The news yesterday was very scarce, but what there was of it was interesting.
The chief point of interest was the departure of the enemy from the fortifications around
Richmond.
It had taken place silently, and the movement was well conducted.
This change in the
Yankee programme can hardly be explained, except from the fact that no movement was made on the
Southside in response to their appearance before the city.
One of the prisoners brought in remarked that they would have arrived here two days sooner but for an unexpected delay.
This delay may have broken up the programme.
We give below a condensed account of what occurred yesterday:
The departure of the raiders from around Richmond — they Burn Buttom's bridge.
On Thursday evening, about sundown, the forces under
Sheridan, which have been before the city for several days, commenced their movement down the
Peninsula.
A good many horses which had been tired out they shot, leaving the carcases on their camping ground.
Blankets were torn into strips, and accoutrements burnt.
The
Meadow bridges were rebuilt, and the tressel work over the railroad bridge across the
Chickahominy was covered with hewn logs so as to admit the passage of horses over it.
Upon crossing he destroyed the bridges, marched up to Mechanicville, and then struck into the range of hills formerly occupied by
McClellan as a camping ground.--Their train of wagons was about a mile long.
Thursday night they camped about seven miles below the city, and yesterday they reached Bottom's bridge, which they burnt.
Before reaching this bridge they drove in our pickets at
New bridge, and burnt that.
They then continued on their way down towards the river.
The prisoners of this party, of whom thirty-one were brought in yesterday, represent that it was a picked command, intended for the capture of the city, and seem at a loss to account for the failure to assault the works.
It is more than probable that
Sheridan has gone to the river to cross over and join
Butler, as the road he has taken will bring him to the river in the vicinity of
City Point.
List of cavalry captured by Sheridan on his way down.
On their way down the road the
Yankee raiders captured the following persons.--They stopped at a farm and allowed the prisoners to make out a list, which was left with the farmer to be sent to
Richmond:
Co. I, 5th, Va, Cavalry.--
1st Lieut. W R Sticklin,
2d Lieut F C
Boston;
Sergeant W
Lipscomb, Corporal A D
Johnson;
Privates M R
Woodson, J J
Wood, B
J. Bowls, J W McGec, J W
Burgess, J A Tompkins, S A Dobhella, J C
Maddux, T W
Brockenborough, W H
Davis, B M Modend, Co. G--
Privates G M Creasy, J V
Garland, A S
Brinkley, J A Land.
Co B, 15th Va cavalry —
Privates M F
West.
Co G, 3d Va cavalry, captured May 9th, 1864--Sergt S F
Coleman, Corp'l M J
Wilson,
Privates T H
Adams, T E Cobell, J W
Goodman, J A Hendrick, B W
Baldwin, W J
Robinson, J S
Robinson.
Co E, 2d Va cavalry —
Private R M
West.
As this list was written very indistinctly some of the names may not be correct.
The prisoner had only a few moments to prepare it.
Movements on the Southside — Demonstration on Drewry's Bluff last night.
When the enemy fell back from before
Petersburg and
Drewry's Bluff on Monday reconnaissances were made by our troops, and it was ascertained that they had gone back to their shipping at Bermuda Hundreds, and that the force threatening
Petersburg south of the
Appomattox had gone back to
City Point.
Yesterday, however, gain advanced.
About 6 o'clock yesterday afternoon a force attacked a party of our troops near the Half-way
House, and last night about 8 o'clock a strong column of the enemy appeared between the
Bluff and
Richmond.
We have nothing later of their movements, but a fight is likely to occur to-day.
The firing heard yesterday afternoon was caused by the shelling of the outer fortifications of the
Bluff by the enemy and our guns replying.
The negro troops at Fort Powhatan, on
James river, are said to be committing depredations of every character upon the citizens around that point.
The raid on the Danville Railroad--depot Burned — Resistance encountered.
The raiding party of Yankee cavalry, noticed in this paper yesterday as having crossed the Richmond and Petersburg Railroad the night before
en route for the Danville Railroad, struck the latter road at
Coalfield about 10 o'clock that night, tearing up the rails and pulling down the telegraph wire.
From there they went to Powhatan Station, where they tore up the track and burnt the depot building and water tank.
We learn from a telegram from
Mr. Jas L Morrow, the
Superintendent of the telegraph line on the road, who started on an engine yesterday morning to repair the damage to the line, that they left
Powhatan for the
Mattoax bridge, over the
Appomattox river, 27½ miles from
Richmond, and that heavy firing was heard there yesterday afternoon.
There was a force of infantry and artillery stationed there to protect the iron bridge over the river.
The cavalry is under the command of
Spears, of the 11th Pa. regiment, who had just gotten through with an attempted raid to the rear of
Petersburg, and got a whipping for the attempt.
The only intelligence received from
Gen. Lee's army yesterday was the following dispatch from the correspondent of the
Associated Press, which, by the cutting of the telegraph wives, had to come a very circuitous route.
It will be seen that it is not later than
Gen. Lee's last dispatch, and refers to the same fight alluded to in that:
Battle Field, near Spotsylvania C. H.,
via Louisa C. H., May 11.
There was heavy cannonading all yesterday.
About 12 o'clock, the enemy having got possession of the road leading to the main road to Louisa Court House, with a large force,
Heth's Division was sent to drive them off, which was accomplished with but slight loss to us. Our troops drove the enemy back some three or four miles, and out of their lines of breastworks, capturing
one piece of artillery, one caisson, and some one hundred and fifty prisoners.
Among those wounded on our side, was
Brigadier General H. H. Walker, of
Virginia, whose foot has been amputated.
Between 10 o'clock and nightfall the enemy made repeated assaults upon
Field's Division, but were handsomely repulsed in every instance by our line of skirmishers,
Field's line of battle never finding it necessary to engage them.
Field's loss was very trifling.
Very near dark the enemy made a most vigorous and determined assault upon
Rodes's line of battle, driving Daniel's and Dole's lines of battle from their breastworks, and capturing six pieces of our artillery.
Johnston's
North Carolina,
Walker's Stonewall, Va, and
Gordon's Georgia Brigade, however, quickly came to their assistance, driving the enemy back, and recapturing our lost guns.
The enemy's loss is said to be very heavy, especially in
Field's and
Rodes's front — The enemy are certainly fighting with great nerve and desperation.
The Yankee
Major General Sedgwick is certainly killed, and it is reported that
Warren and
Stevens are killed.
On other parts of the line yesterday there was nothing but heavy skirmishing.
Hayes, of La, was wounded in the leg yesterday, but not dangerously.
Fredericksburg was occupied by the enemy Sunday night.
The enemy have three pontoon bridges over the
Rappahannock.
The town is said to be filled with Yankee wounded — the number being estimated as high as 15,000.
The enemy's loss thus far is believed to be 30,000--some have it 40,000.
Stuart's cavalry have been unceasingly fighting and pursuing the enemy, and have done excellent service.
Our position is very strong.
Grant has issued orders congratulating his troops on their
success --telling them that
Petersburg was in the hands of the
Yankees, and begging them to fight bard.
Our troops, though wearied, are in good fighting plight, and confident of final success.
The enemy, in a raid around our lines, captured a few of
Ewell's ordnance wagons, and recaptured some of their prisoners on their way to the railroad.
Up to noon to-day there has been no general engagement, but some skirmishing, and occasional discharges of artillery on our right.
Everything is progressing well, and the army is in no danger of suffering for want of supplies.
The remains of
Gen. J. E. B. Stuart were interested in Hollywood Cemetery yesterday afternoon.
The funeral services were performed at St. James's Church.
We reprint from the
Illustrated News a sketch of the life of his great cavalry commander:
The subject of this brief and imperfect notice, whose name awakens enthusiasm throughout the
Confederacy and terror to the farthest borders, of Yankee land, is the son of the late
Archibald Stuart, for several years a member of the
House Representatives of the
United States from the district which then embraced the county of
Patrick, in Virginia, where, we believes he was born.
At a very early age he gave token of a quick and active mind, and under the fond care of devoted parents of the highest social and moral worth, he grew up to manly statue marked by every trait that gives promise of future distinction.
His father died ten or twelve years ago, full of honors; his mother yet lives to witness with joy the service he is rendering to his country, and the proud fame he has won to be transmitted to posterity.
James E B
Stuart entered the Military Academy of
West Point in the year 1850.
Among his contemporaries at that institution were
Gens Ambrose Philip, Henry Hath, George H
Stuart, T H
Holmes,
Beverly H
Robertson, and N
George Evans, and
Colonels Seth M
Barron Alfred Cumming, and
Thos S
Rhett, of the Confederate army, and
Burnside, Vicle, Wilcor,
Cogswell, and others of greater or less repute, or disrepute, in the
Yankee army.
Among his immediate classmates were
Colonels John Pegram,
George W
Custis Lee, and
John B. Vilieplgue, now well known in the
Confederate service, and
Major Greble, of the
Yankee artillery, who was killed in the first battle of the war, at Great Bethel.
In the United States Army, the highest rank attained by
Stuart was that of
First Lieutenant, but this was in the First Cavalry, a regiment noted for its officers, of which
Yankee Gen. Sumner was
Colonel, and our own
General Joseph E. Johnston,
Lieut Col. The operations of the old Federal cavalry were conducted mostly upon the distant frontier, far from the public eye, and from the observation of newspaper correspondents, and thus many deeds of great daring and high emprise went unchronicled, which would have established a reputation for their actors had they been transacted upon a theatre nearer to civilization and journalism.
On the 29th July, 1857, at a time when we were absorbed with the
Atlantic telegraph and other exciting matters of the "piping times of peace," Col
Sumner encountered a force of three hundred
braves of the
Cheyenne tribe strongly posted upon
Solomon's Fork of the
Kansas river, and, after a sharp struggle, put them to flight in great disorder.
In this combat
Lieut. Stuart was severely wounded.
At the outbreak of the present war,
Lieut Stuart lost no time in resigning his commission and offering his sword to the cause of his native
South.
It is unnecessary to refer to his exploits since that time.
They have been most effectively laid before the public in a brilliant series by our daily journalists.
With his rapid rise from a Colonelcy to the command of a brigade, and soon after to the rank of a
Major General of cavalry, our readers are familiar.
Perhaps the most striking and successful of all his expeditions were the
Pamunkey raid through
McClellan's lines, in which but one man, the gallant and lamented
Captain Latane, was lost, and the recent descent upon Catiett's Station, where he captured such a vast quantity of stores and gathered up the official correspondence and full dress form coat of the redoubtable
John Pupe,
Major General U S A. As a cavalry
officer Gen. Stuart combines with his regular
West Point training much of the
lan of
Jack Morgan and
Turner Ashby.
Ready for any enterprise, his military motto seems to be that of the
French lender,
de l'audace, encore de l'audace, toujours de l'audace.
In the old Army
Gen Stuart was always popular.
He was universally known under the pleasant nickname of "Beauty
Stuart," as reflecting upon his personal appearance; but the irony was not happy, for on horseback, at the head of his column, there are fewer their looking men than our General.
His expression is trunk and agreeable, the lower part of his face is overflowed by a torrent of reddish-brown beard, his eye is bright and mobile, his movements are full of grace, his address is pleasing, his port lofty and his horsemanship perfect.
Altogether he would challenge attention among a hundred thousand men upon the
Vienness Prater or the Purisian
Champ de Mars In the social circle his manners are engaging and his conversation fertile and suggestive.
Gen Stuart married a daughter of
Philip St. George Cooke,
Colonel of the Second Dragoons, in the United States army.
This officer, though a Virginian by birth and education, (he is the brother of the late
John R. Cooke, of this city,) preferred his rank to his duty, and remained in the old service, to moke war upon the
Southern people.
He is now a General, and was under Cinilan when siege was laid to
Richmond.
It was said that one of
Stuart's objects in the
Pamunkey expedition was to take his father-in-law prisoner.
At the age of nineteen
Gen. Stuart became a communicant in the Protestant Episcopal Church, and his religious profession has always been consistent and faithful.
He is not lest constant in prayer than watchful upon the march and fearless in fight, and will take no mean place in the ranks of those Christian soldiers, of whom
Gardner and Headly Viears are the highest types in the
English army, and of whom, with
Lee and
Jackson, and Folk and Pendiston, and
Hill, and a host of other our own service furnish so many shining illustrate
