Colonel Upton and his gallant regiments, the produced on our tonnage; and, without troubFifth Maine and the One Hundred and Twenty-ling you with the great loss which our ship-ownfirst New-York. Prompt in their support, they ers sustain in the almost total loss of foreign deserve our heartiest thanks, as by their bravery commerce, it is only necessary to call your attenthey won a large share of the honors of the day. By command of Brigadier-General D. A. Rus- SELL. Doc. 11. REBEL PRIVATEERS. LETTER OF NEW-YORK MERCHANTS. Hon. Gideon Welles, Secretary of the Navy, SIR: The continued depredations of the rebel cruisers on the mercantile marine of the country have not only destroyed a large amount of the active capital of the merchants, but seriously threaten the very existence of that valuable part of our commerce. tion to the inclosed table, prepared and published by one of the best informed commercial journals The banners of this brigade shall bear the of this city, showing the loss of the carrying name, "Rappahannock," to perpetuate, so long trade on the imports and exports of this city as those banners shall endure, dropping and alone, by which you will perceive, that while durshredding away though they may be for genera-ing the quarter ending June thirtieth, 1860, we tions, the proud triumph won by you on the imported and exported over sixty-two million seventh of November, 1863. dollars in American vessels, and but thirty million dollars in foreign vessels; we have in the corresponding quarter of this year only twentythree million dollars by our own ships, while we have sixty-five million dollars by foreign vessels. The intermediate periods show a most painful decadence of our shipping interest and tonnage by transfer and sale to foreign flags, which, at this time of considerable commercial activity, does not so much indicate a want of enterprise in this field of occupation as a want of confidence in the national protection of our flag on the ocean. The national pride of many of our patriotic ship-owners has subjected them to heavy sacrifices in difference of insurance against capture, of two per cent to ten per cent, while the underwriters of the country have been compelled to make great concessions in favor of American shipping, Apart from the loss of so much individual yet without materially affecting the result, and wealth and the destruction of so valuable a source many of them encountering heavy losses by capof material power and enterprise, it is humiliat- ture, in quarters where they had every reason to ing to our pride as citizens of the first naval believe our commerce would be protected by napower on the earth that a couple of indifferently tional vessels of efficiency and power. Indeed, equipped rebel cruisers should for so long a pe- the almost total absence of efficient naval force riod threaten our commerce with annihilation. in many of the great highways of commerce has It is a painful source of mortification to every had a damaging influence on our prospects, by American, at home and abroad, that the great producing a great degree of temerity on the part highways of our commerce have hitherto been of the rebel cruisers, and corresponding misgivleft so unprotected by the almost total absence ings on the part of underwriters and others in of national armed vessels as to induce rebel inso-interest as to whether Government protection lence to attack our flag almost at the entrance of would be afforded to our ships laden with valuour harbors, and to actually blockade our mer-able cargoes. The want of adequate armed veschantmen at the Cape of Good Hope recently-sels on prominent naval stations for protection of an account of which you have here inclosed, being a copy of a letter recently received from a captain of one of the blockaded ships, having a valuable cargo. We are conscious that it is no easy matter to capture a couple of cruisers on the boundless waters of the ocean, aided and abetted as they too often have been at ports where international comity, if not international law, has been set at defiance, and we have witnessed with satisfaction the patriotic zeal and energy of your Department and the glorious successes of our navy in subduing the rebellion which threatens our national Union. Still we think that the loyal merchants and ship-owners of the country, whose zeal and patriotic cooperation have generously furnished the funds to sustain the Government, are entitled to have a more energetic protection of their interests than has been hitherto extended to them. Your very arduous official duties have, no doubt, prevented you from investigating the serious inroads which the unprotected state of our carrying trade has our ships has become so notorious, that under- No plated without horror at this period of our national struggle. We beg leave, also, to inclose an extract from the Commercial Advertiser, of the twenty-sixth instant, and to request your attention to the paragraph marked. We are, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servants, Doc. 12. GENERAL HALLECK'S REPORT HEADQUARTERS OF THE ARMY, RICHARD LATHERS, President Great Western Insurance Commit the following summary of military operations pany. J. P. TAPPAN, President Neptune Insurance Company. F. S. LATHROP, President Union Mutual Insurance Company. C. H. MARSHALL, Merchant Ship-Owner. A. A. Low & BRO., Merchant Ship-Owners. GRINNELL, MINTURN & Co., Merchant Ship-Owners. WILSON G. HUNT, Merchant. CHAS. NEWCOMB, Vice-President Merchants' Mutual Insurance Company. BROWN BROS. & Co., Bankers. W. T. FROST, Merchant Ship-Owner. BUCKLIN & CRANE, Merchant Ship-Owners. E. E. MORGAN, Merchant Ship-Owner. WM. WHITLOCK, Jr., Merchant Ship-Owner. GEO. OPDYKE, Mayor of New-York City. AUGUST BELMONT & CO., Bankers. JAS. G. KING'S SONS, Bankers. ARCHIBALD GRACIE, Merchant. HOWLAND & FROTHINGHAM, Merchant Ship-Owners. WILLIAMS & GUION, Merchant Ship-Owners. DEPARTMENT OF WEST-VIRGINIA AND ARMY OF THE When General Burnside relieved General McClellan from his command on the seventh of November of last year, the army of the Potomac was on the south side of the Potomac, under instructions to pursue Lee by a flank march on the interior line to Richmond, hugging closely to the Blue Ridge, so as to observe its passes and to give battle to the enemy whenever an opportunity occurred. On reaching Warrenton, however, General Burnside proposed to give up this pursuit of Lee's army toward Richmond, and to move down the north side of the Rappahannock to Fal JOHN H. EARLE, President New-York Mutual Insurance Com- mouth, and establish a new base of supplies at pany. ISAAC SHERMAN, Merchant Ship-Owner, W. A. SALE & Co., Merchant Ship-Owners. THOMAS DUNHAM, Merchant Ship-Owner. SPOFFORD, TILESTON & Co., Merchant Ship-Owners. J. P. MORGAN & Co., Bankers. E. D. MORGAN, United States Senator. NEW-YORK, October 28, 1863. SECRETARY WELLES'S REPLY. Navy Department, Washington, November 14, 1863. GENTLEMEN: The Department duly received your communication of the twenty-eighth ultimo, in reference to the depredations committed upon American commerce by the Alabama and other rebel cruisers. The pursuit and capture of these vessels is a matter that the Department has constantly in view, and swift steamers have been constantly in search of them, and at times very close on to them. They are under orders to follow them wherever they may go. The only vessel that had the impudence to attack our flag at the entrance of our harbors-the Tacony-was promptly pursued and her career was soon terminated. The Department had about thirty ves sels after her. I thank you for your expression that energy and ability have creditably marked the administration of the Department in all other channels of official duties. A rigid blockade of the coast has been demanded, and its accomplishment has required all the available force that the Department could bring to bear. To do this, it could not well despatch a larger force than it has in search of piratical rovers. It will continue to give this subject its attention, and hopes, as the avenues to the insurrectionary region are becoming closed and the navy is enlarging, to be able to have a larger force to pursue the pirates and secure the safety of our commerce abroad. Very respectfully, GIDEON WELles, Secretary of the Navy. TO RICHARD LATHERS, Esq., and others. Acquia Creek or Belle Plain. This proposed change of base was not approved by me, and in a personal interview at Warrenton I strongly urged him to retain his present base, and to continue his march toward Richmond in a manner pointed out in the President's letter of October thirteenth, 1862, to General McClellan. General Burnside did not fully concur in the President's view, but finally consented to so modify his plan as to cross his army by the fords of the upper Rappahannock, and then move down and seize the heights south of Fredericksburgh, while a small force was to be sent north of the river to enable General Haupt to reopen the railroad and to rebuild the bridges, the materials for which were nearly ready in Alexandria. I, however, refused to give any official approval of this deviation from the President's instructions until his assent was obtained. On my return to Washington, on the thirteenth, I submitted to him this proposed change in the plan of campaign, and, on its receiving his assent rather than approval, I telegraphed, on the fourteenth, authority to General Burnside to adopt it. I here refer not to General Burnside's written plan to go to Falmouth, but to that of crossing the Rappahannock above its junction with the Rapidan. It has been inferred, from the testimony of General Burnside before the Congressional Committee on the Conduct of the War, that his plan of marching his whole army on the north of the Rappahannock from Warrenton to Falmouth, had been approved by the authorities in Washington, and that he expected, on his arrival there, to find supplies and pontoons, with gunboats to cover his crossing. In the first place, that plan was never approved, nor was he ever authorized to adopt it. In the second place, he could not possibly have expected supplies and pontoons to be landed at points then occupied in force by the enemy. Again, he was repeatedly informed that gunboats could not at that time ascend the Rappahannock to Fredericksburgh. by him. General Burnside had supposed that the pontoon train was then in Washington or Alexandria, while it was still on the Potomac, at General Burnside did not commence his move- Berlin and Harper's Ferry, General Burnside's ment from Warrenton till the fifteenth, and then, | order to send it to Washington not having been instead of crossing the Rappahannock by the received by the officer left in charge there. Genfords, as he was expected to do, he marched his eral Burnside had only allowed time for transwhole army down on the north bank of the river, porting pontoons from Alexandria, when they his advance reaching Falmouth on the twentieth. had to be first transported to that place from Lee's army, in the mean time, moved down the Berlin. Delay was therefore entirely unavoidsouth side of the river, but had not occupied able, and, on investigation of the matter by GenFredericksburgh on the twenty-first. The river eral Burnside, General Woodbury was exonerwas at this time fordable a few miles above the ated from all blame. town, and General Sumner asked permission to cross and occupy the heights, but it was refused, and no attempt was made to effect the passage till the eleventh of December, by which time Lee's army had been concentrated and strongly entrenched. This passage, however, was effected without serious opposition, with the right | wing and centre, under Sumner and Hooker, at Fredericksburgh, and the left wing, under Franklin, on the bridges established some miles below. It was intended that Franklin's grand division, consisting of the corps of Reynolds and Smith, should attack the enemy's right, and turn his position on the heights in the rear of Fredericksburgh, while Sumner and Hooker attacked him in front. But by some alleged misunderstanding of orders, Franklin's operations were limited to a mere reconnoissance, and the direct attacks of Sumner and Hooker were unsupported. The contest on the right wing, during the thirteenth, was continued till half-past five P.M., when our men were forced to fall back, after suffering terrible losses. General Hooker relieved General Burnside from his command on the twenty-fifth of January, but no advance movement was attempted till near the end of April, when a large cavalry force, under General Stoneman, was sent across the upper Rappahannock, toward Richmond, to destroy the enemy's communications, while General Hooker, with his main army, crossed the Rappahannock and the Rapidan above their junction, and took position at Chancellorsville, at the same time General Sedgwick crossed near Fredericksburgh, and stormed and carried the heights. A severe battle took place on the second and third of May, and on the fifth our army was again withdrawn to the north side of the river. For want of official data, I am unable to give any detailed accounts of these operations or of our losses. It is also proper to remark in this place, that from the time he was placed in the command of the army of the Potomac till he reached Fairfax Station, on the sixteenth of June, a few days before he was relieved from the command, General Hooker reported directly to the President, and received instructions directly from him. I received no official information of his plans or of their execution. Both armies remained in position till the night of the sixteenth of October, when General Burnside withdrew his forces to the north side of the Rappahannock. General Burnside has been frequently requested to make an official report of In the early part of June, Lee's army moved these operations, but has furnished no informa- up the south bank of the Rappahannock, occution beyond that contained in his brief telegrams, pied the gaps of the Blue Ridge, and threatened sent from the battle-field, in one of which he the valley of the Shenandoah. General Hooker uses the following language: "The fact that I followed on at interior lines, by Warrenton Junc decided to move from Warrenton to this line, tion, Thoroughfare Gap, and Leesburgh. But rather against the opinion of the President, the the operations of both armies were so masked by Secretary of War, and yourself, and that you the intervening mountains, that neither could obhave left the whole movement in my hands, with- tain positive information of the force and moveout giving me orders, makes me the more re-ments of the other. Winchester and Martinssponsible." The loss of the rebels in this battle is not known. As they were sheltered by their fortifications, it was probably less than ours, which, as officially reported, was one thousand one hundred and thirty-eight killed, nine hundred and fifteen wounded, and two thousand six hundred and seventy-eight missing. Most of the missing and many of the slightly wounded soon rejoined the regiments and reported for duty. burgh were at this time occupied by us simply as outposts. Neither place was susceptible of a good defence. Directions were therefore given, on the eleventh June, to withdraw their garri sons to Harper's Ferry, but these orders were not obeyed, and on the thirteenth Winchester was attacked, and its armament and a part of the garrison captured. Lee now crossed the Potomac near Williamsport, and directed his march upon Harrisburgh. General Hooker followed on It was alleged at the time that the loss of this his right flank, covering Washington and Baltibattle resulted from the neglect to order forward more. On reaching Frederick, Md., on the twenthe pontoon train from Washington. This order ty-eighth June, he was, at his own request, rewas transmitted from Warrenton to Brigadier-lieved from the command, and Major-General General Woodbury, then in Washington, on the Meade appointed in his place. During these twelfth of November, and was promptly acted on movements, cavalry skirmishes took place at Beverly Ford, Brandy Station, Berryville, and Aldie, some of which were quite severe, but, in the absence of detailed reports, I am unable to give the losses on either side. When General Meade, under orders of the President, took command of the army of the Potomac, on the twenty-eighth of June, it was mainly concentrated at Frederick, Maryland. Lee's army was supposed to be advancing against Harrisburgh, which was garrisoned by raw militia, upon which little or no reliance could be placed. Ewell's corps was on the west side of the Susquehanna, between that place and Columbia. Longstreet's corps was near Chambersburgh, and Hill's corps between that place and Cashtown. Stuart's cavalry was making a raid between Washington and Frederick, cutting Meade's line of supplies and capturing his trains. arrived on the field with the Third and Twelfth corps, which took position, one on the left and the other on the right of the new line. The bat tle for the day, however, was over. General Meade arrived on the field during the night with the reserves, and posted his troops in line of battle, the First corps on the right, the Eleventh corps next, then the Twelfth corps, which crossed the Baltimore pike; the Second and Third corps on the Cemetery ridge. On the left of the Eleventh corps the Fifth corps, pending the arrival of the Sixth, formed the reserve. On the arrival of the latter, about two o'clock P.M., it took the place of the Fifth, which was ordered to take position on the extreme left. The enemy massed his troops on an exterior ridge, about a mile and a half in front of that occupied by us. General Sickles, misinterpreting his orders, instead of placing the Third corps on the prolongaOur force at Harper's Ferry at this time was tion of the Second, had moved it nearly three supposed to be about eleven thousand. It was fourths of a mile in advance, an error which nearincorrectly represented to General Meade to be ly proved fatal in the battle. The enemy attackdestitute of provisions, and that he must imme-ed this corps on the second with great fury, and diately supply it, or order the abandonment of it was likely to be utterly annihilated, when the the place. Accordingly, a few hours after he Fifth corps moved up on the left, and enabled it assumed the command, he assented to an order to re-form behind the line it was originally ordered drawn up by an officer of General Hooker's staff, to hold. The Sixth corps, and part of the First, directing General French to send seven thousand were also opportunely thrown into this gap, and men of the garrison to Frederick, and with the succeeded in checking the enemy's advance about remainder (estimated at four thousand) to re- sunset. The rebels retired in confusion and dismove and escort the public property to Wash-order. ington. This order, based on erroneous repre- About eight P.M., an assault was made from sentations, was not known in Washington till the left of the town, which was gallantly repelled too late to be countermanded. It, however, was by the First, Second, and Eleventh corps. not entirely executed when General Meade very the morning of the first, we regained, after a judiciously directed the reoccupation of that im-spirited contest, a part of our line on the right, portant point. sor. On the twenty-ninth, General Meade's army was put in motion, and at night was in position, its left at Emmittsburgh, and right at New-WindThe advance of Buford's cavalry was at Gettysburgh, and Kilpatrick's division at Hanover, where it encountered Stuart's cavalry, which had passed around the rear and right of our army without meeting any serious opposition. On the thirtieth, the First, Third, and Eleventh corps were concentrated at Emmittsburgh, under General Reynolds, while the right wing moved up to Manchester. Buford reported the enemy in force on the Cashtown road near Gettysburgh, and Reynolds moved up to that place on the first of July. He found our cavalry warmly engaged with the enemy, and holding them in check on the Cashtown road. Reynolds immediately deployed the advance division of the First corps, and ordered the Eleventh corps to advance promptly to its support. Wadsworth's division had driven back the enemy some distance, and captured a large number of prisoners, when General Reynolds fell mortally wounded. The arrival of Ewell's corps, about this time, by the York and Harrisburgh roads, compelled General Howard, upon whom the command devolved, to withdraw his force, the First and Eleventh corps, to the Cemetery ridge, on the south side of Gettysburgh. About seven P.M., Generals Sickles and Slocum On which had been yielded to sustain other points. On the second, about one P.M., the enemy opened an artillery fire of one hundred and twenty-five guns on our centre and left. This was followed by an assault of a heavy infantry column on our left and left centre. This was successfully repulsed with terrible loss to the enemy. This terminated the battle, and the rebels retired defeated from the field. The opposing forces in this sanguinary contest were nearly equal in numbers, and both fought with the most desperate courage. The commanders were also brave, skilful, and experienced, and both handled their troops on the field with distinguished ability; but to General Meade belongs the honor of a well-earned victory, in one of the greatest and best-fought battles of the war. His On the morning of the fourth, the enemy apparently occupied a new line in front of our left, but in reality, his army had commenced to retreat, carrying off a part of his wounded. lines, however, were not entirely evacuated till the morning of the fifth, when the cavalry and Sixth corps were sent in pursuit. The days of the fifth and sixth were employed by General Meade in succoring the wounded and burying the dead left on the battle-field. He then started in pursuit of Lee by a flank movement upon Middletown. In the mean time General French had reōccu between the ninth and twenty-third of October, the casualties in our cavalry corps were seventyfour killed, three hundred and sixteen wounded, and eight hundred and eighty-five missing. The enemy's loss is not known, but must have been heavy, as we captured many prisoners. Troops sent out from Harper's Ferry, forced him to immediately retreat. On the seventh of November, Generals Sedgwick and French attacked the enemy at Rappahannock Station and Kelly's Ford, capturing several redoubts, four guns, and eight battle-flags, and about two thousand prisoners. Our loss in killed and wounded was three hundred and seventy. The enemy now retreated to his old position, south of the Rapidan. pied Harper's Ferry, destroyed the enemy's pon-loss at Bristoe Station was fifty-one killed and toon train at Williamsport and Falling Waters, three hundred and twenty-nine wounded. We and captured its guards. Halting a day at Mid-captured five cannon, two colors, and four hundred dletown, General Meade crossed the South-Moun- and fifty prisoners. In the several skirmishes tain, and on the twelfth found the enemy occupying a strong position on the heights of Marsh Run, in front of Williamsport. Instead of attacking Lee in this position, with the swollen waters of the Potomac in his rear, without any means of crossing his artillery, and where a defeat must have caused the surrender of his entire army, he was allowed to construct a pontoon bridge with lumber collected from canal-boats and the ruins of wooden houses, and on the morning of the fourteenth his army had crossed to the south side of the river. His rear-guard, however, was attacked by our cavalry and suffered considerable loss. Thus ended the rebel campaign north of the Potomac, from which importal political and military results had been expected. Our own loss in this short campaign had The operations of our troops in West-Virginia been very severe, namely, two thousand eight are referred to here as being intimately connected hundred and thirty-four killed, thirteen thousand with those of the army of the Potomac; the seven hundred and two wounded, and six thou-force being too small to attempt any important sand six hundred and forty-three missing-in all, twenty-three thousand one hundred and eightysix. We captured three guns, forty-one standards, thirteen thousand six hundred and twenty-one prisoners, and twenty-eight thousand one hundred and seventy-nine small arms. The entire loss of the enemy is not known, but judging from the numbers of his dead and wounded left on the field, it must have been much greater than ours. After crossing the Potomac, Lee continued his retreat up the valley of the Shenandoah, and through the gaps of the Blue Ridge, till he reached the south bank of the Rapidan, near Orange Court-House, where he took up a defensive position to dispute the crossing of the river. General Meade continued his flank pursuit by Harper's Ferry, Berlin, and Warrenton, till he reached Culpeper Court-House, where he halted his army, not deoming it prudent to cross the river and attack the enemy, who was now intrenched on the south bank, which completely commanded the approaches on the north side. During this advance, several cavalry skirmishes took place, but without serious loss on either side. campaign by itself, has acted mostly upon the defensive, in repelling raids and in breaking up guerrilla bands. When Lee's army retreated across the Potomac, in July last, Brigadier-Gen eral Kelly concentrated all his available force on the enemy's flank, near Clear Springs, ready to coöperate in the proposed attack by General Meade; they also rendered valuable services in the pursuit after Lee had effected his passage of the river. On the twenty-fourth of July, Colonel Toland attacked the enemy at Wytheville, on the Eastern and Virginia Railroad, capturing two pieces of artillery, seven hundred muskets, and one hundred and twenty-five prisoners. Our loss was seventeen killed and sixty-one wounded; the enemy's killed and wounded reported to be seventy-five. In August, General Averill attacked a rebel force under General Sam Jones, at Rocky Gap, in Green Brier County, capturing one gun, one hundred and fifty prisoners, and killing and wounding some two hundred. Our loss in killed, wounded, and missing, was one hundred and thirty. On the eleventh of September, Imboden attacked a small force of our troops at Morefield, wounding fifteen and capturing about one hundred and fifty. On the fifth of November, General Averill attacked and defeated the enemy near Lewisburgh, capturing three pieces, over one hundred prisoners, and a large number of small arms, wagons, and camp equipage. The enemy's loss in killed and wounded estimated at three hundred. A considerable part of Lee's army was now withdrawn, to reenforce Bragg in the West; but with his diminished numbers he assumed a threatening attitude against General Meade, manoeuvred to turn his flank, and forced him to fall back to the line of Bull Run. Having destroyed the Orange and Alexandria Railroad from the Rapidan to Manassas, the rebels again fell back to their former position near Orange Court-House. During these operations there were several severe engagements between detached forces-but no Our force in North Carolina, during the past general battle: October tenth and eleventh, at year, has been too small for any important operaRobertson's River; twelfth, at Brandy Station; tions against the enemy, and, consequently, has fourteenth, at Bristoe Station ; nineteenth, at Buck- acted mostly on the defensive, holding the importland Mills; twenty-fourth, at Bealton and the Rap-ant positions previously captured from the rebpahannock Bridge; and on the seventh of No- els. Nevertheless, General Foster has given vember, on the south bank of that river. Our much annoyance to the enemy, and taken every DEPARTMENT OF VIRGINIA AND NORTH-CAROLINA. |