Richmond Whig. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1862-1865, 1863-10-27
fSos ian AxNY cY fHSNEsSEs.
SPECIAL ooKsEsfoBDESds or rAr wnie.
Arur o. on.rrlrooel, Oct Is, lsas.

AMY or CHATTANOOGA, Oct. i6 1868.
Four days Of wreiohedness have been Wedged into
our existence for which four weeks Of sunshine would
scarcely be an eouivalent We had been told that
Chattanooga was the lunne of the continent" but not
until we saw the "great skirts Of the huryng Storm
and felt its power; the deWy NANTES around the
tops heard their chorus OF thunders and the
startled echoes OF the rocky battlemens, and expert
encei the rush of mighty waters from morn I'LL night
and night till morn again, did We appreciate the truth
of the homey observation
Our soldiers possess under all circumstances, grave
or gay, lively or severe spirit OF jolly ndonitabie'
ness which enables hem to surmOun the ordinary diff
suties OF camp life but when for four days they have
stood in pelting rain, with no shelter but the dripping
tress-ths ground saturated, camps inundated, fires
ouenched, thousand Tivuets making music down the
hisdes, the valleys murmuFing with their neW-groWn
brooks Fastening to an outlet the wind piercing like
knife, sgues knocking at the door, feet wet teeth chat
tsrlng, bodies sverlng stOmschs empty and raons in
the voca.ve, it requires something more than mere
philosophy to be patient under such weight OF Attic
tons.
To add to our misery-I speak for only one portion
of the srmy-we are Isolated from the outside world
by the mpassibiy Of the creeks This cause has tenn
porar, deprived Us of both mails and food-pabulum
for both body and soul-snd for hours some
among us have gone hungry. Fortunately this dhcui'
~ has been removed by the construction oil 6dfeGIr
and rafs on which the necessary supplies have been
drifted across By the time you receive this letter
bridges will have been completed and the usual inter-
communication been resumed.
IN ha annarVnaaa Of the
cayey soil is at once luderous and uncertain has pre-
vented me from moving from my quarters but from the
choppers learn the foloGing facts, which may
not prove uninteresting:
The Tennessee has risen several feet causing the re-
oya of every bridge but of the Yankee pontoons
The roads in the of Chattanooga are nearly if lot
quite impossible and the wagon trains experience great
difficulty in reaching their destination.
The expedition sent out by Longsreet to operate on
road bordering the Tennessee, which was used by
the enemy ss their main line Of travel passing az II
did through gap which was raratvely level, has
been successful in every respect. Concealed In the
crannes OF the mountains on this side of the river, our
rAemsn fred upon the trains at distance of from five
to seven hundred yards Wagons were instantly de-
serted or overturned in the confusion mulss cut loose
and teamsters frightened away, and there the wrecks
stand to the present hour the animals quietly grazing
in the adjoining pastures.
Thus ob5truc.ed, the Federals have been compelled
to cut new road drec ly over the face of mountain,
whose decivity is equal to angle of forty FIVE de-
grees which, besides being ddi,ult of ascent by even
unoaded teams adds fully twenty miles TO the length
Of the line Of transportation.
resident Of Chattanooga, who made his eecape from
the town last night informs that reintorcements to
the number of about thousand arrived there during
the seek and that the total number Of troops before
Il not far from sixty thousand. EcCook the Yankee
Corps Commander, has been suspended, and Burnside
is said to have resigned. The only names of Generals
he recoects being in Chattanooga are Rosecrans,
Thomas, Negey and Wood. -Four hundred Of our cav
airy are reported By him to have been captured while
al illinois Lieutenant taken on the other side Of the
Tennessee by party Of Alabama scouts represents that
they have sixteen hundred. The strictes Surveillance is
maintained in the town, especially over citizens but Of
the latter only some three hundred, including few
ladies' are said to remain The citizen adds that con-
siderable number of deserters have entered the lines of
the Federal army, bl. they are little respected; that
with the negroes they put to the dirty work Of
moving offi cleaning camps and digging bitches. He
describes the town as being nearly ruined the houses
decorated and the destruction Of property general OF
the position of the enemys ines he says that be knows
Nothing, any civilian wandering in the camps being
quickly "go56led up" and confined in the guard house,
Outside OF the army Il almost impossible live every
thing having bean consumed. Tie suter establishments
are the only resort.
1t is observed from Look 0lt Mountain that the Fed
erals have removed the rails from the two roads
vergng in Chattanooga aud the inference is that they
intend to build road from Jasper Tenn to their
so as dispense with their wagon trains If this be so
Rosecrsus has determined to make Chattanooga his
base for the winter Tenacious he may be- however
in hs grasp upon Southern SOIL there are others who
claim to have an equal right there and before many
moons have finished their cycles he may find himself
struggling to hold hs possessions, If not for the life
Of his army itself.
say nothing OF the FUTURE but believe that Gen.
Brgy with his fine army oes confident of his ability to
carry out any proec aud that at the proper tina it will
be attempted.
1t is understood that Lieut. Gen. Hill has been re-
eved OF the command Of his corps. Toe reason is not
assigned, but from camp talk presume it is connected
with the lsto battle.
It is stated also that Pembeyton was offered by the
President shen here the command of one Of Bragg's
corps but declined the profsr. cannot vouch for the
report.
Some among your readers may chide correspondent
for mentioning rumos but they should remember that
"Wkere there is smoke there is fire." cautious wr-
ter, in rejecting the opinions Of army, viii mako
distinction between facts and representations 1t is ny
endeavOr to emulate the example.
since writing the above have bad an interview with
two Federal deseFters just brought n-members Of Gan.
JEFF. c. Davis Flying Legion-McOOoks Corps, and ma
tives of Louisville Ky. Their appearance personally,
indicates what they say-naDey, that the Yankee army
il iu miser able condition, destitute alike of a suicien-
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