From the Peninsula.
The news from the
Peninsula is not very definite.
Our scouts report correctly that there is no enemy at Diascund Bridge or New Kent Court-House.
The train on the York River Railroad yesterday morning brought up a prisoner who was captured by our scouts straggling from the
Yankee army.
He reports that the
Yankees at Diascund fell back towards
Yorktown, where they are to get reinforcements and come on to
Richmond.
There are, he asserts, a plenty of troops at
Yorktown.
These are the statements of a straggler, who, of course, knows nothing about the intended movements of the
General commanding.
The assertion that there are plenty of troops at
Yorktown is transparently false, for it is well known that the
United States strained every point to get up the 15,000 which are making this diversion under
Keyes and
Gordon.
The deserter adds that a party of 1,200 crossed the
Pamunkey into King William on Monday to complete the devastation of that county, commenced last week.
The train last evening brought intelligence of no change in the position of the
Yankees at the
White House or
Tunstall's. Their cavalry are encamped on a hill near
Tunstall's.
Col. Shingler's men are picketing as far down as Diascund, and to within a short distance of
Tunstall's.
The general impression seems to be that
Keyes will attempt a march around
Richmond to
Aquia Creek or to
Gordonsville, destroying the roads and crops on his way. A soldier who has been scouting within their lines reports that he saw thirty-two regiments, eighty-eight wagons, and sixteen pieces of artillery.
This, in the present depleted state of the
Yankee regiments, would give about 12,000 or 14,000 men. The deserter mentioned above says that they only had 10,000 men.
