Litchfield enquirer., 1862-05-08


 A dispatch from Gen Mcclellan, d..sa ,, II. Sunday. informs us that our cavalry .na horse artillery had come up with fks ssbd re.y | guard in the vicinity of willismsbur.h. and that . brisk fght had taken place, the part;eu. lars of which he has not yet received. Ths,s particulars are, however, furnished by acorrs,. pendent who accompanied the advance. The rear guard of the rebels was found to bs ysrv strong, and posted in intrenchments sbout tvo miles from Williamsburg, supported by . eos.s siderable body of cavalry. The enemy opspsd upon our advance with artillery from their in. trsnchmsnts and at the same time their cavalry approached eur position until they were ehsrrsd, upon by portion of the First and Sixth Na- tonal Cavalry, when, after hand to-hsnd con- test, they were driven back, with . los, sf twsnty-hv prisoners, among whom is Csvs Franz Lee, of the Third Florida Infantry. The rebels being found in such strong force. i. vss deemed useless to attempt further opsrs.iep, until the arrival ofmOre infantry, and our troops bivouacked for the night in sight sf the snsmv,s rear-guard, while the main body still continusa the retreat beyond Williamsburgh. Our l.,... dispatch from the advance is dated Monday nor. ming at which time operations had not been r.- newed, although our troops expected to occupy iWilliamsburgh immediately, from which poin. their course would depend upon the direction ,s. ken by thssasmy.~ Meantime large body ofNs- tionsl troops, conveyed by our gunbsa.s, were proceeding up York River, in the direction se West Point with view, if possible, to intercept the progress of the rebels toward Richmond. The line of rebel retreat passes near the river at several points and it was expected that on. gunboats would be able to give a good ..- count ofthemsslves there. The ehivalrous reb. els' before evacuating Yorktown placed the usual assortment of torpedos. shell, etc., in pos. itions where they would be likely to explode and mangle some of our men, several of whom were killed and wounded by them
 THE rebel steamer Asrrimae on Sunday came down below Sewalls Point, but remained s,a- tionary there. It was supposed that she was Tthere to endeavor to prevent any expedition up James River to cut off the retreat from York. town. No other steamers accompanied her.
 IMPORTANT events are expected soon to sceur in the vicinity of Corinth. The War Depart ment has received dispatches from Gen Halleck, which lead to this belief In the absence of de- finite knowledge of what these events are likely to be, an idea may perhaps be gathered from the dispatches from Pittsburg Landing A recon nossance was on Saturday pushed in the dirsc- tion of Corinth. which found the enemy, 4,5OO strong, at Pennington, with four pieces. Our forces immediately attacked them, and after sharp skirmish carried the position in fine style, compelling the rebels to abandon everything, leaving thirty dead on the field. Our cavalry then pushed through to Bonneville, took possss- sion of the town, tore up the railroad track thers and destroyed the bridges. Our loss in this gallant affair is only two killed and twelve wounded
 GEN. Mitchell telegraphs to the Department that an expedition from Bridgeport has advan- ced twelve miles toward Chattanooga. It was uscertained that panic exists there and that the rebels are moving all their property to At- lantn, Ga. Another expedition had penetrated to Jasper, and found strong Union sentiment
 REoPENING OF THE SOUTHERN PoRrs-Tks following two important circulars have been ad- dressed to the foreign ministers, announcing the reopenng of communication with Southern loca- lities reconquered from the insurgents Department of S'ate, Wlshingtoa, May 2, 1862
 SIR: have the honor to state for your infor- nation that the mails are now allowed to pass to and from New Orleans and other places, which having heretofore been seized by insurgent for. hayn a,l occupied by the land and naval forces of the Cn- tied States. It is proper, however, to add that a military surveillance is maintained over such mails as far as the Government finds it no essa- ry for the public safety.
 am, Sir, your obedient servant
 VIM. H. SEWARD. Department of State, Washington, May 3, ls62.
 SIR: have the honor to state, for the insor- nation of your Government, that Collector has been appointed by the President for New Orleans, and that the necessary preparations are being made to modify the blockade so far as to permit limited shipments to be made to and from that and one or more other ports which are now clos ed by blockade, at times and upon conditions which will be made known by proclamation. II am, Sir, your obedient servant,
 VIM. H. SEWARD.
 ARRIVAL OF CATERED VKssELs,-Pailodet- phia May 3-The rebel steamer Bermuda, which sailed from Liverpool about the lst of April fos Bermuda, was captured Sunday last of Holo in the Wall, by steamer Merudita, Commodore Still wagsn, and brought here today in charge of PrizemAster Abott. The cargo consisted princi. pally of powder and munitions, and was heavily laden with arms. The Captain, crew, and l2 passengers on board the Bermuda, was also ta- ken.
 The steamer Florida, captured in St. Andrews Bay, Fla, also arrived at the Navy Yard this af. ternoon in charge of Prizemaster Lewis. She has on board 200 bales of cotton. W. H. Harri. son, Pilot, with the Engineer and nine of the crew, took the oath of allegiance and came on board the steamer. Nine of the crew who refus- ed the oath, were put ashore in St. Andrews Bay.
 Thurlow Weed, in recentsletter from Paris, April sth, to the Albany Journal says :- The continued and gratifying successes which reward the indomitable energy of our army and navy, and that distinguishes the unainching courage of our soldiers and sailors, is exalting our country in the estimation of Europe. Veteran oficers in England and France express their admiration of the steadiness and persistence of regiments which they had looked upon as militia. The gall lantry of the troops under Burnside, and in Ken. lucky, Missouri and Arkansas, is equal to that of the best troops of Napoleon or Wellington. The war, therefore, which commenced so disastrous- ly, promises to establish for us abroad, . militia ry renown as enviable as that which our navy achieved in the war of lS12."