The Weekly Perrysburg journal. [volume] (Perrysburg, O. [Ohio]) 1861-1???, 1863-05-13

PARTICULARS, INCIDENTS, DETAILS, &c.
Especial Dispatch to the Cincinnati Gasctte.l
WASHINGTON, May s. 1868.
The New York Times, Of Tuesday, publishes an
elaborate account of the military operations on the
Rappahannock, up to Sunday night, of which
make the following abstract-the narrative COM
mencing on the 9th Of April, and says
THE ADVANCE COMMENCED
Il is Monday morning, and the army is all in
motion. The vast area it covers, OF miles and
miles in extent, is animated scene of hustle and
stir. The camps are broken, and the comfortable
log huts and winter quarters, in which the men
have been lodged for months, are abandoned.
Columns Of troops are moving ON dozen dcr-
cnt roads, carefully concealing themselves from
the enemys view by marching through the woods,
and behind the knolls and ridges of the broken
ground along the Rappahannock. Long trains of
artillery, pack mules and ambulances, add their
own features of the imposing and picturesque to
the scene. The army in all its aspects, material
aud moral is in splendid condition. 1t is large,
and the health of the troops is better than it over
was before.
uooKERs PREPARATORY WORK.
From the first day General Hooker took com,
mand, it was felt that directive brain animated
the mass. Great mobility has been secured by
prodigiously cutting down the amount of transpor-
tation, and by employing pack mules, which go
! any where in all wcathcrs, instead OF our heavy
| wagons, which always stuck in the mud. But
| two wagons being allowed to each regiment, the
army is no longer encountered with that ponderouS
| impedment which used to be the marvel of all
| who beheld it. In fact, we now approximate to
the French standard, which enables an army to
carry fourteen days provisions, without wheel
| behind it.
The naval transformation is not less complete.
Nothing in this line of phenomena was more strlk-
| ing than the admirable secrecy that existed III re-
| gard to the proposed plan and movements OF the
opening campaign. ...
HooKER's PLANS KEIT SECRET.
1t was II new and somewhat tantalizing sensa-
tion for any one who has followed the movements
of the army in the field will testify that hitherto
projected operations have always been known and
| discussed by nearly everybody, even the negro
servants, in the camps, for days and weeks before
they took place. In this case, absolute Ignorance
prevailed. Not even the corps commanders knew
what was intended, and had only their specific in
divdua order for the day. In this case, the spec
tators of the great game of chess were blindfOded.
The master player alone had his eyes opened
OCCUPATION OF THE FoRDs.
! BY Tuesday morning an acute eye might begin
to take in rough outline of plan, from the dis
positions then made of the troops. Three of the
seven eorps d'armce composing the army Of the Po-
tOmac, namely the First Corps, MAJOR General
Reynolds; the Third Corps, Major General Sickles;
and the Sixth Corps, Major General Sedgwick, had
been removed from their camps the night before,
of the Rappahannock whore General FranRln had
his crossing at the time of the battle of Fredercks
burg, namely: Two miles below that city, and
covered from the enemy's view by the curtain OF
hills that fringe the Rappahannock.
| While these movements are going on, other col
| umns consisting of the corps of General Meade
the Fifth, and General Slocum, the Twelfth, are
moving different roads, and have taken positions
up the Rappahannock, in the noighborhood OF
Banks and United States Fords, which respect
| iynl vaio md n,iln
and are, it will be remembered the places selected
by General Burnside for his crossing, on the occa
sion of the,mud campaign. u.s.
| .... LAYING THE POST0ONs.
Before the dawn of Tuesday, the pontoon boats
had been taken from the wagons, couple of miles
below Fredericksburg, and under cover OF Il very
heavy fog, were carried nOiselessly down on men /
shoulders to the rivers brink, and deposited in the
water; they were Immediately manned by tht
troops of Russells brigads, Brooks division, SStl
Army Corps, and rapidly pushed over
-- THE REBEL PIcKETs. .-
The rebels here, as at every ford for forty miles
up and down the river, were posted along the riV
ers margin in double lines of rifle pits, containing
perhaps a couple of hundred of men each.
AT the lower crossing they made but feeble re
resistance, and in few moments our men were II
possession of both lines OF rifle pits, with the los
of half dozen men. Indeed, Il rebel heutenan
captured here, a yery ingenupus young man, toll
us that they had been expressly instructed not L
offer very serious resistance.
PASSAGE OF RRooKs' DIVISION.
This being accomplished, the whole of Brooks
division was passed over the three pOntOon bridges
which were Immediately constructed under charg
of Chief Engineer Benham, TO hold the position
and the bridge ahead-a mile and half belov
the position of General Scdgwick, at an estat
called Southileld.
REYNOLDS PASSAGE DISPUTED, But SUCCESSFUL
Reynolds command was also instructed to oifec
a crossing In doing this, however, they were no
quite so lucky as those above them. Daylight ha'
come while the engineers were still endeayoring {
oct the poutoon boats down TO the water, but th
fire from the rebel sharpshooters, who place.
, in the rifle pits. which had been thrown up opPo
site them, also succeeded in delaying operations S
much that il was ten O'Clock before they could b
got in the water.
To silence the fire of the sharpshooters, Colone
7 Warner, commanding artillery on the extreme lef
under the able Chief of Artillery, General Hun
, brought forty guns TO bear on them. This com
petely cowed them, for they were afraid OF ieay
ing their pits and exposing themselves to the mui
derous fire of the artillery. This detained theI
: until force able TO push over in boats; weI
r charging up the hill they captured all the men
e the first row of rifle pi!s, numbering about on
. hundred and fifty.
; Immediately after the crossing of this force,
couple of pontoon bridges were built, and Gener'
h Wadsworth's division, of Reynolds corps, wa
2. thrown over. General Wadsworth himself, how
Il ever did not wait for the completion Of the bridge
!, but while his men were crossing in the open boat
r" plunged IN on horseback, and swan his horse ov'
a to the other side. ..
e LITTLE STRATEGY.
Thus far, but one division of the Second Corr
y had beer sent across the river. The remaiHlI
II four divisions stayed on the other side but tho
" were not idle. They were put in motion on the hi
slope ON our side of the river, aud ia plain view
the enemy, were marched along the crest OF Il
ridge aud down, as though TO the crossing b
instead of crossing, they were quietly drawn
back through a gully, round the rear Of the ridg
aud round again on its top. They made the a
pearanoe Of AN army Of one hundred thousal
,f men, and must have pFeseLted the appearance OF
- massing ON our side, preparatory 70 passage
II the river under the cover Of the night The saI
g cireusipg was performed by the artillery Al
wagon trains, .6
'sL l'fi" Elr. .apt
.- 4l-l,Es'