Suffolk invested — Rumors about the operations there.
No official news has been received about the operations at
Suffolk.
It is said that a courier from
Gen. Longstreet arrived at
Iron Station, on the Norfolk and Petersburg railroad, Wednesday morning. He stated that
Suffolk was completely invested by our forces at dark on Tuesday evening. Every avenue of ingress and egress was occupied by our troops.
The tracks of the Seaboard and
Norfolk railroads, in rear of
Suffolk, had been torn up; pontoons had been thrown across the
Nansemond river; and eligible positions occupied for our heavy guns, in the event of any attack by the enemy's gunboats.
It was not known that
Gen Longstreet intended to make an effort to carry the enemy's fortifications at
Suffolk by direct assault.--Many are of the opinion that by cutting off his supplies the garrison at
Suffolk must speedily capitulate, and that to avoid any unnecessary effusion of blood.
Gen. Longstreet will resort to this expedient.
The heavy firing heard Tuesday was occasioned by the opposition of the enemy offered to our marching upon his rear.
Our casualties are reported at 34 wounded. It is said that we lost several killed but no deficits number has been mentioned.
The courier further reports that we had encountered two of the enemy's gunboats on the
Nansemond river, and that one of them was destroyed and the other retreated in a crippled condition.--It is stated by those who have recently been in
Suffolk, that the enemy have no fortifications on the
Portsmouth side, having never anticipated, any attack from the rear, and believing that the
Dismal Swamp on that side was impenetrable.
If this be so, and our forces are in the rear in anything like formidable numbers, we may be prepared to hear of the capture of
Suffolk at any moment.
The above statements, which we condense from the Petersburg
Express are quite as improbable as an additional rumor brought to this city yesterday by a passenger from the vicinity of
Suffolk, which also arrests that
Longstreet is between
Suffolk and
Norfolk and that two Yankee gunboats, on Tuesday shelled the woods in rear of the former town to ascertain where our troops were camped.
The shelling was continued from sunrise till dark.
None of the above "news" had been received at the War Department up to last night.
