cause of my political antecedents. That fact cannot be disguised. I make no complaint. I do not feel that my personal rights are involved in this controversy, and when this blow comes, as the honorable Senator from New-York has announced it will come, I, sir, shall wrap my robes about me and take it. Let it come. I may fall as the gallant—the brave the chivalric the classic the learned Senator from Massachusetts said I might fall-into the bastile. That is a matter I cannot control. That is in the hands of those who have the power, if it is their pleasure, in connection with this wrong, to inflict still another. Let the blow come; but, if my own volition continues, I will fall back into the arms of the people-the ever just people of the State of Indiana. I will ask them, sir, to vindicate the truth of history, by showing to the world that this partisan blow, levelled at my head, is not merited. I regret that I should have been betrayed into a word on this occasion. It has not been done in the belief of controlling or influencing a vote, but to give a plain narrative of facts, that the unprejudiced masses may have the true facts of the case, and on them base their judg ment. REBEL OPINIONS OF THE EXPULSION. Mr. The expulsion of Mr. Bright from the Federal Senate, is another insult put upon the Northwest by rabid and fanatical New-England. The pretext on which this expulsion was based is the shallowest that could have been conceived. It is puerile, and unworthy even of the contemptible cabal which employed it for their purposes. Bright is the representative of the conservative feeling of the Northwest. His presence in the Senate was a standing rebuke of the excesses of the times; was a continual protest against the violence perpetrated on Northwestern interests by the domineering and destructive fanaticism of New-England. His expulsion is another wrench of the Puritan screw upon his subjugated and persecuted section. New-England declares to the Northwest, by this vote, that she shall not think in conflict with herself; that she will delve into the private correspondence of her leading citizens in pursuit of her determination to crush out independent Western thought. Representatives from the Northwest voted for the expulsion; but in every case they were Puritan emissaries from New-England, sent forth into that country as the instruments of its enthralment. The Northwest, it seems, is not to have a thought or a policy of her own. In all respects and in all measures is she to show herself the convenient tool of New-England. She is to go into a war ruinous to her special interests, in support of the dogmas of her superior. She is to furnish the troops for the armies, and to pay the burden of the taxes necessary to support the war. She is by her own troops to blockade her own intercourse with the South, her best customer, and her nearest neighbor and friend. She is to do all without a murmur or a protest. Her citizens are not to speak a word or write a line in public or private correspondence, even in indirect collision with the measures of the ruling section. If they do, though they be representatives of sovereign States, and sit as ambassadors in the Federal Capitol, they are to be expelled ignominiously and sent home as traitors to the Union-that is to say, to the truculent policy of New-England. It remains to be seen whether the Northwest will submit to this last indignity. The chances are that she will. The spell by which New-England seems to have subdued her, apparently grows more potential every day. It was the appropriate duty of the Northwest-and it was within her power to preserve the Union-but she yielded to New-England, and the Union was lost. It was then her duty to mitigate the evils of war, and to assume the part of peace-maker between the sections. That honorable office she declined; and she furnishes all the fighting regiments for the war. For her pains, she is now rewarded with indignity. A large proportion of her population entertain conservative opinions with regard to the present troubles, and condemn the madness which rules the hour. Mr. Bright was the exponent of this phase of Northwestern sentiment in the Federal Senate; and he is expelled as a traitor. indignity is great, and the insult most gross; but the chances are that the Northwest will submit. Richmond Examiner, February 11. Doc. 274. The GENERAL BEAUREGARD'S ADDRESS, ON LEAVING THE ARMY OF THE POTOMAC. THE following address from General Beauregard, on taking a temporary leave of the Confederate army of the Potomac, is worthy of record as bearing official testimony to the fact of the indisposition of many of his troops to enlist for another term of service: HEADQUARTERS FIRST CORPS, ARMY OF THE POTOMAC, NEAR CENTREVILLE, January 30, 1862. SOLDIERS of the First Corps, Army of the Potomac : My duty calls me away, and to a temporary separation from you. I hope, however, to be with you again, to share your labors and your perils, and in defence of our homes and rights, to lead you to new battles, to be crowned with signal victories. You are now undergoing the severest trial of a soldier's life; the one by which his discipline and capacity for endurance are thoroughly tested. My faith in your patriotism, your devotion and determination, and in your high soldierly qualities is so great, that I shall rest assured you will pass through the ordeal resolutely, triumphantly. Still, I cannot quit you without deep emotion, without even deep anxiety, in the moment of our country's trials and dangers. Above all, I am anxious that my brave countrymen, here in arms, fronting the haughty array and muster of Northern mercenaries, should thoroughly appreciate the exigency, and hence comprehend that this is no time for the army of the Potomac - the men of Manassas - to stack their arms and quit, even for a brief period, the standards they have made glorious by their manhood. All must understand this, and feel the magnitude of the conflict impending, the universal personal sacrifices this war has entailed, and our duty to meet them as promptly and unblenchingly as you have met the enemy in line of battle. To the army of the Shenandoah, I desire to return my thanks for their endurance in the memorable march to my assistance, last July, their timely, decisive arrival, and for their conspicuous steadiness and gallantry on the field of battle. Those of their comrades, of both corps, and of all arms of the army of the Potomac, not so fortunate as yet to have been with us in conflict with our enemy, I leave with all confidence that on occasion they will show themselves fit comrades for the men of Manassas, Bull Run, and Ball's Bluff. P. G. T. BEAUREGARD, Doc 28. General Commanding. CAPTURE OF FORT HENRY, TENN. REPORT OF GENERAL GRANT. HEADQUARTERS DISTRICT OF CAIRO, Capt. J. C. Kelton, A. A., General Department Had I not felt it an imperative necessity to attack Fort Henry to-day, I should have made the investment complete, and delayed until to-morrow, so as to secure the garrison. I do not now believe, however, the result would have been any more satisfactory. HEADQUARTERS District of Cairo, CAMP IN FIELD, NEAR FORT HENRY, Feb. 5, 1862. GERERAL ORDERS, No. 1: The First division, Gen. McClernand Commanding, will move at eleven o'clock A.M., to-morrow, under the guidance of Lieut.-Col. McPherson, and take a position on the roads from Fort Henry to Donelson and Dover. It will be the special duty of this command to prevent all reënforcements to Fort Henry or escape from it. Also, to be held in readiness to charge and take Fort Henry by storm, promptly on the receipt of orders. Two brigades of the Second division, Gen. C. F. Smith Commanding, will start at the same hour from the west bank of the river, and take and occupy the heights commanding Fort Henry. This point will be held by so much artillery as can be made available, and such other troops as, in the opinion of the general commanding the Second division, may be necessary for its protec tion. The Third brigade, Second division, will advance up the cast bank of the Tennessee River, as fast as it can be securely done, and be in readiness to charge upon the Fort, or move to the support of the First division, as may be necessary. All the forces on the west bank of the river, not required to hold the heights commanding Fort Henry, will return to their transports, cross to the east bank, and follow the First brigade as fast as possible. The west bank of the Tennessee River, not having been reconnoitred, the commanding officer entrusted with taking possession of the enemy's works there, will proceed with great caution, and such information as can be gathered, and such guides as can be found in the time intervening, before eleven o'clock to morrow. The troops will receive two days' rations of bread and meat in their haversacks. 3 One company of the Second division, armed with rifles, will be ordered to report to Flag-Officer Foote, as sharpshooters, on board the gunboats. By order, U. S. GRANT, Brigadier-General Commanding. DESPATCH OF FLAG-OFFICER FOOTE U. S. FLAG-SHIP CINCINNATI, OFF FORT HENRY, TENNESSEE RIVER, Feb. 6. The gunboats under my command, the Essex, Commander Porter; the Carondelet, Commander Walke; the Cincinnati, Commander Stembel; the St. Louis, Lieut. Commanding Paulding; the Conestoga, Lieut. Commanding Phelps; the Tyler, Lieut. Commanding Gwin; and the Lexington, Lieut. Commanding Shirk, after a severe and raThe gunboats have proven themselves well able | pid fire of an hour and a quarter, have captured to resist a severe cannonading. All the iron-clad Fort Henry, and taken Gen. Lloyd Tilghman and boats received more or less shots-the flag-ship his staff, and sixty men as prisoners. The sursome twenty-eight-without any serious damage render to the gunboats was unconditional, as we to any, except the Essex. This vessel received kept an open fire upon the enemy until their flag In half an hour after the surrender, one shot in her boiler, that disabled her, killing was struck. and wounding some thirty-two men, Capt. Porter I handed the Fort and prisoners over to Gen. Grant, among the wounded. commanding the army, on his arrival at the Fort in force. I remain your obedient servant, U. S. GRANT, Brigadier-General, The Essex had a shot in her boiler after fight ing most effectively for two thirds of the action, can flag where the rebel ensign had been flying, and was obliged to drop down the river. I hear and to inform Gen. Tilghman that I would see that several of her men were scalded to death, in- him on board the flag-ship. He came on board cluding the two pilots. She, with the other gun- soon after the Union had been substituted for the boats' officers and men, fought with the great-rebel flag on the Fort, and possession taken of it. est gallantry. The Cincinnati received thirty-one I received the General and his staff, and some shots, and had one man killed and eight wound-sixty or seventy men, as prisoners, and a hospied-two seriously. The Fort, with twenty guns and seventeen mortars, was defended by Gen. Tilghman with the most determined gallantry. I will write as soon as possible. I have sent Lieut. Commanding Phelps and three gunboats up after the rebel gunboats. A. H. FOOTE, Flag-Officer. REPORT OF FLAG-OFFICER FOOTE. CAIRO, ILL., Feb. 7, 1862. SIR: I have the honor to report that on the sixth instant, at half-past twelve o'clock P.M., I made an attack on Fort Henry, on the Tennessee River, with the iron-clad gunboats Cincinnati, Commander Stembel, (the flag-ship;) the Essex, Commander Porter; the Carondelet, Commander Walke; and the St. Louis, Lieut. Commanding Paulding; also taking with me the three old gunboats Conestoga, Lieut. Commanding Phelps; the Tyler, Lieut. Commanding Gwin; and the Lexington, Lieut. Commanding Shirk, as a second division, in charge of Lieut. Commanding Phelps, which took a position astern and in-shore of the armed boats, doing good execution there in the action, while the armed boats were placed in the first order of steaming, approaching the Fort in a parallel line. tal-ship, containing sixty invalids, together with the Fort and its effects, mounting twenty guns, mostly of heavy calibre, with barracks and tents capable of accommodating fifteen thousand men, and sundry articles, which, as I turned the Fort and its effects over to Gen. Grant, commanding the army, on his arrival, in an hour after we had made the capture, he will be enabled to give the Government a more correct statement of than I am enabled to communicate from the short time I had possession of the Fort. The plan of the attack, so far as the army reaching the rear of the Fort to make a demonstration simultaneous with the navy, was frustrated by the excessively muddy roads and the high stage of water, preventing the arrival of our troops until some time after I had taken possession of the Fort. On securing the prisoners, and making the necessary preliminary arrangements, I despatched Lieut. Commanding Phelps, with his division, up the Tennessee River, as I had previously directed, and as will be seen in the enclosed order to him, to remove the rails, and so far render the bridge of the railroad for transportation and communication between Bowling Green and Columbus useless, and afterwards to pursue the rebel gunboats and secure their capture, if possible. ing of the same day, with the Cincinnati, Essex and St. Louis, and arrived here this morning. The fire was opened at one thousand seven This being accomplished, and the army in poshundred yards distance from the flag-ship, which session of the Fort, and my services being indiswas followed by the other gunboats and respond-pensable at Cairo, I left Fort Henry in the evened to by the Fort. As we approached the Fort, slow steaming till we reached within six hundred yards of the rebel batteries, the fire both from the gunboats and the Fort increased in rapidity and accuracy of range. At twenty minutes before the flag was struck, the Essex unfortunately received a shot in her boilers, which resulted in the wounding and scalding of twenty-nine officers and men, including Commander Porter, as will be seen in the enclosed list of casualties. The Essex then necessarily dropped out of line astern, entirely disabled and unable to continue the fight, in which she had so gallantly participated until the sad catastrophe. The firing continued with unabated rapidity and effect upon the three gunboats, as they continued still to approach the Fort with their destructive fire, until the rebel flag was hauled down, after a very severe and closely contested action of one hour and fifteen minutes. A boat containing the Adjutant-General and Captain of Engineers came alongside after the flag was lowered, and reported that Gen. Lloyd | Tilghman, the commander of the Fort, wished to communicate with the flag-officer, when I despatched Commander Stembel and Lieut. Commanding Phelps, with orders to hoist the Ameri The armed gunboats resisted effectually the short of the enemy, when striking the casemates. The The Cincinnati, the flag-ship, received thirty-one shots; the Essex, fifteen; the St. Louis, seven; and the Carondelet, six; killing one and wounding nine in the Cincinnati, and killing one in the Essex, while the casualties in the latter from steam amounted to twenty-eight in number. Carondelet and St. Louis met with no casualties. The steamers were admirably handled by their commanders and officers, presenting only their bow-guns to the enemy, to avoid the exposure of the vulnerable parts of their vessels. Lieut. Commanding Phelps, with his division, also executed my orders very effectually, and promptly proceeded up the river in their further execution after the capture of the Fort. In fact, all the officers and men gallantly performed their duty, and, considering the little experience they have had under fire, far more than realized my expectations. Fort Henry was defended, with the most determined gallantry, by Gen. Tilghman, worthy of a better cause, who, from his own account, went into the action with eleven guns of heavy calibre bearing upon our boats, which he fought until SIR: I have the honor to report that the casualties on board this vessel, during the bombardment of Fort Henry, from the effects of the enemy's fire, were: Killed, one; wounded, nine; total, ten. Respectfully, R. N. STEMBEL, Commander, United States Navy. To A. H. Foote, Commanding Naval Forces Western Waters: SIR: As Capt. Porter is unable to write, he has advised me to send you a list of killed, wounded and missing on this vessel: W. D. Porter, commander, scalded. shot. James McBride, pilot, killed by scalding. Dana Wilson, seaman, killed by scalding. J. P. Beers, seaman, killed by scalding. B. Lonla, seaman, scalded. H. Reynolds, seaman, missing. Thomas Mullett, seaman, badly scalded. ROBERT K. RILEY, of the Navy, conveying the assurance that the President of the United States, the Congress, and the country, appreciate their gallant deeds, and proffer to them the profound thanks of the Navy Department for the services rendered. In conveying these pleasing tidings that our services are acknowledged by the highest authorities of the Government, you will permit me to add that in observing the good order, coolness, courage, and efficiency of officers and men in the memorable action between the gunboats and the fort, that I shall ever cherish, with the liveliest interest, all the officers and men who participated in the battle, and, in the future shall, with increased hope and the greatest confidence, depend upon all officers and men attached to the flotilla, in the performance of every duty, whether in the fight or the laborious work of its preparation. A. H. FOOTE, Flag-Officer Com'g U. S. Forces on the Western Waters. CINCINNATI "GAZETTE" ACCOUNT. FORT HENRY, STEWART CO., TENN., February 7, 1862. Three times three cheers, and another, and yet another, and one cheer more! The soldiers of the Union have won another victory, and an important rebel stronghold has fallen into our hands. Fort Henry, one of the most extensive and important fortifications in the confederacy, and, in fact, the key to the whole chain of fortifications which the rebels had stretched across the country from the Potomac to the Mississippi, is now ours, and the Star-Spangled Banner now floats where for many months the rebel "stars and bars" have flaunted in traitorous defiance. For more than three weeks, very quiet but unmistakable preparations for a movement of some kind had been visible at Cairo, and other points within Gen. Grant's military jurisdiction, and although no flaming telegrams this time announced the fact in advance to a startled public, it was evident to a close observer that some event of more than ordinary gravity was in contemplation. So very secretly were the preparations conducted, that no intimation of the destination, size, or probable time of the expedition could be obtained from those supposed to be in the secret, and we could only watch and wait. From certain indications, I had for several days concluded that Fort Henry, on the Tennessee River, near the boundary line dividing the States of Kentucky and Tennessee, was the point aimed at; indeed, I believe I intimated as much in some of my previous letters, and I was not surprised to learn, on Saturday, the first of February, that some ten regiments of infantry, together with artillery and cavalry, then at Cairo, had received orders to be in readiness to embark next day, with three days' rations in their haversacks. But CAIRO, February 10, 1862. the embarkation of such a force, with horses, The officers and crew of that portion of the wagons, baggage and equipments, is no slight lagunboat flotilla, which was engaged in the cap-bor, and it was not until afternoon of Monday that ture of Fort Henry, on the sixth instant, already have had their brilliant services and gallant conduct favorably noticed by the Commanding General of the Western army, and by the Secretary COMMODORE FOOTE'S GENERAL ORDER. the last of the transports left Cairo, and steamed up the Ohio in the direction of Paducah. Arriving at this point during the same evening, the boats halted for a short time, while some changes |