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m ?\ ^^^^Ffkhe south _ I BEAUFORT, S. C., OCT. I, For Pjresideut, I 1ABRAHAM LINCOLN, W OF ILLINOIS. For Flee President, F ANDREW JOHNSON, f OF TENNESSEE. ^ i rThe Free South is for sale by the following Agents : Beaufort?J. C. Alexander, Poet Office. Jacksonville?E. H. Reid, Post Office. Fernandiua--W. W. Masi, Post Office. St. Angnstine?J. W. Allen, Post Office. Morris Island - W. F. Wood, Post Office. WILKES A THOMPSON, Proprietors. t Notice to Xcwsidealers und Agent*. Send in yoar orders as early as Monday night. Liberal terms to those ordering largely! Agents n anted in every Regimen r. Address , WILKES & THOMPSON, Beaufort, S. C. ? ?' ? . VICTORY : (. Secretary Stanton's Dispatches . Splendid Achievement of Gen. j Sheridan Over the Rebel Early in Shenandoah Valley. Fifteen Battle Flags and Five J? Pioces of Artillery Taken, j Over Five Thousand Prisoners ^ Captured. % Gen. Sheridan gained a decisive and f important yictory over Gen. Early, on . -Monday, Sept. 19, at the northern end or mouth of the SheanndoAA Valley. Tho following is G-en. Sheridan's own terse dispatch, dated at one in the morning of the 20th, to Gen. Slevenscli at Harper's > Eorry, announcing the fact: " General: We fought Early from daylight till between 0 and 7 P. M. We drove him from Opequan Greek through - Winchester and beyond the town. We capturfci 2,500 to 3,000 prisoners, live pieces of artillery, nine battle-flags and all the .Rebel wounded and dead. Their wounded in Winchester amount to some three thousand. We lost in killed Geh. David Russel, commanding a division of the Siith Army Corps, and wounded, Gens. Chapman, Mcintosh and Upton. The Rebels lost in killed the following i f;Hn Rhodes, Gen. gene.au vu*w*?. > _ Wharton, Gen. Gonlon and Gen. Raciscur. We have just sent them whirling through Winchester, and we are after them to.morrow. A later dispatch makes the number of Lattle-flag.s fifteen instead of nine. The President has appointed Gen. Sheridan a Brigadier in the Regular army, and assigned him to the prominent comli: nd of the Middle Military division. The chief occurrences of the battle were' as follows: Gen. Sheridan's army broke camp on Sunday, the 18th, and marched before . * daylight Monday morning. The cavalry nuder Wilson, crossing the Opequan (which runs north to the Potomac,) charged the Rebel tield-works, carried them, took thirty prisoners, and made a ? rto infantrv. The Sixth clear passive .... ?. Corps now crossed the Opequan. formed hue of battle a mile and a half beyond, on the way to Winchester, and for two hours waited for Gen. Emory with the Nineteenth Corps, delayed by a mistake about orders. Thi? delay enabled Early to bring up a lar^ part of the forces whose absence decided Sheridan to attack. When the X.i"teenth came up it was at once formed, and advanced in four lines of battle to the charge, along with tho Sixth Corps, drums beating, colors flying, they had reached before, and, lying down again, awaited the coming np of Gen. Crook and the Army of West Virginia, being our reserve. At 3 P. M. they came, and formed on oar right. Gen. Torbet, with Merritt's and AverilTs Cavalry Divisions, having been fighting and driving : Rebels all day, also uow came np and i formed still further on tile right. Gen. Crook rode along his lines, and his men, cheering him loudly, promised to "go in and wipe out Winchester." Gen. Sheri- 1 dan rode over and made arrangements with Gen. Torbert for the doings of the cavalry, and ordered the final charge. Our whole line, three miles long, advanced with cheers and yell that were heard above the artillery, and closed in upon the Rebels through a hot musketry fire, very damaging to both sides. While this infantry fight was undecided, the cavaln bugles were heard, and Custer and Merritt, each carrying his headquarters flag, charged at the head of their whole force. " They burst through the Rebel line, broke them up, and in a few minutes had secured 721 prisoners, nine battle-flags a^d two guns. Our stubborn infantry advanced again, and the battle was won. Early's divisions, broken to pieces, fled mi the vuIIpy or into the mountains. ~jr / Oar cavalry followed close, picking up numerous prisoners. Pressing forward, Gen. Slieridan went straight forward into Winchester, where he found some 3,(XX) prisoners. The enemy's whole loss in killed, wounded and prisoners, must have been about 7,500; ours is about 500 killed and 2,500 wounded. The pursuit was continued that day until darkness shut it ofl'. [OFFICIAL?WAR BULLETIN. ] WaB DcrAKTilEXT, I Washington, Sept. 22?3 P. M. \ Maj. Gen. Drx : The following telegram, announcing another victory of Gen. Sheridan over Early, has just been received: Harplr's Ferby. Sept. 23, ISCh " Hon. E. M. Stanton : Sheridan has again beaten the enemy at Fisher's Hill, capturing sixteen guns and many prisoners. This is,'in all probability, the finale of Gen. Earlj. fl, L). Stevenson, Brig. Gen.'' r - tliiv rtifiniiiifr vo. jl iic omLiivx ii* ?, ported that oar wounded were all cared for at Winchester with adequate arrangements and supplies. The number of our wounded prior to the battle of yesterday was estimated not to exceed two thousand. EDWIN M. STANTON, Secretary Of War. SECOND DISPATCH. War Department, ' ) Washington, Sept. 23?3:30 P. M. } , May Gen. John A. Dix : Sheridan's j victory proves to be signal and complete. ; Notliing but the coming night Saved even a remnant of Early's army. t The following dispatches of Gen. Stevenson and Maj. Gen. Sheridan's official report to Gen. Grant give all the particu ? Jl _ lars tnus lar receiveu ^ Harper's Ferry, Sept 23, 1864. " To Hon. E. M. Stanton : The military telegraph line is down. The affair is complete and overwhelming. Respectfully, JohnD. Stevenson, Brigadier General." Headquarters M. M. Division, j Six miles from Woodstock, 11:30 P. M., Sept. 22, 1864. ) Lieut Gen. G*axt, Commanding the Annies of the U. S., City Point. j I have the honor to annonnce that I; achieved a most signal victory over the H THE FEEE SOUTH?BE. steapily and trim, as 011 par.. J a. Mus- J ketry and artillery tire opened almost at once on both sides; when our lines were within two hundred yards of the enemy, a tremendous masked battery tire was opened by the Rebels, which drove back our first two lines upon the third. Here the men lay down, while oar artillery was brought up and opened upon that of the enemy, silencing it. Another advance was then made; by obstinate fighting our lines were carried forward to the point A.UFORT, S. C., OCT. 1, 1SG4. army of General Early at Fisher's Hill, to-day. I found the rebel army ported i with its right resting on the north fork of ! the Shenandoah, and extending across the Strasburburg Valley westward to North Mountain, occupying a position v. kick appeared almost impregnable. After a great deal of monenvering during the day, Gen. Q-ook's command was transferred to the * xtreme right of the line on North Mountain, and ho furiously attacked the left of the enemy's line, carrying everything before him. While Crook was driving the enemy in the greatest confusion and sweeping down behind their breastworks, the 6th and 19th Army Corps attacked the rebel works in front, and the whole army appeared to be broken up. They tied in j the utmost coufusion. Sixteen pieces of artillery were captured; also a great many caissons, artillery horses, Ac. I am to-night. pushing on down the vallev. I cannot say how many prisoners I have 1 captured, nor do I know either my own or the enemy's casualties. Only darkv 4 > | ness has saved the whole of Early's army ( from total destruction. My attack could not be made till 1 o'clock in the evening, which left but lit- , tie daylight to operate in. The 1st and ; 3d Cavalry Divisions went down the j . Lauray Valley to-day ; and if they push , ou vigorously to the main valley the result of this day's engagement will be still , more signal. The victory was very complete. A more detailed report will be made as soon as I can obtain the necessary data. ( P. H. Sheridan, Maj. Gen. Com'dg. , - - 1.1, 11 1 5 _ It will bo remembered Unit ivdiy s j , command embraced the "Stonewall Brigade" and the troops constituting " Stonewall" Jackson's corps, and was the elite of the rebel army. E. M. STANTON, Secretary ol War. i PIRATES ON LAKE ERIE. "Daring- Exploit* of tliu Itcl>cl* Caplure of Two Steamers* &c. Buffalo, Sept. 20, 1SG1. News has been received here tiiat a number of rebels from Canada captured the little steamers Parsons and Island Queen'near Bass Island, on Lake Erie, yesterday afternoon, and have gone down or across the lake, probably for reinforcements, guns and ammunition. The capturing party numbered about thirty men, wljo were armed with revolvers and bowie knives. No other arms w?*re noticed. The captors took at Mid die Bass Island wood enough to Lust two days. Washington, Sept. 21, 1601. . Commander Carter, of the United States steamer Michigan, has telegraphed to the Secretary of the Nnvv, dating oh' Johnson's Island to-day, concerning tiro capture by pirates of the steamers Torsous and Island Queen. He says, theywere pursued by him, and that he has got the principal' agent prisoner 011 board, and many accomplices. He adds :?"All is well and safe at present. The object was to capture the Michigan." It further appears that Colonel Hall has six of the pirates party on Johnson's Island. << hi- ! A Seven ALIJLE OHOI.?xuu muu^uv iron Ames gun was tried tried at Bridgeport, Ct., last week. Three shots were tired with the following result, as reported in the Bridgeport Standard: The first shot, with a charge of sixteen pounds of powder, the gun elevated at twenty-four and one-half degrees, was sent five and three-quarters miles. The | second shot, elevation the same, with a charge of twenty pounds of powder, was a ''tumbler," and fell short about one and a half miles. The third shot with a ' charge of twenty-five pounds of powder, went a distance of 7 '4 miles in thirty seconds. The shell weighed 107 pounds. i I NO. 46. IMPORTANT FROM THE RIO GRANDE. Capt ure and Occupation of Brownsville by Cortina. He Hoists the American Flag and Tenders his Services to the Government. The Rebels under Col. Ford Driven Oub Cairo, Sept. 18, 1864. The steamer Belle, from Memphis, ha** arrived here, bringing Memphis papers of yesterday evening. Sergeant J. S. Clarke, hls't Illinois Infantry, furnishes particulars of the atSair on the Rio frrfliule. It appears that on the morning of the 6th inst., the French moved out of Bag(l d with a force of f>,000. and commenced t!fe ascent of the Ilio (irar.de, with the purpose of attacking Mntamoros. They wore uninterrupted until reaching a point opposite White Bauehe, where they met Cortina with a Mexican force, preiiared to contest their approach. A terrific a:tillery duel ensued, when the French were compelled to fall hack in. confusion, closely followed for three utiles, when coming to a piece of cliappiral they made a stand. Cortina opened on the Imperial force with shot and shell. While engaged at this point the rebel commander of Brownsville, Col. Ford, came down from Texas on the Kio Grande with a large drove of cattle for the French, and seeing they were engaged with Cortina promptly espoused the cause of the French and opened on the Mexican rear. Seeing this the Imperial Army made an attempt to turn the tide of battle and charged the Mexicans with the bayonet, determined to conquer or die. ^Tliey were, however, driven back in .disorder to the cover of the chapparaL? ^ * " Cortina then brought to bear two pieces of artillery on Ford's force, obliging him to retire. About this time the bist Illinois, stationed at Brazos Santiago, hearing the tiring on the Bio Grande, were ordered to march to the scene, and arrived in time to witness the repulse of the rebels. The gallant "Sucker" boys then pitched into Ford, drove him live miles, capturing his camp equipage ami about thirty stand of arms. Meantime Cortina succeeded in putting the Imperialists to flight, and drove them1 to Bayo tld Bio. As his artillery could not compete with their heavy ordnance on shipboard, he withdrew his forces to White Bundle and crossed 500 men into Texas, where they lay on their arms during the night of the 0th, by the side of the American troops. Xo sooner had Cor tin . crossed the Bio Grande than he lowered the 'flag of iiis country?wliitc, red and green?and hoisted the stars and stripes, which w.is enthusiastically greeted by the Mexican soldiers, as well as the American. On the 9th Cortina followed Ford to the old battle-field of Resaca de la Pulnia, where he rested his troops for the liigkt, while Ford fell back to Brownsville. Cortina dispatched couriers to Mntamoros to order forces there to prepare to move away. Early on the morning of the 8th, 500 Mexicans moved up the Rio Grande* crossed the river, and came down the Texas side, attacking Brownsville simultaneous with Cortina. The struggle for Brownsville was brief* and resulted in the defeat of the rebels, who were driven from the town. Cortina took possession of the town. The exit of the rebels was so liasty, they left their Hags floating on the' Court House and other public buildings, which were soon, tore down, and the stars and stripes hoisted, amid the shouts of the citizens and Mexican soldiers, who were almost as proud of the starry banner as our brave boys.