The War News.
There was heavy skirmishing around
Petersburg on Thursday night, and considerable shelling.
Yesterday morning the skirmishing was kept up, and about 6 o'clock yesterday afternoon the enemy attacked a point on the left of our lines.
The attack resulted as all the others have, in their repulse.
It is more than likely that within a few days
Grant will be forced to do something more than licidly before our works, with the exception of an occasional fruitless demonstration in the way of an assault or mine explosion.
The month of August is rapidly passing away, and with September comes the rainy season, which will put it beyond his power to do anything.
He has now wasted May, June, July, and portion of August, and two-thirds of his original army, and for one month of that time a Confederate army has been marching back and forth in
Maryland and
Pennsylvania, gathering supplies, burning a town or two, and behaving in anything but the manner in which "subjugated rebels" should behave.
The people of the
North will not be much longer patient under the style of warfare carried on by the "man on horseback."--He has been as stupid a butcher as
Burnside, and is now as meek and quiet as
McClellan.
Among the casualties in the firing Thursday night was
John McDonald, of
Richmond, instantly killed by a shell.
He was a grocer, and resided on
Church Hill.
He was a member of one of the batteries from this city.
The intelligence from
Mobile shows that the enemy are making a demonstration there.
The enemy have landed about 3,000 men on
Dauphin Island, and the double-enders are engaging
Fort Johnson.
The naval force now off
Mobile consists of the following ships:
Hartford, (flag-ship,) 20 guns;
Richmond, 18;
Brooklyn, 24;
Monongahela, 12; Lackawana, 14;
Oneida, 10; Metscomb, 10; Genessee, 8;
Sebago, 10;
Port Royal, 2;
Kennebec, 5; Pindola, 4; Lusca, 4;
Pembina, 4;
Penguin, 7;
Tennessee, 5; Conemagh, 9;
Ossipee, 12;
Galena, 14 Cowslip,
Phillippi, Glasan, Jasmine, Buckthorn — tugs.