Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1862-04-21
PROM YOaKTOwN.


NEAR YoRkrowa, April IL During the past
three or four days the Rebels have been endelV-
oring to strengthen their works, IN anticipation
OF en attack from the Union forces, now Investing
Yorktown. Yesterday meFning about O'Clock
one Of our batteries opened on the enemy. The
firing grew pretty warm until 10 O'Clock, when
one of onr regiments took position with tyo fsT.
rott guns. Several other guns were brought 10
eesI upon ,he keoes The ehcny on the Iisnt
fred only one or two guns.
On the extreme left the booming Of guns cculd
be heard. The supposition was that the batter
les attached TO Gen. --'s division were also ems
gagged. '..-
The stunning reports ofthe nion artillery were
answered occa,ionaliy by the enemy, who sent
teeir hollow hails crushing through the timber
,,Ilshienlng The crows and buzZards, sending
tosnl screaming through the air.
Our Union troops stood to their guns, never
ninchtng for moment. The provost guard kept
lockers on at safe distance, thus saving many
Two regiments pfcscted the advance and sup
ported the Union, batteries. l.E
IL seemed ss though the enemy were safely en-
sconceo "a 'rat holes,'' and would occasionally
come cut and FIRE their guns, and Immediately
re,reat 10 their places Of safety.
II upwards OF two hours tbs cannonading was
t.ept ND on the Union aide with great ardor
large brass piece, known az the Napoleon" gun,
| seemed 10 anger I" secesh" the most as their fTe,
at times, seemed TO be aimed at II altogether.
Several officers clambPred a tree to look over
| wood at the rebel batteries immediately shell
" BIG h -mlhdctin gentlemen TO reach the ground
In a VetY short space Of time.
Towards noon the Union Are slackened, as II
| was not desirable to bring general engage
ment with the enemy without they made a scrte,
which was not very probable, as they keep well
hid In their works.
Soon after tho aring commenced dense smoke
was observed behind the rs bel front This was
| supposed to he one Of their signals The smrks
seemed to arise from the burning of tar and rOsin
Up TO one O'Clock only one casualty occurred on
| the side Of the Unlon troops A duty sergeant,
belonging 10 Company r, Cd Michigan, was
| standing on a stump ef a tree looking at the en-
emy through m opera glass, when a ball fred bV
the rebels cut him almost in twain, killing him
L instantly The unfortunate resident
| Of Fentonyllle, Genesee county, Mich The en-
emy bad the range Of this spot, and 1t a con-
siderable period before the corpse could be re-
| moved with safety to his friends. There were
rumoTs OF other casualties late In the afternoon,
but we could not get the particulars, from the
| fact of the means Of progress being limited.
The firing was kept up al intervals during the
whole OF the afternoon and late in the evening.
At 1O O'Clock p. m the firing has not ceased.
| The enemy are much annoyed at the Union
/ firing, as they ca not 90 on with the work IF
| strengthening their Notifications w hat damage
1 was done TO the Rebels cannot be arrived at At
present-but from the fact of their ackCnCd fl re
| we are convinced tha; we annoI cd them very
much. The enemy fred hollow shell flied
/ with sand, and then plugged with a pine stick
1 The reason ths enemy fired this sort Of missile
L was, from the fact, that their fuses would not
| hold out at long range, while the shot went a
1 considerable distsnce
L About 5 o'clock tb is morning a heavy siege
i gun was brough ht to bear upon the Il ebel works.
/ UP TO O'Clock IL has ELECTED no reply. The
\ report Of this gun IL Tremendous Its echo can
be heard reverberatlng for miles through the
L forest.
/ MAR YoRKTown, April I7.-Yes.erday our
| gunboats threw few shells into the Gloucester
Point and water batteries, the enemy TeciprU-
| eating, without doing any particular damage.
n1F hal IaT ia faf fyr nd
Of the rebel works, and has 100 900 men to defend
them. Many Of these are raw Ievies and cannot
stand before the disciplined troops cf the Union
army.
The roads from the camps to Ship Point are
| coTduroYed nearly the whole distance. Swamps
1 are no impcdiment when our gallant men begin
L 10 work. As II now Is, ielms can pass through a
| country which few days sgo was almost iuPas-
/ sable 70 man or beast
| The frst gun Of heavy cal.brc, to-day, was fred
i at half past o'clock
Bridge building. dock making, &c, under the
supervision Of the United States authorities, pro.
\ gresses very rapidly. The old residents Of the
country Will not know the lace when the Union
4 uOoIs leave. New roads bridges &c.-COnve-
niences the residents never knew. klost OF the
l old roads are mere bride paths through bog and
l swamp, and over bill and dale-now in an opG ii
space, and then again lost In the dark labyrinth h5
Il OF the gloomy pine forests.
Il The whole peninsula was fortified from iIamp-
ton TO Yorktown, with earthworks of all desCTi p-
tions, but rnany Of them bave beon taken.
l From ship Point to Yorktown, dlst1nCe Of
\ eight miles, there are no less than elk heavy
K works. Ibis IL along the river road On the
1 road through Great Bethel, fortiiCalions Of all
4 kinds snd sizes greet the eyes Of strangers ~
| HowaEd's Mills, they are immense. IL has t2kcn
\ thousands Of men and great 6e8l OF l4bos TO
build these vorks--sll to be deserted st tho ep-
. pTosch Of the Union forces The enemy had vcTy
little time to dill all their spare moments being
| taken up In building and digging. ..0
4 Many Of the male servants about here, have at
| timCs, worked upon the Notifications They &C.
| capped from the Rebel forces by hiding In the
| woods and swamps. ~.. .-