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

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, Brixton'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's infantry 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 gun 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. Oa
men fired with great 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'c,ock 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 to blend into a
as
rapidly
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. Marye'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
the double quick a mile and a half to the right, and
posted in a 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 reserve, the fire 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
again reopened, and Col. Walker's artillery regi-
ment, composed of Latham's, Letcher's, Braxton's,
Pegram's, Cronshaw'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 the enemy 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.niAht held the ground oc•
cupied by the enemy's batpitfes in the morning. The
enemy had 20,000 men engirged on this wing, while
_
altogether, from first to 1 more than
10,000 in the line of fire, victory was
even more complete. He ny into the
streets of Fredericksburg five to one.
At dusk the firing ceased y on both
sides. General Stonew whom many
almost believe leads a ( had a very
narrow escape. He was
.iattle, and
standing at the time neat en a bullet
struck not more than tNi 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
an amputation was about to be performed upon a
Yankee, who was suffering great pain.- Said the
Frenchman, on the impulse of the mom:ent, which
fully overcame him, 'By Gar! what la aeatfare ;
medicine is a contraband article; a sharrti Mho
ever heard of the like? Hottentots woul •
worse. If our surgeons had chloroform that -
tion could ho performed with little or no pain to the:
sufferer. Lincoln, one dog ; oh, that he could sie
this suffering !' The 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 Cubb on being struck quietly asked for a

orniquet. A silk handkerchief was made to serve

. _
he purpose so far as possible, but to little avail.
_ _

Ho 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 ....CENE.-011, the 16th ult. one Thos
Cook, a blind man, was executed at Woodstock,
Canada West, for the murder of his wife. The ropy used
on the occasion being above 9 feet long, caused a very great
fall, and the result was that when the drop was withdrawn
the vertebra) 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
►nuscles 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
currents was attributed to the man's emaciated condition
the effect of dissipation and bad living, and to the diseased
state of the body,

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