New York papers of Monday, the 28th instant, are received.
Gold, on that day, was quoted at 227 1-2--a rise of six dollars on account (according to the
Tribune) of the doubt felt about
Sherman's safety.
General Hood's movements in Tennessee--a Battle with Thomas Expected.
The most important news by this mail is that relative to
General Hood's movements.
The
Herald contains a special telegram from
Nashville, of the 27th, which reports smart skirmishing between the forces of
Generals Thomas and
Hood, for the past few days, between
Pulaski and
Columbia, Tennessee; and that the
Yankee army has fallen back north of
Duck river.
Forrest has also crossed the river, and is essaying to strike its flank and rear.
Hood's main army is thought to be moving northeastward, towards
Shelbyville and
Wartrace.
A telegram from
Louisville, dated the 25th says that rumors prevailed there that
Hood's army, about thirty thousand strong--one-third cavalry, and ten batteries of artillery, including reinforcements from
Forrest and
Dick Taylor — was marching on
Pulaski on Wednesday.
It was thought
Hood would either fight at
Columbia, or, leaving
Columbia, march into
East Tennessee and join his forces to those of
Breckinridge.
A letter, dated
Nashville, the 21st, gives the New York
Times the following intelligence relative to the positions the two armies occupied at that time:
‘
The bulk of our army is at
Pulaski, on the Decatur and Nashville railroad, in splendid condition; the men being well fed and well clothed, with money in their pockets.
The new troops are distributed judiciously, and put through a vigorous system of drill three times a day.
Pulaski is a very pretty town, near the
Alabama State line, between sixty and seventy miles south from
Nashville.
General Stanley commands the Fourth corps and
General Cox the Twenty- third corps.
Both are excellent officers.
The whole are under the command of
General Schofield in the field, whose headquarters are at
Spring Hill, a small place between
Franklin and
Columbia.
General Schofield is greatly beloved as an officer and a man.
General Thomas is still in this city, with headquarters at the
St. Cloud Hotel.
’
I think there will something lively transpire in less than a month in this department, even if the movements of
Beauregard do not necessitate some such event before.
As long as the latter- named officer remains at
Corinth, with his army hovering about
Florence, little notice will be taken of him.
The last information I gave you concerning the whereabouts of the rebel Army of Tennessee found
Beauregard quietly located at the mansion of
Dr. Stout, of
Corinth, with
Stewart's corps, consisting of about 10,000 men, there and thereabouts.
I have reason to believe that just the same state of things exists to-day in that quarter of the
Confederacy.
Most of
S. D. Lee's corps at that time was at
Jackson, the terminus of the railroad.
Frank Cheatham's corps was at
Florence, where also was
Hood, the general commanding in the field.
The following changes have taken place, it is believed: That
Stephen D. Lee has removed his entire corps from
Jackson to South Florence, and that
Frank Cheatham has crossed the river with his corps, and made headquarters at
Waynesboro', a small town situated on or near
Greene's creek, a branch of
Duck river, and about half way between
Columbia, Tennessee, and
Florence, Alabama.
Forrest is in command of all the cavalry, which is strong and in good trim, and holds undisputed possession of the entire country within a radius of thirty miles of
Florence.
From Sherman — he Rescues some Imaginary prisoners.
The Northern papers have not a word yet from
Sherman, not copied from the Richmond papers, except a sensation report brought by a steamer which arrived at
Annapolis, Maryland, on Sunday, with 1,246 Yankee prisoners, from
Savannah.
The report claims that
Sherman has probably rescued some prisoners at
Millen (which have not been there for three weeks), and thus stopped the exchange.
The following is the statement:
‘
The captain of the
Hiram Livingston reports that, when he left
Savannah on Friday last, the 25th instant, the exchange had ceased, the rebels being unable to furnish any more prisoners, as
General Sherman had cut off the railroads leading to
Savannah.
It was thought that
General Sherman had reached and probably rescued all the balance of our prisoners, as a portion of his forces were only about a six hours march from the stockades of
Millen, Georgia, when the men who arrived in the
Hiram Livingston left there for
Savannah to be exchanged.
’
The rebels, however, were making an effort to get our prisoners off to
Florida; with what success was not known.
The number of prisoners at
Millen was said to be about twenty thousand, whither they had been removed from
Andersonville, as a place of more security from cavalry raids by
General Sherman.
The New York
Herald swallows this promptly, and says:
‘
This is one of the great triumphs of
Sherman's brilliant movement.
’
The case of the Florida — the Yankees Sink the Ship.
A telegram from
Washington says that the
Yankees have determined to surrender the
Florida to the
Brazilian Government, and adds:
‘
The eleven officers of the pirate
Florida, taken from the Old Capitol prison several days since and sent to
General Barnes, at
Point Lookout, have been forwarded by that officer to
Rear Admiral D. D. Porter, commanding the North Atlantic blockading squadron, who has been directed that they be turned over to
Captain Collins, of the
Wachusett, which vessel is now lying in
Hampton Roads.
It is understood here that
Commander Napoleon Collins, the captor of the rebel pirate
Florida, has been ordered to return to
Bahia,
Brazil, with his
quasi prize, her officers and crew.
’
The decision of
Mr. Seward has been fully canvassed in Cabinet council, and is believed to be opposed by
Mr. Bates, he deeming an apology to
Brazil for the seizure as ample reparation.
As it is, the case will be put at rest at once by a Brazilian legal decision.
This course of our State Department gains friends.
The friends of
Commander Collins say that he is much mortified at the result of his exploit, and maintain that he will resign if ordered to take the
Florida back.
He will have to return with her as a witness in the case, which will be a very great humiliation to him and his officers.
Of course, the decision was never intended to be carried out, as the following telegram will show:
I have just received a telegram from the commander of the prize steamer
Florida, informing me that she had sunk in nine fathoms water.
She had been run into by an army steamer and badly damaged.
I have not heard the particulars.
Will inform the Department when I receive the written report.
An English peace address declined by Seward.
The English peace address, with three hundred and fifty thousand signatures, asking
Lincoln to suspend hostilities, was carried to
Washington by
Mr. Joseph Parker, of
Manchester, England, on Saturday.
He wrote a note to
Seward asking permission to present it to
Lincoln:
‘
To this the
Secretary replied that, before answering the letter, it was desirable to be further informed whether
Mr. Parker had authority from the
Government of
Great Britain and
Ireland for the purpose referred to, and whether his mission had been made known to the diplomatic agent of that Government near the
Government of the
United States.--
Mr. Parker replied by saying that the address he had the honor of bringing to this country, containing the signatures of some three hundred and fifty thousand of his countrymen, from the peer to the artisan, was not from the
Government of
Great Britain, nor from any political party.
It was simply an expression of the earnest desire of
Great Britain to see peace restored again to this continent. --The correspondence closed by a note from the
Secretary of State, in which he said the
Government of the
United States could not receive the address, and that the request for an interview with the
President was therefore declined.
The intention now is to present the address to Congress at the approaching session.
’
The fires in New York — order of General Dix--excitement in Washington.
The hotel fires in New York constitute the reigning excitement in Yankeedom now.
General Dix has issued the following order:
‘
The evidence of extensive combination and other facts, disclosed to-day, show it to have been the work of rebel emissaries and agents.
All such persons engaged in secret acts of hostility here can only be regarded as spies, subject to martial law and to the penalty of death.
If they are detected they will be immediately brought before a court-martial or military commission; and if convicted, they will be executed without the delay of a single day.
’
A Washington telegram says:
‘
In addition to the regular guards employed about the public buildings, commissaries' depots, etc.; in this vicinity, the War Department Rifles have been on duty since last evening, in consequence of information received by the
Government of an incendiary plot similar to that attempted to be carried out in New York on Friday evening. The guards at all the public buildings have been doubled, and a strict watch is kept at the hotels and other public places, to guard against any attempt that may be made to execute the diabolical plans to accomplish, by sneaking incendiary operations, what the rebels have failed to do by legitimate warfare.
Considerable excitement was occasioned, about 10 o'clock last night, by the proclamation, at all the places of public amusement, of an order from the War Department requiring all the employees of that department to repair forthwith to their posts.
The summons was intended to have them assemble for guard duty.
The Treasury Guards are to relieve the War Department Rifles, and incendiaries will have a small chance for successful operations here.
’
An Hour with Mosby.
A letter from the
Valley, in the New York
Herald, gives the following account of a little "guerrilla" experience, as the
Yankees call it, which may be found almost any day in the
Valley:
‘
Captain Brewster, commissary of the First brigade of the First cavalry division, lately captured by
Mosby's men, has returned, having escaped both death and imprisonment.
He and four others were captured while on their way from
Winchester to army headquarters.
As they were passing along the turnpike, in the vicinity of numerous others who were bound in other directions, they were accosted by a party, about ten in number, which they met, dressed in light blue overcoats, and whom they supposed to be our own men, and ordered to surrender.
The order being accompanied with presented revolvers, they thought it prudent to comply with it. This occurred about midday, in the vicinity of
Newtown, from whence they marched in the direction of
Ashby's gap, and before night met the "
Colonel," as
Mosby is styled by his men. They crossed the
Shenandoah and passed through the gap to
Paris, where they spent the night, and remained the whole of the next day and night.
’
On the next day (Sunday) they marched to
Rectortown; on the line of the Manassas Gap railroad, where
Mosby, finding he had some of
Custer's men, kindly informed them that he had an account to adjust with
Custer, and that they must draw lots to see who the seven were out of the whole number (twenty-nine) who should be hanged in retaliation for seven of his men who had been hanged a short time previously by
Custer's orders.
The ballots were prepared, seven having numbers on them, and the rest being blanks.
Five of the numbers were drawn on the first trial; but one was drawn by a drummer boy, who was released because he was not a bearer of arms.
One or two more trials were made, the
Captain each time escaping with a blank.
Lieutenant Disoway, of the Fifth New York heavy artillery, drew a number, but was released, and one of
Custer's men substituted for him. This was the last seen of the victims by their comrades, who were marched, under a light guard, to
Sperryville, where the
Captain contrived to make his escape, and, under various disguises, returned to
General Sheridan's headquarters in safety.
Four were killed and three escaped, one of the latter being
Captain Brewster's orderly.
On Sunday, there was an assembly of
Mosby's command at
Rectortown.
They were a fine-looking set of fellows, well dressed, and most of them commissioned officers of the rebel army, who prefer the romantic life of marauders to that of civilized warfare in the field.
Some of them were well mounted, well dressed, and a majority of them were provided with Union overcoats.
They were nearly all of them apparently highly intelligent and well-educated men, armed with sabres and revolvers, very few having carbines.
They seemed well disciplined, and exhibited the utmost confidence in the
Colonel.
The
Captain was informed that it was decided at the assembly to go down and pitch into the Eighth Illinois.
Miscellaneous.
The Confederate
General Hindman, with his wife, staff, and body-guard, crossed the
Mississippi river at
Catfish point, some days ago,
en route for
Arkansas.
He had a heavy box of specie with him.
The double-ender gunboat
Tacony went ashore off
Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, a few days ago, and had not been released from her perilous position when last heard from.
The Louisville
Democrat says that the
Lieutenant-Governor of
Kentucky,
R. T. Jacobs, who was recently ordered through the
Confederate lines by the military authorities of that State, is now at
Gallipolis, Ohio.
The rebel authorities refused to receive the exile, saying that "they do not intend to let
President Lincoln make a
Botany Bay of the
South."
A girl of sixteen, convicted in
St. Louis of repeated violations of the oath of allegiance, of carrying contraband articles across our lines, and of being a rebel spy, has had her sentence, which was death, commuted by
General Rosecrans to imprisonment during the war.
Butler's dispatch boat
Greyhound, while going down
James river on Sunday, caught fire and was destroyed.--
General Butler and staff, with
Rear Admiral Porter, were on board, but all escaped safely.
