Weekly standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1858-1865, 1863-07-15

From Gen. Lee,s Army.

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gence from the battles Of Gettysburg and Gem Lees
army. At the latest dates he was at Hagerstown,
Maryland We have rumors, however, of battles at
Boonsborough, Williamsport and heesburg and
also of fighting at Hsgerstown; and among the ru-
mors is one that Gen. Meade is concentrating his
forces for the defence of W ashington.
All these are probably unreliable What we
knos0 is that great battle, lasting several days,
was fought at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania; that the
losses were very heavy on both sides; that Gen.
Lee afterwards retired into Maryland by the same
road he had taken to Pennsylvania; that he was
embarrassed by his prisoners his spoils and his
wounded and that Gen. Meade was to much Grip
pied to be able to pursue him in force. We may
be sure, however, that the federals are mastering
their forces from all quarters, and that another
great and bloody battle will soon be fought
The Philadelphia Laquirer of late date says
there is no news Of special Importance from the
Yankee army. Meade was closely watching his
willy antagonist and another engagement was ex-
pected soon. That paper estimates the Yankee loss
at twenty thousand, and the Confederate at fifteen
thousand dispatch from Gen. Meade, dated July
9th, says "the enemy retired under cover of night
and heavy rain in the direction of Fairfield and
Oashtown. My cavalry arc in pursuit. 1 cannot
give you the details of our captures in prisoners,
colors, and arms. Upwardssof twenty battle flags
will be turned in fromonasorps. My wounded and
those of the enemy are in our hands"
We eagerly credit every report Of cheering
character from Gen. Lees army, but we must con
fess that Gen. Lees silence is significant Hereto
fore the country has always heard from him after a
great victory. We hear nothing from him now,
and cannot get list of our killed and wound
ed. We doubted from the first the wisdom Of the
movement into the enemys country. We so stated
at the time, but, hoping for the best, we said no
more on the subject Most happy would we be If
we could only feel that we were mistaken, and could
know that fortunate results were about to flow from
this invasion. =
A correspondent of the New York Tribune says
"0n Friday morning at o'clock, Slocum's line
opened terrific fire on Ewells men. The enemy
responded in most furious charge, for which mode
oftighting they are justly celebrated The fighting
on Thursday on the left, where Longstreet and Hill
fought with most terrible desperation for three hours
and the subsequent battle on the right by EweH,
were regarded by the oldest officers in the army as
the most obstinate and deadly contest of the war.
Officers and men lay dead in fearful numbers. But
the enemy's charge in response TO Slocum's fire
seemed ten times more furious.
With fendish yell and such contempt of death
during six full hours they hurled their solid masses
against the well defended lines. Nothing during
the war has equaled this six hours of carnage The
dead were lying literally in heaps, many hit in all
manner of degrees, from a clean shot through the
head to bodies torn to pieces by exploding shells.
The battle ceased at eleven o'clock, and there was
pause like to the stiffness Of death resting for three
| hours on the living and dead.
| At two o'clock on Friday afternoon Lee opened q
line of artillery fire from about hudred guns
The firing was responded to by all the batteries
| the bill, and then ensued three hours of cannona
ding unsurpassed in incessant ferceness by any
artillery battle on this continent The sight and
sound were awfu.ly sublime. The hills trembled
beneath the conclusion. The sound filled the
heavens, and nature, as it we:e stood still to con-
| template the scene.
| Horses were shot down by scores, gun-carriages
ss-rss demoishsdy piAees disufouhtsd, cassons ex
| ploded, whole batteries were swept away, and can
noniers and officers killed and wounded in numbers
almost incredible No less than fifteen caisson
! were Sploded on the heights and two regular bat
teries on the right Of the cemetry were completely
demolished.
The summary of this battle it would be difficult
to give at this time Both sides have lost heavily
The country about Gettysburg is crowed with woun
ded men. Every house and barn is hospital
Probably, in the aggregate of both armies. fifty
thousand men, have been placed hors de combat
The apportionment Of this loss would probably b.
twenty Thousand Union and thirty thousand rebels
In addition to this, we have captured from twev,
to twenty thousand prisoners. Which is more thar
quadruple what they have taken from u.s. including
our wounded who fell into their hands on Wsdnes
day, and who were recaptured by us in Gettysburg
this morning"