Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1862-09-11
FROM THE SOUTH.

fa OUR ARMY ON THE Rap,.p.r,
CONTRADICTIONS ON Tar RourK
tom 'ne Richmond Dispatch, Sent o1
\. vs,n ,se news about the movements, Of on, -.
were able to get hold of IT, wa o,ra A tne pres
"A e5ses =, from the diary of HPersonn. 1,eress
AnSu., M '9e 9e Charleston Courier: PUG
water thigh deep ny s.nss Crossed the Rapidan. ne
NearIy whole day thus occupied 'no amuang'
aSsustl-rhe enemy In cioss n,o,,r,,.. and
!, in the 'front.' Fsom siy L;Sng.,ss's corp:
ms, nn HapiGsn, we have a magnificent view for or
hes The columns-long hI.cL w;na,.a
sunshine i5hs wish their mu,kets cleaning in ths
Al .ne oliection CT Fredsrtci,burg =, anwn Ge
SppoAte oenk Of the river More ssfrmish;s I'm
but t tS.v 1000 se many strasgles by the wa1side;
Mndge slowly along In the tracfs OF theT com
taoes An attractive part Of the proce,sioa is the
the ss rains vending their way in the rear Of
and, between the stallipg Of trains the shouting
OF drivers, and the chaotic confusion which errc
Pain OK the eHsHt Of d march. - , (;
Augusl To-day, another busy scene. The
amy resumed Its march at dayliehs Longstreet's
we've origades moving toward ihe Potomac on
passed the Rapidan station OF the Virginia Gen.
Hel Kallroad, and is pressing northeast OF Cul.
PePer Several small skirmishes have taken place
on toe front, and eighty ninety prisoners went
by on their way to the rear. Among the Yankees
captured by Jackson were two men, who al soon
Il as they fell into our hands commenced to ask
after their old comrades in Sn artillery company.
An inquiry being Instituted, they confessed that
eight months ago they were soldiers In our army;
but that being tired Of service they had deserted
and joined the ranks Of the enemy. without
further ado the General ordered them TO be hung
TO tree, which was done In the presence of a
large portion Of the army.
l. In LongstreetB division there has been active
work The enemy several times attempted to
check our advance, but were signally repulsed.
Pieketts, WilcoI's and Prvor's brigades were
severally engaged at different periods Of the day
and lost few men killed and wounded Al
4 Mountain Run, small branch which joins the
Rappahannock, Federal battery Of six pieces
commenced this afternoon to throw shells by way
Of diversion. but were promptly engaged BY the
Donaldsonvine battery, (Louisiana, Capt Mora,
and soon after retired. In this affair Gen. Roger
fence by the roadside shell burst Immediately.
over his head, and the fragments dashed inte the
ground around him on every side, but, fortu-
high felt hat and was plainly In sight Of the ar
/ tillerists, the presumption Is that he was made
their mark. Gen. Wilcox likewise received SIM
tlar attentions. He wss riding In advance Of the
army, attended by 4 single trooper when the lat
ter discovered one Of the Yankee pickets peeping
4 over the top Of boulder. "Shall bring him
4 down =" said the soldier "No,n replied the
General; " better not waste your power, the dis
lance 10 too great" Hardly were the words out
Of his mouth befors "whiz"-a Mimic ball hew
4 within three inches of the Generals ear and
lodged In the bank behind him. Subsequently
he was wounded in the arm.
To-day has been further signalized by the
{Psfysvine, Pennsylvania. It appears that as one
4 Of the couriers OF Gen LoDgstreet was carrying
an order be was met by this man, who inc uired
.whoee division do you belong to,'' Long
streets - The courier then asked sswhose diyi-
sion do you belong to-" "Jackson'sn was the
reply. A gray Confederate uniform favored this
Idea. and m % eSnvs,.aiion m snsued A the Two
was a disposition on the part Of his companion
to drop behind, and finally he was sstonishsd by
pistol presented to his breast, and demand for
the delivery OF the papers he carried In his belt
Havieg no other resource, the latter surrendered
the documenn, when the spy deliberately shot him
in the back and ran. Soon afterwords the courier
was found by some Of his friends, and narrated
the particulars Of the affair, describing the man
30 minutely that, when subsequently arrested, he
Wa known beyond preadventure. He had, for
instance, two defective front teeth, was a pale
faced, determined looking and quick spoken |
person.
A search was at once Instituted, but fortunately
he fell Into our hands By his own fooishness. It
Is stated (but do not vouch for this) that this
morning the spy rode up to General Jones' who
was At the head Of his column, and said, "Geuer-
al, am the chief courier Of General Jackson, he
desired me to request you 70 order your column |
20 be reversed at once" The order was of course
given, and the prete ndei courier rode away His
next exploit was to ride up to the Colonel Of
OF our regiments and give him the same command
he had given TO Jones. The Colonel was shrewd
omcer, however, and remarked, 81 am no. In the 1
h1cb OF receiving my orders from General Jack
SON." "Well, sir, those were my orders from
him to you % "W hat cavalry are you from?D
The courier hesitated moment, and said, 0from
Hampton Legion" sin whose division and 4
brigade Is than" asked the Colonel. This con-
fused him still more, and he could only reply,
"I don't know; have forgotten"
Being taken into custody and examined, sew.
eral papers were found upon his person, written
In short hand and an Abbreviated long hand en-
bracing the information he had obtained. A pair
OF Lieutenant'B shoulder straps were also con-
cealed In his pocket. These discoveries being
made, the man confessed that he was a Yankee
and belonged to the Union army, but in the ca
paeity OF an independent scout. He admitted
further thst he had observed and reported the
movements Of our army, but denied having killed
the courier. He claimed that it was done by /
party Of Texans, with whom he was travelling.
The various facts being conclusive, the court
martial by which he was tried had little hesita-
don In finding him ''guiity," and sentencing |
him TO be hung. The execution took place this
afternoon, under the direction Of General Evans
In the presence Ct his brigade and large number
OF soldiers. The prisoner was mounted on a
horse, his hands ned behind him and he was
driven beneath q tree. The rope, which was
little larger than ordinary bed cord, then
being adtuste3, he was ordered to stand upon the
saddle. As he did so a soldier gave sharp cut /
70 the animal, aud In a second more the spy was
jerking convulsively from the limb above him
he met his fate with great stoicism, and appeared
perfectly satisfied with what he had accom- pfished
but TO the last denied all participation In the ac
OF shooting Longstreet's courier. He said he had
IN uncle and aunt living in Clarke county, Vir-
federste uniform which he wore.