ls and privations.
Your triumph has been three-fold — over your own inexperience, the obstacles of nature, and the rebel forces.
When our gallant young Commander was called from us, after the disaster of Bull Run, this department was left with less than fifteen thousand men to guard three hundred miles of railroad and three hundred miles of frontier, exposed to "bushwhackers" and the forces of Gens Floyd, Wise, and Jackson.
The Northwestern pass into it was fortified and held, Cheat Mountain secured, the rebel assaults there victoriously repelled, and the Kanawha Valley occupied.
A march of one hundred and twelve miles over bad roads brought you upon Floyd's entrenched position, whence the rebels were dislodged, and chased to Sewell.
Finally your patience and watchingi put the traitor Floyd within your reach, and, though by a precipitate retreat he escaped your grasp, you have the substantial fruits of victory.--Western Virginia belongs to herself, and the invader is e
th certainly to an immediate advance upon our lines; at a time when we were weak, and were poorly able to withstand assault from heavy columns.
Zollicoffer was pressed before Cumberland Gap by a force more than double his own; Pound Gap was at the mercy of Nelson, having only a thousand men to oppose against ten thousand; Rosencranz was on the Gauley with an army which he now confesses to have been fifteen thousand strong, against Floyd, having only twenty-three hundred, Reynolds was on Cheat Mountain with five thousand, opposed by Johnson with only twelve or fourteen hundred; and Sherman had succeeded in landing fifteen or twenty thousand men at Beaufort, while we had in that region at the time but a few thousand forces, little better than militia, poorly provided with arms and ammunition.
And to crown all, the splendid weather invited them to the charge.
Then was presented the golden opportunity to strike at every one of these points.
Bold, effective blows, stricken then simu
ld, and he in an exposed place in the edge of the woods, and received from them a broad side, he was convinced, and immediately ordered our men back.
That company of Yankees fled so rapidly that we never got sight of them again.
We then fell back to the turnpike, and a few of the more daring Yankees having followed us down the hill as far as our upper row of tents, we charged upon them, drove them from the field, and thus ended the fight on our right flank, and sent the Yankees back to Cheat Mountain on a double-quick.
This we know by seeing our artillery on the opposite hill firing at them in the turnpike about a mile distant.
Col. Johnson then formed his force and marched them to the trenches on the opposite hill.
Here the fight continued furiously for about two hours longer, when the Yankees were started on a double quick down the Green Bank road, leaving many of their Dutch and other hirelings upon the field.
The enemy attacked us simultaneously on both flanks, and our l
been engaged in that quarter to join our troops in the trenches on the left.
They took post with the other troops, and opened fire on the enemy as occasion offered.
The enemy, under the fire of artillery and infantry, soon retreated from the left, leaving their dead and wounded.
The enemy's force on the left was larger, if anything, than the force on the right.
They numbered, in all, about five thousand men, who had been drawn from Bealington, Beverly, Huttonsville, Elkwater, and Cheat Mountain.
My force did not exceed twelve hundred effective men of all arms.
Gen. Reynolds, U. S. A., commanded the whole of the enemy's forces, and General Milroy the attack on our right.
General Milroy is reported, by prisoners captured, to have been wounded.
The enemy left upon the field thirty-five dead and thirteen wounded. They carried from the field large numbers of dead and wounded.
This I get from citizens who reside upon the roads along which they retreated.
Ten or twelve a
you hear great complaint from your subscribers here in not receiving their papers.
I can easily explain the difficulty.
The postmaster takes the papers of regular subscribers, tears their names off, and sells them to the men for 10 cents each, thus making a very nice "spec" at the expense of the gentlemen who subscribe.
You might do good by exposing such rascality to the public.
We have no news here now. The Yankees seem to be keeping themselves very quiet in their safe retreat; Cheat Mountain.
We are having now one of the worst spells of weather that we have had in this division during the winter — alternate rain and snow; but owing to the extraordinary energy and industry of Gen. Johnson, our little army is comfortably quartered, and even the Georgians begin to feel quite at home one top of the Alleghanies.
This little army has seen a hard time and done some hard fighting, the reward for which we look for in the future.
We are more amply provided with provisions than most
United States which are held subject to the order of the commanding General.
This engagement lasted from seven in the morning to half-past 2 o'clock in the afternoon, at which time the enemy, who had come with artillery to bombard and demoralize us, with infantry to storm our camp, with cavalry to rout and destroy us, and with four days cooked rations in his haversack, to prosecute a rapid march either towards Staunton or towards Huntersville, was in precipitate retreat back to his Cheat Mountain fastness.
And it is certainly a matter not unworthy of mention, that while his first insolent advances were received with defiant cheers, running from one end to the other of our line, he was permitted to take his departure under the simple reports of our pieces, firing upon him so long as he continued within their range The relative weakness of our force, and the entire absence of cavalry, prevented our pursuing him, and thereby realizing the legitimate trail a of our triumph.
His los
The News.
The telegraphic reports represent the enemy as advancing upon Corinth in heavy force, by three different routes, so that if they can summon the courage to leave their gunboats in the rear, we may anticipate lively news from that quarter at no distant day.
The news from "Stonewall" Jackson, if it be correct, is glorious it was rumored in Staunton yesterday morning, and generally credited, that he had completely and effectually dispersed the army of Milcoy, and that they were scattered, panic stricken, in every direction.
Portions of them had taken the route through Pendleton county, and these were being hotly pursued, and numbers captured, others were breaking their guns and divesting themselves of every article calculated to impede their progress.
Ashby is said to be in possession of the enemy's stronghold on Cheat Mountain.
From the Peninsula we have nothing, save that a great battle is daily locked for between the opposing forces.
of the committee under a joint resolution to fill vacancies in the two bodies: Whittle, Nelson, and Cochill
On motion of Mr. Alderson, the bill to organize a regiment of Rangers from certain counties was taken up. The bill providen for raising the same from the counties of Greenbrier, Monroe, and McDowell, non-conscripts.
Mr. Alderson urged its adoption.
Rangers were the most effective branch of the service in Western Virginia.
Rangers were now in possession of strongholds on Cheat Mountain, and had also driven a regiment of men from Nicholas county.
Mr. Brannon moved an amendment that the Governor be authorized to organize a battalion, wherever that number shall be formed.
Mr. Newman said there was a general bill covering the whole ground, and he thought the special bill better go by.
Mr. Alderson said the danger to these people was imminent, and he hoped the bill would pass at once.
He would vote for a bill of similar character for any other people, but he
Gen. Averill reported Coming.
--News has reached Staunton, Va., by a letter from a gentleman in Highland, that Gen. Averill, with a force of 6,000, was a few days since at Cheat Mountain, this side of Beverly, and contemplated a raid upon Staunton.
