Spirit of the age. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1849-1865, 1861-09-25

he did but finding the enemy presaring to
cross, he ordered a IRE upon them, whioh vas
obeyed by his men from the heigs hs with ef-
iect, no deabt for the soldiers Of the south
west. are good manksncn.
Floyds defence was most gallant and his
crossing of the ferry under the circumstances
deliberate and we'll directed. His men fought
WMh signal bravery, and their fire was adj
Floyd and Wise together have not six
thousand effective men Rosencranz has
el"eD thousand with him, while four moro
thousand are marching by the Meadow Bluff
% enter the turnpike between The Seyell
Mountain and Lewisburg. Cox has five
thousand five hundred in all twenty tbou.
sand five hundred men against a little more
than five thousand I If this estimate of the
onamy's forces be correct, it is Indispensable
that relnfsrcements must be rapidly concen.
trated beyond LewiSburg, or our army there
VIII be compelled again to fall back at least
TO that point. We hope that General Lees
message to General Floyd indicates the in
teat'on of that officer 10 carry his men where
they may find active service Rich. Dis,
Sept 1S.
NEWS, PROM GENERAL LEES CoMMAND.-A
gentleman who left the camp of that mart of
Gen. Lees forces stationed on the east side
OF Cheat Mountain, under the command of
zen. Il K. jackson, Of Georgia, as late as
Saturday night, brings US intelligence of the
movements on this side the mountain to the
tirne Of his departure, and also some later
news from Gen. Lees division.
This gentleman explains the telegraph of
yesterday about the movements of our forces
y part Of General Jackson's command. un-
dor Coils. Rust and Taliaferro, and a detached
force FROM Gen. Lees camp, under Col. An
derson, marched simultaneously, in the carly
part OF last week, towards the fertilization
Oh the Federalists on the Parkersburg road.
on the top of Cheat Mountain. After a fati-
gulng march, the force under Coils. Rust and
lallaierro approached the vicinity of the fort,
shot several pickets, ard took a few prisoners,
out deeming, after accommodating it, an at
tack on the fort injudicious, they returned to
camp, reaching it very much fatigued on
Saturday. The force under Col. Anderson
did not join them. 1t encountered a body of
federallsts at the foot of the mountain, on
the west side, as stated by the telegraph, and
probably did not ascend the mountain.
zen. Lees main force had not moved from
the camp at Valley Mountain, and, therefore,
all speculation about his marching to get in
the rear Of Rosencranz is at fault -RicA-
mOnd Dispatch, Sept. Is.
The MARCH UPON CHEAT MoUNTAN.-In the
hurried notice published in this paper yester-
day morning OF the march of the Confederate
torces upon the Federal fort on the top of
Cheat Mountain, it was enormously stated
that the force from Gen. Lees camp, under
Col. Anderson, was intended to Join that
from Gen. Jackson's camp, in the attack upon
the Federal ratification. Col. Anderson was
only to engage the enemy stationed at the
1901 oil Cheat Mountain, on the west side, not
lar from Huttonsville, while Col. Rlst assault
tea the tort. Col. Anderson advanced upon
the enemy as arranged, and had engaged him.
{ the firing being heard by Col. Rust's men.
f Ihe result Of it wAsAot known at Gen. Jack
sons camp Saturday night.
The fort on Cheat Mountain IS said 10 oea
defence almost im~pregnable. Some OF our
men, Col Rust himself among them, have
approached it so nearly as to look over into
1t and see all that was going on in it and also
the exact nature of the tortification. 1t is
built on the summit of Cheat Mountain, in
Randolph county, just where the road cross
es upon a hill which has no level land on it's
top, but suddenly descends on both sides.
The forest along the road at this point, as
for many miles of the adjacent country, con-
siSts of the white pine, which are tall and
stand close together, while the underground
is almost wholly mountain laurel, so dense
aud lnterlocked as to be almost impenetrable.
Here the enemy cleared several acres on each
side Of the road. On the outer boundary
they placed the tall pines they had cut down,
partially trimmed and skinned, with their
tops outward presenting to any one APP
preaching, a mass of sharp Joints raised to a
considerable height, and strongly interlocked.
Inside Of this they built a wall of logs and
cut q deep ditch. In the road they built up,
in line with the fortification, breastworks of
great strength and mounted them with pivot
guns, while in the centre they erected a block
house, pierced and armed also with cannon
On the east side from the fort to the Cheat
River, one mile and a quarter distant, they
cleared the road for some distance on both
sides and this can be all the way swept by the
cannon. The same is the case on the road
westwardly for some distance.
The powerful fort or stockade it was thought
might be surprised and taken, and it was for
this that the force under Colonies Rust and
Taliaferro left the camp of General jackson
t on Monday, the 9th inst. The camp is in
t Pocahontas county, on Greenbrier river, at
| the foot of Greenbrier Mountain (and not the
Cheat, as has been stately Taking four days
f provisions they marched, in high spirits, by a
circuitous route which was fully twenty miles
f to the fort, while the direct one was only ten.
This route was much of it impossible to
horses, and almost to man. 1t lay through
the pine and laurel thickets, and along the
t bed of the Cheat River itself, in which for
S miles the men patiently marched over rocks
and through deep holes, as preferable to the
dense forest. Wednesday night they slept
Y on the wet ground, in hearing of the enemy's
camp. The next morning they approached
y it, killed several pickets, and arrested some
y prisoners. They got on both sides the fort
G and reconnoitred it fully, and decided not to
= attack. In the afternoon they resumed their
C return march, and on Friday striking a shor-
e ter route than that they had gone, they
&c reached Slaven's Cabin" on the Parkcrs-
lie burg Road, where they met soldiers with
provisions, which were very timely, as they
bad only taken four days supply with them.
d Fatigued and almost worn out, this intrepid
expedition reached the camp on Saturday, the
re 14th inst. There could not be a more labo.
L. rious and fatiguing march than that they had
r endured A good part of the time it rained
y. torrents, and they returned drenched, as well
is as weary.
ID Col. Anderson, it is supposed, also bad a
y, march of great hardship. He left Genera
IN Lees camp, which is, or was on the line d
n. Randolph and Pocahontas counties, at Valley
A Mountain. 1t was understood that he wa
to reach the enemy at the foot of Chea
Mountain, on the west side, without observa
ne ton, if possible. He therefore ~travele,
through much such obstacles as those tn,
- troops on the other side of the mountain en-
nd countered. He accomplished his object ant