The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1862-08-30
mar tflottcrs.

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tSpecial Correspondence o. The n. Y. Tribunc.l
The Evacuation Of HarrisOn's Land
iag-The Movement OF the Army
Mystery respecting HcintzcIman' IS
Observation-Disclosures Fora ging-
Stampede of Negroes.
YORKTOWN, Va, Aug 10, 'e2.
The Army of the Potomac bivouacked
last night, every man of it, upon this
side of the Chickalouliny. Sykes divi-
sion of Portcr's corps was probably
ready for cmbarkation at Newport News
or at Fortress Monroe by sunset, while
Plcasan on's cavalry were boiling coffee
in water dipped from the left bank of
the Observation-Disclosures stream,
whose passage delayed will forever have
significance of indecision and failure,
as The passage Of the Rubcon not delay
cd by a mighty fgh er of the olden time
has to this day the significance of deci-
sion and of success. Porter's corps
moved the night of Thursday, the l4th
Heintzelman's Friday, on which day the
entire baggage trains were put in motion.
Saturday morning the corps of Franklin,
Reyes, and Sumner marched. With the
exception of Helm zclman's corps, the
line of march was directly down the
river by Charles City Court House to
The pontoon bridge Of which I wrote you
at the mouth of the Chickahominy, a
distance of nineteen miles. Heintzelman
moved further to the left, to cross at
Jones' bridge, seven miles further up.
Frankin's and Kcycs' corps encampcd
last night midway between Williams
burg and Yorktown Summers midway
between the Chickahominy and Williams
burg. Gen. Mcclellan slept at the lat
ter place, and is now on the road here.
Nothing of value was left for the
enemy. The deserted camps and their
extemporized furniture, bcggarly array
of empty hard bread boxes and beef bar
rels, an atmosphere black with flies, and
loaded with all the denominations ever
known to noses, make up the legacy we
bequea he'd.
rode wi h Sedgwick's division of
Summers corps. Sumner has the rear,
as he did from Fair Oaks to Malvern,
during that fighting :: change of base"
We were to have moved Friday at p.
NJ, but the trains numbered the roads,
and al hough at that hour the men were
formed in line for marching, they were
finally bivouacked for the night, and the
columns did not move un il s o'clock the
next morning. At hat time The pickles
were drawn in and we got off, but not
for steady march, for the trains blocked
the way. We made but five miles the
entire day, and camped where we
expected to the night before. Generals
Sedgwck and German established their
headquarters at house built by John
Tyler, where he spent several years of
his first married life. The present pro-
prietor is quite veal by, has sons in the
Rebel army, pre;ends to be Union, would
take the oath Of allegiance, and thereby
get Quartermasters' receipts for some
hundreds of bushels OF oats appropriated
by our soldiers that night, if the army
were to remain and protect him. His
face is duplicate of jim Lanes. The
resemblance was noted by every one who
had ever seen the lank Kansas Senator.
My own attention was called to it by an
orderly cxclaiming, 3" BY the Pope ia
new oath lately come in vogue with this
army there's Jim Lane ~
Sundays march was very severe, not
from heat for the day was cool, not from
the distance made, but owing to the
ankle-deep dust in the narrow road over
which three corps had already passed,
and to the continued blocking of trains
which kept the men in columns sixteen
hours to make as many miles. From
any slight eminence one could trace the
exact course of the march for miles
either way by the clouds of dust. In
some villages in Indiana during the dry
months, it is said that the mothers
habitually sally forth toward evening,
with water and towels, in search of their
children, and are sometimes forced to
wash dozens before they find their own.
Before we had marched an hour the same
process applied to some of my friends
would have been great help to recog-
milton.
Several miles back could always
detect separate cloud, which told NE
the locality of P)easanton's cavalry
brigade, and Kiml,al's brigade, formerly
of Shields division. This cavalry, which,
in default of being followed by the
enemy, devoted all Its energies to driving
up stragglers, of which class there were
numbers, consists of the Sth Illinois, the
9Th Pennsylvania, and the 9Th United
States. Kimball had with him two light
batteries. He reported directly to
Pleasan ON, who reported TO Sumner.
On Sunday nigh: Reyes, Franklin and
Sumner bivouackcd at the Chickahom-
my, all having crossed but Sedgwick's
division of the lat;cr's corps. Riding
wi b that division late in the evening, |
caught sight of camp fires in tho dis
lance learned that they were across
the river, and | knew We mus. yet march
to them. If the men who had walked
and carried muskets were as fatigucd as
| who had sat my horse sixteen hours,
the sight of those camp fires was welcome
10 them. In imitation of e. Z. r..
James solitary horsenlan, l cried 4" Ad-
cooks !! my gallant stced," and pushed
hra yelv hut huNrrilv On I r,rtod tb,t