The Sun.
London, England, 1862-09-30 00:00:00

DATTLES IN MARYLAND.

We collect from the American newspapers the
information which has reached them respecting the
recent battles in Maryland.
The following particulars of the first battle in
Maryland are taken from the Baltimore American:
FREDERICK, SEPT. 15, 2 P.M.
The news that reaches here from the front,
coming through a variety of sources, is all of a
gloriously encouraging character. Our troops have
been driving the enemy ever since they left Fre-
derick,and yesterdayfought them for four hours in a
general engagement, defeated them, and sent them
eying in rapid retreat.
The scene of the fight yesterday was upon what
is called generally the Seared Mountains of the
Catockin range, but on the map is called South
Mountains. Our forces on Saturday drove the rebel
rear-guard out of Middletown, and our advance
halted that night a short distance beyond that village.
Early on Sunday morning the onward movement
was resumed by General M'Clellan. The rebels
were directly in front, and retreated slowly, and
resolutely contesting every foot of ground. Up to
about two o'clock the engagement was principally
with artillery. The rebels placed their batteries in
every advantageous position, and shelled our ad-
vance, Our artillery replied, and the firing at times
was very heavy; but the advantage from the higher
ground they occupied being with the rebels in this
artillery practice, our generals depended more upon
their infantry, and heavy columns were pushed
successfully forward, driving the enemy back until
about half the ascent of the mountain was gained.
In doing this work some splendid dashes were made
by our troops, in which Burnside 's and Hooker's
corps, formerly M'Dowell's, particularly distin-
guished themselves. Between 2 and 3 o'clock the
rebels were found drawn up in line of battle, their
left covering Turner's Gap, through which the pike
to Hazletown passes, and extending to Crampton's
Gap_ Our right was led by Gen. Hooker in the ad-
vance, with Gen. Franklin on the left, and Gen.
33urnside's corps in the centre. Gen. Heintzelman's
corps was pressing up in the rear, and was, I believe, in
reserve. Some portions of it may have participated in
the fight. When the enemy were thus found drawn
up in line of battle on their chosen position the engage-
ment became general and fierce. The musketry
fire, as described by officers wounded in the battle
and now here, was the most continuous and sus-
tained fiercely
of the war. It rolled rapidly and
from right to left, and back and forward with irre-
sistible fury. Our artillery was brought splendidly
up, and played its part well. For two hours this
continuous exchange of musketry and artillery con-
tinued, until the enemy began to show signs of
wavering. Our extreme right had been gradually,
but surely pushing the enemy, crowding him to-
wards the " gap," and threatening his flank. At 5
o'clock a general charge was ordered, and our men,
responding willingly and bravely to the call, sprang
forward with an impetus that carried all before it.

The rebels fell back, endeavouring again to bring
their disordered column into line of battle, but
failed. Wildly cheering and determined to win,
our lines pushed forward, and drove the enemy from
point to point ; and as the last rays of the sun gilded
the mountain and reached its summit, the pass was
won, and the enemy were in rapid and disordered
retreat down the slope toward Boonesboro'_ The
pursuit was continued for two miles down the
mountains, until darkness put an end to the contest.
Our troops bivouacked for the night on the battle-
field, whilst our pickets extended three miles for-
ward, and beyond the little village of Bolivar—not
the Bolivar of Harper's Ferry.
The rebels left their killed and many of their
wounded on the field. My informants had no know-
ledge of the enemy's loss except where they were
engaged immediately on the right, and can there-
fore give no estimate of the general loss on either
side. They found the ground over which they
passed thickly strewn with rebel dead and wounded.
Our man fought the whole day with desperate
valour, and literally drove the enemy the whole
time, giving them no time to rally, no opportunity
to recover, and thus kept them at a disadvantage.
The new regiments rivalled their elder compa-
nions in 'rms in the steadiness with which they
went under fire. Among one losses we have to
lament Gen. -Reno, -Woo -Nivea 'WM:WA lay 1..11
whilst feeling the position of the enemy on Sunday.
The battle is thus described in a despatch to the
Associated Press, dated Boonesboro', Maryland, the
15th

The battle of South Mountain was fought yester-
day, resulting in a complete victory to the army of
the Potomac. The battle-field was located in a
gorge of the mountain on the turnpike road between
Middletown and Boonesboro'. During the forenoon
the firing was by artillery, endeavouring to ascer-
tain the rebel strength and position. About 12
o'clock the corps under Gen. Reno was ordered to
ascend the mountain on the left and make an attack
on the enemy's flank.
A 3 o'clock Gen. Reno's troops got into action.
The rattle of the musketry for about half an hour
was terrible, when the enemy gave way, leaving our
men in possession of that portion of the ridge. The
loss on both sides in this action was considerable.
We had not a general or field officer injured at this
point, excepting Major-Gen. Reno, who was killed
by a Minie ball passing through his body.
Gen. Hooker, commanding M'Dowell's corps and
the Pennsylvania reserves, ascended the mountains
on the right for the purpose of making an attack on
rebels' lett. He got his troops into position and
moved upon the enemy about two hours before sun-
down. Here, as in the case of the other ridge of
the mountain, our troops were successful, driving
the enemy before them with great slaughter. The
rebels suffered here more than at any other point
of the battle-field.
General Hatch, commanding a division under
General Hooker, was wounded in the leg.
Gen. Gibbons' brigade, composed of the 2d, 6th,
and 7th Wisconsin, and 19th Indiana Regiments,
were ordered to move up the gorge of the moun-
tain. This brigade did not get into action until
after dark. The action lasted until near 9 o'clock.
This brigade 1 st about 120 killed and wounded.
Among the dead is Capt. Caldwell, of the 2d -Wis-
consin. The rebels were driven back for about a
mile, when Gibbons' brigade was relieved by a por-
tion of Sumner's corps, who held the position dur-
ing the night.
The rebel troops engaged were Longstreet's, D.
H. Hill's, and A. P. Hill's corps. Had our troops
hs.d two hours longer of daylight the greater por-
tion of the rebel army would have been taken pri-
soners, as they were surrounded on three sides, the
only mode of escaping being a narrow defile in the
mountains, which the artillery would soon have
made impassable.
Among the rebel officers known to be killed are
Gen. Garland,
of Leesburg,
Col.
and Strong, of the
19th Virginia. The body of the latter was obtained
to-day by a flag of truce.
At daylight this morning Our worst fears were
realised, the rebels, under cover of night, having
left on their way to the Potomac. They came to
this place, two miles beyond the mountains,
and
there took the road toward Sharpsburg:
aihey left
all their dead on the field, and those of their
wounded not able to move were found
in the
churches at Boonesboro'.
Gen. M'Clellan was on the field during the day
and night, and conducted all the movements in per.
son.

Between 1,200 and 1,500 prisoners were taken
during the day, most of them by the troops under
General Hooker.
The rebel loss during the day and night was
fully 15,000 in killed, wounded, and missing. Gen.
Lee acknowledged to the citizens of Boonesboro'
that they had been defeated with terrible loss.
Our loss in killed and wounded will probably
reach 3,000. We lost but few prisoners.
This morning at daylight General Pleasonton,
with the Bth Illinois Cavalry, and Capt. Fitchall's,
started after the enemy. At Boonesboro' he
came up with the 9th Virginia Cavalry, with a bat-
tery acting as a rearguard. Our cavalry charged
after them through the town, and two miles out on
the Hagerstown turnpike, capturing two of their
guns, and killing, rounding, and taking prisoners
about 30 of them.
General Richardson's division being in advance