THE PRESENT CRISIS.

BY JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL.

WHEN a deed is done for Freedom, through the broad earth's aching breast

Runs a thrill of joy prophetic, trembling on from

east to west;

And the slave, where'er he cowers, feels the soul within him climb

To the awful verge of manhood, as the energy sublime

stem of Time.

Through the walls of hut and palace shoots the instantaneous throe,

When the travail of the Ages wrings earth's systems to and fro;

in the direction of Cumberland, and encamped for the night on the farm of the Hon. James Karscaddan, senator, from that district, in the august council of West Virginia.' Passing through Frankfort next day, we struck the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad at Patterson's Creek Station. Lieutenant-Colonel White, with his memorable battalion, being in front, charged the camp, riding over the infantry picket; he surprised the guard of forty men, killed and wounded several, and captured the rest. Here we destroyed effectually two large railroad bridges, two canal locks and bridges, besides destroying the railroad houses and tele- Of a century bursts full-blossomed on the thorny graph wires, and relieving a large Yankee storehouse of its contents. I neglected to mention that Colonel Marshall, with the Seventh, had been previously sent to hold the Mechanicsburg Gap, three miles from Romney, and that Colonel Massie, with the Twelfth, had been left at Frankfort to collect cattle. It was important that he should return the same day. Leaving the railroad, he reached Frankfort, and learned that Averill was in Romney, and had started to Springfield, and was, consequently, apprised of our whereabouts. At the same time we received information from Colonel Marshall that he had been compelled to abandon the Gap near Romney. Things certainly did wear a sombre hue. But General Rosser, with a sagacity amounting almost to intuition, divined their schemes, and prepared to thwart them. Pushing on with his command, cattle, and prisoners, he reached Sheetz's Mills about ten A. M., and took the road that intersects the north-western grade, between Burlington and Romney, the enemy holding both places. Moving towards Moorefield, he encamped about twenty miles from there, reaching there next morning, the enemy occupying our camps shortly after we left.

start,

At the birth of each new Era, with a recognizing Nation wildly looks on nation, standing with mute lips apart,

And

glad Truth's yet mightier man-child leaps be

neath the Future's heart.

For mankind are one in spirit, and an instinct
bears along,
Round the earth's electric circle, the swift flash of
right or wrong;

Whether conscious or unconscious, yet humanity's
vast frame,

Through its ocean-sundered fibres, feels the gush of joy or shame;

In the gain or loss of one race, all the rest have equal claim.

to decide,

Once, to every man and nation, comes the moment
In the strife of Truth with Falsehood, for the good
or evil side;

Some great cause, God's new Messiah, offering each
the bloom or blight,
Parts the goats upon the left hand, and the sheep
upon the right,

And the choice goes by forever 'twixt that darkness
and that light.

Hast thou chosen, O my people, on whose party thou shalt stand,

dust against our land?

Though the cause of Evil prosper, yet 'tis Truth alone is strong;

And

"Everything was ready for an early start homeward next day. But lo! Averill, mystified by our movements, and thrown completely off the scent, appeared next morning before our camps, and threatened immolation. With the Christian fortitude that characterizes true martyrs, we awaited our fate-awaited long and patiently, but waited in vain. Yankee Generals rode to the front, flourished their flags, and retired; Yankee reconnoitrers rode up on high hills, reconnoitred, Ere the Doom from its worn sandals shakes the and rode down again; Yankee skirmishers expended much private strategy in securing safe positions, and desperately held them. Wearied with waiting, we moved off, and as we reached the summit of the mountain, looking back down the valley, we saw, with such emotions as Gul- Troops liver experienced when the Lilliputian army marched between his legs, these valiant defenders of the Constitution drawn up in formidable We see lines, determined to do or fly. We reached Slow of camp on the 6th, with twelve hundred cattle, and the captures already enumerated. Our casualties are, Lieutenant Howell, Seventh, lost an arm; Captain Richardson, Eleventh, shot through the leg; the gallant Lieutenant Baylor, slightly in the arm; Mr. John H. Buck, of the brigade staff, in the leg."

albeit she wander outcast now, I see around her throng

of beautiful, tall angels, to enshield her from all wrong.

dimly, in the Present, what is small and what is great;

faith, how weak an arm may turn the iron

helm of Fate;

But the soul is still oracular - amid the market's
din,

List the ominous stern whisper from the Delphic
cave within :
"They enslave their children's children who make
compromise with Sin!”

only about fifteen unburied Yankees and two Confederates, and about twenty dead horses nine lying upon a space thirty feet square. They had belonged to one of our batteries which attempted to go into action within one hundred and twenty yards of a Yankee battery - the latter being masked. The chief evidences of a severe engagement were the number of bullet marks on the trees. The ground on which this severe conflict took place was a beautiful wood, with but little undergrowth.

have ridden three miles along these fortifications, and think they are the best of the kind I ever saw. Now for the little affair I spoke of. Colonel E. P. Alexander, General Longstreet's active and skilful Chief of Artillery, hoped he might be able to shell Chattanooga, or the enemy's camps, from this mountain, and three nights ago twenty long-ranged rifle pieces were brought up, after great difficulty. It was necessary to bring them up at night, because the mountain road is in many places commanded by the batteries on "I never saw a more beautiful place for skir- Moccason Ridge. We used mules in getting our mishing, and I have understood from men in the heaviest pieces up. They pull with more steadifight that the Yankees favored this mode of war- ness than horses. Every gun was located behind fare greatly, the men taking to the trees. But some huge rock, so as to protect the cannoneers our boys dashed upon them and drove them from from the cross-fire of the Ridge. The firing this cover. I had heard that the battle-ground was begun by some guns upon the right in Genwas like that of Seven Pines, but that part I eral Polk's corps. Only one gun in that quarter visited had no such resemblance. It was open (twenty-four pound rifle gun) could reach the and gently undulating. Here and there you enemy's lines. At one P. M., order was given to would find a small, cleared field. Very little ar- open the rifles from the mountain. Parker's battillery was used, though some correspondents say tery, being highest up the mountain, opened first, the roar was deafening.' It has been also said and then down among the rocky soils of the that the enemy were driven from behind 'strong mountain. Jordan's, Woolfolk's, and other batbreastworks' on Sunday. The works I saw were teries spoke out in thunder tones. The reverbermean, consisting of old logs, badly thrown to- ations were truly grand. Old Moccason turned gether. I saw in one collection thirty-three pieces loose upon us with great fury; but 'munitions of captured artillery, and nineteen thousand mus- of rocks' secured us. All their guns being sekets, in very good order. These latter will be of curely casemated, we could do them little or no -great service in arming the exchanged Vicksburg injury; so we paid little or no attention to them. prisoners. But before closing I must tell you of a Colonel Alexander, with his glass and signal flag, little affair in which Longstreet's artillery took a took position higher up in the mountain, and part. Chattanooga, as you know, lies in a deep watched the shots. Most of our fuses (nine tenths fold of the Tennessee River. In front of the of them, indeed) were of no account, and hence town, and three miles east of it, Missionary Ridge there was great difficulty to see where our shot runs from north to south, completely investing struck, only a few exploding. The Yankees in the town in this direction. On the west of the their rifle pits made themselves remarkably small. town Lookout Mountain, with its immense rocky They swarmed before the firing began, but soon 'lookout' peak, approaches within three miles, disappeared from sight. We fired slowly, every and rests upon the river, which winds beneath its cannoneer mounting the rocks and watching the base. The Yankee line (the right wing of it) shot. After sinking the trail of the guns, so as rests about three fourths of a mile from the base to give an elevation of twenty-one degrees, the of the mountain. Our pickets occupy the base. shots continued to fall short of the camps and the The river makes a second fold just here, and in principal works of the enemy, and the order was it is Moccason Ridge,' on the opposite side, given to cease firing. It has been reported we where the Yankees have several casemated bat-killed and wounded a few men in the advanced teries, which guard their right flank. When on the mountain this ridge is just beneath you, say twelve hundred yards, but separated by the river. From this mountain you have one of the grandest views, at present, I ever beheld. You see the river far beneath you in six separate and distinct places, like six lakes. You see the mountains of Alabama and Georgia and Tennessee in the distance, and just at your feet you see Chattanooga and the Yankee army, and in front of it you see theStar' fort, and also two formidable forts on the left wing, north of the town. You see their whole line of rifle pits, from north to south. Along the base of Missionary Ridge the Confederate tents are seen forming a beautiful crescent; and perched high upon the top of this ridge, overlooking this grand basin, you see four or five white tents, where General Bragg has his headquarters. Our army is strongly fortified upon the rising ground along the base of the ridge. I

works. Last night at nine, four shots, at regular intervals and for special reasons, were fired at the town, and it was amusing to see the fires in the camps go out. The pickets, poor fellows, were the first to extinguish their little lights, which, like a thread of bright beads, encircled the great breast of the army. We have spent two nights upon the mountain. It is hard to say which is the most beautiful-the scene by night, when thousands of camp fires show the different lines of both armies with a dark, broad band between them, called 'neutral ground,' and when the picket by his little fire looks suspiciously into this dark terra incognita the livelong night, or the view after sunrise before the fog rises, when the valley northward and eastward as far as the eye can reach looks like one great ocean. The tops of the trees of Missionary Ridge, in the east, are seen above the great waste of waters, and here and there in the great distance some mountain

peak rears its head. I have seen celebrated pictures of Noah's deluge, but nothing comparable to this.

"The view by clear daylight is also very grand and beautiful. The Yankees and their lines are seen with great distinctness, and appear so near that you think you could almost throw a stone into their camps. You see every wagon that moves, and every horse carried to water. What will be done next I would not tell if I knew. Something decisive can and ought to be done, and done soon too. Bragg has a fine army, and is able to whip Rosecrans in a fair field. Longstreet's men say these Western Yankees do not fight like the Eastern Yankees. There is no difference of opinion on this subject, I find. May God give wisdom, and soon crown our efforts with great and complete success."

ANECDOTE OF PRESIDENT LINCOLN. - Mr.

Lincoln's practical shrewdness is exemplified in the following anecdote, which is sufficiently characteristic:

"Well, let me call aunt (Mrs. Johnston); she will do anything she can for you."

In a moment Mrs. Johnston appeared. "You are the celebrated Mr. Ferguson; welcome here."

A dinner was prepared, of which the individual partook with great relish. When he was about

to remount, Mrs. Johnston said:
"Your horse is jaded; I'll give you a better
one to drive the Yankee's from the State."

A contraband was called, and one of the finest horses brought out, on which the pretended secesh returned to Lexington rejoicing.

THE DOG OF THE REGIMENT.

"IF I were a poet, like you, my friend,"

Said a bronzed old Sergeant, speaking to me,
"I would make a rhyme on this mastiff here;
Although he was born on 'secesh' soil,
For a right good Union dog is he,

And his master fought in the rebel ranks.
If you'll do it, I'll tell you his history,
And give you in pay, why-a soldier's thanks.
"Well, the way we came across him was this:

In the purlieus of the Capitol at Washington,
the story goes that, after the death of Chief Jus-
tice Taney, and before the appointment of Mr.
Chase in his stead, a committee of citizens from
the Philadelphia Union League, with a distin-
guished journalist at their head as chairman, pro-
ceeded to Washington, for the purpose of laying
before the President the reason why, in their
opinion, Mr. Chase should be appointed to the
vacancy on the bench. They took with them a
memorial addressed to the President, which was
read to him by one of the committee. After lis-
tening to the memorial, the President said to
them, in a very deliberate manner:
66 Will
do me the favor to leave that paper with me? I
want it in order that, if I appoint Mr. Chase, I
may show the friends of the other
persons for
whom the office is solicited, by how powerful an
influence, and by what strong personal recom-"He always went with us into the fight,
mendations, the claims of Mr. Chase were sup-
ported."

We were on the march, and 'twas getting late
When we reached a farm-house, deserted by all
Thin and gaunt as a wolf was he,
Save this mastiff here, who stood at the gate.

But, bless you! if he didn't jump for joy
And a piteous whine he gave 'twixt the bars;

you

The committee listened with great satisfaction, and were about to depart, thinking that Mr. Chase was sure of the appointment, when they perceived that Mr. Lincoln had not finished what he intended to say. “And I want the paper, also," continued he, after a pause, " in order that, if I should appoint any other person, I may show his friends how powerful an influence, and what strong recommendations, I was obliged to disregard in appointing him." The committee departed as wise as they came.

A GOOD RUSE. While the rebels were near Georgetown, Kentucky, in 1862, a resident of Lexington put on secesh clothes and rode to the house of Mrs. Johnston, widow of the late "Provisional Governor," and when at the gate met a little son of John C. Breckinridge, who said: "Yes, I am Champ Ferguson." "You are one of Morgan's men."

When he saw our flag with the Stripes and Stars.
"Next day, when we started again on the march,
With us went Jack, without word or call,
Stopping for rest at the order to 'halt,'
And taking his rations along with us all,
Never straggling, but keeping his place in line,
And I don't care where the other is found,
Far to the right, and close beside me;
There never was better drilled dog than he.

And the thicker the bullets fell around,
And the louder the rattling musketry rolled,
Louder and fiercer his bark would sound;
And once, when wounded, and left for dead,
After a bloody and desperate fight,
Poor Jack, as faithful as friend can be,

Lay by my side on the field all night.
"And so, when our regiment home returned,
We brought him along with us, as you see;
And Jack and I being much attached,

The boys seemed to think he belonged to me.
And here he has lived with me ever since;
Right pleased with his quarters, too, he seems.
There are no more battles for brave old Jack,
And no more marches except in dreams.
"But the best of all times for the old dog is

When the thunder mutters along the sky,
Then he wakes the echoes around with his bark,
Thinking the enemy surely is nigh.
Now I've told you his history, write him a rhyme,
Some day poor Jack in his grave must rest,
And of all the rhymes of this cruel war

Which your brain has made, let his be the best."

A PROVIDENTIAL DELIVERANCE. It is well column, the Thirty-ninth North Carolina and the known that Major Anderson was an earnest sup- Twenty-fifth Arkansas being led by Colonel Colepliant for divine guidance in all the perplexities man. The Yankees gave way, but in good order, of his position in Charleston harbor. He recog- and were driven not less than three fourths of a nizes many instances of direct answers to his mile. General Gregg pronounced this charge one prayers during the long and anxious weeks in of the most brilliant achievements of the day. which he upheld the honor of his country's flag. A Yankee regiment, which encountered the ThirThe following incident is narrated by a contributor ty-ninth North Carolina and Twenty-fifth Arkanto the Christian Intelligencer:

sas, was almost annihilated. These two skeleton "Permit me to give an unpublished fact in re-regiments halted once to await support; but not spect to the hero of Fort Sumter. It was nar- receiving it, they advanced through the woods rated by the General himself, in the following into the open country, where their own weakness words. Said he: A remarkable circumstance and the strength of the Federal lines became occurred at the surrender of Fort Sumter, which apparent. Coleman's command, having exhausted I can only attribute to a kind Providence. On their ammunition, withdrew to Gregg's line of abandoning Fort Moultrie, we, of course, took battle, and encamped for the night. what ammunition we could with us. Sumter was a new and unfinished fort. It had two magazines, but neither was completed. A Lieutenant came to me for orders as to which he should put the ammunition into. Thinking there was no choice, or, perhaps, not having any special reason, I assigned the one to be occupied. I afterwards discovered that the one so taken was the most exposed. In a word, it was a moral certainty, that if I had first examined the two, I should not have ordered the occupancy of the one I did. In the bombardment, hot shot was freely used. Judge of our feelings at the surrender, when it was found that a red-hot cannon ball was lying at the bottom of the unused magazine. So that, had I selected that one, the entire garrison must have been blown into eternity!' It would be well if our public men generally observed the precept: In all thy ways acknowledge Him."

"In the great battle of Sunday, McNair's brigade were on the left, next to Hood's division. At half past nine they were lying behind an imperfect breastwork of fallen trees. A strong column of the enemy advanced upon them. They were received with a destructive fire, and falling back, were charged by McNair's brigade, and driven in confusion over two lines of breastworks into the open fields. On an eminence, two lines of Yankee batteries commanded the open space. Just before his men entered this broad field, General McNair was wounded. The gallant Colonel Harper, of the First Arkansas, was killed, and the command of the brigade devolved upon Colonel Coleman. The brigade now diverged to the right, and, under the leadership of the gallant North Carolinian, captured both the batteries. Eight of the pieces were at once taken to the rear, and two others were afterwards removed. General Bragg gave Colonel Coleman an order for three of these guns to attach to his command. "These batteries were supported by a very THE STAR BRIGADE AT CHICKAMAUGA. -The strong Federal force; - but McNair's brigade Southern war-writers have said much of the cour-charged so rapidly, loading and firing as they age and prowess displayed by their arms in the went, that the Yankees were surprised and last great battle won by the Confederates, and, routed. The assault was ferocious, and the vicno doubt, the praises bestowed upon McNair's tory complete. brigade, of Hood's division, were won by the most gallant and soldierly qualities on that hardfought field.

The war correspondent of one of the Montgomery papers has given a vivid description of the part they bore in the two days' battles.

"The Federal artillerists fought infinitely better than their infantry supports, actually throwing shell and shot with their hands into the faces of our men when they could no longer load their pieces. The two batteries captured were about one hundred yards apart, and when the guns were captured, our men were compelled to move off with the utmost rapidity.

"The band of heroes," he writes, " composing this brigade, consists of the First, Second, and Fourth Arkansas dismounted cavalry, the Twenty-first "Colonel Coleman was the first to place his and Thirty-first Arkansas infantry, the Fourth Ar-hand upon a Federal field piece, and the banner kansas battalion, and the Thirty-ninth North Caro- of the Thirty-ninth North Carolina was the first lina, under Colonel Coleman. In the command the North Carolinians were better known as the "Tar heels,' perhaps from their tenacity of purpose as well as their having been enlisted in the piny woods of the old North State.

unfurled above them, cheer after cheer announcing the triumph of our gallant men; and then came the hurried withdrawal of the guns from their place in the Federal lines.

"Lieutenant-Colonel Reynolds and Adjutant "On Saturday, the first day of the battle of J. D. Hardin were just behind Colonel Coleman Chickamauga, at noon, this brigade was ordered when he reached the Federal guns. Hardin was to support General Gregg's command, then sorely shot through the neck in the afternoon. When the pressed, on the left of Hood's division. Gregg brigade again fell back to our lines, and had obwas holding his position with great difficulty tained supplies and ammunition, it was again oragainst tremendous odds. When ordered to ad-dered forward to a height on the left, to support vance, McNair's brigade rushed over Gregg's Robinson's battery on the Lookout Valley road.