davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The New York herald., 1862-12-13
INTERESTING IRON ARKANSAS.
Additional Particulars Of the Battle
Of Crawford Prairie.
THE ENEMY ACKNOWLEDGE 4 DEFEAT,
&C.. &c. &c.
HEADQUARTERS ARMY OF ruR FRONTIER,


BATTLE FiELD, NEAR FAYErHvILLE, Dec. 8, 1862
To Major General CURTIS
This place yesterday the scene Of hard fought
and bloody ned, resulting in complete victory Of the
Army of the Frontier.
The rebel forces under Generals Hndman, Marmaduke,
Psrsous and Frost numbered twenty four thousand.
had been holding the enemy the Boston Mountains ior
swo days skirnshng with their avnce, holding them
in cheek until General Herrcn could come up with reia
On the 7th they drove in my ouposts and get possss
sion Il road oy which they oonmerced hank move
ment on my left during the night, while they made
heavy fein in 'front.' Their object was 70 cut of commu
nicaton between myself aud General Herron, who was %
be at Fayetteville At daylight
They attacked General Herron at about O'Clock
NJ, who, by qoHaN and dcprafe fghtng, held them n
tns rss re shg was es"srato on both es ana
continued until was terminated ny tho darkness the
night.
My command bivouacked ON their arms ready 70 renew
the conflict at daylight In the morning But the cnomy
had avaied themselves OF the hight to retreat across the
The loes both sides h.s been heavy Ny loss 10
killed Ia small In proportion to the number Of wound d.
70 one y artillery made torrbie destruction in thsr
rsnks. They had greatly tho advantage in numbers and
position. Yet Generas Hiadman and Aarmdiuke &C.
hnsa1sag,d @ me- "a an inrps'o Under nag y r"ce, Msf
Among the enemy's killed is Colonel s,een, formerly
Brigader General o. the Mis- State Guard.
The Nineteenth and Twentieth Iowa, Thirty seventh
Illinois and twenty SIKH Indiana regiments Of General
Herron's division. suffered severely.
General Hyon deserves great credit for the pv0mress
ih rchich h. reinforced Jy forced maichs from
Spr'n fe'd. aad also for his gaa,ary upon Gae ted
Very RESPECTFULLY,
JAS. q. MINr BrigacIer General
BkIGADlER GENERAL SrEEN.
Tho official despatch announcing the victory Of the
Union troops Fayetteville speaks Of the death u
the rebel Brgadier General A. r. Secn, in command Of
a portion OF the Missouri State Guard and summoned
nut the field by the rebel G. i. Jack on.
steer native of Missouri, and entered the service
the United states nd leutena Twelfth infantry
ON the 9th aprii, is47 His regiment was cscande 10Th
Juy Isis and he afterwards appointed second lieu
euant Third infantry Both June, 1852 Ho continued
the service Of the United States unti Nay 10, 1881
he resigned hts cormssion and entered the rebel
vice. While u the army he married daughter of Coz.
7. Morrison, Of the regular army, now in command 81
Camp Butler Illinois. father, Colonel En och steen.
also the regular army oi the United States. In com.
mand near this city General Steen has been in active
service since The rebci commenced. ana was,
believe Bonneville, Lexington, Wilson'S creek and Pes
RIDGE.
desperate accounts representing tire killed on the
rebel side at thousand aud thai of The Unohtsta
at six hundred. This would show frgbuul list of
wounded
The New York herald., 1862-12-13

Our Army In Fredcricksburg-TheE Ene-
my I'm Front, and . Great Battle Close
at Hand.
Our advices of yesterdays movements Of tie
army Of Gen. Burnside are brief, but satisiac-
tory. by ten o'clock in the morning the bulk
of the army had crossed over the river and
occupied the town, with only trihing resist
ance from the enemy, and it was believed that
all our troops would be over by nightTall and
in secure position.
The rebels, it appears, occupy two strong
lines Of batteries; the first mile back, or with
in good range from the southern extremities of
the town. and the second a mile beyond the
first and behind these defensive lines, II is be-
leved. they intend to try the fortunes Of
desperate struggle. Their guns from their first
line, however, were silsnced yesterday after
terrific artillery duel Of half an hour, by our
batteries on the heights on the north
side Of the river. They perhaps entertain
some idea of repulsing Gen. Burnside from
their works, and Of driving hs forces In dsas-
trous confusion back upon the river, and into
Il. Upon no other theory can we account for
their failure to dispute in full force his passage
of the river. His batteries on this side would
have been almost useless with portion Of bis
troops on the opposite bank, at close quarters
W tn the enemy. The absence Of any intel
ligence to late hour in the afternoon from his
headquarters created some spprehensions in this
city that our forces had been partially permitted
to cross the river, and had then been assailed by
an overwhelming mass at the point Of the
bayonet, and driven back, so apparent to the
public mind was the opportunity offered TO the
enemy. But if Lee declined to seize this OPP
portunity to cut of or cut to pieces portion
Of our forces, il is not likely that he has assail
ed, or will venture to come out Of his ntrench-
ments to attack. the three grand divisions of
/ Sumner, Hooker and Franklin, in their full
st engb
( The battle therefore, Is at the option of Gen.
Bsrnsde. His whole army Is "well concen.
,rated," and "the troops are In excellent
spirits md anxious TO be led upon the
cnemys works" We presume. too. that
The New York herald., 1862-12-13
NEWS FROM MISSISSIPPI.
~->~>>~~-~~~~-~~~-~>~~-~~~~.~

CAIRO, Dec. II, 1862
Nothing s definitely known to where the rebels IN
Mississippi have fallen back One report 10 that they
have taken shelter behind Biz Block, at Canton.
The rainy season has commenced. Already II Ia with
great difficulty that cannon and wagons can be trans.
ported
Persons who have been carrying trade In vioataou
Of government regulations have Seen arrested
After the 18th there win be monopoly in the sae
newspapers the military railroads. Il will be put On
par with other legitimate traffic.
Our Abbeville Corresp0ndence.
TnRsE MrIxs PROM AasxviLLs, leo. l, 1854
TAs 7dudAatchde Entirely Osw Hands-Copu,e Of NJ
Rebd wrks-TAe Rebel Hereat and ne Csusc-Ms
Situation, dc.
l have joyous news tonight. The Onion cavalry,
under Colonel Lee have full and entire possession Of all
the forts the Tashatchie.
Aner writing letter for the HgRALD. early this
ng expected . while and from the o.
ects Of the somewhat tatglpg duties OF the last three
days. but had hardly seated myself with piPe Slipper
when word brought from the 'front.' from Coons'
Meyer, Of the Third Michigan cavalry, who had
been sent out early In the day recon-
noissance that the forts which had sheled
30 satisfactorily the day before In hts pos
session. but that the enemy had fired upon him,
aud he desired rein Colonel Lee mmed ssely
them ard galoIed rapidly forward to the 'front.' We
found arriving that mad two forts in possession
instead Of The number subsequently, increased
the capture the northern turnpike crossing of
the Talahatchie, another the southern bank tho
river and still another at point commanding the rail-
road bridge Both the turnpike aud railroad bridges are
burned.
Since the above written word has reached us that
one company Of cavalry. which coma eed to swim
the Tal'anatchie ut the turnpike crossing, has
undsputed possession of Abbeve Mounted patrols
stationed between the fort opposite and the VILLAGE
The rebels before leaving set lire 10 the depot hled
with commissary stores and clothing There .
large amount of ammunition destroyed. when boys
reached the town large pile OF and IN
flames. The enemy have rereated TO Oxford whittier
follow at midnight.
The citizens say that the Of rapid retreat
was the receipt from the effect that
munication with Grenada Ivy railroad and ah r. -
St eyed by a dy OF federal trcvps from below,
Il Is likely We may have fight between Abbcville as6
Oxford, eleven miles below. II II s true that Que
moving up from Grenads the enemy will very
likely be caught between fires, aud must 0ght ~
surrender.
The New York herald., 1862-12-13
Reports from LouisviIle.

I'tU II--M1unIknt.
Hcadauarsrs hero wholly unaivised Of the recent
events portrayed In tho recent Philadelphia Especial
despaschcso and. while they admit tho probability o.
their they understand why they have
not been posted up.
The train from Nashville now nve hours beyond time,
has not yet arrived The cause OF the delay unknown
Gen. Boyle has ordered tho Provost Marshal 70 empty
the negro as or pens OF runaway conabands and has
placed the negroes al work around the military prison
and will also employ them In other ways.
LouisvrIS, KY, Dec. I'll A. N.
Adyices Just received At headquarters ds c oil apme
heps,ops OF an immediate engagement, in fennessee
Tho guerilla John Morgan WINS seven mics north Of
Murrrsesboro yesterdsy organizing aoout 1000 hfary
and cavalry, with some artillery for another raid int
Kentucky,
The New York herald., 1862-12-13

him leave behind him the spitaph, HE saved
he reconstructed the Union, the great Amsri-
can republic, that home for the oppressed and
the tyrannized Of all the earth, consecrated by
the blood and lives of our forefathers" !"
When he has re-established the power of our
constitutisn-man's only charter for freedom
then, and not till then, may minor questions
occupy his attention. Let his ambition seek
no more great, no more splendid achievement
than the reconstruction Of our glorious Union.
That were glory enough for any onesexstence.
The New York herald., 1862-12-13

Tux SWISS psruvorur soc,xY.-7he members sf thia
soc,stv will hola their annual meeting taday, ~ DEL
monicos Hotel corner Of Broadway and Chambers street,
n. dve O'Clock r. n After the eecicn OF officers, 20
cial subscription dinner win be discussed commencing -
s,r p when ,he pleasures Of fatherlnd will be euio
g,,ea hv be ustvotic swiss and sing and eloquence M
10 bs presu ned viii occupy the company until The saA
..,r kho ovv>uru
The New York herald., 1862-12-13
Theatrical.

Mr. Barney williams bad hrs urst bcneht this season,
ai the winter Garden bss evening. II is almost
cessary to say that hsose crowded from paqpes
70 DOME and shat the applause frequent and uprosv-
ous the bill "shandy Mcguire" "lAtcst From New
York; and "Prncs Dolorosothe nrst and second pieces
for the nrst time this winter. This bin will be repeated
tonight for the benefit OF those who could not get into
the tneaare last evening.
Al Nibio's this evening" Matilda Herou reappcars II
her play Edith,r Which prduced with success!
on Tuesday last. Matilda Hcron's enRegemcnt limited
70 three nights more II the demand Of the public and
not the OBLIGATIONS OF the rules fo name
gerial guidance Eaih" would be given every night IN
stead OF only two nights next week
The Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1837-1867, 1862-05-09
THE CALIFORNIAN.
BY C. NJ. STONE & co.
St. Johnsbury, Friday, May 9, 1862.

The rebels surprised us again this week by
a sudden and total evacuation of Yorktown.
The fact that they had lief. became known to
Gen Mcclellan so soon that he is close upon
their heels with large force. 1t seems by
late adyices that the rebels have made a
stand at Williamsburg, where some heavy
skirmishirg has been going on. 1t may be
that the enemy will make stand there ard
that a decisive battle will yet be fought in
that vicinity. Gen Mcclellan is in the field
in person, and he is confident that he will
"push the rebels 20 the wall" We trust he
will do it. If the enemy should not make a
stand at Williamsburg it is all conjecture
where they will do it. There seems to have
been no reason why they should have
evacuated Yorktown, only that the nearness
and furmidableness of the Union army's bat
telies forced them to it, or take the inevita-
Bile consequence-surrender Their retreat
is virtual acknowledgement of defeat. The
evacuation Of Yorktown is another bloodless
victory, and all the greater because bloodless.
The Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1837-1867, 1862-05-09

exploits of the sharpshooters. A tall rebel
had frequently shown himself on the enemy's
works, Drawing the fire of the sharpshooters,.
The other day he came outside as usual,
waving his hat, when two balls went whiz.
zing toward him, but fell short. The rebel
continued his observations. Meanwhile a
messenger was dispatched for telescope
target rifle known 10 be in the hands of a
sharpshooter, and Col Berdan and one of his
officers, accompanied by two of his men,
walked out to see the result as one would 60
to bear hunt. Arrived at the point deslg
mated, the seven-tooter was still there, when
the owner of the rifle drew up at arms
length and the moment the muzzle feli SO as
to cover his heart the hair-trigger was touch
ed and the haunting foe fell without strug-
ole. A skirmish ensued, our sharpshooters
, sy to prevent the rebels from recovering
the body, and it was finally left outside until
nightfall.
The Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1837-1867, 1862-05-09

most instances was laid desolate, and but
few of the houses are occupied. On emery
ing from the cover of woods. on: forces came
in view of Williamsburg, and the enemy's
earthworks. At the time no gun. were Wis.
ible on the enemy's works, but regiment of
cavalry could be seen approaching about one
mile off, in liz e of battle. Capt Gibbons re-
serve battery was then ordered to the front,
to open on the enemy's approaching cavalry,
while portion of the 9th cavalry we're de-
ployed as skirmishers to the right and left
The fire from the battery was very effective
on the enemy's cavalry, but never changed
their course. About 200 yards to the right
of Gibbons battery was an earthwork, which
had all the appearance of being deserted,
when all of sudden our troops we're open
ed upon by deadly fire from artillery post
ed behind the works. At the same time the
rebel cavalry continued advancing until they
were checked by charge made by portion
of the LIST and 9th cavalry, which was per-
formed in most admirable manner. In
more instances than one it was a hand to
hand encounter with the enemy, but strange
to relate none of or men were made prison.
ers, while we captured about % of the en-.
envy. among whom is Capt Frank Lee Of the
Sd Florida infantry. Capt Gibbons had II
horses killed, Lieut. De Wolf was MORALLY
wounded; one gun was lost by sticking fast
in the mud. Lieutenant Benton of the LIST
cavalry and 10 men OF the same regiment
were wounded. Lieut. Mcclellan of the 9th
cavalry was slightly wounded, as were also
II others. Lieut. Col Kress of 1st cavalry
had his horse shot under him, while engaged
in hand to hand encounter with two of the
enemy. He escaped with few slight brush
es. Private Noble Irish of Major Bankers
Mcclellan dragons had his horse killed and
was severely wounded in the leg by the e1-
plosion Of torpedo. while passing through
Yorktown. The rebel cavalry was forced by
our men to abandon their position, but the
want of infantry prevented our men from ad-
vancing on the enemy's works.
The Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1837-1867, 1862-05-09
The Capture of New Orleans.

The Norfolk Day Book Of the 3Oth ult. has
the following article on the capture of New
Orleans, and on the treaehery which, it in
sinuates, has led to it:
The telegraph tells this morning the most
deplorable tale ever heard in America, or, we
believe, in the whole world. Two contempt
ible little steamers have come up to the great
city of New Oreans-inhabited by a popula-
ton of two hundred thousand souls, defended
by miles upon miles of columbiads and riaed
cannon, possessing six floating batteries of
immense power, and containing within her
bosom not less than thirty thousand disci-
plined troops-and have commanded the au-
thorities to haul down the confederate FLAG!
Sailing through miles of the heaviest artil-
lery, it does not appear that SO much as a
single shot was fired at these two little steam
The Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1837-1867, 1862-05-09

GEN MCCLELLAN ON DRrxKr>x.
officer who had been guilty of ins,,i,,.Aa
ton. was tried by court-mar,ial ~ al 14i.'-
inclined to leniency, as his ofiense n ~
mitted while drunk, case of LIQUORS u
been sent him by "a friend Gen NJ rs' :.
returned their finding as no, sat- .,''aa
adding an earnest condemnation of 81
lice which patriotism and principle AL i'A2-
qulre should be abandoned hy OILY a =
He says that drunkenness was no rsl ir:-'.tf'
o. his ofiense, but an addition 10 II. T-oa
evil agent SO much obStructs this arm, -@
progress TO that condition which vii -. = rs
it TO do ali that true soldiers ean.as,b.. ,1oe
ding vice of drunkenness. Ii is n. 60 -. =.
by far the greater part of the disorders =. 2
are examined by cOurt-mariial. It's -
sible to estimate the benefits that wo,1- y
crue TO the service from the adoption g 1'-
solution on the part of the officers 10 a., : -
men an example of total abstinence tr,. -
toxicating drinks. 1t would be wor,b :.
thousand men 10 the armies Of the H. -. -
States"
The Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1837-1867, 1862-05-09
Incidents at Yorktown.

The censorship that is exercised over news
paper correspondents who are with the army.
compels them to p.ck up the incidents of the
camp as almost the only news they are allow
ed TO send ont. We find the following:
The hes: work Of the morning was re-
ducinS to a state of permanent inutilirv in
this mundane sphere negro ritfeman. who.
through his skill as markSman, has done
more injury to our men than dozen of his
white compeers. in the attempted labor of re-
ducing the complement of sharp shooters
Our men have known him long time. have
kept an eye on him. have lain in wait for him.
His hahi, has been to perch himself in big
tree. and keeping himself hid behind TIE
body. annoy our men by firing upon them
He climbed the tree this morning in advance
of the Others coming out, Struggled himself
in his position. and was anticipating his usu-
al day Of quietude. Our men might have
killed him as he came out. but avoided shoot
ing SO as not TO alarm the Others His tree
was about twenty yards from one of our pits
When our men fired on the advancing rebel
picke,s, he of course saw the fix he was in
that he was decidedly up tree. 81 say, big
niger called out one of our men. YOU bet
ter come down from there" What for ."
responded the niger. Il want YOU as a
prisoner" "Not as dis chile knows Of" re-
piled the concea!cd Ethicp. "Just as YOU
say" responded our sharp shooter In about
an hour the darkey peered his head out
Our man was on the look out for him: he
had his rife on the head line ready-puled
on the trigger-whiz we;.t the bullet and
down came the negro. He was shot through
the head"
"One man was completely buried up to the
neck in the dirt. His head, visible above the
ground, and the rotary motion he gave to it,
looked like scene in the pantomime.
"Why didn't you hide Your head, too ."
called out Major Cole, loosely.
because wanted to see the sport as well
as you and the rest responded the man in
like appreciative vein.
The top of the handle Of one mans shovel
was knocked off by piece of shell. He
stopped as the shell exp loded, and this doubt
less saved his life. He Immediately rishted
himself and resumed his shoveling. The
narrowest escape Of the day was picking up
an unexploded shell, suppposing it to be a
rebel shot. At the intination that it was
she'll and might explode, tie man who picked
it up was not long in getting it as far away
from him as possible. He threw it as far as
he could and sure enough, it did explode,
doing no harm. A moment more and doz-
en- might have beer killed.
The Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1837-1867, 1862-05-09
Later from New Orleans.

A special dispatch to the Chicago Times
from Cairo on Monday, says that refugee
from Memphis brings the news of the occu-
patton of Baton Rouge by the federal forces
and the passage up the river of the gunboats.
General Buffers army had landed at New
Orleans. An immense amount of cotton had
been discovered and seized. The Union
citizens had held meeting which was at
tended by numbers, indulging in the most
enthusiastic demonstrations of Joy. Accord
ing to our informant, but little opposition
will be made to our gunboats coming up the
river. At Baton few rebel troops were
lately enrolled and stationed there, but they
fled on the approach of the federal feet.
A St Louis refugee from the South, who
was in New Orleans when our feet arrived
says our forces captured large quantity Of
cotton, sugar and other property.
The Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1837-1867, 1862-05-09
The Merrimac Out Again.

FORTRESS MONROE, May t. The Merrimac
made her appearance beyond Sewall's Point
at one o'clock to-day. She stopped off the
Point and up to this hour has not changed
her location. She is not attended by any
other gunboat as usual. 1t is supposed that
it is not her intention to visit us to-day. The
Monitor and other vessels of the naval fleet
are all in readiness for action on short notice,
and are hoping she viii! come down. The
supposed design of the enemy is TO endeayor
to prevent any expedition up James river to
cut off the retreat from Yorktown
Three deserters arrived here this morning
in rebel schooner. They report the evacu-
alton of Mulberry Island and Jamestown ear
ly Tuesday morning.
The Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1837-1867, 1862-05-09

ers. On the contrary, everything seems to
have been prepared beforehand for their quiz
ct reception. The troops were Immediately
Withdrawn lest they might feel disposed 20
demur, all the defenses on the lake were dis.
mantled, the guns were thrown down without
being injured. the steamboats, that could have
gotten up steam il an hour and been off were
burned, and the defenders were drawn off 10
a distant point.
Never since the world began was there
such a transaction-so dark, so mysterious,
so altogether unaccountable.
Terrible suspicious are aHoat, but we hold
if best not to give voice to them until some
thing more definite shall have reached u.s.
The Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1837-1867, 1862-05-09
SECOND DISPATCH.
Gen Mcclellan Overtakes the Enemy.
MORE REBEL BARBARITIES.


The following was received at the war de-
partment Mon,lay noon -
HEADQUARTERS, Army of the Potomac,
May 4th, : o'clock, p. m.-Our cavalry and
horse artillery came up with the enemys rear
guard in their entertainments, about two
miles this side of Williamsburg. A brisk
fight ensued. Just as my aide left, Smith s
division Of infantry arrived on the ground,
and presume, carried his works though |
have not yet heard. The enemy's rear is
strong, but | have force enough up there to
answer all purposes. We have taken thus
far seventy-one heavy guns. a large amount
of tents, ammunition, &c. All along the
lines their works prove 10 have been most
formidable, and am now fully satisfied of
the correctness of the course have pursued.
The success is brilliant. and you may rest as
sured that its effects will be of the greatest
Importance. There shall be no delay in fol-
lowing up the enemy. The rebels have been
guilty Of the most murderous and barbarous
conduct in placing torpedoes within the
abandoned works, near wells ard springs,
near flag staffs, magazines, telegraph offices,
in carpet-bass, barrels of -four, etc. Fortu-
nately, we have not lost many men in this
manner some four or FIVE killed, and per
haps dozen wounded. l shall make the
prisoners remove them at their own peril.
g. b. MCCLELLAN, Major General.
The Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1837-1867, 1862-05-09
The Vt. I'd Skirmish.

The Vermont Cd was on duty again on
Thursday in front of Yorktown. Under Col
Stannard dangerous reconnaissance was
made. Before reaching the point of obser-
vation. Col STANDARDS skirmishers met the
enemy's pickets some three fourths of a mile
this side. Rapid firing Immediately COM
menced, but the Vermont boys again exhibit
ed their courage and discipline by driving
the enemy like sheep before them, till they
reached slight elevation some $50 yards
from the enemy's breastworks. The Skin
misbing had been carried on in the woods,
and thick woods interviewed between them
and the enemy from the hill down to the riv-
err. At this time the rebel camp was alarmed !;
and beating the long roll two or three regi-
ments formed in line Of battle. For two
hours our men in the face of a CALLING fire