a closer view of the city which we have for near that among the ruses he employed was sending a month been observing over the river, not three down, day before yesterday, to Port Conway, hundred yards wide, without the power of visita- three hundred wagons, and bringing them back tion. As the rebels were in very considerable by a different road, for the sole purpose of makforce on the heights back of the city, one could ing the rebels believe that we were about to not extend his perambulations beyond the street cross the river at that point. To the same end, fronting on the river. Every one of the houses workmen were busily employed in laying causewhich I here entered, a dozen or more, is torn to ways for supposed pontoon-bridges there, while pieces by shot and shell, and the fire still hotly the gunboats were held as bugaboos at the same rages in a dozen parts of the city. A few citizens place. Completely deceived by these feints, the -a score or two, perhaps male and female, main rebel force, including Jackson's command, presently made their appearance, emerging out seems to have been, two or three days ago, transof the cellars, whither they had taken refuge dur- ferred twenty or twenty-five miles down the river. ing the bombardment. Three women-white-It must be remembered, however, that without whom we found in a cellar, told us that they, with a majority of the inhabitants, had moved out of Fredericksburgh a fortnight or so previously, but that, growing reassured by our long delay, they, with a good many others, had come back the evening before. The former inhabitants, they report as now living in various parts of the environs, some in negro huts, and others in tents made with bed-clothes, etc. During the afternoon of the bombardment we observed a couple of white handkerchiefs waved out of the windows in a house in the city. This was taken by some for a flag of truce, and the Chief of Artillery was on the point of causing the shelling to cease. General Burnside, however, decided that it was probably merely only the wonted rebel ruse, and ordered operations to be continued. We found out that the demonstrations were made by two of the women referred to, with the desire that we should send over a boat and convey them away from Fredericksburgh. Among other prominent objects during the bombardment was a large British flag, flying over the house of the English Consul. This personage, however, was not found in his house when we entered the city, and the flag was taken possession of and brought away. A number of rebel dead were found in various parts of the city, some exhibiting frightful mutilations from shells, and I took as a trophy, a rifle, still loaded, out of the grasp of a hand belonging to a headless trunk. The infantry in the city appear to have been Mississippians, South-Carolinans, and Floridians. Those of them that we took prisoners were wretchedly clad, and mostly without blankets or overcoats, but they generally looked stout and healthy, and certainly in far better condition than they could have been were there any truth in the report of some deserters the other day, to the effect that for three weeks they had nothing to eat but the persimmons they were able to pick up. Although we are not yet fully informed of the present positions of the enemy, there seems to be good ground to claim that General Burnside has succeeded in outgeneralling and outwitting them. His decoys to make them believe that we were about to cross our main force at Port Conway, seem to have succeeded admirably. I suppose there is no harm now in my mentioning the utmost celerity on our part, they can readily retrieve this blunder by a forced march or two. Signal-guns, at five o'clock this morning, gave them the cue to what was going on, and doubtless they have not been idle during the intervening hours. To-morrow will disclose what unseen moves have been made on the chess-board. Doc. 69. W. S. RAID IN CRAWFORD COUNTY, MO. REPORT OF CAPTAIN REEVES. OSAGE, CRAWFORD COUNTY, Mo., December 9, 1862. Colonel J. M. Glover: A BAND of six guerrillas, headed by Charles Barnes, made a raid upon our part of the county, on the night of the twenty-fifth ultimo. Before night they passed down Huzza Creek unobserved, except by one person, whom they arrested. They commenced their business at the house of John S. Brickey, by taking two guns, a pistol, a negro man and negro girl. Barnes took a pair of handcuffs from his saddle-bags and fastened upon the negro man, but before they had gone far they took an alarm at cattle that ran near them, and the negro man made his escape. They went back up the Huzza Creek, which runs from a southern direction. They called at the house of Israel P. Brickey, and took a gun and pistol, and also compelled Brickey, to furnish them with supper. Next they broke into the house of Cornelius Brickey, calling for him and his son James, whom Barnes had previously threatened, neither of them being at home. They next went one mile to the house of Peter Brickey. There they arrested his son Jarret, who made his escape just as they left the house, and slipped in the dark. They took one negro, one horse, saddle, bridle, pants, hats, and blankets. Next they went to the house of James Sanders, Jr., the First Sergeant of my company. They rushed into the house before he was warned sufficiently to get out of bed, and called upon him to surrender, but he resisted by springing out of bed, snatching his revolver from under his pillow, and firing at the breast of Barnes, who, about the same time, fired upon Sanders, and at the same time ordered his comrades to "fire." Four balls struck Sanders and he fell to the floor. A fatal shot was now about to be made from a rifle, when Sanders's sister threw up the muzzle. They gathered his pis tol, and immediately left. You readily imagine of David Kilgore, who went with them as a pilot. the information of the Commanding General the result of a scout commanded by me in Marion County, Arkansas. By permission from Captain Flagg, commanding this post, I took command of forty men composed of detachments from companies D, F, G, and H, Second battalion, Fourteenth regiment cavalry Missouri State militia, and on the morning of the ninth instant marched for Lawrence's Mill, a distance of thirty-five miles. I arrived at the mill early in the night, and remained there till noon of the tenth, waiting for forage. During this time I held a consultation with the officers of my command and those of the enrolled militia stationed at the mill, in regard to the direction we should take. It had been my intention to make an expedition into the White River country below Dubuque, where it is said a band of marauders have a considerable number of horses. These marauders I wished to destroy or drive out, and to capture their horses; but having received information that a rebel captain by the name of Mooney, with seventy-five men, were encamped on Tolbert's Ferry on White River, sixty miles from us, I resolved, with the advice of the other officers, to go and capture them. I received a reenforcement of sixty men from the enrolled militia at the mill, and marched twenty miles in the direction of Tolbert's Ferry. The march was continued on the morning of the eleventh, but instead of keeping the road, I bore to the eastward and marched through the woods under the guidance of an excellent woodsman, by the name of Willoughby Hall. I arrived within eight miles of the Ferry by dusk, and stopped to feed and rest in the dense forest near an out of the way corn-field. During the time of our stay at this place I sent Lieut. John R. Kelso with eight men to capture some rebel pickets that I supposed would be at the house of a rebel by the name of Brixy. Lieut. Kelso soon returned, having found and captured two rebels with their guns and one horse; from the prisoners I learned that Captain Mooney's men had temporarily disbanded, and were not to assemble again for two days. I felt a little disappointed upon the reception of this intelligence, but I determined to proceed and make a dash upon a band of armed rebels that, I learned, were at the Saltpetre Cave, on the other side of White River, seven miles from Captain Mooney's house. At midnight my little band emerged from the dark woods where we had been resting, and silently wound among the hills in the direction of Captain Mooney's. Lieut. Kelso led the advance, and by the most excellent management succeeded in capturing seven or eight rebels who lived near the road, without giving any alarm to the country around. Just before day we captured a rebel recruiting officer by the name of Mings, formerly a Lieutenant-Colonel. At the break of day we reached Capt. Mooney's residence; we took him with one other man, together with fifteen stand of small arms, most of which we destroyed, not being able to carry them. We also recaptured eight horses which had been ŠIR: I have the honor of reporting to you for taken from the enrolled militia, stationed at Law When they saw us, they immediately threw down baggage, consisting of guns, blankets, etc. They soon also left the negroes and horses that they were leading. They scattered into the woods in several directions. Our company divided also in quick pursuit, firing upon them as they ran. Being upon fresh horses, three of them made their escape with a horse each. Another that was wounded in the shoulder, made his escape into a thicket by leaving his horse. We captured five horses, one holster-pistol, many guns, blankets, saddles, and saddle-bags, and succeeded in killing two of the band, one of whom was in Mr. Brickey's pants that they had taken the night previous. We take no pleasure in putting to death any one in human shape, but know of no other way of ridding our country of midnight assassins that have been our greatest annoyance connected with this inexcusable rebellion, but to hunt them down and kill them. NATHANIEL B. REEVES, Doc. 70. CAPTAIN BIRCH'S EXPEDITION OZARK, Mo., Dec. 18, 1862. Major James H. Steger, A.A. General. rence's Mill. I remained here to feed and to await the arrival of a party that I had sent out with orders to meet me at this point; they soon came in bringing several prisoners. I then sent Captain Green of the enrolled militia back with the prisoners, seventeen in number, and twentyfive men as an escort. I then divided the rest of my command into two divisions, sending one under command of Captain Salee, accompanied by Lieut. Bates, formerly of the Sixty-fourth Illinois, to march up the river on this side, and to await in concealment till I began the attack with the other division, which was to cross and approach from the other side. It was just noon when we arrived at the cave. The rebels were at their dinner, all unconscious of our approach. When at last they discovered us, they mistook us for a company of their own men, whom they were expecting, and they did not discover their error until we were in half-pistol shot of them. I ordered them to surrender, which they did without firing a gun. They numbered twenty-three, of whom three were left, being unable to travel. Their guns were mostly shot-guns and rifles, which I ordered to be destroyed. We also captured four mules and two wagons; the wagons, however, we could not bring away. Also, three horses were taken. I then ordered the saltpetre works to be destroyed, which was effectually done. These are gigantic works, having cost the rebel government thirty thousand dollars. Capt. McNamar, who was in command, stated that in three days they could have had six thousand dollars' worth of saltpetre ready for use. These works, though reported as destroyed at the time of the burning of Yellville, had been unmolested since early last spring when they were slightly injured by a detachment from General Curtis's army. The works being destroyed, and learning that a party of Burris's command were hourly expected, I thought better to retire, as I was already encumbered with prisoners. I marched nearly all night through the dark woods, the rain pouring down upon us in torrents. On the next day we advanced as far as Little North Fork, which is not fordable. Here we remained till the morn-ing of the thirteenth, when we crossed and reached Lawrence Mill. On the fifteenth we reached this place, having been absent seven days, travelled two hundred and twenty-five miles, captured forty-two prisoners, destroyed forty stand of small arms, also captured twelve horses and four mules, and destroyed thirty thousand dollars' worth of machinery, etc., and all without any loss whatever on my side. In conclusion, I must say a word in praise of the brave men under my command. Often with out any food except parched corn, and no shelter from the chilling rains, deprived of sleep, and weary from long night-marches, not a murmur was heard; every hardship was borne with cheerfulness, and every danger met with the utmost coolness. The enrolled militia officers, Captains Salee, Green, and Huffman, all did their duty well. Lieut. Bates, of the Sixty-fourth Illinois, showed himself a brave soldier. Lieut. Warren, of com pany F, also deserves favorable notice. As to Lieut. Kelso, his reputation as an intrepid soldier and skilful officer is too well known to require any comment at this time. These, Major, I think, are all the facts worthy of notice. I am, very respectfully, your ob't servant, MILTON BIRCH, Captain Commanding Expedition. ST. LOUIS, Dec. 25, 1862. The conduct of the officers and soldiers who conducted and bore the privations of this expedition deserve my special commendation. This report will be entered fully on my "battle-book," and furnished the press for publicity, with this indorsement. S. R. CURTIS, Major-General. Doc. 71. FIGHT AT ZUNI, VA. SUFFOLK, VA., December 13, 1862. ON Thursday noon last, a column under the command of Brigadier-General Ferry, left here for the purpose of engaging the attention of the enemy at the Blackwater The column consisted of cavalry, artillery, and eight regiments of infantry. A pontoon-train, made of old canal-boats, taken from the canal which runs through the Dismal Swamp, was also attached to the expedition. The column proceeded on the South-Quay road, and halted for supper about six o'clock, having then advanced about ten miles. They next moved on toward the Blackwater, which they expected to reach about two o'clock next morning; but the wagons were laden so heavily with the pontoon-boats that a detention of several hours was caused by their sinking deep into the muddy cypress swamp, through which a portion of the road lay. It was deemed important that the column should reach the Blackwater before daylight, and the pontoon-train would have been left behind to enable it to do so; but the road being exceedingly narrow, with deep ditches on each side, it was found impossible for the cavalry and infantry, which were behind them, to pass, and in some cases a delay of two hours would ensue. Daylight, therefore, revealed the advancing force to the enemy, it not arriving at the Blackwater before six o'clock yesterday morning. This afterward proved to be of little account, as the rebels must have had timely warning of our approach at least two days previously. The passage of the river had been perfectly free of obstructions, while now piles of timber and chevaux de frise lay in it, and on the opposite side a heavy block-house and a large number of rifle pits had been constructed to assist in repelling an invading enemy. To add to the difficulty of fording the river, the water, which two days previously had not been more than from two to three feet deep, had now risen to twice that depth, so that the cavalry, instead of walking ..cross, were compelled to swim over to the opposite side in the face of a prepared enemy. But for these difficulties a plan, first suggested by Gen. Ferry, and afterward ordered by General Peck, must have succeeded admirably. It was this to mount two or three companies of infantry behind the cavalry, ford the river, dismount the infantry, drive the enemy from the heavy underbrush, and hold him in check until the pontoonbridge was laid across. By this plan a crossing of the Blackwater would have been effected without the aid of artillery, as it was believed the heavy guns would warn the enemy at Wakefield and Franklin, and a much superior force being at both these places, a rapid reënforcement could have been sent by railroad, and the fresh troops being thus precipitated in overwhelming numbers upon our force, would compel them to fall back. This afterward proved correct. us. force of the enemy, who had doubtless been attracted by the firing, and had arrived to reenforce their comrades, having, as was supposed, reached the place in the cars from Wakefield. As the expedition was partially a diversion in favor of other and more important military movements by our forces, and as General Ferry had received orders to be particularly cautious not to bring on an engagement, our men were recalled from the opposite side, and returned with a captain and twelve men whom they had captured. The whole now made preparations to retrace their steps, and at half-past ten o'clock this morning the last of the column passed through Suffolk on their way to the camps. The rebel captain was wounded so seriously that it was necessary to bring him in an ambulance. Before the head of the returning column had reached here, and I believe even before they started homeward, secession reports of a disastrous defeat, of a captured pontoon-train, a bloody repulse while crossing the river, and a hasty retreat, spread like lightning, both last night and this morning; and as our gallant fellows marched through the village they were greeted with jeering smiles from the male secessionists and a more demonstrative evidence of satisfaction from the females. One, an old woman, waved her hands as our soldiers passed her dwelling, and said: "I prayed to God all last night that you might never live to cross the Blackwater, and now my prayers have been answered, for you were driven back when you tried to cross, and you have come back faster than you went." Another, seeing some men who had been manning the battery walking behind the artillery, and supposing that because they had no muskets they had been thrown away to aid them in their flight, cried out, "Where's your guns? The next time you hear them they will be turned against you," etc. Two companies of the Thirteenth Indiana were now mounted behind the cavalry, and the whole attempted to cross, but were met with such se- Our loss is three killed and eleven wounded. vere volleys of musketry and artillery from the The enemy's was much greater, the prisoners reopposite bank, which, added to the unexpected porting as many as thirty killed and wounded by depth of the water, rendered the crossing impos-our artillery-fire at the crossing. sible without serious loss of life. The whole We were compelled to leave and destroy one were therefore recalled. Three pieces of artil- old wagon which stuck so deeply in the mud lery, under the command of Capt. Howard, were that it was found impossible to extricate it. now ordered up, and choosing a favorable posi- The contents were taken out before setting it on tion for the guns, a heavy fire of shell and canis- fire. ter was opened upon the rebels, which soon drove them from the bank, and, the firing still continuing, they retreated and fell back out of range to the thick woods and undergrowth beyond. While the firing was going on, our pickets opposite Zuni, about a mile and a half up the river, reported that the enemy were attempting to cross at the railroad bridge, and that the Union pickets had been fired upon by both infantry and artillery, who were assembling at that point in large numbers, evidently with the intention of outflanking | General Ferry at once ordered his AdjutantGeneral, Capt. Ives, with a regiment of infantry and a section of artillery, to this point for the purpose of dispersing them. Arriving there, Captain Ives found the enemy in plain sight, not more than an eighth of a mile distant, their battery in full view, and the infantry showing themselves on the outside of the works with apparent impunity. The section under the command of Lieutenant Beecher, of the Fourth United States artillery, now commenced a galling fire, under the cover of which a company of the Fifty-eighth Pennsylvania deployed as skirmishers to the banks of the river for the purpose of picking off the enemy's artillery-men on the opposite side. Three shots silenced the rebel battery, and a dozen more destroyed the fortifications and drove the enemy away, they taking with them a large gun which had been mounted on a truck and run from place to place upon the railroad track, and which they fired very rapidly, doing, however, but little execution. The party under Captain Ives now returned to the main body, where the firing had been going on for three or four hours, driving the enemy back so effectually that three companies of the Thirteenth Indiana crossed the Blackwater in the pontoon-boats. Colonel Dodge also crossed over in the face of a large The following is a list of our loss as far as I could collect it up to the time for the train to leave for Norfolk: Killed Lieut. John Robinson, Sixth Masschusetts; Lieut. Barr, company I, Sixth Massachusetts; one of the Eleventh Pennsylvania cav. alry. Wounded-A sergeant of the Mounted Rifles; private McFarland, Thirteenth Indiana, leg shot off, mortally; private Hinton, company F, Thirteenth Indiana; private Brady, company C, Fiftyeighth Pennsylvania, in the leg, by a shell; private Cox, company C, Fifty-eighth Pennsyvania, in the leg, by a shell. -N. Y. Herald. Doc. 72. DESTRUCTION OF THE CAIRO. OFF THE MOUTH OF THE YAZoo, December 12. YESTERDAY we were ordered up the Yazoo again, and were accompanied by the gunboats Signal, Pittsburgh, Cairo, and ram Queen of the West. We hove anchor at six in the morning and got under way. Our boat was in the advance. We bad proceeded about eighteen miles unmolested, when in rounding a point we descried a skiff containing a white man and a negro. We fired a shot and brought them about and took them aboard. We examined them, and from the negro we got the information that the rebels had placed a large number of torpedoes and infernal machines all along up the Yazoo River to their battery on Drumgool's Bluff. Accordingly we kept a bright look-out, and at half-past eleven A.M. discovered one. We were nearly on it before we saw it. We backed down-stream and lowered our cutter to examine, and found an inch-line made fast to a large root on the bank on the left-hand side. We cut the line, and as soon as cut, up came one of their infernal torpedoes. The torpedoes look like a log of wood floating, about three feet long and twenty inches in diameter. Attached to this log or buoy they have a large demijohn of about six gallons. The demijohn contains the charge of powder. Running from the cork of this demijohn to the log is a small hollow wire. The log contains the shot. They are fired from either side of the river. They make one end fast on shore by a line; on the other side of the bank runs the galvanic wire. The buoy and torpedo is placed in the middle of the channel, and by means of an anchor to the buoy is kept down. The two ends being hauled taut, keep it near the surface, and just as soon as any thing comes foul of either line, away it goes. They are a terribly destructive weapon, as was proved to our loss yesterday. The Cairo, one of our fleetest and best boats in the whole squadron, was sunk and totally lost by striking one of them. She sunk in four or five fathoms of water. The crew and officers were all saved. The books, papers, safe, and in fact every thing went down with her. The engineer and gunner were badly wounded. It was an awful sight, the guerrillas all around us tryto pick off our men who were in the water. it was in sight of their battery, but we opened on them and gave them plenty of shot and shell, keeping them back until we destroyed every vestige of the place where she went down. She went down with the old Stars and Stripes flying From her gaff. The torpedo struck and exploded ender her, on the port side, forward of the boilers, dismounting four of her large guns and making a hole larger than a hogshead. It must have been large to cause her to sink in seven minutes. The Cairo mounted thirteen large-sized guns, and a crew of one hundred and forty men. She had recently been fitted for service, and her loss is a serious one just now. She cost over two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. We were in advance, but our boat being of light draught of water, (two feet two inches,) passed over, while the Cairo, drawing nearly seven feet, came in contact with the lines and exploded a torpedo. We then sent parties ashore to look for torpedoes. In less than a mile seven large ones were found, which we took up and destroyed. The river is full of them. After destroying all we could find we came down-stream. By the greatest miracle we escaped both times, in fact every time, for we have been up the devilish river five times. Last Thursday, while we were up, we casually fired into what seemed to be a large floating demijohn, when of all the explosions I ever heard this beat all. We were fifty yards ahead of it, and the force was such as to lift the stern of our boat quite out of water, throwing the water fifty feet high and scattering pieces of glass on our decks. One of our pilots picked up a handful of the glass. The devil (whom we picked up) who has helped set these torpedoes, we have on board in double irons. We will fix him. The secesh down here are desperate. There is no Union feeling here, nothing but bitter hatred to all Northern men. The loss of the Cairo is a serious one to us. She cannot be replaced for less than three hundred thousand dollars, but the loss is the want of her just at this particular time. Coming down-stream, we shelled the woods, buildings, and every habitation we could see. From my battery we fired sixty-four shots, and we made some of them count. I think we will be ordered to Cairo with despatches; also to take up the crew and officers of the Cairo. The weather is pleasant and warm. Very little rain of late. River rising slowly from above. The general health of the crews is very good. Yours,. E. A. Doc. 73. OPERATIONS IN NORTH-CAROLINA. Major-General H. W. Halleck, General-in-Chief, GENERAL: Referring to my letters of December tenth, fourteenth, and twentieth, I have the honor to report that I left this town at eight A.M. of the eleventh, with the following forces: Gen. Wessells's brigade of General Peck's division, kindly loaned to me; Col. Amory's brigade; Col. Stevenson's brigade; Col. Lee's brigade. In all about infantry; batteries Third NewYork artillery; Belger's battery, First Rhode Island; section of Twenty-fourth New-York independent battery; section of Twenty-third independent battery, having a total of guns, and the Third New-York cavalry of about We marched the first day on the main Kinston road about fourteen miles, when, finding the road obstructed by felled trees for half a mile and over, men. |