Cleveland morning leader. [volume] (Cleveland [Ohio]) 1854-1865, 1863-05-13

in such cases az all civilized nations
consider legitimate-supplying the actual
necessities Of the troops. After this as
uranc the people talked freely and I'M
r~eservedly with officers 8ndmen. A break
fast-consisting Of corn, hog, hominy and
rye coffee-was obtained at the hotel for
s.. For shilling calico, 81 90 per yard
was asked at the stores very poor WINS
Ky, $50 per gallon, and everything else
was proportionstely high. The people Of
the town, like those Of many others ! have
visited in rebellion, occnpy q humiliating
positiou. They are not innate secession
lists; in fact, but few of the people think
for themselves at all. That labor is per
formed for them at Richmond, and all
thew haze TO do is 70 pay. Jeh. Davis mas
full control over their minds they are
massive instruments in his hands, and, as
araIe. but few have any excuse for oppos-
ing the Government of the Union, except
that they are told to do so by the master
of the rebellion. To-day the people OF
Louisa saw for the first time Uncle Samu-
els postal currency, and offered any num-
her Of Confederate paper dollars for Uncle
Sans D representative Of twenty-five
cents. Greenbacks are held in high estl-
nation. A pair of shoes, for which a
storekeeper demanded S28, were offered
for ST, il paid in g~reenbacks. The reader
| sbould bear in mind that this was IN a
Mace where the rebel Government has
heretofore held undisputed sway.
At 4 o'clock P. VI. Saturday, May 2, the
railroad having been destroyed for miles,
and a number of cars and bridges-over
| Greenwood and Hickory Rivers-0urned,
horses and troopers well supplied with ra-
| tons, the command was moved upon hill
to the east Of the town, and there for an
hour awaited the threatened attack by
| troops known to be approaching from
| Gordonsville. But the two regiments at
the west of the town were quite sufficient
to induce 8 retrogade movement Of both
infantry and cavalry. at 5 o'clock the
command started for Thompson's Cross
Roads. for Four Corners which point
was reached at about 1T o'clock P NJ.
From here the different expeditions start
ed to cut the enemy's lines. At II o'clock
midnight. General Stonemen called all OF
the principal officers together, and ex-
plained his general plan Of operations.
The commander Of each detachment was
directed to to specific points to be destroy
ed-the special object of his mission &C.
complished. he was allowed the widest
latitude for any further operations.
Ay 81 o'clock Sunday morning, May .,
the several expeditions had started. The
--aa shining brightly, the roads
were comparatively good, and for once in
the history of the war, everything was in
a harmony S1lzsyy G GaGIFRErfy, with With his " and the
i II NJ. -.-s,.-A. - oil ahcrt E0n
men, took a southerly direction, and cross
ing Owen soreek, Licking Hole Creek,
Little Licking Hole Greek, Little Byrd
Greek, and several other creeks, reached
Columbia, on the james Kiver, at about 8
o'clock, Am. The approach of the force
had been heralded, but no one believed it.
The man who went to the trouble of rid
ing ten miles to give the inhabitants no
tice, was almost mobbed by the people
they doubted his sanity. "Whatl Yam
KEGS near Columbia p said the citizens.
at is impossible jeff, Davis would not
permit such an INVASION of the sacred
soil. The furnisher of the unwelcome
news had dirt thrown at him, was hOoted
at and followed by a crowd Of excited
people, who were threatening him with all
sorts of vengeance, just as the advance
guard of Colonel Windham's force, under
Major Beaumont, dashed into town.
There were no soldiers there. A dozen or
more citizens succeeded in escaping across
the river, and spreading the astounding
intelligence, and soon after a squad of
troopers appeared in the distance on the
opposite bank. The people south of the
river did not believe the story told by the
fugitives. One man rode with his
~-r- I--s a~ H. TUHh ~
see for himself. The servant seized
upon the opportunity to ride into our
lines. He was not pursued. A planter
sent a son mounted On valuable horse to
ascertain the news-belieYing the force to
be Stuarts cavalry. The boy asked an
officer if the Yankees had been whipped
and was told that they had. he expressed
his satisfaction and was about leaving,
when the officer told him he wanted a
horse-his own was jsded. An exchange
was speedily made. The boy was evident
ly somewhat puzzled at this summary pro-
ceeding, but thought it all right no doubt,
as it was Stuart's cavalry, and he rode of
to tell his father the news. A negro who
manifested some joyful emotion upon hear
ing that the Yankees were coming, was
severely whipped by his master just below
Columbia, a few hours before we reached
the spot. The negro, upon being released,
reiterated his former expression, and an
attempt was made to whip him again
But he escaped, jumped into the river and
was drowned. The old negro preacher on
the plantation where the above occurred
told me that his master 'curs'd de Yankees
cause dey made i'm loss q fifteen hundred
dollar niger
ain the canal at Columbia was found
several several boats loaded for Richmond
with bsled hay and oommissary stores, all
bearing the stencil mark of C. S. A.
Another boat from Lynchburg arrived du-
ring the day. The torch was applied to
the boats; bridges across the canal-oi
which there were several-and a large
quantity Of medical and commissary goods
found in a warehouse, were either burned
or thrown into the river. The bank Of the
canal was cut at several points within five
miles, and the locks destroyed. At Co
lumbia the canal crosses the James River
in 8 massive stone aqueduot. No one seems
to have known of this structure; at all
events, nothing was brought along to Sc.
cure its destruction.
1.-THE engineer Of the command and Ma
jor Beaumont and Captain Thomas, of the
LIST New Jersey cavalry, each made special
effort to destroy this structure. There
were no blasting tools to be had; several
kegs of blasting powder, however, were
found in q storehouse, and three of the
kegs were confined in a cask and the cask
filled with pressed earth. The water in
the aqueduct being eight feet deep, it was
designed to sink this machine over one of
fhe piers and destroy the same upon the
Mallefort plan Of blasting rocks under
water. Everything vas arranged and the
cask was being lowered into the canal by
means ola rope, when, unfortunately, the
rope broke and the cask could not be re-
covered again within the time prudence
dictated that absence from the place would