New-York daily tribune., 1862-05-13
THE BATTLE OF WILLIAMSBURG
The Errors and the Responsibility.
FORMIDABLE NATURE or THE REBEL OEffNSfS.
The FierceSt and Hardest Fight Of the War
from Our speei.l Cons.ponden,.

From Our Special Correspondent.
WILnAxsBuRe Va, May g. 1861.
Brady should Instantly send corps Of photo
graphers here to take the actual likeness of the vast
lun.tte of forest-iree cterdgr-6e-fris., in which
over - 600 Of the Rebels. in ambush and under the
protection of q rear line Of forts of vast strength
with heavy cannon in position awaited the advance
Of the Union troops For no descripton with the
pen no painting with words no use by artist of PEN
c,l or brusn can possibly convey ecen ap-
proximaiey accurate idea OF the nature Of the
ground, which the Rebels first picked out and then
ipgenously repaired with axes, welded by slaves,
and directed by West Point engineers. No imsgiua.
ton Of the densey tbickeied and wooded pens IN
which Braddock was defeated and ST. Clair lost Lis
army and bis reputation, can prepare the mind Tor
the realization Of the difficulties Of the Rebel de-
fenses before Williamsburg. Standing upon the
parapets of Fort Mag uder--a FASHIONED work as
large as Fortress Monroe, with wide moat, filled
with water, aud having sweep Of the plains al
every point Of the compass looking toward
Yorktown you pee a horses Ioe-shaped sweep oil
forest, mile and more around-you zee it frinecd
Oh the inside with gigantic abauis of fallen
timber, against which the eyes fairly ache,
in their sweep Of a mile and more of look
you see for a part Of the way, beginning st
the end nearest to Williamsburg, deep, wide rayne,
obs,ruc;ed but little by .tumls, and having hard
bottom, ard you ray instantly there, reserves could
be held secure from the fire OF million riiies-you
look 10 toe ett and you see upon tie plain one fort
two forls, three forts-fors away TO a damned up
body Of water. bounded next An impossible ravine-
swamp by n high and narrow mill-dam, commanded
by battery overlooking IL, and the pss~ays of which
would be- q labor that the warriors that crossed the
bridge Of Lodi would have been swept from like
oat-ctsf. Go down from the high psrspets Of Fort
MagIuder, and 30 away over TO the right (westernl
point Of the horseshoe OF the Rebel position, pass
through that "ravine lao convenient and secure for
the reception Of tue reenforcementS TO be marched
up from Williamsburg, and enter, If you can, the
eierau1-de.fr,m Of forest-trees ,umbled with COW.
ardly and savage ingenuity FIVE hundred feet wide,
and stretching further than you 70 the west
upon All arc of difficulty that would apps the brsvest
troops that England, France, or Russia ever sent
| into the field. The fallen timber mostly hem
I lock and pine. Grown on swamp, 1t was thick
and rank The trees cut To interlock their
branches. They lapped each other. The ingenuity
Of the chopping is astonishing. But you study
ont craitier arrangement; in lttle alleys leading
into this terrible cover-goDg stragbt-seempgly
endng--turniug at right angles advancing again
tertuin iting anew in of limbs and trunks and
branches through which tiger could not force him
.elf--alcys leading in from the open space before
Fort Msgruder, aud made for tue Rebels 10 conven-
enlly 40 and come in their labor OF sheltered mas
sacre of unprotected Nouheners. Get through this
monstrons cover if you have a change OF clothes,
and the hopes Of Il second growth of skin--get into
the thick standing forest of which il was last week
part. Here il dead Alabamian. Five rods be-
yond bin sharI-vsaged Vire enian, barefooted and
naked now to the waist, turns up To tie sunlight a
breast with tho bne-rnlmed bullet-boe, and proves
that n this dense forest beyond the timber ckeoeaux
dc. frtse the Rebels first fought rs under cover,
and practiced their barbarous civilization Of robbng
and stripping their own dead. Far, far into this
tangled, swampy forest, you keep coming upon the
ragged and dirtlyclad barbarians, lying upon their
backs. ia every form Of bloody death-their faces,
withou, single exception, denoiing different race
OF people from those Of the North-a race below the
negroes, ia reducing whom TO Slavery they have
brutaZed Themselves.
Now 20 back to Yorktown, southeast, and to
Lees Mills, southwest, and let tie time he Sunday
noon, ana tue OccHfIOu Vi tuc TrlIchtlug
Rebels and the principal drdmatis persoaG Sumner
and Heintzeman. Sumner, who ranks Iielntzelman
In the date of .is commission had IN his pocket an
order from Mcclellan which in its snbsi auce and
effect was 10 halt the left. Heinzelman carried
a written order to 10 straight up the Yorktown road
to Williamsburg-wbich would have brought bin on
the right Nigbtfall carried oar troops up To the
rear OF the enemy, and brought Sumner past his
proper position, the lett, and 10 the right and
into dense, wet wood that not Iu.,a in the army
had ever entered or knew nything about. Where
were the enemyi How many were they? Beyond
,cas there that corps Of 1000 troops might run
disasrou-ly againstf Military questions I'll. 4
clo.e-coming storm wholly obrcured the sky. On
better sight Of my horse only saved me from tramp
Diverted into the woods by artillery trains and AM
from the saddle BY the unseea branches OF trees
Yet in snch darkness, aud in such ignorance Of his
ground, aud such ignorance OF his foe, Sumner was
men were waiting for daylight to enable the N TO
find the Rebel rear which they had been ordered TO
sttack the evening beiorc-stumbling around 10 find
bis way back to Adams's house, his headquarten-
stumbling til nearly daydawn-while one Of biz
divisions, 10000 strong lay down among the trees,
cursing Tie mislnanaqem which had ordered them
TO march without moutbiu Of food in their haver-
sacks, and another division, also 10000 stro *,
han been ordered TO leave behind In their camp and
exeur:ed ingenuity 10 avoiding ths moisture VI thr