The most valuable property was transferred to the Cumberland man of war, as also were the seamen of the Pennsylvania and men belonging to the other ships, together with the employés of the navy yard. The place was then fired, and as the Pawnee with the Cumberland in tow passed down the harbour, the flames burst out from the barracks and the other buildings, and also from the several vessels lying off the navy yard. The following is the list of vessels burnt :-The Pennsylvania, 74 guns; Delaware, 74; Columbus, 74; steam frigate Merrimac, 44; frigate Baritan, 45; frigate Columbia, 44; sloop Germantown, 22; sloop Plymouth, 22; brig Dolphin, 8; a powder-boat, and the frigate United States (in ordinary). The Merrimac was only partially burnt, and, being subsequently raised by the Confederates, was reserved for important work at a future period of the war. After the evacuation of Harper's Ferry and the Norfolk navy yard, the only place held by the Federal Government in the State of Virginia was Fortress Monroe, a strong work situated on the point of land between the James and York Rivers at their junction with the Potomac. Off this fort, at Hampton Roads, were concentrated the residue of the United States fleet left from the destruction of the ships at Gosport, and by them the mouths of the York and James Rivers were blockaded; the blockade of these rivers and of those of North Carolina having been decreed in a separate and subsequent order to that of April 19, in which President Lincoln had announced the blockade of the coasts of the six original seceding States, as also of Texas. In the last-named State affairs had not prospered with the Federal Government. A Colonel Van Dorn, who had lately resigned his commission in the United States

army, and had been appointed to the command of the State troops of Texas, obtained by his energy the capitulation of the United States regular troops at Saluria, and thus the whole of the State was secured to the Southern Confederacy. A month had, indeed, produced great changes in the aspect of affairs. South of the Potomac along the coast, Fortress Monroe, Fort Pickens, and the islands of Key West and Tortugas were the only places which owned the supremacy of the Federal Government. A blockade of the coast had been declared, and a decree issued that the privateers sailing under the letters of marque of the Confederate Government should be treated as pirates. The frontier States of the Northern Federation were divided into three military districts, comprising Washington, Annapolis, and Pennsylvania, to which was soon to be added a fourth, including Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, of which Major-General M'Clellan was appointed to the command. Volunteers in far greater numbers than were demanded-but, as it soon appeared, in fewer than were required-were hurried from the several States, and collected in camps at Fortress Monroe, at Washington, and at Cairo, a town situated at the junction of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. The Potomac below Washington was watched and patrolled by steamers formerly used for the passenger traffic to Aquia Creek, but now armed, and as far as possible equipped, for war. Maryland, Kentucky, and Missouri, divided in opinions, or endeavouring to preserve neutrality, were suffering the evils which neutrals must suffer in times of civil strife. The names, soon to become either illustrious or notorious, were growing familiar to men's ears. Colonel (now General) Lee, one of the best officers of the

United States regular army-a large landed proprietor, and the descendant, by connection, of the great Washington-had joined the South, when his State, that of Virginia,' seceded. He was now in

command of the troops of the Confederacy and the State troops of Virginia, and was rapidly organising his forces in places soon to become as widely known as the great battle-fields of Europe. General Scott, the successful general in the Mexican campaign, and hitherto the hero of the Americans, was commanding in chief at Washington, whilst younger men who were soon to supplant him were rapidly coming to the front. The Massachusetts General Butler, shrewd, highhanded, and unscrupulous, was already evincing qualities that would earn the gratitude of his Government, but might insure the hatred of those over whom he had the rule. His conduct in Maryland during the time he was occupied in securing the passage of troops through that State showed capacity, and proved him to be a man who might be useful to his employers. In the West, General M'Clellan had been appointed to a command. He had formerly been an officer of the United States army, and was one of those who had been selected to proceed to Europe during the Crimean war, in order to report to his Government on the state of the English, French, and Russian armies. He had since then retired from the service, and had been employed as manager of the Illinois central railway, but when war broke out resumed his former profession. A Rhode Island regiment was under the command of Colonel Burnside, also one of those who was soon to gain a higher position; whilst on the Southern side, Generals Beauregard, Bragg, and Van Dorn had already signalised themselves. The Presidents of

the rival Confederacies had put forth their proclamations. The message of Mr. Davis on April 29 to the Congress of the Confederate States, set forth with great fulness the causes of secession, the first steps taken to procure a peaceful solution of the difficulty, the gradual warlike tone of the North, ending in threatened invasion, and the consequent measures taken by himself in organising armaments for the purposes of defence. He spoke of the enthusiasm of the people, of their confidence in the rectitude of their course, and of their dependence on Providence. In April 1861, war had already commenced, but it required time to convert the population of a peaceful country into armed men sufficiently trained and equipped to be enabled to proceed to acts of hostility against each other. Neither side was prepared for war; men's words were violent and their passions strong, but some delay was required before their deeds could keep pace with their will. Europe at this time could hardly realise the facts which each mail announced. Little was understood of the respective merits of the case, and consequently many wrong ideas and false prophecies were circulated.

CHAPTER IV.

FROM THE BEGINNING OF MAY TO THE BATTLE OF RICH MOUNTAIN.

It is curious to watch how quickly and yet with what successive steps the contest assumed the characteristics of a foreign war waged between two powerful countries. It is true that the phraseology of the Federals designated their opponents as rebels, and their statesmen endeavoured to represent facts in such a manner as to induce the Governments of Europe to take the same view, but their acts did not bear out their words. The Confederates were necessarily recognised as belligerents, and it was only in certain localities and under peculiar circumstances that the war retained any of the features of a civil strife. In the meantime the Triennial Congress of the Confederate States had commenced their second session at Montgomery, and exercised all the functions of Government, and, it must be allowed, exercised them in general with a moderation and a consideration unusual in times of revolution. On May 6, 1861, an Act passed recognising the existence of war between the Northern States and the Confederate States, ' and empowering the President to use the whole land and naval forces of the Confederate States to meet the war thus commenced, and to issue letters of marque and general reprisal in such form as he should see fit, against the vessels, goods, and effects of the Government of the