A gentleman who arrived in this city on Saturday last, and who left
Baltimore on Sunday last, coming through
Mathews and adjoining counties, furnishes us with some interesting particulars of the depredations of the
Yankees in that section.
On Tuesday, the 19th inst., a party of Federal cavalry, estimated to number from 400 to 500, came over to Mathews Court-House, where they pillaged everything within reach.
They left scarcely a horse or mule in the county, and burnt several flouring mills, declaring their determination to stop farming operations, and to prevent the grinding of what wheat might be raised.
The mill of
Mrs. Sparks was among those destroyed.--At the house of a prominent citizen they took every pound of bacon, drove off all the stock, and did not leave provisions sufficient to subsist the family for one week.
They took from the person of a gentleman a fine gold watch, and on his complaining to the
commanding officer, he was told that if he could point out the man who had the watch it should be returned.
The guilty party was at once designated, but by the officer, who was as great a thief as himself, was permitted to lie out of the scrape, and retain the watch.
They extended their raid into
Middlesex, where they captured
Lieut. Harvey, who was at home on furlough.
About the same time a body of cavalry from
Hooker's command, numbering some 600, went down into the
Northern Neck, and plundered the citizens of
Northumberland,
Lancaster, and
Westmoreland, stealing and destroying everything in their route.
The people are very much discouraged by these repeated outrages, and are clamorous for protection.
They think that a few hundred Confederate cavalry would effectually shield them from these plunderers.
On Thursday the enemy captured a blockade running schooner in the
Rappahannock river, about six miles above
Urbana.
She had a large stock of different kinds of goods on board.