We have received, through the courtesy of Adjutant Oscar M. Hough, of the Twenty-fifth Virginia battalion, copies of New York and Philadelphia papers of Saturday, the 23d instant.
The battle of Cedar creek--Yankee accounts of it — the splendid fighting of the Confederates--retreat and losses of Sheridan's army — the Final Repulse of Early.
The Northern papers are chiefly filled with accounts of the recent battles in the Valley. The whipping which Sheridan's army received in the opening of the light, and before it was reinforced by the corps in reserve, cannot be concealed by even the Yankee correspondents. We copy an account from the New York Herald, which shows that the plan of the battle and the conduct of the troops on the Confederate side was such as would have insured success but for the overwhelming odds which were encountered. The Herald's correspondent, describing the battle, says: ‘ Quiet reigned along our lines, and even the mules, usually so noisy, appeared to be dosing. Four o'clock approached and the rebel column was put in motion. Kershaw's division was the first to move, and the real attack commenced. ’The opening of the battle.
The Eighth corps was the first to suffer. The demonstration on the extreme right had been intended as a feint to draw the attention of our pickets from their columns moving towards the left. The rebels must have moved their troops along the line of the Manassas railroad and crossed the Cedar creek far to the left of General Crook's corps. Rebel prisoners subsequently stated that they commenced to move at two o'clock in the morning. They would consequently have had about two hours to get into position before attacking the left of our line. General Early succeeded in getting his men well on the rear flank of General Crook's corps, by four o'clock in the morning, without being discovered. During the preceding days the utmost confidence had been expressed in the impregnability of this flank, but the fog hid the rebel advance, and before the long roll was beaten through the camps of General Crook's corps, Early's men were inside, and instantly charged on the artillery. Large numbers of men were surprised and instantly captured without having a chance to fire a shot. The rebels took possession of several batteries and turned the guns on General Crook's men. Notwithstanding the perilous position in which his corps was placed, General Crook made a gallant defence, but the rebel troops wrapped his flank and front in flames. This Eighth corps had been compelled to change front, and shortly after the rebel assault their front was facing cast, and the rebel line extended down to the camp of the provisional division, Colonel Kitching's command, which was surprised in a similar manner to the Eighth corps. This division originally mustered between three and four thousand men, but all except about five hundred had been taken away to guard trains and perform other similar duties. Colonel Kitching, however, succeeded in forming the small balance of his division on the left of the Eighth corps, and until that organization broke and fell back, made a brave and determined stand. During this stand Colonel Kitching succeeded in rallying a large number of stragglers and placing them in position to check the rebel movement. The efforts, however, of General Crook and his staff were insufficient to stem the rebel advance.--For upwards of an hour the unequal contest was sustained, when the corps began to waver, and soon afterwards fell back with great rapidity. Colonel Kitching was severely wounded in the foot while endeavoring to rally his men.Early still flanking.
About this time the sun began to rise and the mist to disperse, when a clearer view could be obtained of the operations on our left. The rebel plan of battle had already developed itself. It was evidently Early's intention to keep flanking us on the left, thus to double up the army and get in between us and Winchester. The Eighth corps having been pressed back for a considerable distance, and their works occupied by the rebels, preparations were made by the Nineteenth corps to resist the advance. Unfortunately sufficient time was not allowed for the purpose. The retreat of the Eighth corps, at first slow and orderly, was, by the impetuosity of the rebel advance, converted into a very disorderly retreat. On the left of the Winchester and Strasburg pike the hills were of considerable elevation, and on these evidences the Eighth corps had been camped when surprised. About sunrise, however, stragglers began to come down, and in an incredibly short space of time the whole corps was en route for the rear. Many regiments of General Crook's corps behaved nobly, and contested the ground inch by inch. Others, however, to their shame be it spoken, broke up entirely and came streaming down the hills across the turnpike and away to the rear of the Nineteenth corps, and even much further. General Emory and staff and other officers did all in their power to stop these stragglers, but without avail. Strong, able bodied men, when stopped and asked where they were hurt, would rub the palm of their hands over their stomachs and reply, "I am sick." Shells from the rebel guns began to drop in the ranks of the Nineteenth corps, and General Grover, whose division was on the left, and resting on the turnpike, was busily engaged getting his men into position to protect General Crook's flying troops.--Suddenly the rebel line of battle was discovered parallel with the turnpike and extending far in the rear of the Nineteenth corps. Their plan of flanking on the left, which succeeded so well with the Eighth corps, was again to be tried on the Nineteenth corps. General Wright at this time sent for the Sixth corps to come up, and General Emory superintended the formation of his corps into line of battle. General Grover, commanding the Second division of the corps, was hard at work reversing his line and having his guns trained on the rebel columns. It was at this critical juncture that Colonel Daniel Macauley, of the Eleventh Indiana, commanding the Third brigade, Second division, Nineteenth corps, was seriously wounded and fell from his horse.Resistless Sweep of the Confederates.
Relentless as fate, and rapid as thought, the rebel columns advanced, preventing the formation of a perfect line of battle by the Nineteenth corps.--Lapping over their flank, and pressing on in front, came the rebel line of battle. General Emory, commanding the corps, had his horse shot under him while encouraging and forming his men. He instantly mounted one belonging to an orderly, and was fortunately able to continue at the head of his men. General Grover at the same time had the heel of his right boot carried away by a shell, but, singular to relate, neither the General nor his horse sustained any injury. With wild yells and withering volleys the rebel advance, both front and flank, continued. At this moment old Jubal Early's bosom must have swelled with pride at witnessing the magnificent impetuosity of his gray-coated soldiers, and his heart doubtless beat high with the hope of at last annihilating the Yankee army. The Nineteenth corps, however, stood firm for some time longer, although outflanked and outnumbered. The wagons and ambulances were being driven rapidly away in a westerly direction. The greater part of General Crook's ambulance train had fallen into the hands of the rebels at an early stage of the battle. The Sixth corps had come up from their position on the right. It was then under command of Brigadier-General James B. Ricketts. General Wright, on seeing the Nineteenth corps so completely outflanked, ordered both the Sixth and Nineteenth corps to fall back to some rising ground on the west side of the small stream already mentioned in a former part of this report. The Sixth corps covered the retreat, and gave the Nineteenth and Eighth corps ample time to cross the Stream, when the Nineteenth went into position on the right, the Sixth in the centre, and the Eighth on the left. During the time the Sixth corps was crossing the stream, General Ricketts was struck in the right breast by a bullet, and was compelled to leave the field, when General Getty assumed command. The wound was a very dangerous one, but the ball has since been extracted at Winchester, and the General is progressing very favorably. He is accompanied by Captain Richards, of his staff. The line above described was held for some time under a terrific fine from the rebel artillery. Early's infantry, however, crossed the stream, and again came into action; for upwards of ten minutes the musketry rolled continuously, and the losses on both sides were great. Our line at that time was facing almost due east. Again, however, it fell back; but this time in a soldierly and splendid style. The principal efforts of the rebels were directed towards our left flank, which occupied a the klytimbered piece of ground. The cavalry divisions of General Custer and Merritt were sent around to strengthen this point, while the Nineteenth and Sixth corps swung slowly back, the left being the pivot on which the line swung. A short time before this movement was executed a musket ball had struck Major-General Wright on the chin. It was a flesh wound, and for some time afterwards bled very freely. General Wright made very light of his injury, and continued on the field, close up to his main line of battle, during the whole day. The efforts made by the rebels to break our left and centre were terrible. There appeared to be no cessation to the yelling of the combatants and the roar of artillery and musketry. Shortly after nine o'clock, Custer's and Merritt's cavalry got to work on the enemy's flank, when, for a time, their advance was checked; but the artillery was never silent. During the entire day the enemy handled their guns with great rapidity and precision — a fact which was remarked by scores near whom then non compliments were hurled unpleasantly close. The next position chosen was on the crest of a hill considerably higher than the one which had just been vacated. Early had already driven us several miles, and we were then between two and three miles from the Winchester and Strasburg turnpike. The rebels, however, seemed determined to push then advantages to the utmost, and again they directed their principal efforts towards our left flank. The position last occupied was not destined to be held for any length of time, as an order was shortly afterwards received to retreat by right of column to take up a new position. Had the order been carried out, and the retreat continued, the army would doubtless have struck the turnpike in the vicinity of New town. But the retreat was not destined to take us so far, for the tide of battle was about to be turned, and the advancing rebel column driven back, routed and demoralized.Another retreat.
It was now about half-past 10 o'clock in the morning. Long lines of infantry had commenced to file off through the woods, and the battle was apparently over for a time. The wagons had been passed down the road to Winchester with but slight loss, although the rebels had made several desperate efforts to secure so valuable a prize as the wagon train of the Union army. The results of the contest were otherwise gloomy. We had been surprised and driven out of a splendid position; had lost multiplying in prisoners; had lost twenty-four pieces of artillery, thirty-four ambulances, including all the medical wagons and medical supplies of the Nineteenth corps, and several headquarter wagons. We had yielded more than two miles of battle- field to the enemy; many of our finest officers were killed and disabled, and the killed and wounded were thick around.A change in the Scene.
A lull. The enemy, relinquishing his attack, contented himself with a lively use of artillery. At this moment a faint cheer echoed along the line in the rear. General Sheridan, who had ridden post haste from Winchester, was approaching. His appearance created wild enthusiasm. Beginning at the left of the line, he rode along the whole front of the army, waving his hat amid uproarious cheers.--Retreat was stopped in an instant from that time until 3 P. M. Every nerve was strained to get the army into an offensive position, and at 3 o'clock the whole army, the Sixth corps in the centre, the Nineteenth corps on the right, Crook's command on the left, Merritt's cavalry division on the extreme left, Custer's division on the extreme right, made a magnificent, resistless charge, which swept the enemy off the face of the earth before it everywhere. The enemy had actually begun to throw up breastworks, and was preparing to go into camp when this charge was made. He was driven back at a double-quick through Middletown, across Cedar run, where he came from, and was thence pursued by our cavalry through and beyond Strasburg. Forty- three pieces of his artillery, some guns take; from us during the day, were captured at Strasburg; also, over a hundred wagons and ambulances, and caissons innumerable. The rebel General Ramseur was captured in an ambulance, seriously, if not mortally, wounded. Probably one thousand prisoners were picked up along the road. Two hours of daylight would have given us the rebel army almost entire. Any just estimate of our own losses or those of the enemy is at present impossible. The army is ordered to move against the enemy at 5 A. M. tomorrow.The expedition into Luray Valley.
The Herald has a long letter from its correspondent who accompanied the expedition of destruction sent by Sheridan into the Luray Valley. We take two paragraphs from it: ‘ The orders of General Sheridan to Colonel Powell were to destroy all flouring mills, barns, grain factories, and to drive off all live stock and cattle that be found on his route of march. On Sunday, the 2d instant, Colonel Powell broke camp and moved to the town of Luray. As the troops proceeded, the roads were found in a wretched condition and almost impracticable for the passage of the division train. The troops encamped for the night at Luray. While at the lattes town, Colonel Powell ordered the destruction of several barns, well stocked with bay and grain. While several of his men were engaged in this duty, one of them, a private of the Eighth Ohio cavalry, was seized by two rebels and murdered in cold blood — his throat being out from ear to car. The body of the soldier was found the next day, and a careful investigation was made as to the cause of his death, with the above conclusion. ’ The result of the expedition was the capture of six thousand five hundred head of cattle, five hundred horses, the destruction of thirty-two large flouring mills, thirty distilleries, four blast furnaces, and upwards of fifty dories.Civilized Warfare.
The Alexandria (Virginia) Journal of Tuesday says: ‘ It is said that additional arrests of citizens, to be placed on the railroad cars, are to be made. Several citizens living on the line of the railroad in the adjacent counties were arrested and sent up yesterday with those from this place. Among them were Robert E. Peyton, J. W. Foster, L. D. Means, J. A. Cochrane, S. Hondershal and J. W. Flinn. Several rebels, recently captured as prisoners of war are in prison here to be used for the same purpose. It is recommended in a communication in the Virginia State Journal that arrests of females in this place should be made for the same purpose. ’ Four cannon, belonging to Mosby's horse artillery, were captured by a detachment of Federal troops near Rectortown last week. Several of the artillerymen were also captured — among them Morgan and Americus Davis; one of them lately a clerk in an apothecary store in this place. Americus was sent to the Old Capitol and Morgan is to be used on the railroad trains.Sheridan's official Dispatch.
Sheridan has written another official dispatch, enlarging upon his first. He was not satisfied with the first lie, and so amends it as follows: The artillery captured will probably be over fifty pieces. This, of course, includes what was captured from our troops in the early morning. At least sixteen hundred prisoners have been brought in; also, wagons and ambulances in large numbers. This morning the cavalry made a dash at Fisher's Hill, and carried it, the enemy having fled during the night, leaving only a small rear guard. I have to regret the loss of many valuable officers, killed and wounded; among them Colonel Joseph Thorburn, commanding a division of Crook's command, killed; Colonel J. Howard Kitchen, commanding a brigade, wounded; Colonel R. G. McKenzie, commanding a brigade, wounded severely, but would not leave the field. I cannot yet give exact details. Many of our men, captured in the morning, have made their escape and are coming in. Ramseur, commanding a division in Early's army, died this morning.Grant telegraphs Stanton of the fact of his having fired a shotted salute in honor of the victory, and says: ‘ Turning what bid fair to be a disaster into a glorious victory, stamps Sheridan, what I have always thought him, one of the ablest of generals. ’
