The Sun.
London, England, 1862-04-01 00:00:00

the swamp on the west, a distance of some two I
miles. These earthworks were very strong ; they i
were located about two miles south of Newborn,
and between these and the city was the Trent river.
The country road and the railroad both passed
through these works and crossed into the city by
bridges.
" In front of these works the rebels had felled
a large number of trees, forming an almost impene-
trable abattis. There the flying rebels were rallied,
and made for a while a desperate stand. Our brave
fellows fought until all their ammunition was spent,
when an order to charge bayonets was given, and
the works were finally taken at the point of the
bayonet, the enemy flying like frightened sheep,
leaving everything behind them in their retreat.
The rebels burnt the bridges communicating with
the town over both the country road and the rail-
road. As they had their trains and cars in the rear,
just across the bridges, they were of course able to
carry off their wounded and dead. Their loss is
therefore not certainly known, but it must have
been pretty severe. Before our troops encountered
this last work they passed another which was
already deserted before they came up. It was in
front of the last fortification that our greatest loss
was sustained. Our entire loss is estimated by Major
Johnson at. 90 killed and 400 wounded and missing.
The force of the rebels is supposed to have been
about 8,000. We captured a number of prisoners,
including Col. Avery, who cursed his soldiers as
cowards. Just as the battle terminated the fog
lifted and enabled our gunboats, which had been
impatiently waiting for an opportunity to partici-
pate in the fight, to come up the river, and our
troops were furnished with means of transport
across the Trent river to Newburn. The rebels
attempted to fire the town on their retreat, but were
prevented by the citizens, who extinguished the
flames as fast as the soldiers started them. None of
our generals nor any of our staff officers were killed
or wounded. The fight terminated at 3 p.m. on
Friday, when our troops remained masters of the
position.' "

ship; his last discharge comes from his pivot gun,
the ship lurches to starboard, now to port; his
flag streams out wildly, and now the Cumberland
goes down on her beamends, at once a monument
and an epitaph of the gallant men who fought her.
The Virginia stops. Is she aground ? And the
gunboats—Raleigh and Beaufort, glorious Parker,
glorious Alexander ? There they are on the quar-
ters of the Congress hammering away, and creeping
up closer and closer all the time. At 10 minutes
to 4 the Congress struck; Parker hauled down the
ensign, run up his own battle flag in its place ;
them the heroic Taylor, who fought the Fanny at
Roanoke Island, and Elizabeth City, got his wound
—there the gallant young Hunter fell, all shot by
the dastards who fired from the ship and shore
when the white flag was flying at the main and
mizen of the Congress. Here, too, and in the same
way, Flag-officer Buchanan and Flag-Lieutenant
R. Minor were wounded. Now the James River
gunboats, whose dark smoke had been seen against
the blue distance ever since 3 o'clock, come dashing
along past the shore batteries. Tucker, the courtly
and chivalrous, leading the van, with the James-
town, Lieut.-Commanding Barney, close aboard,
and the little Teaser, Lieutenant Webb, in her
wake, like a bowlegged bulldog in chase of the long,
lean staghounds. It was a gallant dash, and, once
past the batteries, the two heavy vessels took posi-
tion in line of battle, while the Teaser dashed at the
Minnesota, looking no larger than a cockboat. And
right well she maintained the honour of her flag
and the appropriateness of her name. Now the
Roanoke puts her helm up and declines the battle.
Now the Virginia is thundering away
again. The
Teaser is still closer in. We are closer in—sizz
comes a shell ahead; presently another astern;
finally a third, with a clear, sharp whizz, just over
head, to the great delight of the Commodore, who
appreciated the compliment of these good shots,
which were the last of six directed shots at the
Harmony. Now the schooner Reindeer comes
foaming along, cut out from under the shore bat-
teries ; she reports, and is sent up in charge of Acting
Master Gibbs ; and next the gallant Beaufort runs
down. Parker steps and brings on board the great
piece of bunting we saw hauled down just now.
He brings also some 30 prisoners and some woun-
ded men—men wounded under that white flag .yon-
, der desecrated by the Yankees. One of these lies
stretched out, decently covered over, gasping his
life on the deck—a Yankee shot through the head,
, all bloody and ghastly, killed by the inhuman fire
of his own people. Another, pale and stern, the
, captain of the Beaufort's gun, lies there too, a noble
, specimen of a man, who has since gone where the
weary are at rest. A gallant man, a brave seaman !
We shake hands with Parker ; he gets back to his
vessel slightly wounded, as is Alexander also, and
steams back gallantly to the fight. The Patrick
Henry, the Jamestown, the Teaser, the Beaufort, the
Raleigh, and the grand old Virginia are all thun-
dering away. We steam down and speak the first.
• We hear a report of casualties ;we shake hands with
friends; we shove of, cheer, and steam towards the
Swash Channel. Presently, through the thicken-
ing gloom, we see a red glare; it grows larger, and
brighter, and fuller, and redder. It creeps higher
and higher, and now gun after gun booming on the
still night, as the fire reaches them ; the batteries of
the Congress are discharged across the water in
harmless thunder. It was a grand sight to see, and
by the light of the burning ship we made our way
back to Norfolk. At half-past 11 the act of retri-
bution was complete, for that hour, with a great
noise, she blew up.

THE CONFEDERATE' ACCOUNT OF THE
GREAT NAVAL FIGIL2'.

The following description of the engagement
somewhat differs from the Federal accounts of it,
especially as regards the result of the contest be-
tween the Merrimac and the Monitor. It will be
observed that the Merrimac is throughout called
the Virginia, having been renamed by the Con-
federates :

" In the rebel Congress, on the 10th inst., the
following communication was received from the
rebel Executive, in response to the resolution of Mr.
Lyons, calling for the report of the naval battle in
Hampton Roads :
" Confederate States' Steam Battery Virginia,
off Sewall's Point, March 8.

TIIE BATTLE OF SUNDAY.

THE sut*, LONDON, TUESDAY: -EVENING, APRIL 1, 1862.

cause that people contains in itself sufficient ele-
ments ©f strength and opinion to preserve itself
from any internal revolt, The allies will resort
to treaties to present in fora all the reclamations
that they are:charged to make in the name of their
respective nations.
"2. To this end, and protesting, as the repre-
sentatives of the allied nations do protest, that
they have no intent to injure the sovereignty or
integrity of the Mexican Republic, negotiations
shall be opened in Orizaba, to which city the com-
missioners of the allied Powers and the Ministers of
the Republic shall repair, unless by common con-
sent delegates shall be named by both parties.
"3. During the negotiations the forces of the
allied Powers shall occupy the cities of Cordova,
Orizaba, and Tehuacan.

"In order that there may not be the slightest
supposition that the allies have signed these pre-
liminaries in order to procure admission to the for-
tified positions now garrisoned by the Mexican
army, it is stipulated that in the unhappy event of
the rupture of negotiations the allied forces shall
retire from the aforesaid positions, and shall take
up position in a line before said fortifications on the
road to Vera Cruz, the extreme points being the
Pasa Ancho, on the Cordova-road, and the Pasa de
Oveja, on the Jalapa-road.
"5. In case the negotiations shall unhappily be
discontinued and the allies retire to the prescribed
lines, the hospitals of the allies shall remain under
the safeguard of the Mexican nation.
"6. Upon the day that the allies commenced their
march to occupy the points mentioned in Art. 3, the
Mexican flag shall be hoisted in the city of Vera
Cruz, and the castle of St. Juan de Ulloa.

" The CONDE DE REDS
" MANUEL DOBLADO
" CHAS. LENNOX WYKE
" HUGH DUNLOP
A. DE SALIGNY
"R JURIEN.
" La Soledad, Fob. 19, 1862.
"I approve these preliminaries in exercise of the
full powers with which I am vested.
" BENITO JUAREZ, President of the Republic.
" JESUS TERAN, Secretary.