The Sun.
London, England, 1863-01-05 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, MONDAY RVENING, JANUARY 5,

should be substituted for to, so that it may read,
crossing at a point different from the one indicated
by you at our last meeting at the President's.' "
A flag of truce crossed the Rappahannock this
afternoon to communicate with Gen. Lee, the pur-
port of which has not been made public.
The Richmond papers of yesterday and to-day
have found their way hero.
The lizelintond Inquirer says the loss in A. P.
Hill's division on the 13th was 211 killed, 1,494
wounded, and 417 missing. This division was con-
fronted by Gen. Franklin's left, and consisted of
six brigades with artillery. More than half the
Confederate loss occurred in this division.
Intelligence from below is to the effect that the
Confederates have considerably strengthened their
forces near Front Royal.
The enemy maintain a contraband communica-
tion with their northern friends via the Potomac
and Mattox Creek, crossing the peninsula and the
Rappahannock at Leeds, about 30 miles below this
point.
No shots have been exchanged with the rebels for
several days. The river pickets maintain a friendly
disposition towards each other.
The soldiers along the southern coast and in
Virginia were complaining that they have not been
paid a cent for five months.
Gen. Foster has reported as follows his capture
of Kingston, North Carolina :
" To Major-General Halleck, General-in-Chief.
"Headquarters, Department of North
Carolina, Kingston, Dec. 14.
"I have the honour to inform you that I left
Newbern for this place on the 11th inst., but owing
to bad roads and consequent delays to my trains,
&e,, I did not reach the South-west Creek, five
miles from this town, until the afternoon of the
13th inst. The enemy were posted there, but by a
heavy artillery fire in front and a vigorous infantry
attack on either flank I succeeded in forcing a pas-
sage, and without much loss. This morning I
advanced on this town and found the enemy strongly
posted at a defile through a marsh bordering on a
creek. The position was so well chosen that very
little of our artillery could be brought in play. The
main attack, therefore, was made by the infantry,
assisted by a few guns pushed forward in the roads.
After a five hours' hard fight we succeeded in
driving the enemy from their position. We fol-
lowed them rapidly to the river. The bridge over
the Neuse at that point was prepared for firing, and
was fired in six places, but we were so close behind
them that we saved the bridge. The enemy re-
treated precipitately by the Goldsborough and
Pikeville roads. Their force was about 6,000 men,
with 20 pieces of artillery. The result is we have
taken Kingston, captured 11 pieces of artillery, and
taken from 400 to 600 prisoners, and found a large
amount of Quartermaster and Commissary stores.
Our loss will probably not exceed 200 killed and
wounded--I am, with great respect, your obedient

servant,
2‘ S. G. FOSTER, Major-General Commanding."

"MAJOR-GENERAL HALLECK, GENERAL-IN-CHIEF,
WASHINGTON.
" Head-quarters, Department of North
Carolina, Dec. 20.
"My expedition was a perfect success. I burnt
the railroad bridge at Goldsborough and Mount
Olive, and tore up several miles of the track of the
Wilmington and Weldon Railroad. We fought
four engagements—viz., at South-west Creek, King-
ston, Whitehall, and Goldsborough, and whipped
the enemy handsomely each time.
"S. G. FOSTER, Brigadier• General Commanding."
Advices from St. Louis of the 19th state that
General Curtis, the Federal Commander, had re-
ceived a demand from President Davis for an in-
quiry into the facts relative to the shooting of ten
Confederate citizens, by order of General M'Neil.
Enclosed with the communication was a printed
slip from the Grenada Appeal, containing a passage
credited to the Palmyra (Missouri) Courier. The
Confederate Government desired to know whether
the statements in that journal were correct.
It was positively asserted that General Banks
would supersede General Butler at New Orleans,
and that he had instructions to capture Mobile and
counteract and schemes of France in the Southern
States. He would also co-operate in the reopening
of the Mississippi.
A despatch from Cairo, Illinois, of the 20th, re•
ports that on the previous day a troop of Confede-
rate cavalry made a raid on the railway three miles
from Jackson, Tennessee, and destroyed the track
and a quantity of stores. A successful attack had
also been made on Trenton, Carroll Station, Hum-
boldt, and Kenton, and at Columbia apprehensions
were entertained of a visit from the Confederates.
From Nashville we learn that on the 21st there
was some brisk skirmishing with the Confederates.
The authorities at Charleston had constructed a
number of shanties and barracks at Greenfield and
Somerville for the temporary shelter of the poorer
classes of the inhabitants, most of whom were
dependent upon public charity for support.
The Richmond papers contain accounts of the
defeat of Burnside at Fredericksburg. The Rich-
mond Dispatch says:—
" Our loss has been heavy, but bears no compari-
son whatever to that of the enemy. We have to
regret about 2,500 killed, wounded, and missing,
while, according to the report of those best skilled
in making estimates of this description, their loss
does not certainly fall short of 10,000, and in all
probability greatly exceeds it. This will not be
regarded as at all improbable when we take into
consideration the relative position of the opposing
armies. The Confederates were on the heights,
which rendered them less accessible to cannon. The
Yankees were in the low grounds, subjected to a
murderous fire of artillery and musketry as they
advanced. Every shot told, and those who wit-
nessed it say that the slaughter was awful beyond
anything yet witnessed in the war. General Long-
street succeeded in getting possession of a long stone
wall on the outskirts of Fredericksburg, and in
placing a whole division behind it. The Yankees,
with more boldness than they usually exhibit on
such occasions, attempted to get possession of it.
They were repulsed with unparalleled slaughter in
every attempt, and at last broke and fled in confu
sion "

A correspondent of the Richmond Examiner
writes on the 14th :
" From Fredericksburg the Rappahannock flows
nearly due east. The valley of the river, lying
mostly on the south side, is a mile in width near
the town, and widening as you go down stream. At
Hamilton's crossing on the railroad the valley is
three miles across. From Hamilton's crossing to
Fredericksburg the railroad and the old Richmond
stage road, both running parallel with the river,
skirt this valley. South of the railroad, beginning
near the town and running to a point at Hamil-
ton's crossing, and also parallel with the river, is a
range of hills covered with oak forest, fringed on its
northern border by pine thickets. Our forces occu-
pied the whole length of this forest. Longstreet's
' corps occupied the highlands above, opposite, and
for a mile below the town. Jackson's corps rested
on Longstreet's right, and extended away to the
ienags t
tward,he ra itl
nea edxattr eHmaemriilgt
ohnt
,euenrdoeera
iAng.
nidl lelt,reertoeshs:
ing into the valley across the river. Our front was
about six miles in length. Most of the batteries of
both corps were posted in the skirts of the forest,
along the line of railroad, and seven batteries in
Colonel Lindsey Walker's regiment and Stuart's
horse artillery being stationed in the valley between
the railroad at Hamilton's crossing and the river.
The enemy's forces occupied the vtaollevvyinuoiirnth
hoafltfhae
g.
His light nrlaiilleroao(fl fromour
eFxrteredmereickrsibguhrt
bat-
teries were posted over the southern extremity of
qtihiaertherilloef
oanmthilee
ntoorathmeirine
tfromhe valley,the
at
railroad,
from a
banks of the river from Falmouth to Fitzhugh's
studded at intervals of half a mile with his batteries
r o
while
foafrin,
heavyfivgeunms.iles below Fredericksburg, were
The opinion had prevailed on the
our lines
on yesterday morning, but when the day k
without the sound of a gun being heard in front it
night before that the enemy was to attack
began to be thought that he had deferred
hibsraod-e
ad-
vance until this morning. The sun rose clear, but
a dim fog shrouded the valley, limiting the vision
to a short half mile. The enemy was supposed to
be within a mile of the railroad at Hamilton's cross-

ing, but these were no indications of his presence.
At half-past 8 a.m. General Lee, attended by his
staff, rode slowly along the front of our lines from
west to east, and halted in the valley a mile to the
east of Hamilton's crossing and half a mile in the
rear of our batteries on the extreme right. At 9
o'clock a column of our troops, which proved to be
Ewell's division, General Early commanding, ad-
vanced up the valley from the direction of Port
Royal, and defiled into the woods to the left of
Hamilton's crossing. The men were marching at a
very leisurely pace, with a careless, swinging gait ;
but there was that in their quiet dignity of de-
meanour which told that each, though undaunted,
was conscious that the next hour might be one of
stern battle and death. Scarcely has the rear of
this division disappeared in the woods when directly
in their front the artillery of the Old Stonewall
brigade—Woodis, Braxton's and three other bat-
teries—opened a brisk fire on the enemy's batteries
north of the railroad. At this time, owing to the
fog, few of the enemy'sinfantry were visible. After
events proved that they were lying close to the
south bank of the river. The cannonading:soon be-
came general along the front of both armies. In
10 minutes from the time of firing their first gin the
Danville Battery, Captain Woodis, had lost 15 men
killed and wounded, a number of horses, and had two
guns disabled. The enemy's battery 800 yards dis-
tant had the exact range from the first fire. In the
beginning of the action the loss of the other batteries
of Taliaferro's division were also quite heavy. Ou
men fired with groat precision, their shells bursting
in front or directly above the opposing batteries. In
the course of an hour the artillery fight had become
so general that it was almost impossible for an ob-
server to distinguish what particular battery of the
enemy was engaging the attention of any given bat-
tery of ours, and vice versa. Scarcely a battery
that had been unmasked on either side but was ex-
posed to a direct and enfilading fire. The roar of
cannon along a line of six miles was tremendous.
The air was resonant with the savage music of shells
and solid shot. The white smoke wreath of explod-
ing shells were everywhere visible among the trees
of the forest, which hid our forces in the valley and
away beyond the river in Stafford. Lines of ambu-
lances could be seen bearing off the wounded of both
armies, but there was nothing by which to judge
that the advantage rested with either side. At noon
the fog had cleared away, but there was a thick
haze in the atmosphere. About this time the enemy's
infantry moved forward from the river towards our
batteries on the hills. As they pressed forward
across the valley Stuart's horse artillery from our
extreme right opened upon them a destructive en-
filading fire of round shot. This fire, which annoyed
them sorely, was kept up in spite of six batteries
which were directed against the horse artillery as
soon as it was unmasked. By one o'clock the Yankee
columns had crossed the valley and entered the woods
south of the railroad. The batteries on both sides
slackened their fire, and musketry, at first scatter-
ing, but quickly increasing to a crash and roar,
sounded through the woods. Dense volumes of
smoke rose above the trees, and volley succeeded
volley, sometimes so rapidly as to blend into a
prolonged and continuous roar. A. P. Hill's
division sustained the first shock of battle. The
rest of Jackson's corps were in different lines
of reserves. D. H. Hill's division was drawn
up in J. L. Maryo's field, under a long hill,
in rear of our line of battle. Here they re-
mained during
most of the day, being moved from
time to time to the right or left as the exigencies
of the battle dictated. Shortly after the infantry
fight began a brigade of this division was moved at
quick a mile and a half to the right, and
posted
uibna
dense
clump of pines in supporting dis-
tance of Stuart's horse artillery. In 10 minutes they
were brought back to their original position. The
celerity of this movement would be ineredible to any
one who had not witnessed it. To an observer the
sight was singular and exciting. A long black line
shoots from the position of the reserves, crosses the
railroad at Hamilton's station, skims across the
valley, and in a few moments is lost in the pines,
nearly two miles away. After scarcely a breathing
spell, the same line emerges from the pines, and
retraces its steps into its original position. As this
brigade resumed its position in rsserve, the firo of
musketry directly in its front slackened. A few
crackling shots were heard to our left, along Long-
street's division, and then a succession of volleys,
which were kept up at intervals during the re-
mainder of the evening. The musketry fire on our
right was soon renewed, and the battle raged with
increased fury. Our batteries along our whole front
agair. reopened, and Col. Walker's artillery regi-
ment, composed of Latham's, Letcher's, Braxton's,
Pegram's, Crenshaw's, Johnson's, and M'lntosh's
batteries, stationed in the open low grounds to the
east of the railroad at Hamilton's station, moved
forward several hundred yards in the direction of
Fredericksburg. Hill's and Early's troops had
driven the enemy from the woods and across the
railroad in the direction of the pontoon bridges, near
Deep run. Our men pursued them a mile and a
half across the bottom land, and fell back only when
they had gotten under the shelter of their batteries.
Our troops then retired to the south side of the rail-
road. Again theenemy rallied and returned to renew
the contest, but were again, about 5 o'clock p.m.,
driven back. All the batteries of Jackson's corps were
at this time in full play, and in the approaching
twilight the blaze of the guns and the quick flashes
of the shells were more distinctly visible. The scene
along the valley was at once splendid and terrific.
The result of the fight on our right wing may be
summed up briefly. We drove the enemy back, kill-
ing three to one, and at night held the ground oc-
cupied by the enemy's batteries in the morning. The
enemy had 20,000 men engaged on this wing, while
altogether, from first to last, we had not more than
10,000 in the line of fire. Longstreet's victory was
even more complete. He drove the enemy into the
streets of Fredericksburg, killing at least five to one.
At dusk the firing ceased simultaneously on both
sides. General Stonewall Jackson, whom many
almost believe leads a charmed life, had a very
narrow escape. He was watching the battle, and
standing at the time near an oak tree, when a bullet
struck not more than two inches above his head.
The old hero continued his observations unmoved
by the incident. An incident occurred at the
summit on yesterday which is worth recording. A
Frenchman in our service rode to this point just as
au amputation was about to be performed upon a
Yankee, who was suffering great pain. Said the
Frenchman, on the impulse of the moment, which
fully overcame him, By Gar ! what a warfare ;
medicine is a contraband article; a shame ! Who
ever heard of the like ? Hottentots would not do

worse. If our surgeons had chloroform that opera-
tion could be performed with little or no pain to the
sufferer. Lincoln, one dog; oh, that he could see
this suffering l"Ehe force of this remark needs no

comment to show its pertinency. A group of offi-
cers, consisting of General Cobb, his adjutant,
Captain Herring, General Cook and his adjutant,
Captain Butler, and Captain Brewster, were stand-
ing in the telegraph road, near the scene of action,
when a shell exploded in their midst, a piece of
which struck General Cobb on the thigh, the same
piece also striking General Cook on the left temple,
fracturing his skull. By the same explosion
Captain Brewster was badly wounded, just above
the knee, and Captain Herring seriously in the hip.
General Cobb on being struck quietly asked for a
torniquet. A silk handkerchief was made to servo
the purpose so far as possible, but to little avail.
He was led from the field, and all the aid rendered
that medical skill could devise, but in vain. He
expired in a few hours, freely giving up his life in
defence of his country's freedom."

HORRIBLE SCENE.—On the 16th tilt. one Thos
Cook, a blind man, was executed at Woodstock,
Canada West, for the murder of his wife. The rope used
on the occasion being above o feet long, caused a very groat
fall, and the result was that when the drop was withdrawn
the vertebrm and muscles of the neck gave way, and the
head actually rolled off, While the body fell with a heavy
plunge into the interior of the scaffold. The life-blood
poured out in streams from the headless trunk, and the torn
muscles and gaping arteries presented a sickening spectacle
For some minutes the body lay as it fell, the authorities ap •
parently shrinking from the task of touching it; but it was
at length raised and put into a coffin. This shocking oc
currence was attributed to the man's emaciated condition
the effect of dissipation and bad living, and to the diseased
atAto of the body.