Litchfield enquirer., 1863-01-08

lished Tuesday morning, put at rest all doubts of the fact that the rebels have suffered q de- feat at Murfreesboro At last accounts they were in full and disorderly retreat toward Tulla- homa, thirty-nine miles below, and our forces were in pursuit. From Gen. Rosecrans' dis patches it appears that the heavy fighting of Friday, in which the rebels were so terribly worsted, was sufficient to satisfy them that they had no hope of success. A heavy storm pre- vailed during Saturday making it difficult to manauvre large bodies of troops, and nothing more than skirmishing took place. On Sunday morning early it was discovered that the rebels had retreated during the night and soon after ward brigade of our forces under Gen. Stan ley. entered Murfreesboro. No general pursuit however was commenced until Sunday evening the day being spent in preparations for the movement in br nging in the dead and in dis tributing ammunition and subsistence. The Centre Grand Division was the first to start and was followed with due promptness by the two others. The losses on our side, considering the length of time and the persistency with which the lighting continued before Murfreesporo, are much lighter than might he expected. Gen. Rosecrans' Medical Director estimates the num- Der of wounded in hospital at about $500, and the killed at l.O0O These figures are consider ably less than those of fAntietam or Fredericks- burgh.
 The news from Vicksburgh is also everything we could desire. It is to Monday evening of las. week, at which time Gen. Sherman after fighting five days, commencing Oil the previous "Wednesday, had carried three lines of the enc my's works, and the firing on the fourth and last line had ceased indicating that it also had been captured. This was ou the Jackson and Vicksburg Railroad, two miles from the city, and all that lay between Gen Sherman and the city was the trestle-work of the road, He had been reinforced on Sunday night by g 900 men from Gen. Grants army and had a force of for ty thousand men. At last accounts we had cap tured ten guns and seven hundred prisoners. N othing has been heard from the forces below, but it is sufficiently evident that their cooper would not be needed in reducing the rebel strong hold.
 WE HAVE very important news from East Tennessee. The Lynchburg Republicam of Thursday states that body of 5000 Union cavalry, composed of one Pennsylvania regi- ment and others unknown, have destroyed nine miles of the East Tennessee and Virginia Rail- road, burning the important bridges over the Holston and Watawga Rivers, and capturing 200 Rebel c valry who were guarding the for mer. The Republican says it will take several weeks to repair the damages. at time when the road is taxed to its utmost capacity. It charac- terizes the Yankee raid of nearly q hundred miles as one of unexpected daring and activity.
 ADv1cEs from General Blunt state that he oc cupied Van Buren, the rebels having retreated on Tuesday night towards Arkadelphia, aban- doning their wounded at Fort Smith. Our troops in the Indian Territory have driven the rebels under Coffee and Stewart across the Ar kansas at Fort Gibson The Indians are aAx- ious to re-estabish their loyal status. Hind mans correspondence was captured at Van Bp- re . His amy is wretchedly destitute.
 IT is stated that at the battle of Fredericks- burg the rebels so far exhausted their ammuni- tion that they were compelled to fire bars of iron and stones from t&eir cannon. Perhaps it was a suspicion of this fact that partly deter mined Burnside to attack the next day, but he subordinated his convictions to the opinions of his officers, and perhaps thereby lost golden opportunity to achieve glorious victory.
 There seems to have been great destruction of Government property at Island No. 10, causelessly and uselessy. The facts as ~a, have them, are these; Gen. Davies, understand ing it to be part of rebel policy to take Island No. 10, and thus cut off river transportation and fearing they might be successful, sent an order to the commanding officer to spike his guns. destroy his ammunition and evacuate the place. This order was not Sexecuted. Davies then sent another order to his Adjutant to see that it was executed, and seventy nine guns were spiked last Monday, and about 10000 rounds of ammunition rolled into the river The l50 men on the Island protested, but the order was executed.
 The defeat of the rebel Gen. Forrest, already spoken of ip Gen. Grants dispatches to the Department, appears to have been very severe one. The fight took. place on the west side of the Tennessee River, at Hunts Cross Roads, twelve miles from Lexington, Tenn. The rebels are said to have lost l 400 men. killed and wounded, and 400 taken prisoners, besides battery of six guns and nearly thou sand stand of arms.
 Late advices from New Orleans represent that the preparations for the movement up the river were making with the greatest energy, and it was expected that the advance would com mence about Jan. 5. Baton Rouge, the new base of operations. vas swarming with troops, and is fully protected from any possible attack L.,x xL, ob,lr