, 1861-10-31
BATTLE OF BALLS BLUFF.
Numbers Engaged and the Loss.
WHO Is REsPONSIRLEt

The correspondent of the New YORK Wor1d
Gums up the loss st Balls Bluff, - follows:
The total number Of Federal troops who
crossed The Virginia channel WAS about ,85s
officers and men. OF these, 663 belonged to
The Massachusetts, Fifteenth, $40 to the Mass
achueettB Twentieth, about SEQ to the Tam
many regiment, and $50 to the first battalion |
OF the First California. |
The massachusetts Fifteenth lost In Killed, |
wounded aad missing $50, including Lieu:
tepa1t~ Colonel (wounded}, and Il out Of ~ |
lire officers who crossed.
The Massachusetts, Twentieth lost In Ill 15o, |
including Colonel, Major, Surgeon, and Ad-
jutant {prlsone1s), and out OF IT line otacesa
The Tarnmany companies lost 1863, including
= Colonel, and out Of II line officers who
The Cslifornians lost 800, including their
Colonel the General command'ng), Lieuten-
ant-Celonel (wourded), Adjutant, and Is line
cfI1cer5 out Of II who crossed.
Total engaged in the fight, ,85S; total loss
eE, o53; field ficere crossing, IL; returning
unirjured, 8; line officers croseiug a; return
| ing unipjured, so.
Eo ore can give any trustworthy statement
cs;;E--Id 20 tho total Loss. I know the fore
| gong statement to be correct, as far as o1r
| casualties are concerned, but am not officially
Informed Of the exsct numbers Of the lam
many Regiment engaged In the fight. You
|
stoned officers, both field and line. Atp7ss-
Int the camps cf the suffering regiments ars
| tlaces Of mourning. The Massachusetts, Fn-
teenth can hardly number over one hundred
flts Of men fit ter duty, yet two companies
want steadily on picket guard yesterday.
The First Csliforuia Battalion. Captatn Nal
]ory told me yesterday that he had but TWEEN
ty-fire able bodied men left Of over ninety
who answered at ron call week ago.
f1nA
: was Intended by those in charge Of the move
| ment, but that q large fcr:e Was to be thrown
over the river, LeeAbursh was to be seized, q
junction formed with Mccall and Smith on
the south, ard thus the right wing Of our
: amy placed IN line with the central division
opposite Washington, as often predicted
heIetofore. The proofs Of these are: lst, the
concerted double advance st EdWards's aud
, Con.ad'e ferries; I'd, the order to emake
. cash at Le4buTgh," sent to Gen. Baker; 50
orders issued that Mccall should hold ms a
! vision under arms 10 cut Gu the retreat OF ths
! Il Is evident thas no responsibility attaches
to General Banks.
q General Baker had nothing to DO with IN
J, selection Of the point st which be Was to cross
3 He was not placed In command till Monda
n morning. He found that hundreds Of Masss
e chueett8 troops had preceded his battalion
:. He found q battle ,oatting for him, brought o
1t 6Y other hands, defeat insured in adraHce, ~
e how desrlyl Let not the shadow Of eensuz
!. paeE by those who have incurred It to darke
ln l!n The slnrnbers Of that "Kood gray head Whic
r ali men loved and knew"
g All Tuesday night the whistle Of rebel train
OF bringing reinforcements into Lee6burg IT
o1 distinctly heard. But On Wednesday morniu
70 Gen, Mcclellan, reviewing the ground, SCENT
g. determined, though greatly ehagraned By Il
q unexpected situation, to hold the posttie
II gained By his 1000 advance At Edwards's Fer
a. The QrartermasteE Of Col Van Asen's Cavall
49, who hss practical acquaintance with canal
OF volunteered to get enough boats froa tt
,es "CEeszpeake and Ohio" into the stream
to, accomplish an easy and rapid transit for
aie main column Boats moving up and do!
;1e rs, we're stopped and passed sclentifca
ny through tie 'shoot. ~ But ere long 81
lee advicee, relating to the forces and intentto
~ W of the rebels, came to the generals as to
70 duce charge Of mind and order for The to
nor .rithdyanale q our forces from the Vssginia $
~ Of The upper Ittonac. The retirement =
ea W. effected on Wednesday night With adu1ira
M Mtne silepce and success. On Thursday d few re
aey pickets came down 10 the ferry. On Frid
skle the enemy advanced IN greater force, sci
70 the intreuchments thrown up by Capte
loH Downey and stedman, and are now comp
un- i1g them, Mro.cing up the earth on TIE other
en- for fort, which shall dispute our future
no ssge. Yeete.day Gen Banks'e hole colu
and was IN route fo1 Seneca, eleven miles down
u5 rirer snd Cen. Stone Nas resumipg his
mn. lositlop at PoolesVtile.