The new South. (Port Royal, S.C.) 1862-1867, December 27, 1862, Image 2
THE NET SOUTH.!
?
POET ROYAL, SAT., DEC. 27, 1862.
^I
The Feeling at the North.
The tone of the Northern Tress regarding the
terrible slaughter of our brave soldiers which recently
took place at Fredericksburg, in the despe
rate, and we might almost say. foolhardy attempt
a ilwlndw tlm rrthrtls frrmi thnir imnrrtcnalilrt
strongholds, is bitter and severe upon the Administration
at Washington, by whose blundering and
interference it was brought about. That General
Burnside was forced to cross the Rappahannock
and make this hopeless attack against his own bet-'
ter judgment is as much beyond a doubt, as is the
fact that the delays to which he was subjected by
the tardiness of incompetent officials at Washing, j
ton in forwarding the Pontoon bridges, checked
his progress, and by allowing the rebels abundance
of time to concentrate their forces, and entrench
themselves at Fre lerickshurg, entirely overthrew
plans, which gave every promise of success
While, however, the onus of this dreadful sacrifice
of life is laid upon the Administration and the
drivellinz officials who helD to manage the affairs.
of our government, common consent appears not'
only to hold General Burnside blameless of the results,
but attaches a vast deal of credit to the con-!
sumate generalship displayed in extricating himself
? without the loss of a single man or a gun,*' from 1
a most perilous position, and one into which he '
had been impelled by the imbecility of his superiors.
In performing the difficult feat of recrossing
^ #? rivf .in the face of a victorious foe and evacuating
a position, the occupation of whioh for twelve
hours longer would undoubtedly have been attend*'
ed with the most disastrous results to our cause !
T I
General Burnside, we take it, hasexhibited military
abilities fully equal, if not superior, to those of the ;
roost successful general that opposes him. Ho has
accomplished a military exploit excelling even the
escap of the rebel army from Maryland after the bat, j
tie of Autietaiu, which was so galling to us, and such 1
a boast to the rebels. That our troops showed the 1
most admirable bravery and determination is con- \,
ceded by all, even the rebels themselves, and it i
removes all sting of disgrace to know that ; *
those noble men fell on the field bravely facing the ]
enemy and were not slaughtered in an ignominious 1
retreat. While glorying in the heroism of our 1
troops, none can feel surprise at the torrent of,
lamentations and reproaches which this useless !
sacrifice of them has wrung from the people '
oftbeNorth. Theyareno longersilent audpassive j
under this last carnival of blood, but reproaches,
loud and deep are thundering at the doors of the 1
Administration, threatening a whirlwiud of popular '
indignation. which thev dare no lonr?pr 1
? ? I (
NEWS FROM THE NORTH. j1
The Str. Delaware, Capt. Cannon, from New '.
York, arrivcil here on the 24th inst.; and on the | i
2-lth the Str. Sturof the South, Capt. IVoodhull,
When off Beaufort, X. C'. on the 24th inst., the
Star of the South transferred her mail and troops *
Vvr Newborn t?? the steam tug Slag. The Stag is I
bound from Xc * York to this port and put into ^
Ileaufort X. C. for coal. By the Star of the South ?
wve have Xew Yoik dates to the 21st inst. The news r
?received is important, but what our previous dates
bad led us to expect. A most desperate attack lias ~
been made upon the rebel intrenchmcnts at Fred-1 y
-eih-ksburg which hasprovtd unsuccessful, and Gefi. \\
l'.urnsido has been obliged to witlidraw his forces '
across the Rappahannock. Followingwe give aj^
short account of the s
I
vi
A
EV\Cl'AT10B OF FREDKRICKSUIKG.
After a most desperate attempt to dislodge the
rebel., from their strong holds at Fredericksburg,
in which we have suffered a loss of 10,000 men
killed and wounded, the army of the Potomac,
evacuated their potation and re-crossed the Rappahannock
on Monday night the loth inst.,and
the relative positions of the opposing forces are
now the same as on Wednesdav of last week. 1 he
movement was a perilous one, but it was conducted
in safety and in the midst of a heavy wind and
rain storui which served to screen it from the
enemy?who never discovered the movement until
it was too late to d* any harm. The artilhry w.,s
the first to cross orer the river and the last of the
infantry brought up the rear shortly after daylight.
As >oon as the last man had got safely across the
riser the p. ntoon bridges were removed and communication
between the two shores thus cut off.
Our wounded were'all safely brought over. The
movement was welPexecuted and from beginning
to end was a complete success. All three of the
crossings wore usod. making six bridges. Gen.
franklin s Grand Division occupying the extreme
le t. began to move as soon as it was dark,
and the right and Ventre of Gens. Sumner aud
Hooker took up t^e line of march almost simultaneously,
inovifl| in good order, but silently
away from under tk*very guns of the enemy. A
heavy gale ol wi%}, which blew all sound away
from the rebel link*, greatly facilitated the movement,
Bridges we<e covered with earth, to deaden
the sound of thp moving artillery, and a dark
night hid every i bjcct from view. Two brigados,
belonging to Gen. fcutterficld s corps, occupy the
town as advanced pickets. Our artillery, placed
on the h.ther bank $1' the river, will cooperate in
keeping possession ?f the town.
On Tuesday niomfngsthe IGth inst, when day.
light appeared the eric 111 y seemed to be, as they no
doubt were, perfectly astonished that our army had
succeeded iu recrosamg the Kappal\ann ,ck river, a
movement accomplished without the less of a sin.
gle man or a gun. The pickets on our outposts
were unaware of thtf movement we were making
until just before daylight, when an officer went to
each individual man, and in a low tone of voice
ordered him to fall tiack, After they got sufficiently
far away to he out of danger, they were or.
dered to quicken thtfir pace and reach the bridges
as quickly as oossibk A, few skiers, who had,
straggled 6117 made Weir appearance oVr^T-nver
Kanb fjflnr thn K?i/lr?noKnrl
i/wim, iuivi hiv ^viifuvu uiiugvomou uccii iciuuuv)
but they were subsequently brought over safely in
small boats
About nine o'clock in the morning the enemy
advanced their skirmishers along their entire lino,
and by noon had established their pickets near the
bank of the river.
On Monday the pickets of the contending ar?
mies fronting the left wing, mutually ag: oed upon
an ? armistice " among themselves, and freely in*
termingled with each other, exchanging their dead
friends and cemradeswho lay on? neutml ground."
About this time (Jen Franklin dispatched a flag of
truce, which the enemy immediately recognized,
iud the exchange of dead bodies was resumed and
continued until completed.
On Tuesday Gen, Lee sent a flag of truce to Gen,
Bum side, asking him to detail men to bury his
lead in front of Gen, Sumner's Grand Division
This was done.
Our entire army isjnow encamped on the same
ground which they previously occupied, It has
been considerably reinforced since the battle, and
no danger whatever attaches to our present posi*
tion.
During the night the enemy increased their intrenchmcuts
on the terraces in the rear of Freder,
icsburgh, aud threw up rifle-pits uear the river, on
Vit. l..f? ,.f !.*? ^5f.? A... 11 -a
.MV iv|l Ul U1G GIIJ . V'lW IIUUJ/3 i*rv ;u C^CIICIU |
mndition, and as enthusiastic as previous to the
ate engagements. On Wednesday tho 17th inst.,
he rebels Sent under a flag of truce, a request
hat we Would bury our dead, A burying party
iccordinglv went over, and continued their labors
nitil tho next day. During the truceCol. Walton,
,'hief of Longs tree t'a artillo.y, informal some of
>ur officers that the rebel infantry force engaged i
>n Sumner's front on Saturday, was only two I
>rigades, but that they had a large reserve near by,
ic said our men exhibited the greatest bravery, j
mt he considered the rebel position impregnable,'
,nd that a force of 500,000 would Cud it impossi-1
tie to carry the heights in the face of their hatte,;
ies. The rebel loss was small, compared with ;
urs, from the fact that they were protected by i
stonewall and rifle-pits, The enemy took nearly
00 prisoners frcm us?a considerable portion of
rhora were absent from their camps when we evacated
the south side of the river. The prisoners
aken ou both sides have been paroled, h
The reasons fur the withdrawal of the army are"
lius cle.trlv si yen in a dispatch fro\n funeral Burnid.-.
llEAlHiUARTKitS ARMY OF THF. POTOMAC, \
December 16th?6 P. M. >
Maj. Gen. Ualleck, Commander-\%-Ch\eJ :
The Army of the Potomac was witlulraun to this
side ol the Rappahannock River, because I felt
I fully con\ inced ttiat the position in front could not
I be carried, and it u-?j a military neces*ty cither to
attack thee emy or retire. A repulse would have
been disastrous to us under exist.ngeircuinstanc. s.
The arniy was withdrawn at night without the
knowledge of the enemy, and without loss, either of
prop-rty or men. AMBROSEE BURNSIUE,
Major-General Comma, dingthe
battle of Fredericksburg.
I The following brief extract is made from tlieaccount
of the liattle written by the correspondent
J of the- N. Y. Times, under date of the 13th inst.:
The battle of Fredericksburg, which has been
! raging since 10 o*ek>ck this morning without a
! moments pause, w as closed by darkrtess to-niglu.
j In its duration, its intensity if not also, in the
! losses it has ikccasiouvd it cap# the climax of the
w hole series of the battles ot the campaign. 'J he
nation will stand aghast at the terr ble price whiek
has been paid for its life when the realities of the
; battle-field of Fredericsfcurg are spread before it.
Unhappily, like many oi our engagem- ntsr
though serving to illustrate the splendid valor of
: our troops it has failed to accomplish the object
sought 'i he sequel alone ea? tell whether tl)6r
j work of to-day is to be the prelude tt*;t glorious
j victory or an ignominious defeat. But the result
thus far leaves us with a loss of from teti to fifteen
thousand men. and absolutely sothing gained.
Along the whole line the rebels hold their own.
j Again and again we have hurled feu ward our
; masses on their positi n. At each tiiue the Uamj
mer was broken ou the anvil!
NORTU CAROLINA. ,
?The rebel General?Evans?who was in command
at Kinston, on the 14th ins ., telegraphed
to the rebel War Department that Gen. Kost rhad
attacked the pi ce with 15,000 men and nine gunboat-,
and that, after a ten hours fight,the National
forceswere repulsod. lie took care to say, however,
that Gen. Foster was still " in his front.
We learn from Capt, Cannon, of the Str. De'a
ware which left Beaufort N. C. on the 23d inst.,
that it is reported there that General ; o.-ter had
diftwtfid rtin rifliula at KinjIqh and diium (U'lii ht 1 r m
Gol Isboro, whore they received reinforc nients and
General 1'oster was repulsed with a loss of four
hundred men, Gon Foster's object was to gain
possession of Goldsboro in order o command the
Wilmington and Weldon Railroad a d cut off this
communication between i.ichmond and he South.
Gen'l. Foster reports that he has capture .500
prisoners aud 11 pieoes of Artille y at . .ingston.
?The destination and objects of th Bank ' Expedition
have at last been ma .e pub ic, th . i
Herald of the 21st inst. says;
"Itsdestination is New Orleans, and one of its
oljeots is to put General Banks in command of the
department of which that city is the headquarters,
ana 10 remove iTenerai miner, wno Dy various acts
had rendered himself unpopular with many of the
citizens, and had also created dirnculties with - the
representatives and subjects of foreign governments.
Having established himself at New Orleans as a
centre, General Banks will proceed at his leisure
to capture Mobile and establish communication
between that point and the ( rescent City. He will
command a force of seventy tkous ind men. and
make attacks in various directions. A main oi ject
of the expedition is to counteract the supposed
projects of the Emporer of the French in Mexico
and the Southern States."
A Cabinet C'Risj9.-i-The JT. Y. Herald sayai
Mr. Seward?acting under the pressure of tl*e
leading radicals of the Senate in caucus assembled
?lias closed his portfolio as .secretary of State,
and respectfully tendered, his resigna ion to the
President, This step may be but the initiatory
nr>A townrds ft tntnl ,,f tl>.? < ' !
? V ?- ? UV v ?l .UWTa
measure for which tlio jyuhlie miutl is not whulty
unprepared.
(.Jen. Hal lech will probably be removed,. Lt is
rumorel in Washington that Genera] Burnside h#s
tendered hi* resignation! as commander of, the
Army of the Potomac, but the rumor doesjmJL. receive
full credence.
It is generally rumored; in the West Gen.
Sherman, who has been- so long in command at
Memphis, is to lc d the expedition do'vvaihe Misrissippi
instead of Gen. MaClernand: Gen. jSher-.
fcn took leave of his corps at1 Oxford;.Miss., on
Pec. 9 and but one division of it returned witfc.
him to Memphis,
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