, 1863-05-12

they occupied previous to their advance to
sustain the l1th Corps.
The army, notwithstanding the horrible
roads they had to pass over in returning from
very highest condition and spirits. Not .
word Of mnTmur has been heard from single
officer or man. AS Gen. Hooker and Staff
passed by the various regiments, after they
had crossed to this side of the river, they
we're hailed with the most enthusiastic shouts
dependency OF d decrease Of confidence in
their commander. They are ready to fol-
low him aEnin at any. moment, TO
even more desperate fields than those
on which they have just fought. One
oe1ue nsek ne The to LAST sef the v tsGGpf p
they had been on a gala parade instead Of
series Of eanguina,ry battles, SO cheerful were
their spirits, so firm was their tread. and so
eager were they for renewed action. The diff
ference between the condition of the army on
this day, and its condition on the day in De-
cember last Of its retreat from FFedericks.
burg, is very striking. Then every soldier
knew they had had disaster: now no one
thought any thing ofthe kind. It took months
90 retrieve their morale. after Fredericksburg;
the n'ordle now is perfect Not single soldier
was lost in recrossing the river. We have had
no slragglers. Not man has tried to s1nouch
away or desert, orget out of the ranks on my
plea whatever. Aqua Greek, the grand depot
Of embarka:ion, Is to-day freer from idle or
struggling soldiers than it has ever btcn
before.
Gen. Sickles, also, was chccred by all the
regiments as he passed along the lines, with
enthusiasm equal to that which everywhere
greeted Gen. Hooker. Ills conduct on the
field is the subject Of universal admiration,
by regulars and volunteers. He and his men
faced the brunt Of the battle, on Saturday and
Sunday, ut every poins Of the field aud in
eyfry honr Nf fhr fnr,tIfrf and meyer vin1ia1
an inch Of ground TO the enemy. Had the
11th corps have held their position but an
hour longer, Gen. Hick]es would have cut in
twain the rebel army. dividing Stonewall
Jackson's line completely from Lees body.
days Of battle, viz, Friday, Saturday, Sunday
and Monday, average fully thlrty-tAree per
cent. of the force he brought into the field.
The official returns Of casualties in his corps
toot up in the aggregate !, ,S114 killed, wounded
and missing. The heaviest loss that occurred
in any one Of the hrjgadcs composing the
ion, commanded by Brig. Gen. Charles +.
Graham, Of New York. Out Of 2,So0 men, lie
lost close upon S00--not more than oue-eighth
Of whom are classified Us "missing." Cen.
Graham handled his men with great skill, and
behaved personally with perfect gallantry,
Whipple vas wounded (since dcad), General
Graham- was assigned to the command Of
Whipple'e old (Third) division.
Tie loss Of the rebels is, at the least calcu-
lation, 25,000 men since the fight opened.
They were SO broken down By the struggle
that they did not ut all attempt to harass Us
| when we recrossed the river. On Saturday
afternoon, when jackson danked. us on the
right, We opposed him with mnsketry, and at
! least forty or fifty pieces Of heavy artillery,
| which played necessarily upon his solid col
| unlns as they advanced. The enemy had
|
| they could..not get into position on this occa
| sion, which circumstance will produce yast
disparity in the loss Of the respective armies
| ! AMI sure that I lam safe in saying, from the
official and other lists Of casualties Of the diff
ferent corps engaged that hare fallen undcl
field during the progress Of the engagements
thnt the rebel loss is at least one-third greatel
than ours. estimate onr losses-and thinl
this will he borne out By subsequent puhlica
| tions-at 1S,00O men. The losses Of Sedg
wick's and Sickles' corps is about 10000.
nieh you details Of the latest movements AM
present position Of affairs, together with som
Of thu unrecordcd incidents Of the struggle.
FALMOUTH, Va, May :, 1868
The loEees of the 9Th corps, in the fcrc
struggle which it has encountered during tn
present movement, amount to $50, or, is
1irst intimated, nearly onc.third Of the eutir
effective force Of the whole corps: The com
ins in Of stragllers may diminish this numbe
to some extent, but Nil such on the other sid
will, Of course, be captured.
| Out Of {, 900 Of the FLYING Division only 90
are left to answer to the roll-call. Shaler'
brigade, of Ncwton's division, last $50 men
Heights, Il l-2 miles beyond Fredericksburg,
General Burke's division lost between elevc
and twelve hundred men. This is the mos
eangulnary. battle that has thus fir bee
fought. The corps was proceeding rapid
forward to reinforce General Hooker on tn
woods Of Salem Heights. 4 prisoner, it
said, on being brought in, on questioning 4
to the position Of the rebel force said tha
there WAS none in the woods. Bu7kc's divi
ion advanced boldly forward and were mt
with terrific fire from tho enemy, who weI
strongly intrenched in the forest. After
severe infantry fight the infantry withdrew
and We shclled the woods terrilcally, causin
.. the rebels to leave the woods, and we too
possession Of them. In the second fight
Salem Heights, tMonday evcning,) wt1cn tt
enemy attacked us, IN idea Of the disrarit
between the forces may be attained from IL
announcement Of General Scdgwick, that I'll
emergency Of the case Is such, that regimen
must do the work OF brigade" The rebe
; charged, with terrific yells, but were sucrcs
fully rcrulscd, when our men would fall bae
toward the river.
l The 5th Wisconsin and 61st Pcunsylyan
). supported one of our batteries, which did t.
.riblc execution Oh the charging enemy, al
: falling back into gully, were tired upon
our own guns.
The 43d New Tork and 7th Maine were 1e
t at the extreme right, near crossroads,
j. keep up show, while the remainder Of II
J. corps retired across Banks Ford. The for
= commenced crossing at IL o'clock AoDd
O night. The enemy succeeded in getti
!. in the rear Of the rickets Of these ts
{ regiments, took them before they fired y gu
}. | then moved down upon the 9Th Maine. viii
d fired 4 yolley, repu1sipg them, and then !
n treated to Banks Ford, together with the 49
G New York, reaching it iu safety, being oblig
: to make their way through brush and slus
!. ing Haines' battery did fine execution, q
n lost but one man.
It The rebels confidently expected to captu
4 the whole corps. It's retreat was mastel
;. affair. The bridges over Banks Ford {bu
|o bv the 18th New York Engineers over viii
!. they 1ctreatcd, have all been taken up. 7
It whole army is safe on this side, the
o army corps covering the retreat.
is We have captured no less than seyente
guns.
rs The boys arc in good spirits and there Is
T. decentralization. 1000 or Is 900 will, Tthil
Of | cover our total loss.