, 1863-06-20
TEEE WAR I'M VIRGINIA
HEAVY sKlRkAISH At ALDlE.
GLlhlPSES OF TEE SITUATION.

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but there Is IN impression here that the OBJ
tect Of that move WIS By q dash::upon our de-
tached forces at Winchester, Berryvil1e and
Martinsburg to do an effective stroke Of busl-
was 'thercabouts.
:. AT the same time, he may have hoped, by d
fetnt at an invasion, to cajo1e Hooker into
transferring the bulk Of his army north Of
the Potomac, BY which manouyre he Hee)
could reclaim the sacred soil to the line Of the
Potomac, and perhaps, by quick movement.
gobble up the supplies, and any 1etaehei1 forces
Of ours south Of the river, and not protected
Immediately By strong dcfenccs, to Washing
ton.
Two deeerters from Stuart's cavalry, who
came into the Union Hills today, say that
Stuart's cavalry, is at Warrcnton, 12,000
strong, and Lees army is maEsed near Front
Royal. 1t consists offour corps, under Long
street, Ewell, A. T. Hill aud D. II. Hill,
and numbers about $1,000 men.
Tic troops sent to capture Winc1esterAaye
mostly returned. They state that the whole
rebel army is preparing to march, and will
try to turn uooker's right flank and cross into
Maryland.
Especial Dispatch to tho Chicago Tribuue.1
PHILADELPHIA, June u, 1867.
Tic following dispatches to the New York
Times, from its correspondent at Hooker's
headquarters, giyes the c1earest statements
OF the late movements Of the rebel army, we
have had yet:
HEADQUARTERS ARMY or THE Po7oaAc,}
June IS, 1868.
Ne can follow the course of the enemy
through the last two weeks, as We think
pretty accurately. More than thirty days ago
two brigades Of what IL nov Ewclps corps.
left Fredericksburg BY Railroad. We could
rot learn where they went. .Trimb1e's brigade
was one. This brigade is composed largely of
Maryland rebels. It now turns up in the nd
vance In the Shenandoah Valley. We can now
easily conceive how force Of one division was
thrown around by rail- into the Valley by way
Of staunton.
The residue Of Ewell's corps moved forth
valley by tho way ofCulpeppez aud Front
Royal, about two weeks ago. When Trim
BILE got into the valley, he found our forces
too strong for lin, and sent for help.
Eweu supported him, and in the meantime,
stuart YVES getting his cavalry ready to dash
through the yalley IS soon as 1t was cleared.
Ewell was then strong enough to attack Iil-
TOT, ard endeayor to capture his whole com.
mand.
4 week ago last Saturday, June 9Th, Long
streets corps passed through Culpepper and
moved in the direction Of Thornton's and
Chester Gaps; portion Of it is possibly up
to Front Royal and AsAby's Gap, but small
portion. This corps pushed up to support
Ewcll, and is now undoubtedly in the valley.
Ui1l's corps was left at Fredericksburg. 1t
seems to have been Gen. Lees hope that the
retention Of one corps there would result ia
keeping Gen. Rockers armyin statu quo fo1
Hill never moved foot till Hooker did.
On Saturday, the 18th, Hills corps began
marching out, and on Monday the Last Of his
column, a battery Of artillery, left the city.
Whatever may layc been the plaus and de-
signs Of Lee, there Is not the least doubt hut
they have been materially Intezfered with, If
not partially foi]ed, by two or three energetic
movements On Hooke1's part, namely: Pleas
anton's sudden attack on Stuart damaged him
badly, exposed his designs and completely
discounted him. His proposed raid did not
take place, and 1t Is supposed that all the cav
airy that entered Pennsylvania, is under COM
mand Of jenkins or Imboden, Or some other
guerilla Of that stamp.
Stuart's heavy force Of cavalry Is certainly
not there. III q dny or two We may know just
where it is. Another thing that deranged
1ee's plans was 11llroy's energetic defense of
Winchester, which would naturally render
Lees approach to the Potomac very cautious
in the face Of an unexpectedly serious resist
ance. As to the reported forces On tic line
OF the Potomac, and just north Of 1t, they are
probably tie advance guard Of Ewe1l's corps.
After the occupation of Winchester, there
was nothing more natural than that they
should seize the line Of the Potomac, in the
vicinity Of Wi1liamsport, and nothing is more
unnatural than that they should cross 1t In
force while the whole Of their army was with.
in supporting distance, which it Is not to-day
The present position Of the enemy, COM
pairing all my information, I believe to be
this:
LongstEeet and Ewell are In the valley neal
Winchester. Hill was on the march betHcen
Culpelper and Chester Gap, but he has hardly
bad time to get on the other side Of the Blue
Ridge.
Lee may make, It is thought, one Of these
two movements across the Potomac towards
Hagerstown, defending the passes Of South
Mountain on his right flank, rs sndden con-
centration in Loudon Valley, and the passage
Of the Potomac at Nol2n's Ford, just where
lie crossed last year.
The New York and Philadelphia papers
criticize sharply A1lroy's retreat from Win
chester, and argue that It vas alike unneces~
eary and unskillfully conducted.
The Pennsylvania excitement is mainly
over, md little apprehension is now felt Of
any serious rebel movement farther north
tlsan against Baltimore, or mcnacing connec-
tions with Washington. Meantime, Fortress
Monroe may exercise q controlling influence
in their plans.
NAsu1EGgoS, June 19.-The mronantic
corps Of the army Of the Potomac has been
dispened with.
The eeyeznl army corps are steadily assum-
Ing the positions respectively assigned them
The 1st army corps On Sunday marched
twcnty-three miles; On Monday, fifteen and
on Tuesday, tbirty-eight. The distance
the corps marched yesterdny Is not known,
but WAS probably twenty miles.
HARRISBURG, June 10-op. NIT Is under
stood that Gen. Milroy is advancing towards
the East with 10000 mounted infantry, and
5000 riaemen, wc1l mounted, from the noun
taing.
WASHINGTON, June 19.-Our cavalry en-
gagged in the fight Of Wednesday at Aldie was
under command Of Fitzpatrick. The rebel
cavalry consisted Of portion Of Fitzlugh
Lees brigade, commanded BY the rebel Col.
Rousseau. The rebel force Of cavalry and
mounted infantry Ind come from the dlrec-
tion Of Hooker's Gap, aud arrived 1T Adie
two hours before our force reached that point.
The rebels getting warning Of K1lpatrick's
approach, posted themselves in commanding
positions, with their mounted sharpshooters
placed behind stone walls. Fitzpatrick drove
them fnriously through the town, the rebels
making stand on the other side, where WAS
posted battery of four guns on the road to
Ashby's Gap, and the rebel cavalry posted
themselves along the wooded hills and stone
walls toward snicker's Gap.
Here desperate charges we're made by our
own and the rebel cavalry alternately, and
after a fight of over three hours with varying
success. the rebel force seemed to be gaining
some advantage, when the regiment Of Col.
Donly, which had been detached from the
division for that purpose, came up to the
contest, and by desperate charge against the
rebel battery oftour guns, anda regiment Of
-.,4.a 113.e{eaSsrs iufantry ffn fiffa tvoR