St. Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1845-1863, 1862-03-27

o"hSuAt aua taIoy W suIP's iuc o'"~Ae'S
If such an army. Ii would seem. there
fore. that retr'grcssive mo,cnen; became
imperative. ana we are inclined to credi,
the rnnIor that the grand army has fallen
back upon Washington But word
more up"n the Jackson affair. It is re-
ported tl,a: he encountered the Fcderals.
in the ~ ighborhori of Winchester, on
SUNDAY last. and that, after we'll con-
tested Eight Of eight CT ten hours. he was
>ignallv defeated. His force was esti-
mated al 1000 men and he Fcderals
claimcd 20 have d. fca,ed him with 5000
They acknowledge loss Of - killed anil
$50 wounded, whilst tn. Confederate loss
is put 1own at 2::.5 killed and proper.
. tomato number wounded Cen Shields.
who commanded The Frderals. wa. slight
! Il wounded in the fight, which he reports
as brilliant Federal success. There was
also Sigh, skirmi>h on Monday, which
resulted in a Federal loss Of 10 men and
the capture Of an assistant typographical
! engineer attached to the Federal service
How much Of this report Is true. or low
far it is consistent with the reports received
# engagements that took place prior to
the censorship of the press. when state
mcn,s and reports were received other
;han those manufactured by parties nnder
durcss, or in the pay Of the Government.
we leave our readers to form their own
conclusions. We will suggest. however.
that the whole rcpor, is poorly gotten up
if untrue, ana if true fat y contra'licts the
! Federal reports, that the whole confederate
army had fed. in terror and i>nay. from
Manassas aud Winchester to a point b
miles distant
After silence If several wevks. the
renowned Burn>idc's expedition has been
again heard from 1t seems that he is
neither In the rear of Norfolk nor en- romtr
for Weldon, but has turned hi. forces in
another direction. During the past week
he has captured Ncwbcrn and occupied
Beaufort. At the former place stub
born resistance was made, and the latter
was found evacuated. Fort Macon, which.
by the occupation of Beaufort. was placed
at the mercy of the Fcderals. is reported
to have been blown up and the Steamer
Nashville. tEat was lying under the guns
If the Fort, has been burnt. The F,drr-
al loss, in tn" Ncwbern fight. is reported
a, from 800 to 800 in killed aud wounded
whilst the Confederate loss is thought t"
have been mnch less. The Federal forces
numbered 5000 or more, whilst til" Con.
I fcd.rates only numbered 1900. bu, the
! latter were protected BY brcast-works.
| Reports from other military points in
! the South show no material change in the
aspect Of aff::irs. 1t is rumored, howcv-
or, that the Fcdcrals are rapidly strength
cnng their various commands along the
! Southern coast preparatory to general and
! simultaneous movements against New
Orleans, Charleston, Savannah, Mobile
and the other principal cities located on
or near the coast: The Confederate force
! between Charleston and Savannal, is cs-
, ,inatcd at 10000, whilst New Orleans
and Mobile are said to be strongly for
ifcd and we'll protected with troops \
report is circulated at the South, ihai
President Davis is soon to go West on
! business connected with the war, but
whether to take command, or personally
supcrintend important military movements
it is not known. Recruiting in the
South is reported as unprecedeRtly pros
porous. but scarcity If arms is said t"
exist. At the Norfolk Navy Yard, the
Mcrrimac is said to be still undergoing
repairs or alterations aud several other
large vessels, among them the Delaware.
are bci"g iron-clad aud equipped after
the fashion of the Mcrrimac.
: Reports from the West, show the Fcde-
rails t" be still actively engaged in aggres-
sivc operations. At Island No 10. a
fight has been going on for 4 week or
more, and, u, latest advices. it was thought
likely to continue for sometime longer
The gun and mortar boats seem to make
but little impression upon the def.uees.
which are reported as very formidable and
strongly manned. Its location is such as
to protec, the works from flank attack,
, and its abandonment can be easily effected
if it should become . matter Of necessity
Com. Fuotc thinks it much harder to re-
ducc than Columbus would have been.
aud his dispatches are not over eucourag-
ing as to the time aud Certainty of its redac-
,ion. Thc fight has been thus far conduct
ed At long range anu the loss of life Ia,
bsen ,,uail n, conSauueuee An a.teu,pt