The Lynchburg
Republican, of Sunday, has, from an eye witness, the particulars of the fight with
Hunter's troops at
Hanging Rock on the Wednesday before;
At Bonsack's Depot the enemy made a clean sweep of almost everything.
The extensive manufacturing establishment of
Mr Bonsack was pillaged of a large amount of jeans cloth — about fifteen thousand yards; when the building was set on fire and entirely consumed.
The enemy then made a prisoner of
Mr Bonsack, for what reason is unexplained, and carried him off with them.
The depot at this place, as before stated, was also burned, together with several other buildings.
The loss of the
Bonsack's mill is a very serious one as the
Government was furnished with large supplies of cloth from its looms, while if gave employment to many poor people, mostly women, who are thus thrown on the cold charities of the world for a support.
The friends, however, were made to leave Bonsack's in a rather unceremonious manner, our forces coming close upon them, and so rapid was their retreat from that point to
Salem, that they did not tarry to inflict any damage to the railroad, except the burning of the depot at Big Lick — and for the same reason the country along the route suffered very little, in fact, none at all, except that committed by petty thieves and small straggling parties.
On reaching
Salem, the enemy determined to continue his retreat to
Christiansburg, with the intention of pushing on to the
Lead Mines and Salt Works, and in fact, a large portion of his wagon train had been sent forward in that direction, begetting information that
Gen Morgan had returned from
Kentucky and was at the
Salt Works with five thousand men, he changed his course and took the road leading to
Newcastle and
Sweet Springs.
Hunter, however, had not proceeded on this road but a few miles, when he found that the vigilant
Gen McCausland was in his front, and almost before he was aware of it some ten or twelve pieces of his artillery, twenty five or thirty wagons, between two and three hundred prisoners, a number of negroes and about two hundred horses were in the hand of our cavalry.
The enemy, however, quickly threw forward his forces, and compelled
Gen McCausiand to abandon all except six of the captured pieces of artillery, but with them and the other captures
Gen McC withdrew to the spur of a mountain close by, where he gained a position almost impregnable.
The enemy then attempted to continue his retreat, but from the new position occupied by our forces his trains were rapidly fired into by the captured guns, and, to save them from imaginary capture, the enemy blew up a number of caissons and destroyed a large portion of his train.
Many of the enemy's men were killed by the explodes on of their own caissons, and in the several little skirmishes which occurred, their casualties are reported as being quite heavy.
Our loss was but slight, exception one instance — it being stated that
Captain Shelley lost, out of about sixty men, all except seven.
Capt S it seems, had been ordered to hold a certain point at all hazards, when he was completely surrounded by the enemy, and made to suffer heavily, as above stated.
The enemy finally succeeded in extricating himself from our cavalry, and proceeded on his route, but, from what we consider reliable information, he will find many obstacles in his path before he reaches his own lines Under the direction of
Gen Echols and Maj
Dorman, who are in that portion of the
State, the roads as far out as the
Sweet Springs have been effectually blockaded at a number of points, which obstructions, it is thought, will enable our cavalry, that of
McCausland and
Imboden, together with a force under
Gen Edward Jackson, from the front, to inflict an immense amount of damage upon the enemy.
During their march through the town of
Salem the enemy did not take time to molest anything, believing that our forces were close in their rear The post office and telegraph office, which are always sacked, did not receive their attention.
The enemy are represented to have with them several hundred negroes, and an incalculable amount of stolen property, including hundreds of horses, cattle, sheep, &c. They allowed nothing to impede their movements, and when any of the animals gave out they were shot down in the road, and it is said that the whole line of their march is marked with the carcasses of dead animals, in many places several together, and which, under the effect of a broiling sun, are filling the air with the most horrid effluvia.
So hard pressed have been the enemy, that, when they reached
Salem, the greater portion of the men had been furnished with no rations for several days, and they are described as being in a very demoralized condition.
We trust this state of thing may continue, and that we may thus be enabled to capture the greater portion of them.
