The Ottawa free trader., 1863-04-04
War News of the Week.

a
1t has been another quiet week with Gen.
Heol.ers army. The reports in the early
part of the week that Lees army was fall
ing back are displaced by the latest re-
ports which say that his lines on the Rap
pahannock have recently been strength
ened. Refugees continue to come to
Hooker's lines in great number, stating
that the utmost destitution prevails in all
Virginia north of Richmond-that people
are actually starving, &c.
The news from Charleston ought to be
exciting, but is not. Port Royal letters
agree in saying that the movement against
Charleston has commenced, land that on
the 2jth. all the Monitors lett Hilton
Head for Charleston Daily, since then,
the public have been on tho q'a rive for
important news from that quarter, but
the telegraph remains dumb
The blockading fleet off Charleston
made an important capture on the 2Ist,
being powerful British steamer, the
Georgiana, laden with splendid Whit
worth battery and half a million worth OF
ammunition, &c, for the Confederates.
Sac was destroyed.
From the awfully mixed up mess of
news from kentucky during the week,
lew facts have become tangible The
whole invasion of Southern kentucky
turns out to have been little more than a
Il f-Inko .So
in all from 5000 to 5000 men, Pegram
was finally forced to fight by Gen. Gill
more, near Somerset, on Monday and was
badly whipped. He had about 1900 men,
under poor discipline Gen. Gilmore, with
about ! 200 men attacked him, and after
hours fighting. the rebels were routed,
and pursued by our cavalry to the river.
Pegram lost 50 killed, $50 wounded and
400 prisoners Our loss was but 10 killed.
1t is doubtful whether any other inva-
sion beyond these foraging raids is intend
Ell Rosecrans is confident that no heavy
rebel force has passed his left flank
But in front Of Rosecrans a mighty re-
bel army is collected. They are more
than kosecrans dare advance to attack
and he is fortifying on Stone river, await
ing an attack from the rebels. All ac-
counts agree that the rebels are so hard
up for provisions that they will not be
able to wait much longer for an attack
from Rosecrans. Their late movements,
therefore, indicate unmistakably that they
will make the attack within very short
time Rosecrans says, although his army
is less than it ought to be, he is ready for
them.
The news from the Lower Mississippi is
not encouraging. Porter's expedition by
way of Steel's bayou, &c, to get into the
Yazoo above Haines' Bluff, was failure
The bayou was so narrow that the rebels,
by cutting trees across it, at one time had
Porte-'s fleet so entirely hemmed in, that
"A force of infantry had to go and extricate
him The expedition has returned to the
Mississippi.
From the other expedition, by the Yazoo
pass, no late authentic news has been re-
ceived 1t is pretty certain, however, that
the expedition has not yet passed Fort
Pember,on and entered the Iazoo.
The work on the Vicksburg canal has
been suspended. The enemy's guns SO
annoyed the orkmen that they had 20
leave.
Farragut passed Port Hudson with hut
two vessels-the Hartford and Albatros
They lie below Warrenton. The Ram
Switzerland which run the gauntlet of
the VIcksburs batteries, WAS not damaged
SO but that she has already been repaired.
The Ipdianola, which was said to have
been blown up, and all that, has come to
life again. She was taken up Red River
by the rebels and has been repaired. Fears
are entertained for the safety of Farraguts 5
vessels on account of the IEdianola, Queen
of the West, and Webb.
Gen Banks has returned to New Or
leans, and at last accounts was preparing
to send forces to the Red and Atchafalaya q
rivers, to clean oat the rebels and cut of
their supplies fsom Texas