Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1862-12-29

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Declal Correspondence Of ths Memphis Appeal

Special Correspondence Of ths Memphis Appeal
Richmond December ls, 1862.
This defeat of the Yankees At fredericksburg turns
out to have been indeed a Waterloo defeat We have
news from the Norh that thelc loss was twenty thou
sand men. Cen. Lee, who is always cautious In his
statements and estimates, and the extreme modesty Of
whose official account Of the engagement Is another
evidence Of the greatness of the man, sets 1t down at
not less than nineteen thousand The prisoner. IN our
hands declare that they suffered more severely than in
Asy pre- vious engagement Of the war. Their Brigadisr-
General Jackson was killed Five others of their gen.
erals were badly wounded, the Irishman Mesghor, it Is
thought desperately. It Is now certain that their pre-
ejpitate flight en- Monday night was due to 8 hopeless
decentralization oftheir troops
From all that we can learn Of their recen. movements,
Burnside Is going down the northern bank Of the Rap
pahaznock, possibly with the intention of crossing at
Port Rqysl, where Jaeksoni is ready to meet him, but
probably with the design OF occupying Urbsnna end
going into winter quarters there. His army is utt ry
worthless now fer further offensive operations. What
Gen. Lees designs may bel do not know, and II I did,
should hesitate to announce them. He is at the head Of
a magnificent body of men, who ara in the best pos sible
spirits, ard are capable Of accomplishing almost any tn
~terpriss. One thing, however, Is clear, that they will
be needed no longer to wstch Burnside. The victorious
defenders Of the capital on the banks of the kSppaEan
mock esn be spared IN larger number to look after Banks
sad Foster in North Carolina.
Accounts from that direction are cheering. The re-
occupation o. Kinston ami the change Of has +" Of the
enemy on the Nsuss river are hopeful signs Of the check.
mate Of the Yankees south Of Richmond, and promise
| the entire security Of the line Of railroad to Wilmington
and Charleston.
large number Of the fugitive citizens Of Fredericks
burg returned to that dismsntled town yesterday, for the
purpose Of ascertaining the amount OF damage done to
their dwellings. am happy to say that ;his is less than
was at first supposed. Twenty-Five or thirty houses
have BEEN burned to the ground. Mort of the churches
are in ruins. All the other buildings are more or less
injured by the furious rain Of shell4 and round shot, but
are not beyond repair. The piIlsgewas complete. nothing
was Ieh that could be carried away or destroyed Crock
cry, furniture, pictures, etc etc, we're vantonly broken
to pieces and cut up. Books, clothing, and sl lighter
articles were removed. A letter was found written by
a Yankee soldier TO his mother, giving a deDlorable pic
tire Of Saturdays battlefield, and rscounting the whole
sle slaughter Of his own brigade. He boasts that what
was lefs OF them, with the rest Of Burnsides surviving
soldiers, have p~lundersd Fredericksburg of everything
It contained
Gen. Floyd had had a very decided success near Pike
{ n in Kentucky, and a large batch Of prisoners taken
BY him have reached this city. They are State prison
ers, that is to say they belong to Virginia until turned
sysr to the Confederate authorities, to be dealt with a.
prisoners Of war. I rejoice to inform you that Gov
Letcher has retained three Of them, to be closely cor.
6ned in the penitentiary, as a measure Of retaliation for
two citizens of Virginia, who are now imnured in the
| dungeons Of the d strict penitsntisry at Washington,
! sad the ga lAnt Col. Z4rvonA wko still lsnguishes in a
| dark cell at Fort Lafayette. zarvons's hostage will be
kept in irons until his liberation, and Gov Lecher in
tends sending a messenger Immediately by flag of truce
to inform Lincoln Of bis purposs in this respect
The Lincoln Congress, you viii observe, has given
the last finishing stroks to the demolition of the Consti-
triton in the admission into the Union Of the State of
western Virginia, " P~eirpoints bogus commonwealth
on the Ohio river. Two or three more such w~hippings
as the Yankees received at Fredericksburg will undo
this pretty work. The contest will not be over until
every foot Of the soil of Virginia has been restored to
her lawful authority.
We had q report Yesterday Of a great riot in New
York; city, consequent upon the attempted arrest Of
| John Van Buren,, in which fifteen hundred mea were
killed and wounded. Too good to be true. The story
runs that the news of this riot caused the demorSlizs-
ii n Of Burnsids's army. No such thing. That happy
result was effected by the bold fighting men of Lee,
Longsreet, Jackson, Stuart and Hill.
The weather to-day is glorious; bright, cool and in
spring. The smallpox, however, is alarminsly on the
increase in the city. DIXIE.