mafic by Col. Elliott, via Blacklnnds, with similar 
results. On the Xlih, Baldwin and Guntown were 
occupied by my troops, which was tie far as the pur¬ 
suit has been carried. Boonville is 24 miles by the 
railroad from Corinth, and Twenty Mile Creek is 11 
miles further. By the liisrhway the distance from 
Corinth to Twenty Mile Creek is reckoned by the 
inhabitants at SO miles. 
The facts of the ‘•farmer's story’’ are these:—I 
met at Rienzi, on Sunday, the Istol .Tune, the citizen 
whose house Beauregard occupied while there, amt 
his statement to me was, that Beauregard was much 
excited aud utterly surprised at the explosion of the 
ordnance in the liurnlng cars fired by Col. Elliott at 
Boonvido — and that he pronounced it, to be at 
Corinth, and that he violently swore at a report that, 
reached him that the explosions were at Boonville. 
That he sent all over town to ascertain the author 
of the rumor, ami while engaged in this search, a 
messenger arrived from Boonville direct, confirming 
the report that "the Yankees were there;” whereat 
Beauregard altered his route, and galloped away 
immediately, taking the round about way of Black- 
land to Baldwin. 
This statement, was made in the presence of seve¬ 
ral officers, and was entirely voluntary and unasked 
for. 
Col. Elliott arrived at Boonville on the 30th May. 
at 2 o’clock. A. M. lie remained secreted in ttie 
woods cast .of the railroad until daylight, when lie 
moved down upon the town, and was met by u body 
of about, two hundred rebel cavalry, who inconti¬ 
nently tied at a volley from Capt." Campbell’s 2d 
Michigan revolving rifles. This was the only resist¬ 
ance Col. Elliott "encountered. He found in the 
town about Sot) well soldiers and 2.000 sick and con¬ 
valescent, but none were inclined to oppose him: on 
the contrary, at least 500 wished to go back with him 
as prisoners, but it was impossible for him to fake 
them. 
The two thousand sick and convalascent found 
by ColOflel Elliott were in the most shocking 
condition, The living and tho putrid dead were 
lying together, side by side, festering la the 
sun, on platforms, on the track, on the ground, 
just where they had been driven off the cars 
by their inhuman and savage comrades. No sur¬ 
geons. no nurses were attending them. They had 
ho water or food for one or two days, and a mom 
horrible scene could scarcely be imagined. Colonel 
Elliott set, bis own men to removing them to places 
of safety, and they all were so removed before he 
set fire to the depot and cars, as can bo proved by 
hundreds. 
Gen. Beauregard states that the burning of two nr 
more cars is not enough to make him frantic. The 
exact number of cars destroyed by Col. Elliott is as 
follows:—five cars loaded with small arms; five cars 
loaded with loose ammunition; five Curs loaded with 
fixed ammunition; six cars loaded with officers’ bag¬ 
gage; five ears loaded with clothing, subsistence 
stores, harness, Saddles, &c., making a total of 26 
cars, besides three pieces of artillery and one loco¬ 
motive, This, of course, does not, Include the depot 
and platform, which were filled with provisions and 
stores of every description. 
The nine men of Col. Elliott’s command taken 
prisoners, were a party who had taken a band car 
and gone up the track a mile or two to destroy a 
water tank. It is presumed they were surprised by 
some of the skulkers who were afraid to approach 
Boonville while Col. Elliott, was there. 
The charge of burning up five sick men in the 
depot, and handing down Col. Elliott's mime to in¬ 
famy, is only in character with Gen. Beauregard’s 
previous statements, lie known better. He knows 
'tis fai to. The rebellion, in which he is a prominent, 
leader, must have imbued him with more credulity 
than reason—a spirit of malicious exaggeration has 
taken the place of truth. To convict himself of in¬ 
humanity, treachery, and deception, in almost every 
word, act. aud deed, he has only to take the com¬ 
bined ami concurrent, testimony of thousands of his 
own subalterns and men, especially those who have 
deserted his sinking cause. 
G. Granger, Brig.-Gen. 
I presume I have been called here to pursue the 
same system, and lead you against the enemy. It is 
my purpose to do so, and that speedily. 1 am as¬ 
sured von long for an opportunity to win the dis¬ 
tinction yon are capable or achieving. That, oppor¬ 
tunity I shall endeavor to give you. Meantime 1 
desire to dismiss from your minds certain phrases, 
which I am sorry to find much in vogue among yon. 
1 hear constantly of “ taking strong positions and 
holding them, of lines of retreat, and bases of sup¬ 
plies.’’ Let us discard all such ideas. The strongest 
position a soldier can occupy is one from which he 
can most, easily advance upon the enemy. Let us 
study the probable lines of retreat of our opponents, 
and leave our own to take care of themselves. Let 
ns look before us, and not behind. Success and 
glory are in the advance. Disaster and shame are 
in the rear. Let us acton this understanding, and it, 
is safe to predict that, your banner shall be inscribed 
with many a glorious deed, and that your names 
will be dear to your countrymen forever. 
John Pope, Maj.-Gen. Commanding. 
A dispatch from Warrenlon, Va., dated the 13th, 
says:—Tho policy of concentrating and consolida¬ 
ting the scattered armies of Virginia, under General 
Pope, has already developed good results. For 
many miles the territory has been cleared of rebel 
partizaus who continually annoyed onr outposts 
and trains. All the army officers and men are de- | 
lighted with the consolidated command. 
Gen. Hotche's command entered Culpepper yes¬ 
terday and attacked and repulsed about 100 rebel 
cavalry, said to belong to the 8th Louisiana, killing 
one and wounding five, and taking eleven prisoners. 
Among the latter was a Lieutenant, who a few hours 
before was seen in our lines, and a gunner who had 
three times before broken his parole. Our loss was 
three, slightly wounded. 
The following letter is from Gen. Banks to Hon. 
D. W. Gooch, ot the House of Representatives, re¬ 
lating to the resolution of June lfith, directing the 
Committee on the conduct of the War to inquire 
whether persons of color were allowed government 
transportation on Banks’ retreat from Strasburg, 
while white men, including sick and wounded 
soldiers, were compelled to be left, 
Winchester, June 19th, 1862. 
To Tfon. D. TP. Gooch — Dear Sir:—la answer to 
your inquiry, I have tho honor to say that there is 
no foundation of fact for the statement contained in 
the resolution inclosed to me. No person not be¬ 
longing to the army, white or black, was allowed to 
occupy or use government transportation of any 
kind, on the march of my command from Htrasbnrg. 
It any instance occurred, It. was without exception, 
not only unauthorized, but against orders, and has 
not yet come to my knowledge. 
Tne citizens, traders, refugees and fugitives were 
protected in the occupancy of their own wagons and 
allowed to move with tho government train in order, 
and no further. The rear guard, infantry and artil¬ 
lery, halted in the rear of Marttnsburg from two till 
evening. When at considerable distance of our 
march we overtook a small party on foot. My at¬ 
tention was attracted by u little girl about eight 
years old, who was toddling over the stones by the 
wayside, and I asked how far she had traveled. 
! ‘ From Winchester,” she said. We were then about 
twenty-seven miles on our march. I requested the 
cannoneers to give her a lift, and tho gallant men 
who had hung upon the rear of tho line for its 
defense, the greater port, of the distance, answered 
with alacrity. No successful efforts were made to 
ascertain her complexion, but it is not impossible 
she belongs to the class referred to in the resolu¬ 
tions, aud that her little limbs had been strengthened 
by some vague dream of liberty to be lost, or won 
in that hurried night's march. I have, &c., 
N. P. Banks, Maj.-Gen. Commanding. 
Gen. Rufus King having expressed to the Gov¬ 
ernment his desire that Gen. Sigel, instead of him¬ 
self, should be assigned to the command of the corps 
lately under Gen. Fremont, the change haa been 
made. Gen. King resumes command of his division, 
with which he is extremely popular. This is just 
like our noble friend. He deemed it wise to place 
Sigel at the head of a command, and he sacrificed 
himself to do what he thought wise. 
of coast consisting solely of their remains—or the 
countless forests that have grown up, flourished, 
died and decayed to (ill the storehouses of coal that 
feed the fires ot the human race to-day.—if we con¬ 
sider all ihe.se records of the past, the intellect fails 
to grasp a chronology for which our experience fur¬ 
nishes no data, and the lime, that lies behind us seems 
as much an eternity to our conception as the future 
that stretches indefinitely before us. — Agassiz. 
range, and all reached the bend above the city, 
except the Brooklyn, the Kennebec and the Owasco, 
which fell back to their positions below. Eight 
men were killed and thirty wounded during the 
engagement. 
Prospects op Capturing the Citv.— There is 
an infantry force here of fifteen or twenty thousand 
men, and no hopes are entertained of taking the 
place until a land force arrives from up the river. 
The position is a very strong one, the town being 
situated on a high bluff, which commands a bend in 
the river, aud is in turn overtopped by a second 
bluff, which is said to lie three hundred feet above 
the river. The batteries occupy the first bluff and 
the avmy the second, so that, although we may 
silence the guns and drive the gunners away, we 
can neither take nor occupy the batteries. A strong 
land force will lie necessary (o carry the position, 
and undoubtedly a bloody battle will be fought 
before tho end is reached. Gen. Vau Dorn is in 
command. There are ten or fifteen batteries on the 
river bank, some of which are double. One in the 
upper position is composed of three tiers. There 
are a number of heavy rifled guns among them, but 
the majority are not considered to be of formidable 
weight. 
The mortars keep up an intermittent fire, which 
is mainly destructive to the town, and is a source 
of annoyance to the army encamped beyond it. 
The mortar-boats were attacked last night by an 
infantry force of two regiments, who opened a fire 
of musketry on them, and. under cover of darkness, 
attempted to cut them out or sink them. They 
were repulsed with great loss by a fire from the 
Brooklyn and the gunboats. 
There seems to be no prospect for a decisive 
action at present. The enemy ave too strong for 
the fleet, and a concerted movement by land troops 
will be necessary. Gen. Williams occupied the 
bunk of the river opposite the city at the time of the 
fight, and did good service with his field pieces. 
Under date of the 2d, he says:—I 
Sometime ago, being in company with a medical 
we fell into conversation 
man whom I call Mr 
on the uses of the microscope, in the management of 
w bich he was an adept 
“Now,” said he, u I will tell you a story of what 
happened to myself—one which. I think, well 
illustrates the importance of this ins'rument to 
society, though 1 was put in a very unpleasant 
position owing to my acquaintance, with it. 
“ I have, as you know, given a good deal of 
attention to comparative anatomy, especially to 
(be structure of the hair, as it appears under the 
microscope. To the unassisted eye, indeed, all 
hair appears very much alike except as it is 
long or short, dark or fair, straight or curly, 
coarse or fine. Under the microscope, however, ^ 
the case is very different; the white man's is ifl 
roil ml: the negro’s oval; the mouse's apparently Y % 
jointed; the bat’s jagged; and so on. Indeed, v\ 
every animal has hair of a peculiar character, W 
and what is more, This character varies accord- A>» 
ing to the part of tho body from which it is ’ll 
taken —an important circumstance, as it will a 
appear from my story, which is this: slj 
11 1 once received a letter by post, containing j 
a few hairs, with ft request that I would exam- h 
ine them, and adding, that they wonld.be called ft 
for in a lew days. Accordingly I submitted the * 
hairs to a microscope, when I discovered that 
they wore from the human eyebrow, and had ^ 
been bruised, I made a note to the effect, and <0 
folded it up with the hairs in an envelope, ready L 
for the person who sent them. In a few days a I f 
stranger called and inquired whether I bad 
made the investigation. ‘Ob,yes,’I said,‘there ft 
they are, and you will find them and their de- 
scription in this envelope.’handing it to him at s 
the sumo time. He expressed himself as being 
much obliged, and offered me a fee, which, how¬ 
ever, I declined, telling him that I could not 
think of taking anything for so small a matter. 
“ It turned out. however, of more consequence 
than I had imagined; for within a week I was served 
with a subpoena, to attend as a witness on a trial for 
murder. This was very disagreeable, as I have said; 
but there was no help for it now. The case was this: 
A man was killed by a blow with some blunt instru¬ 
ment, on tho eyebrow, and the hairs sent me for 
examination had been taken from a hammer in 
the possession of the supposed murderer. I was 
put into the witness box, and my testimony ‘ that, 
the hairs were from the human eyebrow, and had 
been bruised,’ was just the link in the chain of 
evidence which sufficed to convict the prisoner. 
The jury, however, were not easily satisfied that my 
statement was worth anything; and it required the 
solemn assurance of the Judge that such a conclu¬ 
sion was in the reach of science, to convince them 
that they might act upon it. 
“ One juryman in particular—an old farmer—was 
very hard to satisfy. ‘Does theo mean to say,’ said 
he, ‘that thee can tell any hair of any animal?’ 1 
answered that I would not. take upon myself to 
assert positively that I could do that, although I 
believed I could. ‘Well,’ said he, ‘111 prove thee.’ 
“The prisoner, as I said, was convicted, and I 
went home; and. in the busy life of ail extensive 
practice, forgot all about my obstinate old farmer. 
About two years afterwards, a person, an utter 
stranger to ine, called on me with a few hairs 
screwed up in a piece of paper, which he asked me 
to examine and report on. 
“‘Is this another minder case?’ I inquired; ‘for 
if so 1 will have nothing to do with it. For I’ve had 
enough of that kind of work.’ 
“ ‘ No, no,’ said he, ‘it is nothing of the kind. It 
is only a matter of curiosity, which I should be very 
much obliged to you if you would solve; and if you 
would do it, I will call or send for the result of your 
examination in a few days' time.’ Having received 
this assurance, I undertook the Investigation. 
“When lie bad gone out, and I had leisure, I put 
the hairs under the microscope, and soou discovered 
that they were from the back of a Norway rat. Two 
or three days afterwards, as 1 was sitting in my con¬ 
sulting room, a farmer lookiug man was ushered in. 
‘Well, has thee looked at them hairs?’ 
“ ‘ Yes, 1 I answered, ‘ and 1 fiud they are from the 
back of a Norway rat.’ ‘Well,’ exclaimed he, ‘so 
they are. Thou hast forgotten me; but I have not 
forgotten thee. Does thee recollect the trial for 
murder at L-assizes? I said I would prove 
theo; and so I have, for them hairs come from the 
back of a rat’s skin my son sent me from Norway.’ 
So the old gentleman was quite satisfied with the 
proof to which he had put me, and I, as you may 
well suppose, was well pleased that my skill and 
sagacity had stood such a queer proof as this, and 
more convinced than ever of the value of the micro¬ 
scope.” 
Here the doctor ended bis story, which I have 
given as nearly as possible in his own words, and 
upon which I believed that a thorough dependence 
could be placed.”— Exchange. 
Vicksburg 
made a visit to the point of land on the Louisiana 
shore opposite Vicksburg, yesterday, and bad a 
perfect view of the town and the fortifications. 
Vicksburg lies in a bend of the river, and resembles 
from the admirable point of view above mentioned, 
a vast amphitheatre of three or tour miles in length 
and three hundred Feet iu height. The bank of the 
river rises gradually for a couple of miles back, and 
on this curved slope lies the town, imbedded in a 
natural cradle, which, for beauty and symmetry, 
cannot be excelled. Every bouse iu the place is 
distinctly visible as it rises above its neighbor in 
front, and the view is rather that of a vast amphi¬ 
theatre with its crowded seats, viewed from the 
parquette, than such as is presented by ordinary 
towns—a maze of roofs and chimneys. A more 
complete anil concise panorama of metropolitan 
life, to he taken at a single glauce, never was seen. 
Not only was the city thus spread out to the view, 
its features so distinct that every sign could be read 
with a good glass, and every prominent building 
and terrace garden noted, but the fortifications were 
equally open to inspection. Above and below the 
city, on the sides of the slope, lay those sleeping 
volcanoes whose storm of iron but lately made the 
heavens re-echo. Above was a three-banked bat¬ 
tery, of tiers rising one above the other, from a 
point half way down the slope to the summit. Four 
heavy guns iu each tier frowned over the top of the 
earthwork, and men paced back and lorth silently, 
and with gleaming bayonets. This fortification did 
heavy work at the late encounter. 
Immediately below the suburbs the town com¬ 
menced, aud hid from view whatever other hostile 
preparations may have been made in that locality. 
The town lay in the sweep of the bend, as silent 
and grave as a city of the dead. Not a house was 
open, not a window was raised to invite the delicious 
breeze, not a store front displayed its gaudy colors 
in invitation to the passer. All was stillness and 
desertion. From the foot of the slope, where the 
river washed the paved levee, to the summit of the 
wide amphitheatre, not a soul was visible. 
Below the city were situated the more formidable 
of the batteries. The summit of tho bluff was sur¬ 
mounted by two batteries, containing six heavy 
guns each. Below them was the Marine Hospital, 
a large building in the usual style of those edifices. 
To the left was a four gun battery, half way down 
the slope, and still lower down, another of about 
the. same caliber. Toward the other side was an¬ 
other battery, seemingly stronger than the last, 
while in the undergrowth near at hand were more 
earthworks, which were apparently of no great 
strength. In all they mounted about twenty guns. 
Some of the embrasures were vacant, either from 
the effect of the late engagement, which is known 
to have dismounted many, or from a scarcity of 
metal. I counted in all thirty guns, making a count 
in some places which were doubtful, and it seems 
quite improbable that their strength exceeds that 
amount. Gen. Van Dorn is in the rear, however, 
with a heavy force. 
The Canal. —You are aware that the river makes 
a sweep here, which encompasses about twelve 
miles of distance, while across the neck a mile will 
cover the ground. Across this bend Gen. Williams 
The above engraving represents a very neat 
little microscope, recently invented and patented 
by Mr. Henry Craig, of Cleveland, Ohio. Having 
but oue lens, this instrument requires no adjustment 
of focus. The lens is mounted in an India-rubber 
disk, at the upper end of a brass tube, and the tube 
is provided with a minor bung in an opening near 
its lower end to reflect the light upward through 
its axis. It is also divided by a perforated dia¬ 
phragm, with a small hole through the center to 
prevent the interference of straggling rays. A slit 
is made through the tube just below the lens, for 
the insertion of the object slides. This microscope 
renders the blood and milk globules visible, and 
also reveals some of the animalcules of stagnant 
water. It is a very convenient instrument, and 
cheap withal—being sold for .92, ami sent by mail 
for $2.25. Messrs. A lungs & Cory, Exchange st., 
Rochester, are agents for its sale in this vicinity. 
The Question of the Times in Canada* 
Loro Monck. Governor General of Canada, 
made a visit to Montreal a few days since, and 
delivered an address, in which, notwithstanding the 
fall of his first chosen ministry on the question, he 
called loudly upon the Canadians to arm and be 
prepared for war. He pointed to the United States 
as natural enemies, who should be always regarded 
with suspicion, and from whom invasion should 
always be feared. The Toronto Globe makes Lord 
Monck’s speech the subject of an article, from which 
we quote a few readable extracts: 
Lord Monck is evidently a disciple of Lord Pal¬ 
merston, and Lord Palmerston is a statesman of 
fifty years ago. lie was nursed amid wars and 
rumors of wars, arid he thinks a sound foreign 
policy to consist in always being ready and able to 
bully your neighbor?. Surrounded by European 
despots, all anxious for the downfall' of English 
power, it, must be acknowledged that there was a 
substantial basis for this policy at the commence¬ 
ment of the century; aud so long as Britain has 
ships and colonies all over the world susceptible of 
attack, there can bo no doubt o( the necessity for 
her to continue armed. Canadians, at. any ‘rate, 
reap the benefit, and are not disposed to be criti¬ 
cal about the number of men and ships main¬ 
tained by Lord‘Palmerston. But when the Premier 
desires to extend his ideas to Canada; wheu he and 
his friend Lord Monck propose that we, a people of 
two millions and a half, shall always be prepared to 
bully a neighboring people of thirty-two millions, it 
is time for us to put on our spectacles. 
The Americans have now in ilia field, North and 
South, nearly a million of men. Must we have as 
many? We" have uot the men to commence with, 
and if we hud them, we could not afford to pay so 
many people for learning the soldier’s trade. We 
are a poor country, burdened with debt and taxa¬ 
tion, and we. should be made to undertake an 
expenditure nn war preparations which to our 
thirty-two millions of neighbors would be a trifle. 
What, we can afford wo are willing to do. We 
will go as far as our neighbors themselves have done 
in time of peace—develop© the military spirit of our 
people by an inexpensive volunteer and militia 
system, but further than that Canadians will not go. 
They will not consent to cripple the finances of 
the country by an enormous expenditure to guard 
against a danger which will probably never arise. 
Our sole thought by day and night is not. the preser¬ 
vation of the country from invasion.. \Ve do not, 
live in the days of Attila. One civilized people 
does not go to war with another kindred people 
without provocation. Our neighbors are not a 
horde of oandits, eager for plunder. They are our 
neighbors and friends, one in blood, and possessing 
many ideas in common. 
Let Lord Monck pause before he recommends 
anything so monstrous. He desires, in common 
with the entire Canadian people, to preserve British 
connection. Let him beware lest he brings about 
the result which he designs to avoid. Let him take care 
that he does not convince the people of Canada that 
it is better to become a part of the United States 
than to live the slaves of a constant dread of inva¬ 
sion, wasting their money and their time, and 
destroying their prosperity, in attempts to make 
themselves a? strong in a military point of view as 
their neighbors. __ 
The Army In The Slienandonh. 
We give below some interesting intelligence 
from this portion of the Union army. Maj.-Gen. 
Pope, recently placed in command, has issued a 
proclamation which reads thus: 
Wasiit.nutos, July 14th, 1862. 
To the Officers and Soldiers of the Army of Vir¬ 
ginia .—By special assignment of the President of (he 
United States, I have assumed command of this 
army. I have spent two weeks in learning your 
whereabouts, your condition, and your wants, in 
preparing you for active operations, aud in placing 
you iu a "position from which you can act promptly 
and to the purpose. 
I have come to you from the West, where we have 
always seen the backs of our enemies, from an army 
whose business it has been to seek the adversary arid 
beat him when found, whose policy has been attack 
and not defense. In but one instance has the enemy 
bet>u able to place our Western Army in a defensive 
attitude^ 
Vicksburg — Tlie Bombardment. 
A correspondent of the Chicago Times, under 
date of off Vicksburg, July 1st, gives the following 
description of the action of tho 28th ult.: 
The affair of Saturday morning was a regular 
assault upon the works, intended to take the place 
if possible, and if not, to ascertain to a certainty 
their strength and location. The line of battle was 
as follows: 
Gunboat Oneida, 
Sloop-ot'-war Irofjuois, 
Sloop-of-war Hartford, 
Gunboat Sciot.i. 
Gunboat Winsahikon, 
Sloop-of-war Richmond 
The remainder of the fleet, consisting of mortar- 
boats and transports, remained behind. The West- 
field, a Staten Island ferry-boat, followed far enough 
to engage in the tight with her howitzers, and 
received a rilled shot in the steam pipe, which 
scalded eight men to death. The advance was 
made at 3 o’clock in the morning, and at about day¬ 
light the leading vessel turned the point and came 
within range of the enemy’s batteries. Before 
them was a semi-circle of bluffs about four miles in 
length, at the foot of which ran the channel, close 
in. The Oneida received fire at her first appear¬ 
ance, aud replied without delay. The others joined 
in the engagement as they came within range, and 
in a few minutes the entire fleet was under fire. 
The line kept advancing until it arrived opposite 
the town, when a signal from the flag-ship brought 
it to a halt, and a general engagement ensued, 
which lasted two hours and forty minutes. It was 
now, for the first time, that the strength of the 
enemy's position and resources was understood. 
The bluffs above and below the city were lined 
with batteries, and from three sides a raking and 
broadside fire was poured into our vessels which 
was tremendous. The batteries were placed in 
three tiers—the first at the water line, the second 
hall way up the bluff and the third on the summit, 
a hundred feet above the vessels. 
The batteries were located in promiscuous order, 
and were only to be discovered when they opened 
fire. The town seemed full of assailants. The fire 
proceeded not only from earthworks, but from 
behiud walls, ami all buildings were full of sharp¬ 
shooters, who poured in volleys of musketry, which 
swept the decks and did great execution. The 
boats directed their broadsides as they could define 
the position of the batteries, or leveled at buildings 
which were conspicuous for the heat of their fire. 
Some of the buildings had cannon in the cellars, 
which opened on the side hill. In fact, the fire was 
so heavy that the fleet was obliged to move, and, 
being iu position to go up better than down, they 
moved in that direction. 
The flag-ship had been bit heavily, and her mlzzen 
rigging was carried away, giviug Commodore Far- 
rngut a narrow escape trom death. Every boat in 
Flag of the stripes ot' fire! 
Long as the bard his lofty lyre 
Can strike, thou shalt mvake our song; 
We ll sing thee round the hearth, 
In holy household mirth; 
We’ll sing thee, when we forth 
To battle go, with clarion tongue. 
Hail, banner, beautiful and grand, 
O’er mountain, prairie, lake, and sea, 
Where’er thou floatest, we sing to thee. 
Gunboat Winona, 
Gunboat Panola, 
Sloop of-war Brooklyn, 
Gunboat Kennebec. 
Gunboat Owasco. 
ROCHESTER, N. Y., JULY 26, 1862. 
THE WAR’S PROGRESS, 
Granger ami Beauregard. 
Gen. Beauregard recently published a letter 
in the Mobile News, criticising the dispatches of Gen, 
Halleck and claiming that his retreat was in perfect 
order, denying that any farmer reported him ex¬ 
cited, and making various other representations. 
This has called out a reply from Gen. Gordon Gran¬ 
ger, chief of nalleck’s cavalry, who led the pursuit 
ot the rebels from Corinth. The reply is interest¬ 
ing, and we copy it entire, with the remark that Gen. 
Granger is a New Yorker, a graduate of West Point, 
and a Captain in the 3d Regular Cavalry. He en¬ 
tered the service in 1841, and was distinguished in 
the Mexican war: 
Hkadquahti! its Cavalry Division, > 
Army of the Mississippi, July 4th, 1862. J 
I have read with mingled feelings of surprise and 
regret a communication signed P.G. T. Beauregard, 
addressed to the Mobile News of the 19th ult.—sur¬ 
prise, that facts so patent, and so easily susceptible 
of proof, should be denied by him; auu regret, that 
so weak, wicked, and unholy a cause as is this 
cursed rebellion, should have rendered utterly false 
and unscrupulous a man whom for fifteen years l 
have associated with all that was chivairic, high- 
minded, and honorable, 
The pursuit from Corinth I led with one brigade of 
my cavalry, and a battery, leaving Farmington at 
noon on the 30th of May. On the evening oi the 
same day, I came upon the rear guard of the enemy, 
whom 1 "found strongly posted In the bottom of Tus- 
cumbia Creek, eight miles south of Corimh. The 
next day this rear guard was driven out, aud on 
Sunday, June 1st, the pursuit re-commenced. We 
passed Rienzi only two hours behind the retreating 
army, and found the bridges between Rienzi and 
Boonville so recently fired that the timbers were 
nearly all saved. My advanced guard came up w ith 
the enemy late in the afternoon of the 1st, about four 
miles from Boonville, aiul chased them within one 
mile of the town, where it was halted by ray order, 
on account of the lateness of the hour. 
At five o'clock on the morning of the 2d of June, 
I entered Boonville, and during all that day my 
cavalry was constantly skirmishing with the enemy 
on every road leading southward and westward 
from Boonville to Twenty Mile Creek. On the 
next day I made a reconuoissance in force towards 
Baldwin, driving the enemy across Twenty Mile 
Creek; aud on the 4th another recounoissance was 
THE AGE OF OUR EARTH 
Among the astounding discoveries of modern 
science is that of the immense periods which have 
passed in the gradual formation of the earth. So 
vast were the cycles of the time preceding even the 
appearance of man on the surface of our globe, that 
our own period seems-as yesterday when compared 
with the epochs that have gone before it. Had we 
only the evidence of the deposits of rocks heaped 
above each other in regular strata by the slow accu¬ 
mulation of materials, they alone would convince us 
of the Jong and slow maturing of God’s work on 
earth; but when we add to these the successive pop¬ 
ulations of whose life this world has been the thea¬ 
ter, and whose remains are hidden in the rocks into 
which the mud or sand or soil of whatever kind on 
which they lived has hardened iri the course of time 
—or the enormous chains of mountains whose up¬ 
heaval divided these periods of quiet accumulation 
by great convulsions — or the changes of a different 
nature in the configuration of our globe, as the sink¬ 
ing of lands beneath the ocean, or the gradual ris¬ 
ing of continents and islands above it—or the wear¬ 
ing of great river beds, or the filling of extensive 
water basins, till marshes first and tlieu dry land 
succeeded to inland seas —or the slow growth of 
coral reefs, those wonderful sea-walks, raised by the 
little ocean-architects whose own bodies furnish 
both the building stones and the cement that binds 
them together, and who have worked so busily 
during the long centuries, that there are extensive 
countries,'mountain chains, islands, and long lines 
Item* anil Incidents. 
A correspondent, referring to the employment 
of negroes to dig the canal which is to set \ icks- 
burg back a little, says:—They were glad enough 
to come, it not for the change, at least for the good 
rations, as meat has been scarce lor several months, 
and clothing none too plenty. In high ecstacy they 
danced around the large kettles of boiling pork, and 
shouted its praises with exuberant fancy. “Look 
a’ dar,” cried oue, as he rushed up and seized a huge 
ladle which brought up steams and oily vapors; 
“ look a’ dar, niggers. Two inches ob grease on de 
top!” A medley of yells responded, and an Abys¬ 
sinian dance ensued, which ended by a general rush 
at the kettle, and a corresponding disappearance of 
the victuals- 
Memphis to re Fortified. —The Memphis cor¬ 
respondent of the Philadelphia Press, July 6, states 
that the city is about to be fortified:—Gen. Halleck 
has ordered Memphis to be fortified, and the work 
has begun. This will enable us to garrison the 
place with a small force, and will give to the Union 
people a sense of security against attack from those 
flying bands who are traversing the country. Con¬ 
trabands owned by Secesh are to be used in the 
work. Seventeen hundred of them have already 
