Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1862-08-23
THE ALEXANDRIA GAZETTE.

H. L
dar Mountain till midnight: then mounted
with his staff. and rode to Culpeper, reaching
it at 2. Not an inch of road that was not filled
with Wagons-most Of them hating. Before
the start, the last had passed headquarters, but
ONLY to crowd together in confusion IN the dark
ness, and blindly grope their way over new
made roads in the fields Bivouac fires were
burning everywhere; the night was clear, the
starlight brilliant, and not long after y the
moon came I'D ; but there is a blending ofilght
and shade on countless strange scenes which
makes everything indistinct and mysterious
makes it easy to lose one way, and almost I'M
possible to find it. So the endless trains made
little progress in the rear, and only gave prom
Use of a worse condition in front The General
took charge in person, and his energetic efforts
soon started the lettering wagons, and, AS ne
overlook successive trains, put every onequck-
~ in motion.
There are no troops on the road at first. -
They have hardly begun to move; could hard
" move if they tried. It is Just possible tor
the Generals cavalcade, winding its way IN and
out Of the labyrinth Of trains, and riding al
most wholly out Of the road, to max IT'S way
slowly forward. A regiment cannot march as
a regiment till the roads are clear; nor need
the troops move far on the road till the trains
are we'll on their way. The trains are to be
brought of if it costs fight before we reach
the river
The retreat of our army, and the advance OF
the rebels in overwhelming force, are no longer
secrets. Besides the reports OF scouts and re-
connoissances, we have the evidence OF an 9th
Ger who was in Richmond only last Friday, and
his evidence is that in Richmond there are only
three thousand troops; that the whole rebel
force, from one hundred and fifty to one hun
dred and seventy-fve thousand strong, IS march
ing on Washington, is within twenty miles Or
less of Gen. Pope, and hopes to flank and de-
strov his army. Long before this can be read
at the North it will be known in every village
that Washington is again threatened by the
advance of rebel army, and that it's fate is
question Of days If Mcclellan has sent for
ward his troops for once rapidly; if the North
has sent them; if they meet us on the Kappa
hammock if we can gather three-fourths OF the
rebel strength, then safety and victory. But
if not?
Arriving at Culpeper, Gen. Pope found its
streets crowded worse than the roads, and al
most the whole transportation OF the army IN
danger Of being choked or delayed until 1t could
only be saved by fire. The first trouble in front.
Riding out he started the leading trains. start
ed every one as he returned, ordered all heslta-
ting Or injured wagons into the neloS, c1eareo
the whole road and returned to town. Taking
his station on the Court House corner, where
the trains were to divide, he spent the rest OF
the night with his staff, bringing order out OF
confusion, urging forward every train, address,
ing drivers, Wagon-masters, quartermasters,
and every one else with a certain discretion Or
force of speech which nobody could mistake or
disobev. BY six clock nearly all the immense
trains of the army were through the town.
T have only moment for these hurried lines,
which I hope to send by an early train this
morning. It was expected that the army would
cross the Rappahannock by 10 O clock, but the
passage Of the trains was 50 much delayed that
= l. ~ I'll, oo,,,- oF. popEc