, 1862-06-17
IN FRONT OF RICHhTOND.
Our Present Position,

Correspondence Of the New York World1
BATTLE FIELD OF FAIR OAKS,
Va, June 9, 1869. {
The whole line Of battle Oh the right bank
OF the Chickahominy quiyered with excite
ment yesterday. There was not moment in
the day IN which battle did not seem immi-
nent. F1rm resistance by our picket guard to
dash OF the enemy In the morning, or an
eHort made by Us to recover the ground they
1gnooly lost, would have plunged the threat-
enlng hosts into murderous maelstrom.
me armies stand guard all day and al night
long upon lines separated from each other by
fields and belt Of timber not three quarters
OF mile span. Their respective attitudes
are Unchanged: They. still confront each
u necessarily disturbed by picket spasms and
br1sk artillery practice. The slightest i'd
vance by either line would involve both in
decisive and desperate conflict
Ihe hostile forces were brought into criti-
eat Ju2tapositon By q limited advance Of our
Tavern "a point upon which the crossing
OF Inc Chickahominy by our right wing, near
near NeW Bridge and above Summers bridge,
turns. That is considered q key point, be-
cause the roads from that peninsula there de-
1oaeh Into the thoroqghfare which leads into
q a,commanding elevation relative to all the
strategic and tactical operations before the
Confederate capital. Although net upon the
immediate river bluffs it supports all the ex-
terror lines Of the left wing OF the enemy
But they likewise stand rslafed to it SO Inti-
matelJ that encroachment upon them tends
TO weaken It, After the enemy we're repul.ed
at Fair Oaks, our more advanced lines were
drawn in to give the whole line uniform
et1ength, and the enemy reocsupied the van
tage Territory. This threw uS upon tho gene
raj line of the battle Of Sunday, with the tight
OF the forces which had crossed the river rest
ing upon ElmWood-a fine defensible bluff
OF the .Chlckah0miny, which covers two Of
our crossings. But it Was deemed advisable
to drive the enemy's pickets from q field and
IN advance, to the leftwa1d Of Elmwood, and
70 the right OF Fair Oaks station
CAPTURE AND REcAPTURE.
Saturday morning General Burns was d.
reeted to occupy that position, and he accom-
plshed the enterprise handsomely, with loss
Of only hTe men wounded. Ascertaining his
premises cautiously, he moved forward quiet
y, and suddenly swooped upon the rile-pit,
rebel picket guard. But the friendly thiekets
afforded them cover, and they escaped before
it Fas possible to e1ecute the cleverly planned
maneuver. But the riae-pit was captured,
and our plckets we're substituted for those OF
Iae enemy Yesterday morning they sudden
" swept forward in strong force, With artil-
lery and cavalry, and after brief, Intellectual
resistance, our pickets ran in and communica-
ted their panic to the guard reserve, who also
teli back and left the enemy in possession. It
vas no" manifest that any renewed attempt
10 capture the position would bring on gen
eral engagement The enemy had massed his
troops and planted his batteries for stubborn
resistance. Gen. Sumner had likewise prepar-
ed 1or conflict, but upon referring the ques-
ton to Gen. Mcclellan he decided that the
position Vas already substantially covered By
otaer dlspositions, and that, q general en-
gogement being undesirable at present, no ef-
tort should be made to drive the enemy back.
Durlng ~ hour or more the situation was
critical The rebel batteries, from their ele-
waited position, showered canister, grape and
Shell upon our pickets; and their infantry,
creeping up slyly under cover Of dense pine
thickets,. poured = savage vo11ey into our
fellows before they we're fairly discovered,
rushing BY companies upon our guards Of
two, who we're separated By intervals, aud in-
capable OF making defense. The reserves,
however, were censurab1e for misconduct.
course know nothing Of the rebel loss. Our
oEn is abo1t twenty-five, Of whom line we're
killed.. Only two or three Of the wounded
are seriously hurt.
TIE POSITION.
The army Of the Potomac is substantially
an offensive army Of observation. 1t stands
to arms in line Of battle awaiting the un-
fathomable will Of Gen. Mcclellan. On the
right bank OF the ChickahomIny it extends
point in front Of Seven Pines -bisected bY
Fair Oak Station-perhaps four miles long.
And the right wing covers New Bridge from
the high plateau on the left bank of the river,
VI the disposition Of the respective corps and
Of contemplated changes, it is not appropriate
to speak. The enemy occupies parallel lines,
and he is strongly intrenched. suppose the
debatable belt Of sWamps, fields and forests
is not more than three quarters Of mile vide
at any point, and our respective outposts are
much closer together. The point Of agitation
since the battle has been the right Of Fair
Oaks Station.
p1uy1AL.
Since the battle 1t has rafned copious1y.
Yesterday and to-day only have We been ex-
empt from pluvial Affections. The soil, re-
dueed to universal swamp, has rendered the
movement Of artillery Impossible, and the
feshet in Chickahominy sweeping away our
rude bridges faster than they could be re-
stored, has impeded operations I'd an insur-
mountab1c degree. You will TINS comprc-
hend tue. apparently slow movements of the
commander-ln-chief.
No man knows when the general collision
will begin. 7 suppose it depends as much
upon the weather as upon anything else. :, If
the former is the sole protracting cause. our
enemy ATTACKS, any moment may find us crash
ing through batta1ions. But presume the
rMeoels, M aamoniehed By their late cruel defeat
t9ra ~ Pof.aon 81 tn1s proud army, YIN not yen
Beauregard and Jackson reinforce them. But
to quiet any misgivings which may make the
Northern pnblic uneasy, feel safe in assuring
you that we are prepared for any hostile effort.
No corps is SO isolaied that it cannot be sus-
tained, and every point is watched with un-
TWIN r@~1S