The Sun.
London, England, 1862-12-29 00:00:00

A OENER4L ADVANCE ORDERED.

About 12 o'clock there was an order for a general
advance along the whole line. The enemy occupied
a line of elevated land, mostly wooded, but in some
places cleared and extended in a semicircular form,
near the river below, around to Fredericks-
burg above, giving him an enfilading fire on the
whole field, and making a line of battle at least
six miles in extent. The rebel batteries were
on the crest of the rising ground, well sup-
ported by infantry. Gen. Stoneman's corps were
at this time crossing the river to support the move-
ment on the left. The batteries on both sides now
blazed away with fearful fury. Doubleday, on the
left flank, close to the river, advanced his lines gra-
dually, meeting with little opposition. At 1 o'clock
the divisions of Generals Meade and Gibbons ad-
vanced under cover of our artillery. They went
forward in splendid style, with colours flying.
Tbey soon became actively engaged in the works at
the foot of the range of hills, while from near where
their artillery was planted on the crest an addi-
tional infantry fire was poured into our men. Both
divisions, however, advanced to the woods, and a
number of prisoners, 100 or more, were captured by
them. The fire of artiilery and musketry was in-
cessant at this time. Presently, however, a fresh
and more vigorous fire burst from the woods on the
the Pennsylvanian reserves, throwing nearly the
whole of that division into confusion and disorder.
This emboldened the rebels, and they continued to
advance, meeting with not much opposition from
those troops. The officers tried to rally them, but
without much success. Gen. Jackson, commanding
one of the brigades, was killed by a musket ball,
which struck him on the head while endeavouring
to rally his men. His body was left upon the field,
together with that of his adjutant, Capt. S werin-
gen. This unfortunate demoralisation of General
Meade's division caused partial success of the ene-
my's attempt to flank our forces. As they could
not be rallied Gen. Burney's division of veteran
braves was brought forward on a double quick, and
immediately pushed to the front to fill the gap.
They opened a sharp fire, driving the rebels back
to the woods from which they had come.
On the right of Franklin's line Smith's corps
was actively engagad. Gen. Howe's division and
the left of Gen. Brook's kept back the enemy in
their front. After this the fire slackened a little.
Towards sunset the enemy made a very vigorous
attack on several parts of the line, so as to hold a
portion of our ground at dark, but he was speedily
driven back at every point. At dark the relative
position of the forces was the same as in the morn-
ing, except that we had gained half a mile or more
on the left.

General Burnside was at the Phillips-house nearly
all day. His position most of the time was on the
upper balcony, where, with a powerful glass, he
was watching the movements across the river. He
had his Staff and couriers running to and fro, con-
veying orders and bringing reports of the progress
of the fight. He gave orders with promptitude,
and succinctly. "Lose no time" was the almost
universal inj unction to every courier. A smoky mist
obscured the view in the morning. It was the hazy
sky of an Indian summer day, and the same genial
warmth of the sun, made more remarkable by its
contrast to the recent intense cold.

During last night and this afternoon the Confede-
rates have considerably extended their works and
strengthened their position. Large bodies of troops
are now to be seen where but few were to be found
yesterday.

Oar dead which were killed yesterday while
charging in front of the enemy's works still remain
where they fell. When attempting their removal
last night the rebels would open fire with infantry,
but the wounded have all been removed from the
field, and all the dead obtained are now being
buried.

Head-quarters, Army of the Potomac,
Dec. 15, 11 a.m.

There was considerable firing yesterday between
the advanced troops of the two armies. At one
time the rebels showed a disposition to move on
General Franklin's forces. Occasionally the rebels
would throw a few shell among our troops, just to
remind us that they were still there. With these
exceptions everything was quiet. There is some
skirmishing this morning With considerable artillery
firing. The body of General Bayard left for Wash-
ington to-day. He was to have been married next
Wednesday.

Head-quarters, Army of the Potomac,
Dec. 15, Noon.

The weather to day has been clear and warm, with
a strong southerly wind. The roads are in very
good condition. The position of the two armies
remains nearly the same. There was not much
artillery firing this afternoon by either party.
Those shots the rebels did fire were thrown
nenemy, who are in plain view,
arei t into city.
not
idle,but
u t The
busily
employed in strengthening
their position. Most of the wounded to-day were
removed from the city to this side of the river, as on
the renewal of the battle the rebel guns would
likely cause its destruction. Over 700 prisoners
have been taken since our army crossed the river.

WASHINGTON, Dec. 16.
The following has been received by the military
telegraph, dated

"Falmouth, Dec. 16, 8.45 a.m.
"It is raining very fast, and the river is rising
rapidly. Our troops are on this side of the river.
The pontoons are up.

" Head-quarters, Army of the Potomac,
Falmouth, Dec. 16, 1.45 p.m.
" During last night the army of the Potomac
evacuated their positions on the opposite side of the
river. The last of the infantry brought up the rear
shortly after daylight. The enemy never discovered
the movement until it was too late to do us any
harm. As soon as the last man had got safely across
the liver the pontoon bridges were removed, thus
cutting off all communication between the two
shores. Our wounded are all safe and on this side
of the river. There was a heavy wind all last night,
accompanied with considerable rain, which assisted
us in our movements, as it prevented the rebels
from learning our intentions."

"Fredericksburg, Dec. 16, 3 p.m.
" I am told that a communication was received
on Sunday last under the flag of truce from the re-
bels, stating that they iatended shelling the city,
and requesting us to remove our wounded."
" Washington, Dec. 16.
" From what is now known of the strength and
extent of the enemy's fortifications there seems to
be a general approval of General Burnside's course
in recrossing the Rappahannock. There is nothing
known here to show that the rebels were in-
clined to leave their strongholds to meet our
troops on an open field. All possible attention is
being bestowed upon the wounded, but compara-
tively few of them have as yet arrived in Washing-
ton. Although our loss is heavy, it is far below
some of the published statements, but the precise
number cannot for days to come be ascertained.
The reports in distant cities that apprehensions are
entertained for the safety of Baltimore and Wash-
ington are simply absurd."

The _Richman a Examiner of Dec. 12 contains a
report of the preliminary operations at Fredericks-
burg as follows :

" The following is an epitome of all the intelligence
received at the War Department in the shape of
official despatches up to a late hour last night. The
despatches of General Lee relate that the fight began
at Fredericksburg at 5 o'clock in the morning. At
that hour the enemy attempted the passage of the
Rappahannock at three different points by means
of pontoon bridges. At two points they were re-
pulsed. At the third it is presumed that they ef-