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THE EXPLOSION.

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beside their loaded pieces, wondered at the delay. The fuse had gone out in the gallery, and for an hour the mighty host watched and waited in vain. Daylight in the meantime had broadened in the East, revealing every object distinctly, and the rebel flag was seen waving listlessly above the unsuspecting garrison.

The fuse was now again lighted, and just as the sun burst in blazing splendor above the horizon, the explosion took place; but it being so deep underground, the heaving and trembling of the earth was felt before any sound was heard. The next moment, the fort rose into the air in fragments, and mingled with great clods of earth, guns, caissons and limbers, was seen a cloud of human forms tossing in the air. The mighty mass rose like the jet from some huge fountain. and when it reached its highest elevation, balanced a me ment in space, and then fell back with a dull, heavy, thunder sound, in wreck to the earth.

A crater, a hundred feet long, and fifty feet wide, and twenty feet deep, appeared where the six-gun fort had been, over which hung a cloud of mingled dust ana smoke like a great pall. The next moment, came the roar of a gun, and then another and another, till a hundred cannon along our line were playing upon the rebel batteries. The bugles rang out, the drums beat, and in dashed Ledlie's division-Marshall's brigade leading the advance. Though taken wholly by surprise, the rebels rallied with wonderful quickness, and in a short time, from right and left, their artillery was in full play on the storming party, that, with loud cheers, charged on a run over the intervening space. The Fourteenth New York heavy artillery first entered the gap, followed by Marshall's second brigade, which went pellmell into the smoking crater, from the bottom of which protruded half buried limbs and mangled bodies of men.

To the right and left, Hartranft's and Griffin's brigades

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spread out, enveloping the flanking rifle-pits, and, for a mo. ment, success seemed certain. But instead of pushing on, the troops began to dig out the wounded and the captured guns, and throw up breastworks to protect themselves from the enemy's shells. This gave the rebel gunners time to train their guns with fearful accuracy on the spot, and by the time the troops were re-formed and ready to push on, a fire awaited them, before which nothing human could stand. Still undaunted, the Corps in three divisions-Ledlie in the centre, Potter on the right, and Wilcox on the left-moved swiftly forward; Marshall again leading, followed close by the gallant Bartlett. They breasted the horrible fire until they reached the side of the coveted crest, when they halted. From every redoubt, salient, and earthwork, shot and shell and canister came in one ceaseless stream, and the shattered Corps, after swaying a moment in the vain effort to breast it, recoiled bleeding, to the crater they had just left. Ferrero's colored division was now sent in to do what white troops had failed to accomplish, but though they charged gallantly, it was madness to expect them to succeed where veteran soldiers, under such leaders as Griffin, Marshall, and Bartlett, failed. Recoiling, they only helped to swell the confusion, as they plunged headlong amid the ruins for shelter.

The enemy now concentrated his fire on this single spot, and swept the space in rear of it, so frightfully, that an orderly retreat over it was out of the question. Unable to advance, cooped up in the crater, over which swept an incessant storm of shot and shell, the position of the troops was most distressing. But little order could be maintained, and the men in squads began to flee back to our lines. About noon, a general retreat was ordered, but a portion preferred to remain in the fort, and left alone were soon after charged

BURNSIDE RELIEVED.

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upon and captured. Among the prisoners was General Bartlett, with most of his Staff.

Our loss in this fruitless assault, was about four thousand, while that of the enemy was not over fourteen hundred, two hundred of whom were supposed to have perished in the blowing up of the fort. The next day was a gloomy Sabbath, and we sent in a flag of truce to obtain permission to bury our dead, but, through some informality, it was not granted until next day.

The Army of the Potomac seemed doomed to useless butcheries, and this one, like others that preceded it, caused intense excitement throughout the country. The blame fell now on this Commander, and now on that, but Burnside had to bear the brunt of it, and in the end was relieved from his command to await an investigation. This ended his military career. It is not so easy to fix the blame on one person.

The great error, however, seems to have been the neglect to have the storming force consist of picked regiments and brigades from the whole army.

Along the coast but little was done. Farragut was getting ready for his grand attack on Mobile, while our batteries kept playing on Charleston. An attempt was made by our land forces and iron-clads to get possession of James Island, but failed.

In the political world, the chief events were the adjournment of Congress, after perfecting the income-tax bill, and the organization of the two great parties for the coming political campaign. Perhaps the most important event outside of operations in the field, was the proclamation of the President, calling for five hundred thousand additional troops. This requisition for half a million of men, right on the top of Grant's campaign, looked as if the war had only just begun, and filled the timid with alarm.

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PRESIDENT'S PROCLAMATION.

This call for troops, which we give below, shows no timidity on the part of the President, but if possible, a more fixed determination than ever to put down, at all cost, the wicked rebellion.

"WASHINGTON, July 18, 1864.

By the President of the United States of America:

A PROCLAMATION.

WHEREAS, by the Act, approved July 4, 1864, entitled 'An Act further to regulate and provide for the enrolling and calling out the National forces, and for other purposes,' it is provided that the President of the United States may, at his discretion, at any time hereafter, call for any number of men as volunteers, for the respective terms of one, two, and three years, for military service, and that in case the quota, or any part thereof, of any town, township, ward of a city, precinct, or election district, or of a county, not so subdivided, shall not be filled within the space of fifty days after such call, then the President shall immediately order a draft, for one year, to fill such quota, or any part thereof, which may be unfilled.'

AND WHEREAS, the new enrollment heretofore ordered is so far completed as that the afore-mentioned Act of Congress may now be put in operation for recruiting and keeping up the strength of the armies in the field, for garrisons and such military operations as may be required for the purpose of suppressing the rebellion and restoring the authority of the United States Government in the insurgent States;

Now, therefore, I, ABRAHAM LINCOLN, President of the United States, do issue this, my call for five hundred thousand volunteers for the military service, provided, nevertheless, that all credits which may be established under section eight, of the aforesaid Act, on account of persons who have entered the naval service during the present rebellion, and by credits for men furnished to the military service in excess of calls heretofore made for volunteers, will be accepted under the call for one, two or three years, as they may elect, and will be entitled to the bounty provided by law for the period of service for which they enlist.

And I hereby proclaim, order and direct, that immediately after the fifth day of September, 1864, being fifty days from the date of this call, a draft for troops, to serve for one year, shall be held in every town, township, ward fa city. precinct, election district, or a county, not so subdivided, to fill the quota which shall be assigned to it under this scale, or any part thereof, which may be unfilled by volunteers on the said fifth day of September, ,1864.

Done at the City of Washington, this 18th day of July, in the year of our Lord, 1864, and of the Independence of the United States, the eighty-ninth.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.

[L. S.]

By the President,

ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

WILLIAM H. SEWARD, Secretary of State,"

BOUNTIES FOR RECRUITS

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The promptness with which the country responded to the call, would have reflected the highest credit on its patriotism, but for the manner in which that response was made. Instead of the bone and sinew of the land stepping forward to sustain the Government in its last great effort, every man seemed desirous to shirk personal responsibility, and nontax-payers, or men of small means, in the various towns, voted away fabulous sums for bounties to get recruits from any-where and every-where, and of all conditions, to fill up their quotas often forcing on the Government the halt, the lame, and the blind, and at the best, mere mercenaries, who would enlist for the enormous bounties, but without any intention of risking their lives in battle.

Getting such men away, after they had enlisted, became a regular business, so that, of the five hundred thousand called for, not more than half ever reached the field, and probably not half of those, the front. At all events, one hundred and fifty thousand strong-bodied, patriotic, willing men, would have been worth more than the whole half-million proved to be. Nor was this the worst of it. The country got saddled with a debt, in the shape of bounties, that bore heavily on its industry. Had the war been prolonged another year, the North would, unquestionably, have broken down under this false and ruinous system.

The month, moreover, was distinguished for peace negotiations-iudicrous, except from the importance of the personages, on one side or the other, engaged in them. Colonel Jacques, of Illinois, a Methodist clergyman who had enlisted in the army, and a Mr. Kirke, by some extraordinary process, appointed themselves peace ambassadors to Richmond, and though clothed with no authority, were permitted to pass through our lines to the rebel Capital, where they actually had an interview with the rebel President and Members of his Cabinet, and talked over, with the gravity

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