Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1863-04-10
THE SENTINEL.
SUMMARY OF WAR NEWS.

the past week, we extract from the Baltimore
Gazette:
FRIDAY April Notwithstanding the CON
fdent predictions Of newspaper correspondents
that the Yazoo Pass expedition would evehtu-
ally succeed in reducing the hastily lmpro-
vised Notifications at the mouth OF the Ialla-
hatche river, and thus clear the way Tor the
triumphant movement down the fazoo or the
gunboats and OF the transports carrying the
land forces, it is now openly admitted that
the whole plan of operations has signally fail
ed The Gbillcothe and the DE Kalb have re-
ceived serious damage, the smaller gunboats
had been previously more or less injured in
passing the distractions of the Coldwater,
and at least, one Of them is known to have
struck snag and sunk. The military forces
found no dry land on which to operate against
Fort Pemberton; and so, o portion of the
boats have already returned to Helena, on the
Mississippi and the remainder, or as many Of
them as were in a condition to get back, were
expected to follow. Whether the Chillicothe
and the De Kalb, the finest and most valuable
of all the boats composing the expedition will
be among the latter number we do not know,
for all the correspondents from Memphis and
Helena are silent in regard to them.
Simultaneously with the above intelligence,
comes the announcement from before Vicks-
burg that Admiral Porter's attempt to reach
Deer Creek and Sunaower river, has also been
abandoned. In spite Of the immense exertions
of the gunboats, supported by Sherman S
troops, who bridged creeks and bavous and
waded through the drowned lands for days
together, up to their knees in water, the OBJ
structons to the passage of the boats were
found to be lnsurmOuntable. An active enc
my, gradually increasing in numbers, was in
cossantly engaged in telling trees not only in
front of the Vp1cnl= tO har thpir tO tho
YaZoo, but also in the rear.to prevent their
return to the Mississippi Being thus belea-
guered before and behind, and in constant
danger Of getting iGto position from which
it might be found impossible to extricate either
the vessels or the troops accompanying the eX-
petition, Admiral Porter and General Grant
finally determined to withdraw the gunboats
and retreat. In accordance with this resolu-
tion the whole force' we are told was
embarked in transports, near the head Of Black
Bayou, to return to Young's Point" Apart
from the sickness which has been brought on
by exposure in the swamps of the Iazoo re-
gion, the correspondent of the New York Tri-
bane writes that g several soldiers have been
sunstrnck," and that " the increasing heat is
producing number Of diseases of febrile
character and is a warning to our command
ers to hasten their movements before the sad
scenes Of last July are reproduced in the Ar
my Of Tennessee" What the next project for
opening up the navigation Of the Mississippi
will be, it Is impossible to say but it is quite
probable that Admiral Porter will make an
other desperate effort to carry his fleet past the
batteries of Vicksburg, with view to reliey
ing Farragut from the somewhat hazardous
position in which he is now placed, whilst
General Grant again turns his attention to the
"cut-of, upon which so much labor has al
ready been expended. As the heated term
is rapidly approaching, and with it the fearful
array of diseases incidental 10 a Southern eli
mate and malarious soil, it is evident that
whatever is to be done must be done quickly,
or-not at all.
Gen. Pegram, the sole object OF whose raid
into Kentucky appears now to have been for
the purpose of obtaining supplies, has been
compelled, by the rapid advance of the Fede-
raj forces under General Gilman, to fall back
across the Cumberland river, with a loss which
General Gilman thinks 'will not fall far short
of five hundred men y in killed, wounded and
taken prisoners, but chiefly the latter. OF the
cattle carried off by Pegram, between three
and four hundred head are said to have been
retakeu. Previous accounts put the number
recaptured at two thousand head In Tonnes
see it was believed that Van Dorn's cavalry
had left for the Cumberland river-probably
TO assist Pegram.
SATURDAY, April Ave have reports of
further captures by the Alabama The ship
Washington, which had been seized but was
subsequently released by the Alabama on a
bond of fifty thousand dollars, had reached
Southampton, where she landed the crews of
the Golden Eagle, Olive, James, and Palmet-
TO, all Of the latter named vessels having been
taken and burned by the Alabama.
On Wednesday morning one hundred and
fifty Vermont cavalry attempted TO surprise
detachment Of Confederate cavalry, in BIZ
vouac near Dranesville under that enterprising
partisan, Captain Mosby. The attack was
momentarily successful, but the Confederates
were presently rallied, and Il skrmish ensued
which resulted in the defeat of the Federal
troops, with a loss Of nine men killed includ-
ing two officers, and of many others wounded
On the part Of the Confederates, Captain Mos
by, it is alleged, was wounded by a sabre cut
The Washington correspondent OF the Phi
ladelphia Ledger has heard that dispatches
have been received at the Navy Department to
the effect that the United States sloop-of-war
Richmond was SO seriously cut up in the late
engagement at Port Hudson I" that il is doubt
iul whether she can be made available for SER
vice for long time TO come"
II was announced at New Orleans that &C.
neral Banks met with serious reverses in his
recent demonstration upon Port Hudson. The
correspondent of the Boston Courier states, in
the absence of official statements from the
scene Of conflict that current rumors various.
ly estimated the Federal loss at from two
thousand to eight thousand men; and that
parties now direct from Baton Rouge ode
clare that there is q general feeling Of gloom
among the troops, with no disposition to fight
with or for the Negroes The same writer
adds, in postscript TO the letter from which
we have just quoted, that he had lust received
news, from Il reliable sourco,j of the an
proach of the Confederates TO Berwickis nav
in large force, and that General Wei,zell had
blown up all the forts and retreated to Bavon
Beuf. The Courier, in commenting on The
above, cautiously remarks that rumors OF
serious losses TO our troops do not seem 10 be
sustained by intelligence from any other source
and can only be taken as the exaggerated re-
ports SO common uuder such circumstances. -
With regard to the official order which was
issued by General Banks, on his return to Ba-
ton Rouge declaring that his march TO Port
Hudson was only intended as a diversion in
favor Of Farragut, the Courier slyly remarks
that" General Banks knows very well how
TO put the best face upon everything"
The Rev. Colonel Higgnsons famous and
heroic negro brigade, which was so anxious
to fight, in its passage up the st. Mary sriver,
that il had to be confined under matches, and