Latest from the North.
capture of
Gen. Morgan--
Mexico declared an Empire — account of the Blaster at
Charleston, &c.
We are indebted to the courtesy of
Major Norris, of the Signal corps, for Northern dates of Tuesday, the 28th.
We give being a summary of the news:
Gen Morgan taken Prisoner — official report of his capture.
An official telegram from
Col. Shackelford, dated near New Lisbon, July 28th, says:
‘
By the blessing of Almighty God.
I have succeeded in capturing
Gen. John H. Morgan Col. Clake, and the balance of the command, amounting to about 400, are prisoners.
’
I will start with
Morgan and on the first train for
Cincinnati, and await the
General's order for transportation for the balance.
Cleveland, July 26th.--
Major Way, with about 250 of the 9th Michigan cavalry, forced
Morgan into an engagement about 3 o'clock on Sunday, about a mile from
Zanesville, Ohio, and routed him, capturing 240 prisoners.
Morgan, with 300 of his gang, escaped, but were all captured by
Col. Shackelford, at 8 o'clock P. M., on Sunday, near New Lisbon.
Mexico declared an Empire--, of Austria Chosen as Parlor
The steamer
Roanoke, from
Ferguson the 22d inst., arrived at
New York Monday with advices from the
City of Mexico to the 10th instant:
‘
A council of notabilities, held on the 10th inst, declared that the
Mexican nation, through them, select an Empire as the form of Government, and declare
Maximilian, of
Austria,
Emperor.
Should be decline the throne, they implore the
French Emperor to select a person in whom he has full confidence to occupy the throne.
’
The proclamation was immediately made public, and a courier posted to
Vera Cruz, and from there it was sent by a French steamer to
Havana.
A salute was fired at
Vera Cruz in honor of the event.
The assault on Morris's Island — disastrous repulse — Terrible fire of the Confederates--the negroes as usual put as Front
The New York papers contain full details of the disastrous repulse of the
Federal troops in the assault on
Morris's Island, on the 18th instant.
It is evident from the accounts that
Gen. Gilmore used all his available force in the assault.
Three brigades, numbering from 8,000 to 10,000 men, were to have supported the 54th Massachusetts (negro) regiment, which was put in the front.
Only two of the brigades, however, participated, the third failing to come to time.
The assault was undertaken as stated by a correspondent of the New York
Tribune, under the impression that the combined fire of the monitors and forts "had silenced nearly every gun; that the 15 inch shells had driven the rebels from the bombproof, and if there had been a strong infantry support in rear of the fort, we had made it impossible for them to remain there and had slaughtered them by hundreds."
Gen. Strong's brigade and
Col. Putnam's brigade, under this impression, were ordered forward.
The correspondent of the New York
Times says:
‘
This was at dusk, and both brigades were formed in line on the beach, the regiments being disposed in columns,
except the colored regiment which for some reason, was given the post of extreme honor and of extreme danger in the advance, and was drawn up in line of battle, exposing its full front to the enemy.
This movement of the troops was observed by
Sumter, and fire at once opened upon them, happily, without doing any injury, as the shells went over the heads of the troops.
’
Gen. Strong's brigade under this fire moved along the beach at slow time about three quarters of a mile, when the men were ordered to lie down.
In this position they remained half an hour.
Sumter in the meanwhile being joined in the cannonade by the rebels in battery Bee, but without effect upon our troops.
It was now quite dark and the order was given for both brigades to advance,
General Strong's leading, and
Colonel Putnam's within supporting distance.
The troops went forward at quick time and in deep silence, until the 54th Massachusetts, led by its gallant
Colonel Shaw, was within 200 yards of the work, when the man gave a fierce yell and rushed up the glacis, closely followed by the other regiments of the brigade.
The enemy, hitherto silent as the grave, while our men were swarming over the glacis, opened upon them furiously with grape, cannister, and a continuous fusillade of small arms.
The gallant negroes, however, plunged on, regardless of this murderous reception, and many of them crossed the ditch, although it contained four feet of water, gaining the parapet.
They were dislodged, however, in a few minutes with hand grenades, and retired helter skelter, leaving more than one half of their number, including their brave
Colonel, dead upon the field.
The 6th Connecticut, under
Lt. Col. Rodman, was next in support of the 54th, and they also suffered terribly, being compelled to retire after a stubborn contest.
The 9th Maine, which was next in line, was broken up by the passage of the remnant of the repulsed colored regiment through its lines, and retired in confusion, excepting three companies, which nobly stood their ground.
It now devolved upon the 3rd New Hampshire to push forward, and led by Gen Strong and
Col. Jackson in person the gallant fellows dashed up against the fort.
Three companies actually gained the ditch, and wading through the water found shelter against the embankment.
Here was the critical point of the assault, and the second brigade, which should have been up and ready to support their comrades of the first, were unaccountably delayed.
Gen. Strong then gave the order to fall back, and lie down on the glacis, which was obeyed without confusion.
It was while waiting here, exposed to the heavy fire, that
Gen. Strong was wounded.
A fragment of shell entered his thigh, passing entirely through the fleshy part, and making a serious wound.
The breast of
Col. Jackson's coat was torn off at the same time by a piece of shell, slightly wounding him. Neither of these brave men would lie down to escape the rain of metal, but stood unflinchingly.
Finding that the supports did not come,
Gen. Strong gave the order for his brigade to retire, and the man left the field in perfect order.
A little while afterwards the other brigade came up, and made up for their tardiness by their valor.
Rushing impetuously up the glacis, undeterred by the fury of the enemy, whose fire was not intermitted for a second, several of the regiments succeeded in crossing the ditch, scaling the parapet and descending into the fort.
Here a hand-to-hand conflict ensued.--Our men drove the enemy from one side of the work to seek shelter between the traverses, while they held possession for something more than two hours. The enemy rallied, and having received large reinforcements made a charge and expelled them by the sheer force of numbers.
One of the regiments engaged in that dash was the 48th New York,
Colonel Barton, and it came out almost decimated.--The most distressing part of its disaster is that the enemy did not inflict the damage.
It was fired upon by a regiment that gained the parapet some minutes after it, under the supposition that it was the enemy.
About midnight the order was given to retire, and our men fell back to the rifle pits outside of our works.
Our casualties were very large.
The list of killed, wounded, and missing, foots up
fifteen hundred and thirty. Among the killed are
Col. Putman, 7th N. H.
Colonel Shaw, 54th Mass;
Lieut Col. Grier, 48th N Y; and
Adjutant Libby, of the 3d N H.
General Seymour, was wounded in the foot;
Col. Barton, of the 48th N Y, and
Lieut Col. Rodman, 6th
Conn, were seriously wounded.
Our dead were buried on Monday, that portion, at least, of them that were on the field within the limits that our burying party were allowed to approach the rebel works.
These who fell on the glacis and in the ditch were interred by the enemy.
A correspondent of the
Herald thus describes the fate of the negro regiment:
‘
The 54th Massachusetts, colored, charged bravely over the parapet, their officers urging them to distinguish themselves; but the rebels made a dash at them with all their bitter feeling against negro troops around, and neglected all else for a moment in attaching the negroes.
They took some prisoners and slaughtered many.
Bayonets clashed and muskets rattled, and the
Massachusetts blacks got bewildered.
They barely saved one of their flags and the staff of another, and then, with thinned ranks, retreated through the showers of iron bail, leaving their
Colonel in the fort, many officers unaccounted for and many black bodies lifeless or disabled along their track.
The New York
Tribune denounces the attack as a failure and a disaster, and calls upon
Lincoln to ascertain who is the responsible officer.
’
The position of the two armies repulse of the Federal at Chester Gap
A Washington dispatch states that on the 22d inst., while
Longstreet.
was endeavoring to get into
Eastern Virginia, by way of Manassas Gap,
Gen. A
P. Hill's corps took possession of
Chester Gap and repulsed the
Federal cavalry who attempted to drive him out.
Longstreet's corps afterwards came through the same Gap. The Washington
Republican says
Lee has managed to carry all his
Pennsylvania plunder with him. The Baltimore
American, of the 28th, says:
‘
There is no longer any doubt that
Gen. Lee's army has successfully eluded the pursuit of
Gen. Meads, and is now again in nearly its old position in
Eastern Virginia and around
Culpeper and
Gordonsville.
When
Lee succeeded in getting across the
Potomac scarcely any other result was expected by those familiar with the country to be traversed by the two armies.
Sanguine people looked for a different result, and even those not so sanguine hoped for it; but both have been disappointed.
’
The latest advices from the Army of the Potomac state that on Saturday our forces held the line of the
Rappahannock between
Kelly's Ford and
Waterloo.
Large numbers of horses have been found in the mountain gorges and appropriated by our forces.
The following is a dispatch from
General Meade to
Gen. Schenck, commanding at
Baltimore:
The
Major General Commanding directs me to acknowledge the receipt of your dispatch, and to inform you that he engaged the enemy at this point yesterday.
This morning the enemy appears to have withdrawn, and his whole army is undoubtedly
en route to
Culpeper and
Orange C H., and probably the rear has passed this place and
Strasburg.
Miscellaneous.
Major General Logan and
Colonel Rawling of
General Grant's staff, who have arrived a Cairo, state that
Gen. Sherman had returned to
Jackson, and reported to
Gen. Grant that the leading citizens of that portion of
Mississippi implored some action by which the
State could be returned to the
Union.
The army and people were completely dispirited and ready for peace.
The Nashville
Union says it is reported that
Hon. Meredith P. Gentry, formerly an eminent Whigmeraber of Congress, surrendered himself voluntarily to the
Federal commander at
Shelbyville, a few days since.
Nine hundred of
Morgan's men have been lodged in Camp Chase prison.
They will be there until the officers of
Streight's expedition are released from Libby prison.
When the steamer
Roanoke left
Havana an immense conflagration was raging among the warehouses on Regia wharf.
It is estimated that the warehouses already destroyed involve a loss of $4,000,000 worth of sugar.
The draft in
Philadelphia was completed without disorder or opposition.
Mayor Opdyne, of New York, has vetoed the ordinance no pay conscripts $300 commutation, on the ground of vagueness and illegality, and because it is a propitiatory measure to appease the mob.
Gen. Blount's forces in
Arkansas, on the 17th inst., attacked the rebels under
General Cooper, near
Fort Gibson, and routed them completely, capturing one gun and many prisoners.
The rebels retreated to
Fort Smith.
Admiral Porter reports that the gunboat expedition sent by him into the
Red river region after the
fall of Vicksburg, had been most successful.
Two rebel steamers were captured--one a very fine boat — and the rebels were forced to destroy two others.
A large quantity of ammunition and stores for the rebel army were also captured.
Hon. John J. Crittenden died at
Frankfort, Ky., on the 26th.
He died from general debility and old age, without pain or struggle, and in full possession of his faculties.
His ago was 77.
At the first board, New York, Monday, market excited — gold 127¾,
Virginia sixes 60;
North Carolina 69;
Tennessee 65¼. At the second board, market firm — gold 127 ¼.
A Washington telegram says that in the next two months a large number of troops whose time of service has expired will leave the Army of the Potomac, and the conscription must be put in immediate operation to fill their places.
In
Illinois the people are drilling to resist the draft.
Federal cavalry have been sent there to protect the enrolling officer.
In the fight near Donalsonville, La., after the fall of
Port Hudson, the 29th Mass. regiment lost all but 140 men.
