The grand movement on Richmond.
Yesterday was a day of the deepest anxiety in the city.
It was known that a terrible conflict was raging on the
Rapidan, and the intelligence received was just enough to increase the public desire for more.
The position of the two armies was discussed thoroughly on the street corners, and rumors of all sorts flew about in all directions.
The first authentic intelligence was issued from the War Department about 10 o'clock in the morning in the following dispatch from
Gen. let.
Headq's army Northern Va,
May 5, 1864.
Hon Secretary of War.
The enemy crossed the
Rapidan at Ely's and Germanna fords. Two corps of this army moved to oppose him —
Ewell by the old turnpike, and
Hill by the plankroad.
They arrived this morning in close proximity to the enemy's line of march.
A strong attack was made upon
Ewell, who repulsed it,
capturing many prisoners and four pieces of artillery.
The enemy subsequently concentrated upon
Gen. Hill, who, with
Heth's and
Wilcox's divisions,
successfully resisted repeated and desperate assaults.
A large force of cavalry and artillery on our right was
driven back by
Rosser's brigade.
By the blessing of God we maintained our position
against every effort until night, when the contest closed.
We have to mourn the loss of many brave officers and men. The gallant
Brig. Gen. J. M
Jones was killed, and
Brig. Gen. Stafford, Hear, mortally wounded, while leading his command with conspicuous valor.
Every one was satisfied from this of the result of Thursday's fighting, and the anxiety was transferred to the result of yesterday's engagement.
In the afternoon a print telegram was received from
Major Hill, brother of
Lieut. Gen. A. P. Hill, to the following effect:
‘
"
Orange C. H, May 6.--We are driving the enemy at all points
this morning. Gen. Hill and his staff are well."
’
As the enemy, according to
Gen. Lee's telegram, had concentrated upon
Gen. Hill's corps, this telegram showed that his assaults and not only been "successfully resisted," at that
Gen. II.
was
driving them at all points.
A telegram from
Major John Dooley, of the
Richmond Ambulance Corps, reiterated the pleasing information that the news from the front was cheering, and added that 1,200 Yankee prisoners had already been sent to
Orange Court House.
It appears, from all we can learn, that our army is facing to the north, with its right resting on
Fredericksburg, and that
Grant bought on the fight by attempting to turn our right and gain possession of the road to
Bowling Green, in
Caroline county, thus placing himself between
General Lee and
Richmond.
The road which our troops faced runs from
Orange Court-House to
Fredericksburg, and is forty-one miles long.
It crosses no river.
Proceeding from
Orange Court-House welcome, at ten miles, to Verdunville.
ten miles further brings us to
Parker's store; six miles further to
Wilderness; five miles further to
Chancellorsville; ten miles more to
Fredericksburg.
Among the rumors that gained currency yesterday was one to the effect that a courier of
Grant had been captured, with a message to
Burnside to hurry up, that he,
Grant, was completely surrounded.
The killed and wounded.
Among the casualties in our Army Thursday we hear of
Brig. Gen. J. M. Jones, of
Virginia, killed;
Brig. Gen. Stafford, of
Louisiana, mortally wounded;
Brig. Gen. John Pegram, of
Virginia, wounded in the leg by a bullet;
Col. Randolph, of the 2d Virginia, (
Stonewall,) killed, and
Col. Warren, of the 10th Virginia, killed.
The 2d Louisiana brigade (
Gen. Stafford's) very heavily.
A list of other casualties will be found in our telegraph column.
Skirmish on the right Wing.
Two regiments of
Lomax's cavalry brigade (the 15th and 16th) were sent to drive back the force of the enemy which had advanced as far as Spotsylvania C. H. on Thursday morning. On the approach of our men the enemy, consisting of only a small scouting party, 60 or 70 in number, immediately fled by the road leading to
Chancellorsville.
Our men pursued them until within three miles of
Chancellorsville, when, finding that the enemy had been reinforced by several regiments of dismounted cavalry, they immediately dismounted and advanced on them.
The enemy fell back about one mile and made a stand in a wooded bottom, where they were engaged.
After a spirited contest, and when our forces had advanced to the top of a hill within fifty yards of them, a charge was ordered.
The enemy, after firing use volley, by which they succeeded in wounding twelve or fifteen of our men, they fled precipitately, leaving several of their killed on the field, but succeeded in carrying off their wounded.
When our informant (who was wounded in the charge) left, the
Yankees had been driven a half mile and firing was still going on. During the engagement we had one killed and twenty-two wounded, who were brought down by the
Fredericksburg train yesterday evening.
Among the latter was
C. Powell Grady, Ass't
Adj't General of
Lomax's brigade.
He was shot in the elbow during the charge.
The wound, while painful, is not serious.
The enemy on the Southside.
The movements of the enemy on the
Southside, under
Gen. W. F. (
Baldy)
Smith, are as yet but little known, with the exception of a general intention to flank
Drewry's kind.
A gentleman who left
City Point Thursday night about 8 o'clock says that on that afternoon, about 4 o'clock, the enemy landed a force of some 2,000 at
City Point, capturing our picket guard of thirty men, under command of Lieut,
Dugger.
Our signal station was also captured, but the men made their escape.
The main bulk of the enemy's force proceeded to Bermuda Hundreds, about three miles higher up
James river, in
Chesterfield county, where they landed a force variously estimated at from ten to fifteen thousand men. He counted forty-one transports, and others could be seen in the distance, coming up
James river.
This large flotilla was convoyed by three iron-clads (monitors) and four wooden gunboats.
Bermuda Hundreds is near the mouth of the
Appomattox river, on its western bank, and but ten miles from
Drewry's Bluff.
It is also within two or three hours march of the Richmond and Petersburg Railroad.
The preparations at
Fortress Monroe for the expedition have been very extensive.--Three hospital steamships — the
State of Maine,
Connecticut, and New World--all accompany it, and all the hospitals at
Old Point have been cleared out to receive the wounded.
The chief of the iron clads which accompany the transports is the
Onondaga, an entirely new vessel, just finished in New York, which arrived at
Fortress Monroe last week.
It is claimed by the
Yankees that in her all the defects of the
Ericsson monitors are avoided, her turrets being built on a heavier and stronger plan, her ventilation better, and her deck but fifteen inches above water.
Her guns throw fifteen-inch shot and rifled shell.
It was rumored on the streets yesterday that the
Yankees had struck the Richmond and Petersburg railroad at Port Walthall Junction, but this report is not confirmed, and last night our troops were still in possession of the post.
The following telegram was received here last night:
‘
Petersburg, May 6.--Our forces were skirmishing with the enemy's forces near Port Walthall Junction at 6 o'clock this evening.
’
Geo. E. Pickett,
Maj. Gen. Comd'g.
We learn, in addition to this, that later intelligence announces that the enemy had been driven back.
Additional force of transports and gunboats in the river.
Last night intelligence was received here that 35 of the enemy's gunboats and transports had passed
Harrison's Landing, and seventy were in sight, making 105 in all.
Six of the squadron came up, and one of them, the leading vessel, was blown up by a torpedo.
The other five then landed their troops at Curls Neck.
At last accounts there were several gunboats in sight of
Gregory's farm, 2 ½ miles from Chaffin's Bluff.
Destruction of a Yankee gunboat by a torpedo — all on board blown up.
From a dispatch received at the Navy Department from
Lieut. Hunter Davidson, in charge of submarine defences, we learn that a Yankee gunboat run foul of one of the torpedo sentinels in the
James river yesterday morning and was blown to atoms.
He says there "is hardly a piece left as big as a row-boat."
The explosion occurred at Deep Bottem, near Aikin's Landing, about 12 miles below the city, and not a soul on board escaped the disaster.
The movements on the Peninsula.
The Yankee force which has been at
West Point for a week broke up their camp on Thursday, and when last heard from were marching in the direction of Old Church, in
Hanover county.
They number about 4,000.
It is said that
Gen. Butler is with this force, though from other sources we hear that he is with
Baldy Smith on the other side of the river.
They have advanced up to the bridge which crosses the
Chickahominy river.
In
King William county, the force named burned the dwellings of
Col. Hill and
Mr. Sanford, and ravished a negro woman, besides committing other outrages of a similar fiendish character.
