The Sun.
London, England, 1863-06-16 00:00:00

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defend themselves, until their ammunition was exhausteci
and their retreat cut off. In addition to the larger part of
these two Mississippi regiments, the Federals captured five
guns of the Washington artillery and two of Park
erN bat-
tery, these being, I believe, the only guns captured by them
during their residence south of the Rappahannock. Upon
the capture of Marye's Heights and Lee's and Taylor's
Hills, Gen. Early fell back two miles from the first line of
hills, where he was hardly followed by the enemy, who re-
tired when ha commenced to shell him.
The news was quickly carried to Gen. Lee. lie lost not
a moment in detaching Gen. M‘Laws' division, and sending
them back towards Fredericksburg. Meanwhile, the 20,000
Yankees, intoxicated by the consciousness of their stupen-
dous valour in having overpowered two regiments upon,
Marye's Heights, and loud in their self-exaltation, streamed
along the plank road towards Gen. Lee's rear. In one of
the houses adjoining Fredericksburg a Federal officer caught'
up a Richmond newspaper, and, after reading for a few
moments, tossed it from him with supercilious disdain, ex.,
claiming, " They say we can't fight." Five or six hours
later the same officer and many of his companions returned
to the same house, dejected, mortified, and chagrined.
Four miles off they and their followers had encountered
Gen. M`Laws and his division at Salem Church, and had
been driven back before him, smitten hip and
urnin thigh. At
Chancellorsville, although no match for the bg en-
thusiasm and fiery zeal of the Confederates, the Federals
had, at least, not disgraced themselves; et Salem
scarcel Church
the corps whichlought under Gen. Sedgwielt y
any show of valour, vastly superior numbei"st an untold
affluence of artillery, the adulation of their ofieeers,.were
powerless to get even one heart yeffot out of this pu'rtion of
the soi-disant " finest army one planet."
MONDAY, May 4.
The scene shifts this day entirely to Fredericksburg. At
an early hour this morning Gen. Early attacked Marye'S
Heights and recaptured them with ludicrous facility, tak-
ing, if I am not mistaken, two fine Napoleon guns which
the Federals had mounted on the heights. Gen. Early
then threw his forces forward towards the river, and en-
tirely intercepted the Federals lying between himself and
Gen. Dl'Laws from retreat on Fredericksburg. Simultane-
ously Gen. Early sent word to Gen. M‘Laws to press
con-
the
enemy from the west, while he hung on them from he
fines of Fredericksburg. For some unknown reason this
order yea ne.t qbeied. Stupendous as the results of these
great Confederate victories already are, it is natural that
disappointment should be felt that both Hooker and Sedg-
wick should have escaped from their perilous strait by the
skin of their teeth. Here were, between the two divisions
of Early and M'Laws, some 20,000 demoralised, shattered.
Federals, with a swift river and no pontoons in their rear.
It is "beyond a peradventure" that if an attack on them
had been made early this morning they would have lost all
their guns and half their men. But M‘Laws waited
ack
for
Anderson, the precious opportunity was lost, and no at
was commenced until five in the evening.
Meantime General Lee, satisfied that General Hooker
would give him no more trouble at Chancellorsville, re-
paired to Fredericksburg, and in person marshalled the
brigades of three divisions in that part of the field. The
attack, as I have said, commenced at five in the evening—
the resistance of the Federals was contemptible in the ex-
treme. Their shattered columns made for Banks' Ford,
pursued, but scarcely with sufficient vigour, by the
Confe-
derates. If the length of this letter was not already inor-
dinate, many details of the local circumstances of this 13°T"
don of the fight—how Early's men leapt down froe
height behind Marye's Hill upon their standing fee—m thhow
Lawton's brigade of Georgians, commanded in this instance
by a gallant young officer named Gordon, specially distin-
guished themselves, might be profitably given—suffice it to
say that night fell upon the Federals hurrying down to the
river at Banks' Ford, and that during the night, under
cover of another dense fog, threw a pontoon across the
stream, under a heavy and damaging fire from M'Laws,
and broken, discomfited, demoralised, got back to the
Northern bank.
At Chancellorsville the Confederates lay all day within
the lines which with indomitable energy they had in the
night traced around the position of Hooker's troops, and
which hemmed them in, leaving only the United States
Ford open, the sole exodus of that army which had advanced
in full assurance of victory five days before. Along these
lines for a considerable portion of their length it was m. 5,
fortune to ride to-day, and never did I witness anything
like the mirth and glee of the troops. It was touching to
hear the complaints of the skirmishers who had just re-
turned from the front, and who felt themselvee personally
aggrieved that the Federals refused to skirmish this morn-
ing, and that, in fact, no fight could be got out of them.
Strange and unprecedented fatality-80,000 troops sur-
rounded and hemmed in by one-third of their number,
Powerless to break through, or make any demonstrations
against their puny foe—to this pass had " the finest army
on the planet" ingloriously come I
TUESDAY, May 5.
Early this morning I rode over to Fredericksburg, and
found that not a Federal soldier, save a large batch of pri-
soners around Salem Church, was left on the south side of
the Rappahannock, I proceeded to General Lee's head-
quarters, and had the great advantage of riding back from
Fredericksburg to Chancellorsville in company with the
General, and hearing his free comments upon the events of
the week. If for ono moment lam tempted to lift the veil,
and reveal portions of his conversation, it is because I feel
that all who speak the English tongue should be admitted
to a closer perception and higher appreciation of one who
does honour to our race. The General bewailed the compa-
rative impunity with which Sedgwick and his followers had
escaped from his grasp. "Up to this time we have done
nothing but afford the Northern press material for ' Another
great Union victory 1' True, we have driven our enemy
from every field, swept away his every formation, scourged
him out of works from which neither whirlwind nor hurri-
cane could ever drive my poor raggamnffins—but what of
that? I have learnt that nothing but the entire capture of
a whole corps will ever produce ap effect, and such a capture
should unquestionably have been effected yesterday." Ire
answer to my remark that, judging from the wholesale cap-
ture of arms and accoutrements, at least one quarter of
Hooker's army must be impotent for offence, the General
observed, " With the resources of the North probably the
deficiency of arms has been made good already. Conceive
the glee of the contractors when a new call for everything
wanted for 100,000 men, from caps down to shoes, is re-
ceived at Washington, all the profits going into the pockets
of the Republican party I Compare with their resources
those which I wield. Not a day passes but opportunities
occur. Signal advantages offer themselves, bat I cannot
use them. Want of transport, want of tools, pontoons,
horses, and inferiority of numbers force me to abandon the
chance of action. But hereafter I think we shall be more
on an equality." But most interesting of all was his
conversation about Stonewall Jackson. "Had I been
able to dictate events, most gladly would I have been
disabled in my own person if he had been spared.
Such an executive officer the sun never shone on.
I have but to show him my design, and I know that if it
can be done it will be done. No need for me to send and
watch hire. Straight as the needle to the pole he advances
to the execution of my purpose. Pure, high-minded, un-
selfish, he has no earthly thought of himself or his own ad-
vancement. The sole aim and object of his life is the good
of his country."
As we parted the General's last words led me to conclude
that his attack upon Hooker would be resumed that after-
noon. We arrived at Chancellorsville about 1 o'clock. The
morning had been singularly and oppressively hot. Pre-
sently heavy thunder-clouds blew up from the south, the
wind swept round into the north-east, and there was a
sound of much rain. The whole of that afternoon, the fol-
lowing night, and most of the next day, the heavens Been:d
left
to have opened. Torrents of rain deluged the earth, an it
became very cold. As I sheltered myself in a little.fir!n-
house on the plank road the brigades of Anderson's division
came splashing through the mud, in
spirits, singing, shouting, jesting, heedless of soaking. rags,
drenched to the skin, and burning again t° minglet in
at
Anted
tuTultuons
wild revelry of battle. One could not but speculate w at
to them the heavy rain of Tuesday night, the deafening manner of night Hooker's men were passing. ti ase:aredly
re-
verberations of God's artillery, which rent the heavens and
mocked puny man's efforts at imitation, were blessings en_
arrested and delayed the renewal of Lee's at-
deed. They
tack, and preserved Booker's army, for the opportunity of
" another great Union victory I

PACE..... _..4d.
STAMPED ....sd.

the necessary disadvantage of describing as succes-
sive incidents which actually took place simul-
taneously along the whole line. This disadvantage
is increased if, as in the present instance, simul-
taneous operations are progressing at both ends of
a 15-mile stretch. The eye and mind oscillate
between east and west—between the Confederate
battery at Marye's Heights and the Federal works
on the slope at Chancellorsville—doubtful which
way to turn when both places demand notice, or
whither in the first instance to address attention.

WEDNESDAY, May 6•

The morning broke misty, with rain, heavy and lower-
The reader will anticipate my statement that it found
111.ngoo.ker and his army on the northern bank of the river.
All night long had they been streaming across the pon-
toons over the United States Ford. It was found that they
had thrown up works and traverses which were marvels of
industry and indefatigable energy, but which, fresh from
the memory of the slope at Chancellorsville, and of the in-
trenchments and abattis in the black jack thicket, they
dared not attempt to hold. Further comments upon the
incidents which so hurriedly and imperfectly I have at-
tempted to relate I will, in mercy to the reader, forbear.
The bloody repulse of the enemy at every point, the frus-
tration of every movement, the spectacle of at least 120,000
men hurled back in three places across the Rappahannock,
after paying fearful toll for its passage, constitute an en-
semble which requires nothing to be added to it.

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ST. BOTOLPII, BISTIONGATE.—The rectory of
St. Botolph, Bishopsgate, in the City of London,
vacant by the death of the Rev. John Russell, D.D., has
been conferred by the Lord Bishop of London upon the
Rev. William Rogers, ILA., incumbent of St. Thomas
Charterhouse, B.C. Mr. Rogers was appointed incumbene
of St. Thomas, Charterhouse, in 1844, a chaplain in ordi-
nary to the Queen in 1857, and has held the honorary office
of a prebendary in St. Paul's Cathedral since 1861. The
living of St. Botolph, Bishopsgate, was in the first instep cee,
we believe, offered to the Rev. Frederick George Blomfield
14L.A.., rector of St. Andrew Undershaft, E.C. It is pro-
posed to make such alterations in the benefice of St.
13otolph as will reduce the rector's income in future to
£1,200 per annum.