The Sun.
London, England, 1864-09-09 00:00:00

THE WAR IN AMERICA.

The ..Richmond Examiner of the 22d ult. gives
,he following notice of Gen. Early's movements:—

General Early has once more, we do Rot say fough and
routed, but stampeded, without fighting, the great and
terrible army of Yankees that has been pretending to
" pursue" him for some days past. Sheridan, Averill,
Crook, Wright—whosoever may be the commander of them
—has made believe to be searching for Early with breath-
less ardour. They sought him east, they sought west, all
through Maryland, and on both banks of the Potomac—
while he, like a careful husbandman and frugal swain, as
he is, was calmly reaping and garnering up his harvest in
the rich valley of Virginia. At last, it seems, the arduous
researches of that tremendous Yankee army were crowned
with success—they found Early, If any one i s disposed to
mock and sneer at the Yankee folks for running away
the moment they found the man they had been search-
ing for, we cannot sympathise with such mocking and
sneering• Hundred days men, boys, negroes, foreigners,
who should they expose themselves to be killed by rough
secesh soldiers ? They all surmise and most shrewdly sus-
pect that there is soon to be peace, Peace is in the air ;
they smell it ; they want to live to enjoy it, and would hate
the thought of being killed by the last stray volleys fired, as
it were, for form's sake. Whatever may be the popular
feeling in the armies f Grant and Sherman, it seems at least
clear, by tho two examples of Kernstown and Strasburg,
that the army especially entrusted with the defence of
Washington has adopted on principle the plain theory and
practice of running away, They may do this because, being
nearer the seat of government, they are better informed of
the near approaching end of the war, and do not think it
worth while to be killed at the eleventh hour ; or they
may do it merely by instinct—instinct is a great matter-
This formidable army of dreadful Yankees being scat-
tered, however, nothing remains for General Early but to
follow them into Maryland and Pennsylvania. Peace, that
pearl of great price, is to be found only in Pennsylvania.
The same paper gives the subjoined account of
the fighting on the Weldon Railroad on the 18th

L. :
General A. P. Hill, commanding Mahone's and Hetlie
divisions, attacked the enemy between tho hours of three
and four o'clock. General Mahone commanded the troops
to the left of the railroad, and General Heth those to the
right. The attack was opened by
Mahone, and speedily re-
sponded to by Heth on the right,
and the battle raged furi-
ously. On the right General Heth, with the gallant brigades
of his divisions—Davis's, Walker's and Archers—struck the
enemy's picket line in the cornfield a short distance beyond
Davie's residence. These were quickly forced back upon
the first line of breastworks, held
by a formidable force.
With a cheer the Confederate troops bounded forward and
swept over all obstructions, pressing the Yankees back
with severe loss, into their second line, and charging
onward, forced them thence with an equal lack of ceremony.
Beaten from their works and defeated in their every effort
to retain them, the Yankees retreated to their main line of
entrenchments, into which they had been driven on the
previous evening. This line having been greatly
trengthened, proved to strong to be stormed, and our troops
were checked in the lace of the slaughter which threatened
a further advance. In the meantime General Mahone, with
Clingman'a, Colquitt's, and hie own former brigade, had
teiidgm
struck the right of the Yankee lines and captured 800 pri-
soners. Pressing forward with
his usual energyit
was,'he drove
deter-
the enemy before him, successfully charging them
wherever
an,B
they made a stand. Finding them strongly entrenched, hew-
ever, ,intothdeistlhoidcgkewthooemds ohpypeasifiteanDkavmisoevefamrm
and Mahone's old brigades engaged them in front while, by
a circuitous route, Colquitt's (Georgia) brigade was thrown
on their flank. Th 6 movement proved a brilliont success,
and caused scarcely any loss to our troops. Colquitt's men
were upon the Yankees almost before they . were aware of
such close proximity of the rebels, and surrehder or fighting
under fearful disaduantage was the alternative. Crawford's
crack division of Warren's (Fifth) corps here fell a helpless
victim to rebel strategy, and the greater part of two
brigades—numbering over 2,000 men—threw down their
arms and surrendered. The prisoners were quicly placed
under guard, and sent to the rear, where they were formed
into line, and marched to Gen. Rill's headquarters, The
battle still progressed successfully until the enemy was
driven back to the position from which ho advanced in the
morning. At dark our lines were close up to his works,
and occasional volleys of musketry showed still further
fighting. As the enmY still hold the railroad it is impos-
sible
to state what damage has been done the track. It is
believed that, instead of sending a body of raiders across
the south aide, the enemy's cavalry are operating on the
Weldon-road, in the rear of the army.
The New York Verald s correspondent wit Far•
ragut's fleet in Mobile harbour gives the following
graphic account of the attack
i.nst„ upon the forts :
the sth
Friday morning, at early dawn, prepara-
tions of an unmistakeable character were visible in the
fleet. Vessels were being lashed together, despatch boats
were hurrying about in all directions, signals were displayed
and answered, non boats were lowered away and an
chored ; activity prevailed on every hand. It was as ap-
Parent to the rebels at the forts as to ourselves that the
1 time had arrived that was to tee, the ability of the rebel
appliances to keep a hostile fleet out of the bay. Circum-
stances had arisen that preuented a strict compliance with
the admiral's plan of commencing the movement before
dawn ; but having determined to enter the bay, he mani-
fested not the slfghtest concern at giving the rebels the
benefit of the earliest possible information. The attempt
having been determined on, it shouln be put through de•
spite any and all disadvantages. At precisely 20 minutes
past 6 o'clock the lino was complete, the head of it then
being two miles from the fort. The Tecumseh having the
advance, signalised the start by firing a shell from one of
her 15-inch guns, which fell and exploded with remarkable
accuracy in • the shore battery of the fort. The whole line
then moved slowly forward, preserving their distance with
much precision, a long taw gun being occasionally dis-
charged as a reminder to the rebels, should their optics fail
them, that the fleet was approaching. The Monitors, con-
tending with the ebb tide, had difficulty in making the slow
headway that was desirable, in consideration of the dange-
rous and treacherous condition of the channel. As the
sloops came within range they amused themselves by let-
ting ofl an occasional 100 pounder from their bows, but the
firing was exceedingly desultory, and notwithstanding that
it was well directed, passed entirely unnoticed by the fort.
M precisely 7 o'clock, the Zionitorl all being within °lose