Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1862-12-13

Since then they have been DONG pi .ket aaI
provost duty iI and around falrnoata. d. i.
| TIE gun-toats, lying In the X Rippahannoch
! river between Port Royal and Pori Conway,
~-r- attacked yesterday by the Rebels with some
| Nly hssNygpns. The Reb-l- occupied a very
| tirong position on Borders Hin. and fired with
| great fr' cision on tie gun-ecsts, "ompeIliug
'hsm TO change their poeitfcn. The iscb~ls,
'nitoid' ned, ran "A baitrry down to the edge Of
swEmp, thai laid between them aud the qua
eris, and opened fr-. The gunboats wgrc
% Il ;crccc this morning, wae. 6: Is xpe~ tai
,I'y WEI Ft'e good account Of thems Il YES.
| lee PotI'lon they occupied yesterday was q
II. q n cult crr for ,ht N &c make heir euas
| a.; Cr tie Rebrl batteries.
| sic "a! he 'e-n quite warm. and he hs-zt
/ :, nieN hat vppr,rsivr with 6vercoat on.
! be reads that were frozen hard this noruing
"ir S1w IN quite muddy condition. The large
| t'ian u, a. General Summers quarters have at
| the moment for a forward movement IL /. a
gran ,,S , q. ." zee go many rnrn massed in
about noon the fire Stacked. and until sbout
1 hhh rast thrtr O'Clock very little firing took
| place Al this hour he cannonadins on our
/ Tart was renewed wit. undated fury. Ia.
'nrmy only answering from Fredericf.spre
v lih lev random picket shots.
During the afternoon tho engineer corpe made
svernI snt mr's 10 build the bridge, and sew.
sral times We're cri,en or Finally siI pons
| son beats, filled with volunteers from The I'm
michigan regiment, numbering over one hum
! crsc, embarked and rowed acro>s the rivey
and DIE, mbarking, made q dash up the hiIf
"nd Then INTO the town, amid the loud hurzahs
OF orr troops thronging the banks The bra va
lazy chltnr-d over . R-bel sharpshooser,,
With q commissioned offic-r. The bridSs build.
'ls again went u work about 4 O'Clock. win
removed yisor, and as every plank was laid,
bridg- was finished
In the crowd that crossed in the boats VA n
u. wstoy fIcm New YORK. known as .Jimmy"
iEc Young adventurer had smugei-d himself
IN Ire boas, and being = IA yorite the men did
rot pui him out.
A ycunr man by the name Of Chas. oahford.
OF ne 7tb Michigan, took possession Of the do.
frTtrd British Consul's ensign, and brought it
sef y oytr on &c our side This n az had been
floating ali the day before and To- day, although
bis ccrsu! hip had vamosed the rancho At the
sound OF tie first gun. IL the British Consul
thought his display Of the British ensign would
ave the town. he was sadly mistaken in regard
TO the people he 1"as dealing with The ire OF
our troops were up, and they had decided %
win.
just as The last lingering rays OF the sun came
over tie place. the Rebels oper--d IN .ir bate
i'.. on our right and fired with great regu-
isffty for at least half hour, and as night
closed around ceased firing
1t ls estimated that our loss will not exceed
cnr bendr' killed and wounded. while rhe
cn' my lose ai last one thousand. The En-
sin'-I corps and those rrgiA-nts tina, supported
guns were dismounted by their own action in
firing.
Southern View of the Proposed Attack On
Richmond.
ls1cbmOnd Examiner, Nov, 2l.l
appearances have been so far strrnSthcned
ey the d vrlcpmrnt OF new facts, that we ere
justified in regarding tho movement of the
Northern army on fredericksburg az indicative
CT a scricus iEtcntion TO direct the campaign
against Richmond from that quarter. None
but The abclitionst generals now in command.
ignorant OF the country, anA spurred forward
by their repeat d promise 10 take Richmond
cut OF hand in ton days, conld have imagined
suci plan. They have determined 20 enter
X mond by the airline railroad from WASH
m mo NV Arrp in a 10
rlC kst Org is certainly the shortest way between
the Two cities. Ii is, in fact, the mail route. Tt
l. 'N.n shorter than the Manassas track; and
j. is far shorter, at least in miles. than HcClei-
and up Rs YerE BSf Bhf inse Ga PeH S
The niap. and by the surveyors tape, II may be
safely assumed that il will be a more painful
pilgrimage than the longest Of all the ways
around.
Defcre burnside gets very far, he will find
that tlerr are lions IN his patent path. There
Is 10 point on thar road where our troops can
vance. The Federal Government and 3eper-
ais see m 10 have supposed that they wor ID
m'et Iiih TO opposition till tbey reached Han
| over IN notion, and have felt some confusion OF
min q at finding Lee before them at Frederiekx-
| burg They have stopped n week near that
| helpless and drfcnsrlPss village: and, il they
| to enier. They have arranged in the Cabinet
| thai thf re would be no battle till their army
reached Hanover; but they may find the plains
around Fredericksburg, the highlands in front
and the river in their back, the prettieet place
10 te drubbtd q in that Yankees ever saw. The
whole scheme, rs now freely displayed by their
| journals m the confidence ef success, Is emil
| nontly characteristic Of the smsrtesi nation I'm
| all creation. .s
Neither Scott nor Mcclellan, nor any other
| competent military leader. would ever counsel
| or undertake q march on Richmond by the linee
| of the railroads. These were hiEhiy fAvorabie
10 the drun,msrs OF the rr-a; man ufacturing
1 powers, but are lees TO those Who walk az the
head of heavily srmed regiments. The vui-
| nerable side OF Richmond Is still what military
| intellie-nce and experience for hun.;r-d years
| have pointed out, her river. The British rot
| n re mat way without m n ch difficulty Mctyel
| Ian attempted 10 follow their track with one
hnndrsd and hiiy thousand men, and wooSa
have get here, toe, but for the ssChic kahominy
| IL appears, i6deed, that they have determined
10 give the mail line q trial: and we should uot
really credit their boldness, but for the great
| elraci'y thCy possess NJ this time 70 nh the
held. Their new levy, even IL IL has no. actin
ally reached the six hundred thousand de-
manded IN July, has certainly brought a pro-
\ dielons Lumber Of men under an ms Masaed
WIN their old troops. the United states cannot
have less than eight hundred thousand men i'm
| their army AZ this moment
Abstracting from this huge host ali that the
most extraN Nagant caicul alton can prtt~nd for
I the armies OF the West, and guard OF Washing.
ION, the Northern government still have some
! fonr hundred thousand men 10 throw a. Rich
mond: and however much the superior yaloY
| q! men who fight for aris ef fociS may do, when
fn'ded by the alder generals Of the South,
while holding the vantage ground of position.
| There are limits beyond which the weight OF
numbers will tell. 1t ~ on their overwhelm-
ing numbers tn At the North are now cet RIM
insd 10 rely. Believing that All depends on the
immediate destruction OF the Confederate or
canizauon, " hi u m ght br affected by the can.
furr OF Richmoni and the conquest Of Virginia
they have determin, 10 rush straigh forward
10 th'ir prize wi'h all their force. But should
facts place this view BE- ond ubt, let us hone
that The government is prepa red ID concentrate,
IN defense OF tn" capital, numb.rs eq ual 20 any
army OF fanke : lk ly 10 reach this neiehbor
mood after the depletion " the battles and Tie
march which they must first accomplish.
The War in Mississippi.
CAIRO, Dec. IA courier from Ox ford