Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1863-05-07
Mortester 4aiIp Spy,
SOME PARTICULARS or THE
RECENT FIGUZING.
Affairs at Fredericksburg.
REINFoRCEMENTS JOINING HOOKER.

hLlNI OlNNlINllJ4Ni . DOIN1NNT Il(DkJhIIh,
We give below extracts from the letters of
various army correspondents, and Geographic
dispatches received yesterday afternoon, Civ
ing further details Of the battles OF Sunday
and Monday, both on the right and at Fred
ericksburg =
THE BATTLE GROUND OF SUNDAY.
Probably no battle was ever fought upon
ground more untavorable for the vancouver
ing and depoying OF troops Nearly the
whole country near Chancellorvillei is covered
withadense forest, muchof it being of the same
character as The Wilderness" living only
snort distance west OF this point The timber
Is mostly dead, and still very dense; then, to
make the forest still more impenetrable, there
Is denser growth of dead underbrush, so
thal II Is hardly passable for man-certainly
not Tor beast-and the worst place conceiva-
BILE Tor handling troops. Yet a very great
part OF Sundays battle was fought in this
almost impenetrable jungle, and many dead
and wounded on both sides still lie there, con-
cealed in the gloomy depths OF 1.-The Wilder
ness" The only open ground upon which
the battle was fought, was the plain on the
south side OF the plank road, near Chancellor
vile, hali mile long, and perhaps three hum
dfed yards wide. The only open ground in
our present position is a semi circular crest
extending from the left of Gen. Sykes posi-
position to the right OF Gen. Towards. I'M
mediately in front of this are dense woods,
conceallng our skrmiShers and those of the
enemy. This crest is our artillery position.
and here guns enough are maSsed to blow to
atoms the armies OF dozen southern con-
federacleS. The enemy seem to have prop
er appreciation OF the cOurtesieS in waiting
Tor them from tins position. Twice they have
esSayed out OF the woods toward our guns.
anu twice have those guns sent to their earth
iy doom untold numbers of desperate wretch
eS. The artillery at this point is in charge of
Capt. Weed, chief of artillery of the 9th army
corps.
INCIDENT OF SUNDAYS FIGHT.
Sunday morning the battle commenced in
earnest. The enemy pushed up against our
lines steadily and with persistence almost
lncredioiei but our batteries, supported by
the Sd corps, moved them down by hundreds
and finally compelled them to retire Their
batteries, however, soon opened again. The
large brick mansion at Chancellorville, used
as headquarters by Gen. Hooker, was shelled
and set on fire. Previous to leaving the
building Gen. Hooker was knocked down by
posi- supporting the porch, which a shell
had torn out, and for short time the COM
mand devolved upon Gen. Couch. General
HoOkers bruises were not serious. Our lines
gradually fell back towards the river about
mile, where another stand was made behind
entertainments, which position we now hold"
MONDAYS FIGHT.
The following extracts are from correspon-
dence OF the Herald, dated Monday;
"Reports from the field are very favorable,
aud a., 4
Hooker will be able to hold his position in
front Of Ely's ford, which, though his right
Is swaycd back somewhat, is essentially as
dangerous Il position for the enemy as the one
he held at Chancellorvlle. Large numbers
of prisoners have been sent in. 1t is pecu-
LARRY difficult to form an estimate of the num-
Der Of prisoners. You see them always in
scattered groups at different times, and you
are very apt to forget how large the groups
were and how many you had seen. So the
estimate is as wide as between four and eight
thousand There is reason to suppose that
Gen. Hooker has to-day engaged the whole
rebel army, and fought one of the greatest
battles of the war From statement made
here in reference to the fight at Fredericks-
burg on Sunday, that the rebels were driven
out of the first line of rifle pits, the impress
sion has arisen that they still hold pits in the
rear Of those gtormed by the third division of
the sixth corps; but this impression is erro-
ne0us They were driven out of the first,
second, and third lines, routed entirely from
the whole place, and, though they made some
offer to fight on the hills behind their works,
they retreated upon the advance of our men,
and probably joined Gen. Lee"
The following is from Washington letter
dated Tuesday,
There was heavy fighting yesterday, near
ly all day, on the right, where the great fight
of the day previous Sunday took place, but
at the last accounts everything was going on
well for the Union army The enemy are
contending desperately against the efforts of
Gen. Hooker to lniliCt decisive defeat uDon
them, and will Of course continue the contest
as long as possible. The casualties on both
sides have been very heavy, as the best and
most effective troops of both armies are here
ptted against one another, and are contend
ing, each tor Il great victory. The number
OF prisoners captured thus far is at least from
four to six thousand, and the number is hour
ly increased. Both armies are considerably
exhausted by the almost continuous fighting
marching, and maneuvering of the last three
days, and unless large reintorcements can be
brought up for the relief of Lees army with
ont further delay, they cannot much longer
continue the contest
'Gen. Hooker declared to an officer who
LETT his headquarters at Charlottesville this
morning that he could hold his position
against any force that could be brouqht
against him. He is very confident of success,
and that this is to be, if one of the bloodipst
themost important and Observation-Disclosures of the
war thus far achieved"
FREDERICKSBURG SUNDAY NIGHT AND voND.x y
MORNING.
Sunday night the men, begrimed with sweat
and dirt. rested from their fatigue, and in thn
course of couple Of hours commenced
marching to reinforce our right, seven miles
off, where Hook was battling with incom
pete success. Soon, however, our hopes
were somewhat stayed. 1t was found that the
rebels had rallied, and were approaching to-
ward our extreme left. Brooks division, which
had been, comparatively inactive during the
day, was ordered TO attack them, and sharp
action occurred, which continued till after
dark. The divisions Of Howe paused upon
their march toward Hooker, and rendered
efficient assistance. Brooks division, how.
ever, bore the brunt of the engagement, and
lost greatly, though the enemy were driven
back, losing heavily in killed, wounded and
prisoners. ItappearS that after the great strug-
gle Of Sunday, Lee detached a large body
OF his rebels to meet Sedgwick.
Early Monday morning large masses APP
peared on the heights east of Fredericksburg
where we had but small force, having sent
a large portion to strengthen Sedgwick, and
the position was relinquished after short re-