There came on a pretty severe blow during the forenoon, the wind blowing one way and the tide coming counter, which made a rough sea. The waves were white-capped, and the number of sea-gulls attracted by the floating waifs of food, together with the lowering sky, made it a beautiful storm scene.We are all still crowded on board — something over a thousand souls. The ship is badly ventilated, dirty, hardly standing room, and it stinks like a pig-pen. It makes me more and more uneasy every day.A schooner came alongside with water this evening. If the Scout would make his appearance.I had a long letter with [Cleat?], the Tribune reporter. The substance of the information is that there are but two regular officers, outside the three generals, among all the staff. Most of them are club men of New York — wealthy men, civilians — who don’t understand anything of military detail, are not accustomed to any self-reliant exertion, and this accounts for the inefficient management, or rather execution, of things.Besides that, the tugs did not arrive until today. We are to go to Roanoke. The battle will be fought principally by gunboats. We are to be landed, the expedition reorganized, and boats reassigned.The New Brunswick makes her appearance across the swash, and the arrival of the tugs gives us new hope of sailing soon. The chase yesterday turned out to be a steamer, schooner-rigged. They were not able to overtake her.
