties, and his place is filled by WAYNE MCVEIGH, Esq., who is an old newspaper man, and will, I hope, be able to give us more news than we obtained from Col. COPPIE.
There was a slight skirmish over the river to-day. Nobody hurt, but some a good deal frightened. The Seventy-first New-York was engaged; also, SPENCER MILLER's battery. The rebels were about one hundred and fifty cavalry. They have made no advance this afternoon, so far as heard from. A detachment was seen at a point about thirty miles north of Harrisburgh, on the river, but no report has yet come of their operations.
The bridge company at this place keep an account of all the soldiers and teams that cross the river, and intend to present their bill to the State or the National Government, whichever they think will be fool enough to pay it. Patriotic!
THE SITUATION
just at present, seems to be this: LEE's whole army is in Pennsylvania and the borders of Maryland. LEE himself is at the centre, at or near Gettysburgh, with LONGSTREET's corps. A.P. HILL is on the right, and EWELL on the left. The latter corps is much the strongest, and numbers, according to information received by Gov. CURTIN, thirty-seven thousand men. Other accounts place it at thirty-four thousand. LONGSTREET's corps is said to be only ten thousand, but this, it seems to me, must be a mistake. ANDERSON's corps is in reserve, and is now at Chambersburgh. The whole rebel army must number at least one hundred thousand men.
EWELL's corps, which consists largely of cavalry and mounted infantry, and were the first to advance into the Cumberland Valley, is charged with the double duty of watching our movements and making excursions to various points for the purpose of plunder, and also to break our railroad connections. L[
]N is advancing on Bloody Run, probably to capture MILROY's remnant, at the same time a force is at Perryville, thirty miles north of Harrisburgh, and will probably cut the Pennsylvania Railroad at some important point. A force is also at York, and has laid that unfortunate city under contribution to the amount of $150,000 in money and a large amount of flour and other edibles. These points are at least one hundred miles apart. A large force is threatening Harrisburgh, and all these detachments are parts of EWELL's corps. I think the other corps, LONGSTREET's, A.P. HILL's and ANDERSON's, are to be held in hand, while EWELL's does the Work of burning bridges and cutting off our communications with the North, East and West, and at the same time collects together horses and supplies for the main army. I can no longer doubt that the rebels intend to carry on the Summer campaign in the North. It is a desperate movement, but it is their only hope. They must neutralize our victories in the West if they can. If we can beat them the rebellion is crushed, for whether we capture and destroy their army, or whether we only drive them back to Richmond, they cannot live through another Winter. The "black cloud" is gathering in the Southwest. A counter fire is gathering in the Northeast. When the fire and the cloud meet, the bolt that falls will destroy the last vestige of the rebellion. The people of the North must realize the fact that the rebels have actually attempted their conquest, for such is the fact. They trust to the machinations and schemes of their friends here to succeed. May this be discouraged and foiled now and forever. Gen. COUCH has issued an order forbidding all newspaper correspondents to cross the river.
