Cleveland morning leader. [volume] (Cleveland [Ohio]) 1854-1865, 1862-05-09


be mad with interest;
NHWs OF THH EVACUATION.
80 soon as the tact got abroad, the whole
line was In commotiOn, and the air was
made vocal with the cheers OF the soldiers,
who could no longer restrain the Joy Of their
hearts
In the course OF an hour or 90, one Of the
bands on the right struck up 3 patriotic air,
and 70 this the boys gave "three cheers And
g tiger" Then infantry, artillery and oaval-
ry commenced to pour along the roads
Oouriers were riding to and fro In every d.
reotion. Newspaper correspondents, with
disheVeled locks and unwashed faces, mount
ed their horses and journeyed in hot haste
towards Yorktown. No fear Of rebel shells
now; no visions of Richmond tobacco ware
houses revealed themselves to mental eyes.
yorktown Il evacuated Yorktown is eVac-
uated n was the cry on all sides. Regiments
of soldiers, armed with picks and spades,
we're halted by the Wayside TO await the re-
call Of the orders given them the night be-
fore. No more 'gabions" 10 be erected no
more "parallels" to be dug. OCT on the York
town road, In full view Of the rebel guns,
they stood without even 80 mucb as caring
whether the ''bull dogs beIched iorth their
fiery loads of smoke and shot or no. "York-
town is evacuated |" echoed along the line
evacuated by the work Of picks and spades.
Soldiers and newspaper correspondents, in
the excitement Of the moment, forgot the
weary hours of the night they had just pass
ed. Every one seemed to ieel, for the time
being, that they had had good nights rest
and that the sound of & cannon's discharge
was yet to greet their ears.
Past the peach orchard on the left, where
more than one soldier had performed one or
more species of gymnastics during the past
week; past the mortar battery, No. Z, on the
left past the great black walls of q once
neat little farm honse, and the rebel earth
works come in view, just as they appeared
to us when we looked at them through our
glass, only more distinct now and far more
earthy-like in appearance. The parapets are
crowded with officers, together with 3 few
civilians, Notwithstanding ths prohibition Of
the sentries stationed there that they have no
right to admit any but officers. But il is
Yorktown that Is 'Itaken," and they (the
sentries) cannot resist the appeal.
As we have before stated, the Notifications
at Yorktown are Of g most formidable chsr.
acter, and in looking at them the surprise is
that the rebels ever evacuated 30 strong q
foothold. It is literally fortress, at least
mile in circumstance, and in which one
would be likely to feel as much at home as
at Fortress Monroe. Upon the outer works
were erected some fifty guns of the heaviest
calibre, but, II one may Judge from the re-
suit of the poorest manufacture. Thirty
two and sil ty-four Founders, and one hun
Il, -.ovrv.I ,.,1v4rr kfadu tod h.
parapets, extending from the York river,
westward towards the James, but all Of them |
spiked, saving the bursted ones, which are so |
eheetually spiked as not to admit of any |
further use.
A hasty glance at the guns arranged along !
the parspets, and we jump down into the |
Notifications below, and wend our way |
through the eRcsmpments. They they lay |
right ahead of u.s. to the right and to the left. |
Sibley tents, wall tents, with q slight |
sprinkling of "shelters," some new, but the |
most Of them very old and Of faded color. |
Built upon q high bluff, as are the forti6ca. |
ton, with deep gorges intersecting the en-
campments at every point, it is a matter at |
tended with not little danger to pursue our |
voyage of discovery. We have not looked |
into more than one tent however, before |
we are satisfied of the fact that be the rebels |
who they msy-insane or clothed in their |
right mind-asphyxiate or no, they arec cer-
tainly very uneleanly in their habit, and in /
their mode Of living. Such stencil has not |
saluted cur nostrils for this many a-day.
The floors Of the tents are streWn with old |
clothes, -four, pieces Of beef &c, and the |
combined perfume arising from them is any
thing but pleasant. Turn which way you
will, and there is abundant evidence that so
far as provisions are eOnesrned, the rebels
are well supplied; more, however, than can
be said of their uniform either in numbers
or quality. There is abEadant ammunition
streWn around, and shells and shot are found
not only in the immediate vicinity of the
guns, but in the magazines and store houses.
On the psrapets of the exterior Notifications
on the left are the remsents of three bursted
guns-10 0-pound Oolumhiads- of which
was seen to burst fTOE Car gabion at Far
iEholfs house, during It's firing OF that bat
terry on Friday. This gun killed two SOL
diers (rebels), and wounded fifteen.
HFEREAL NAoHMHs AT Y0RKToWz-sToRss
FOUND.
It was here sscertained that our men had
not entered without suffering some Losses.
The TWenty-second Massachusetts, were
particularly unfortunate in this respect,
having lost one man killed and Eve wound.
ed by theexPlosion Of torpedoes which they
had buried in the earth near the entrance
to the fort. Indeed, the front Of the two
entrances to the fort were not the only
places where the rebels had secreted in
fernsl machines. Inside the fort, especially
near the guns, and in the middle Of the
streets, and beneath places where it was
supposed our men would walk, newly
turned earth and other indications gave
evidence Of buried torpedoes. A guard
was stationed near ell these suspicious
spots to give warning Of the danger, but,
this precaution, three ex-
plosions occurred within an hour after the
arrival Of our troops, injuring seriously
three men and killing two horses.
The rebel works, as was supposed, were
Of the most formidable character, and
much surprise was manifested by our chief
officers ct the abandonment Of them. The
rebels left forty-fVe heavy guns and one
mortar, all Of which were spiked. Their
original positions, however, bearing upon
our various batteries, were not altered.
There we're large number Of 80 Founders
among the guns, snd some 64-pounders. A
few mounted on the southern Parapets had
been formerly used in the naval service.
The three heavy guns which the rebels ex-
ploded yesterday and the day previous
we're found in the works, together with an.
other, which probably exploded some days
ago.
A large quantity Of medical stores were
found in the hospital buildings, and on and
aesr the wharf were piled up bales of cotton,
barrels of tar, wood, Wheslbarrows, tobacco,
and various other articles. None of their
shipping was TO be seen. Our naval feet
came up st about IL O'Clock, and anchored
of Yorktown.
One stonshouse near the water batteries
contained I've hundred bags of beans and