Daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, Va. [W. Va.]) 1859-1865, 1862-03-13
The Evacuation Of Manaa.aa.

/
Latest and Fullest Information Con
corning the Rebel Movements.
The Washington Star by last evenings
mail, commenting on the evacuation Of
Manassas, says:
We believe that they 1.-THE rebels) only
came to the conclusion TO abandon their
elaborate defenoes on Thursday last, when
they probably commenced falling back
from Winchester and Leesburg, the latter
having been loug really untenable by them,
unless they were willing to risk decisive
battle there.
They made no contest at Leesburg with
the two or three companies of our troops
that came down from LoVett's Gap on The
day before yesterday, to feel them, as ii
were. In retiring from there they doubt
less struck direct for their Manassas
works.
We tind many incredulous relative to the
fact that they are abandoning them also.
That, however, is a military necessity.
since they have abandoned their defencss
on both theiI right aud left TANKS. The
fact that they are doing 80 is confirmed by
ten or fifteen refugees and contrabands.
who, availing themselves of the with
draWal OF their (the rebel) picket guards,
nave come within our lines in the last
lWenty-Iour hours,
They cannot have spiked their guns and
fled from their Potomac batteries aud their
camps aud batteries from the mouth of the
Occoquan up to Wolf-run shoals-burninR
and destroying everything they could not
carry off in hurry, as they certainly have
done-without thus leaving their right
flank wholly at our mercy, as well as their
Winchester defences-their- left flank
with any intention of continuing to re-
main moment longer at Manassas than
may be necessary to enable them to run
their main force away from that position.
A portion of the refugees and contra
bands from whom the information re-
ceived comes, believe they intend to make
a stand at the Rappahannock river, TWEEN
ty-tour miles iu the rear of Manassas.
That is simply impossible, because the
line of that river for ten miles north and
south of the Orange and Alexandria Rail-
road is utterly untenable, even with prop
erly constructed earthworks-whicht they
are without there.
The first range of country which they
might make temporarily defensiblo is at
and around Culpeper Courthouse, though
its frequent eminences afford quite as good
attacking as Neutrality-suspicious., and there
are plenty of them, too. So, we do not be-
lieye they will stop running until within
sight of the smoke of the chimneys of Rich
mond.
We deem it prudent to say nothing
whatever of the movements of our army
that has thus fairly elbowcd them out OF
their only defensible position this side oil
their nominal capital, further than that its
operations having already brought about
their anticipated effort to steal away from
Manassas; the country may rely upon it
that it is uobly carrying out its glorious
work thus so admirably commenced.
The President and Secretary of War and
the General-in-c chief, of course, are busy
as bees, with the matter in hand, as we'll
as every officer and man in the army of the
Potomac.
We have further to add, that we do not
believe the rebels will attempt to hold
Richmond for week longer judging their
purpose to be to get back into the cotton
States as soon as possible, Richmond be-
ing less defensible than Manassas was three
| days ago.