and Evening Express be requested to publish Doo. 97. THE ADVANCE INTO VIRGINIA. GENERAL MODOWELL'S ARMY. THE subjoined General Order gives the organization of the Staff and of the several divisions of the army under Brigadier-General McDowell, now advancing into Virginia from the lines opposite Washington. GENERAL ORDERS No. 13. SECOND DIVISION. Col. David Hunter, 3d Cavalry, commanding. Second Brigade.-Col. A. E. Burnside, Rhode Island Volunteers, commanding. 1st & 2d Regiments Rhode Island Volunteers; 71st Regiment New York Militia; 2d Regiment New Hampshire Volunteers; Battery of Light Artillery, 2d R. I. Regiment. THIRD DIVISION. Colonel S. P. Heintzelman, 17th Infantry, commanding. Until otherwise ordered, the following will First Brigade.-Col. W. B. Franklin, 12th be the organization of the troops in this Depart-sylvania' Militia; 5th Regiment Massachusetts Infantry, commanding. 4th Regiment Penn ment: STAFF OF THE DEPARTMENT COMMANDER. Adjutant-General's Department.-Captain James B. Fry, Assistant Adjutant-General. Aides-de-Camp.-First-Lieutenant H. W. Kingsbury, 5th Artillery; Major Clarence S. Brown, N. Y. State Militia; Major James S. Wordsworth, N. Y. State Militia. Acting Inspector- General.—Major W. H. Wood, 17th Infantry. Militia; 1st Regiment Minnesota Volunteers; Company E, 2d Cavalry; Company I, 1st Artillery, (Light Battery.) Second Brigade.-Col. O. B. Wilcox, Michigan Volunteers, commanding. 1st Regiment Michigan Volunteers; 11th Regiment New York Volunteers; Company D, 2d Artillery, (Light Battery.) Third Brigade.-Col. O. O. Howard, Maine Volunteers, commanding. 2d, 4th, & 5th RegiEngineers.-Major J. G. Barnard; First-Lieu-ments Maine Volunteers; 2d Regiment Ver tenant F. E. Prime. Topographical Engineers.-Captain A. W. Whipple; First-Lieutenant Henry L. Abbott; Second-Lieutenant Haldimand S. Putnam. Quartermaster's Department.-Captain O. H. Tillinghast, Assistant Quartermaster. Subsistence Department.-Capt. H. F. Clarke, Commissary of Subsistence. Medical Department.-Surgeon, W. S. King; Assistant Surgeon, David L. Magruder. FIRST DIVISION. Brigadier-General Daniel Tyler, Connecticut First Brigade.-Col. E. D. Keyes, 11th Infantry, commanding. 1st, 2d, & 3d Regiments Connecticut Volunteers; 4th Regiment Maine Volunteers; Capt. Varian's Battery of New York 8th Regiment; Company B, 2d Cavalry. Second Brigade.-1st & 2d Regiments Ohio Volunteers; 2d Regiment New York Volunteers; Company E, 2d Artillery, (Light Battery.) Third Brigade.-Col. Wm. T. Sherman, 13th Infantry, commanding. 69th & 79th Regiments New York Militia; 13th Regiment New York Volunteers; 2d Regiment Wisconsin Volunteers; Company E, 3d Artillery, (Light Battery.) Fourth Brigade.-Colonel J. B. Richardson, Michigan Volunteers, commanding. 2d & 3d Regiments Michigan Volunteers; 1st Regiment Massachusetts Volunteers; 12th Regiment New York Volunteers. mont Volunteers. will long be remembered by all who were in | any part of their thoughts for their anticipa this region on that day, as one of the finest in tions. the whole season-warm, but clear and delightfully pleasant. During the morning, our little party secured the necessary passes to carry them across the river, and at three P. M. we reached the base of Arlington Heights, on horseback, this being voted the best mode of conveyance. We were fortunately well mounted, our animals were fresh, and we passed an hour or two moving around among the camps, where all was bustle and stir preparatory to joining the march ordered "at any moment." Horses were saddled, baggage was stored, rations for three or four days were got in readiness, forty rounds of ball cartridges were distributed, the evening parade was dispensed with, the sunset gun boomed forth its thunder upon the still warm air, night fell upon the scene, and the soldiers slept upon their arms, in readiness to start at the sound of the drum or bugle. It was generally expected that the forward movement would take place during the night; but few of the regiments, however, were in motion upon the march till Wednesday A. M. During the night, our men were in most excellent spirits, and only evinced a general anxiety to get started. So general was this feeling among the troops, and so universal was the desire to get a sight at the enemy, about whom they had heard so much, as being at Fairfax in force, &c., that few slept soundly, and the majority certainly availed themselves of this luxnry with one eye open, your humble servant among the latter. At daybreak, after staying overnight each in a blanket upon the tent floor in one of the camps, we rose with the lark, (or earlier,) at the sound of the "long roll," and in a few minutes' time everybody was out. Horses were brought up, a hasty breakfast was swallowed, a little "parading" was done, orders rang forth from tent to tent, and from regiment to regiment, and it was soon ascertained that the word had gone forth to move forthwith. At eight o'clock the column was being rapidly formed, the regiments and detachments of cavalry and artillery were forming into line, and at the signal we moved briskly forward toward Fairfax Court House, simultaneously, from Arlington, from Alexandria, and from the space between those two points-leaving behind a sufficient force to protect and to operate the fortified works at all points along the line. The sun shone brilliantly, and the fresh morning air was highly invigorating. The troops on foot started off as joyfully as if they were bound upon a New England picnic, or a clambake; and not the slightest exhibition of fear or uneasiness, even, as to what might possibly be in store for the brave fellows, (thus really setting out upon an expedition from which, in all human probability, hundreds of them will never return!) seemed for an instant to occupy The huge column fell into line at last, along the road. From an occasional elevation which we mounted, for the sake of enjoying the grand coup d'ail, we could see this immense body of men, in uniform dress, with stately tread and glistening arms, move steadily forward,-over twenty thousand strong at one point, and nearly two-thirds as many more at another-all marching on-on to Fairfax." We pushed forward with our willing steeds, keeping pace with the extreme advance, as nearly as possible, with an eye constantly aliead and around us, of course, for "breakers," after we had passed a given point; for it had been hinted to us that a "masked battery" might open on us at any moment, from some sheltered spot along the route, and we civilians had no particular wish to smell powder in this particular style, much less to get within range of any such demonstration; being (in the abstract) peace men, and only there as "lookers-on in Vienna." Brig. General Tyler's column, consisting of four brigades, under command of Colonels Keyes, Sherman, and Richardson, led the van, and on approaching Fairfax, the artillery fired a cannon, which unluckily served to notify the rebels who were in the town that somebody was coming. There were between three and four thousand Confederate troops there, and they were partially drawn up into line of battle, when the gun rattled out its unfortunate note of warning. They quickly sent forth scouts, who returned more quickly than they came, informing the commander of the rebel force that "McDowell was approaching with a hundred thousand men at his heels!" A stampede followed this information, and before ten o'clock the town of Fairfax was evacuated by the cowardly rascals, who fled, leaving behind them many tents, tools, shovels, axes, grain bags, several quarters of fresh beef, cooking utensils, &c., &c. When our advance guard entered the town, there was nobody and nothing to seize or to contend with at Fairfax Court House! Our troops entered Fairfax-ten thousand of them-at early noon, the bands ringing out with cheerful tones the "Star-Spangled Banner," and the boys cheering lustily for the Union and the Stars and Stripes. Six or seven thousand infantry blocked up the main street, for a time; the Court House building was taken possession of by the New Hampshire Second, Col. Gil. Marston, a secession flag was hauled down and the banner of the regiment run up in its place, and then the foot soldiers opened right and left, or gave way, for the entrance of the cavalry and artillery. These dashed through the town at a gallop, and down the road out into the country beyond, in search of the fugitives. After going four miles beyond Fairfax, and finding that the legs of the rebels were evidently the longest, for they made the "fastest time on record" in this war, certainly, -our troopers returned, with the cannon, and joined the van again. Our party consisted of Hons. Schuyler Colfax, E. B. Washburn, Messrs. Dixon of New Jersey, Judge McKeon of New York, and two or three reporters for the press. Mr. Russell of the London Times, and Mr. Raymond of the N. Y. Times, were also together, with another party. Hundreds of persons arrived in Washington on Tuesday and Wednesday, who came expressly to see the battle. The hotels were packed full of human beings-the National alone turning away over four hundred guests, whom they could not lodge, for the crowd. A few Union people lingered behind in the village, who were greatly relieved, so they said, to see our army coming. In a few places along the road from Ball's Crossing to Fairfax, trees had been thrown down, but our hosts soon cleared the way of these impediments, and there was no further obstruction to the triumphant entree of the division of the United States army under Gen. McDowell, into the place about which so much has latterly been written and said. From Fairfax our brave army moves toward Manassas, and thence-we hope, without delay to RICHMOND! The fever's up, and our bold troops ask only to be led, and listen earnestly for the thrilling order "forward!" They remember that "God, and our good cause, fight on our side; Their wives will welcome home the conquerors." There will be no yielding, no parley, no compromises now. The march is onward, and the willing hosts who have thus taken their lives. in their hands for liberty, the Constitution, and the laws, will halt no more, it is believed, until the back of this unholy rebellion is effectually broken. They meet the issue manfully, cheer fully, boldly, and their watchwords now are "God and the Right! Yours, &c., G. P. R. NEW YORK "HERALD" NARRATIVES. WASHINGTON, July 17, 1861. The advance of the whole corps d'armée constituting the column under the command Two or three random shots were fired from of Brigadier-General McDowell has thus far the woods as we approached the village, wound- proved a triumphant march. All that was exing an officer and two privates, but not serious-pected or hoped to be accomplished to-day was ly. These shots were discharged by rebels who were mounted, and who fled before they could be reached. The so-called "fortifications" of the enemy at Fairfax are about as much like those erected by Corcoran's Irish Regiment at Arlington, and those built at Fort Ellsworth by the New York Zouaves, as a peach is like a mule's head! They are entirely fabulous, comparatively, and are of no account whatever. If such be the character of all the rebel intrenchments, they will occasion us little trouble. Guards of our troops were promptly stationed around the town, and especially about the "Court House," of which you have heard so much. The two Rhode Island Regiments, with James's rifled cannon batteries, the New Hampshire Second, the New York Seventy-first, and Eighth, five or six companies of regulars, and two other regiments took possession of Fairfax. General Bonham of South Carolina commanded the retiring rebel force. done, and almost without the firing of a gun. The rebels have fled from their intrenchments, and Fairfax Court House, the late head-quarters of General M. S. Bonham, of South Carolina, is in our possession. The Alabama and the South Carolina brigades, and a whole body of rebels in that neighborhood-variously estimated at from ten to fifteen thousand strong-took to their heels, and failed to offer any serious opposition to the advancing Union army. The success of the movement was complete. The order had been given for the several divisions to make the attack upon the intrenched lines of the rebels at about the same time-one o'clock P. M.-and promptly, at one o'clock P. M., all the enemy's works in the neighborhood of Fairfax Court House were in our possession. The advance was made by four different routes leading towards Fairfax Court House and directly to Centreville. The right wing, composed of the First division, four brigades, under the command of General Tyler, of It was General McDowell's intention to fol- Connecticut, proceeded by the Georgetown low the enemy up, at midnight, but the boys turnpike. The centre, composed of the Second were so much fatigued with the sharp march division, two brigades, under Colonel Hunter, of the day that it was deferred till this morning. United States Army, proceeded by the LeesIt is ardently hoped that the rascals will make burg or Centreville road. The left wing was a stand at Manassas, where Beauregard is now composed of the Third division, three briin command, with some forty odd thousand gades, under Colonel S. P. Heintzelman, United men, it is said. But it is greatly feared they States Army; and the Fifth division, two briwill run again. The rebels have got the idea, gades, under Colonel Dixon S. Miles, United evidently, that the Zouaves, and the Gari-States Army. The Fifth division proceeded by baldians, and Blenker's German Rifles, and DeKalb's sharpshooters, are so many "devils in human shape," and they will be disinclined to withstand a charge from these troops. If Beauregard does not give us battle at Manassas, his army will be thus thoroughly demoralized, and he is beaten, past a ray of hope. the old Braddock road, and the Third by the Little River turnpike. The Fourth division, under General Runyon, of New Jersey, constituted the reserve. There were in the whole column sixty-two regiments-about fifty-five thousand men-and in the marching divisions an aggregate of forty-five thousand. Upon all these roads the rebels had placed obstructions within a radius of three miles from Fairfax Court House, the head-quarters of General Bonham, of South Carolina, who is styled in the orders of the rebel Commander-in-chief, "the commandant of the advance guard of the Potomac." There was work for the skirmishers upon all the roads, but in every instance, as soon as the head of the advancing column made its appearance the rebel force retreated hastily, and in evident confusion. All the casualties reported at head-quarters on our side are one officer and three men slight ly wounded. General McDowell went forward at the head of the centre of the column, the Second division, under Col. Hunter, which was composed as follows: First Brigade, commanded by Col. Andrew Porter, United States Army; Capt. Griffin's battery United States artillery; three companies United States cavalry, under Major Palmer; a battalion of several companies of the First, Third, and Eighth United States infantry, under Major Sykes; a battalion of United States marines, under Major Reynolds; and the Eighth, Fourteenth, and Twenty-seventh Regiments of New York Volunteers. Second Brigade, commanded by Colonel A. E. Burnside, of the Rhode Island Volunteers. The First and Second Regiments Rhode Island Volunteers, the Second Rhode Island battery of flying artillery, one section of Captain Barry's battery of United States artillery, the Second Regiment New Hampshire Volunteers, and the Seventy-first Regiment New York State Militia. This division marched with its left brigade in front, consequently putting Colonel Burnside in advance. The movement was conducted with care and decision. The whole of the Second Rhode Island Regiment were employed as skirmishers in advance of the division. Their lines extended from half a mile to two miles on each side of the road. The First Rhode Island Regiment followed at the head of the division. After it came the Second Rhode Island battery and a section of Barry's battery. This was followed by the Second New Hampshire and the Seventy-first New York Regiments. The First brigade brought up the rear in the following order :-Griffin's battery, Major Sykes' United States infantry, Major Reynolds' United States Marines, and the Fourteenth, Twenty-seventh, and Eighth New York Volun teers. In this order the centre of the column left its bivouac, about six miles from Fairfax Court House, at ten o'clock this morning. The first barricade, made of trees felled and thrown across the road, delayed the head of the division only a few minutes. This was encountered about three miles from the Court House. It was cautiously examined by the skirmishers, but no sign of a rebel force was discovered. The pioneers soon cleared the road with their axes. The barricade was erected at the foot of a long hill, the top of which was covered with a dense thicket, affording an excellent covert for sharpshooters. The second barricade was of a similar character, and was cleared in a similar manner, occasioning only a few minutes' delay in the march. The third barricade was more formidable. It was at the entrance of a deep cut in the road, commencing about half way up a steep hill, crowned on one side with a thick wood, and on the other by an open field. To pass this a road was made through the field, enabling the army to pass around it. At this point there were stationed two hundred rebel cavalry, who, without waiting to ascertain the strength of the advancing force, fled upon the first appearance of our skirmishers, firing at them one rifle shot, which did no harm. Up to this point, about one mile from the Court House, the people living upon the roadside were at home quietly pursuing their usual avocations. The first house beyond this third barricade belonged to a man named Goodwin, who had hastily left the premises when the rebel cavalry retreated. It was here ascertained that the division had reached a neighborhood thickly populated with the most rabid rebels in the county, prominent among whom is one Esquire Broadwater, a county magistrate; and also that about half a mile ahead the rebels had a fortification erected, and a battery planted, which was defended by a force of two thousand men, and that the rebel force in and around Fairfax Court House, guarding the different approaches, amounted to from ten to fifteen thousand men. The fortification was encountered about half a mile from the Court House. It consisted of a simple intrenchment, extending for about four hundred yards on each side of the road. It was pierced for eight guns. The embrasures were formed of sand bags, and so placed as to command the road. The fortification was at the top of a steep hill, at the foot of which meandered a small muddy creek. The trees upon the hillside for a distance of an eighth of a mile had been cut down, so as to allow no cover from the guns of the fort. This fortification had been occupied for about three weeks by the Second and Third South Carolina Regiments, under Gen. M. L. Bonham, the successor in Congress of the notorious Brooks, and the commandant of the advance guard of the Potomac. In approaching this point our skirmishers had a brush with those of the rebels, in which a corporal of the Second Rhode Island Regiment received a flesh wound in the thigh, and a rebel officer was captured by Capt. Dyer. The advance of Burnside's brigade reached the fortification in time to make one prisoner, a South Carolina officer, who surrendered to Major Mission, paymaster of the Second Rhode Island Regiment. The inside of the fortification presented abundant evidences of the haste with which it had been abandoned by its late It was evident that the rebel force recently stationed in this neighborhood had been completely stampeded, and that those who sympathized with them had run away at the same time for fear of the consequences of their treason. The proofs of the haste with which they had decamped were everywhere visible. Many stores and dwellings were tenantless. The few inhabitants who remained had a frightened appearance. occupants. Sacks of flour, meat, clothing, arms, | ing as the glorious old Stars and Stripes waved equipments, and camp utensils were everywhere gracefully over the spot rendered infamously scattered over the ground, and the camp fires, familiar as the 'head-quarters of a band of probably prepared for the noon meal, were still traitors. brightly burning. The main body of this force had left with haste only about two hours before the arrival of the head of our column. The fortification itself was rudely constructed. It bears no comparison to the splendid works, scientifically planned and erected by the Union volunteers on the banks of the Potomac. It could have been easily taken by a flank movement, for which there was abundant opportunity, without exposing the assailants to the fire of the guns in position behind the intrenchments. As the head of the division was approaching the intrenchment, sharp firing was heard on the left, which was afterwards ascertained to have been occasioned by a skirmish between the advance of Col. Miles' division and the Alabamians, who were in position there about two miles from the Court House. The advancing column was accompanied by a number of Union men, who had recently, with their families, been driven by the rebels from their homes in this vicinity, and despoiled of their property. These men, burning with a desire to avenge their wrongs, incited the soldiery to various acts of outrage upon the property of rebels, which they pointed out. In The intrenchment encountered by Colonel this way a number of stores and dwellings that Hunter's division was erected upon the farm had been deserted by their occupants, were of Mr. Seegur, an emigrant to Virginia from ransacked and pillaged; but not a single occuNew York. When it was first discovered a pied house was entered without leave, or in any halt was called, and the advance brigade, under way despoiled. Guards were placed wherever Colonel Burnside, was formed in close column requested by the citizens, and stringent measand ordered to load. This was done with alac-ures were taken by the commanding officers to rity, and the men, when ordered forward, pressed on eagerly, singing "Dixie" and "The Star Spangled Banner." It was cheering to observe the enthusiasm exhibited by these volunteers, and quite amusing to hear their remarks, such as, "We are going to open a mail route from Washington to Richmond; "We have come to Virginia to find a place to settle; "We mean to bag Beauregard and Jeff Davis;" "We are the pacificators;" "They won't wait for us," &c. prevent depredations. Eight men of different regiments were arrested by the Provost Marshal for pillaging, and were sent back under guard to Alexandria. At Germantown, and also in the vicinity of Fairfax Court House, several houses were set on fire and burned to the ground. One of the houses belonged to a man named Ashley, said to be a Union man, driven from that neighborhood by the rebels soon after the fatal sortie into the village by Lieut. Tompkins. From the inside of this fortification the vil- It was not ascertained whether these buildings lage of Fairfax Court House was plainly in sight; had been set on fire by the soldiers wantonly, thither the command proceeded. At the out- or by the Union men who desired to avenge skirts of the village a small American flag, used their injuries, or by rebels who took this means as a guide mark by the Fourteenth New York to cast a stigma upon the Union forces; but Regiment, had been planted. It was saluted General McDowell declared that the first solwith cheers by the passing regiments. The dier proved to have set fire to any building rebel flag was still flying at the Court House should be summarily shot. It is natural that when the advance of the division, with the men who have been driven from their homes band of the First Rhode Island Regiment play-by a vandal horde of traitors should be infuriing national airs, entered the village. It was ated with a desire for vengeance, but such outtaken down by some of the men of the Second rages as these should be prevented by our comRhode Island Regiment, and handed to Gov-manding officers for the honor of the Govern ernor Sprague, who was with the brigade. It ment and the people they represent. was transmitted by him to General McDowell as a legitimate trophy. In the village of Fairfax Court House a large amount of tents, muskets, equipments, flour, bacon, and hospital stores belonging to the rebel army was captured. Soon afterwards Colonel Marston, at the suggestion of one of the correspondents of the Herald, sent a detail of the Second New Hamp- Immediately upon the arrival of the central shire Regiment, with their regimental flag, to division at this point, General McDowell sent give its folds to the breeze from the belfry of word to the divisions of Colonels Miles and the Court House. Your correspondent aided Heintzelman, composing the left wing, to halt, in this demonstration, and the Court House and himself and staff, escorted by a squadron bell, and all the tavern bells in the village rung of United States dragoons, proceeded to Gerforth a merry peal, and the thousands of Union mantown, where the division of General Tyler soldiers already collected shouted a glad greet- I was halted. It was the purpose and desire of |