Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1863-06-11
FROM vIckSBURG.

The Dispatches from femOert0n 10 JOhn.
st0n- Their extraordinary Contents
Vicksburs ProyisioDed for Thirty Days
at One Meal per Diem-Hav0c of the
Bonn bardment.
The yicksburg correspondent Of the Chicago
Tribune gives details of the capture of the des-
patches from Pemberton to Joe Johnston, which
were entrusted for delivery to the hands of
Green 8. Douglass, formerly of Illinois, who,
when well out of the rebel lines, ga We himself
up to our skirmishers. Douglass was turned
over to Gen. Lauman, who, after a little Ques-
tioning, handed him over to Gen. Grant, and
to him he faasa ID his mission, and gave the
PRECIOUS 6ss5pHsc cs.
The substance Of the letter was An ur-
gent demand upon Johnston for help. Num-
Der of reinforcements required, 3u,O00-ad-
number upon General Grants rear with
in ten days; number Of troops in Vicksburg,
$4,000: on hand thirty days rations for the gar
rison. enc meal day; ammunition scarce, par
ticularly gun caps. Douglass was further in
structed to ascertain the exact number OF John
stons army, and report as speedily as possible.
He says there are Il, 600 fighting men in Eicks-
burg, commanded by Gens. Pemberton, Ste
Senson, Reynolds, Bowen, Forney, Morris,
Lee, and M. L. Smith. Pemberton is chief in
command, and exceedingly unpopular.
1t is surmised that he thinks OF surrender.
Referring to this, Bowen said in his CLASSY
hearing, ssthat If Pemberton made the first
movement towards giving up the city h. would
hang him as high as Hannah" The evident
fled that all hopes Of succor from Johnston are
gone, to break out through our lines on the left,
and endeayor to cut his way through to Big
Black. The damage to Vicksburg, occasioned
bv the fire of our guns and mortars is i'm
mense. He estimates that at least one-fi1th of
the city is destroyed. Up to Wednesday, at II
O'Clock, the names of one hundred women aud
children were reported at the Provost Mar
shal's office who were killed by the explo ion
OF our missiles in different parts of the city.
Among these is said to have been the wife of
Pemberton himself.
The depot and Court House are bat slightly
injured the Jail is nearly destroyed. The largest
magazine, containing three quarters OF the shot
and shell in Vicksburg, is blown up; horses,
cattle and mules are killed, and large number
of houses burned. On the day OF the assault
1900 were killed and wounded, including
eighteen colonies and lieutenant colonies.
The day after Saturday Col. T. N. Wall,
Adjutant Williams, Adiutant Parker, Captain
Hoge and Captain Stahl-alI officers of the
Texas Legion-were seated chatting pleasantly
in the shade at the angle OF the FORT opposite
burst in their midst, and killed them all. Wall
and Willis were literally blown into frag-
ments. There are seven forts from the railroad
to Warrenton, of which Douglass could re-
member the names of but three: Fort Pember-
ton, mounting nine guns; Fort Mccullough,
five guns: and Fort Pulaski, four guns.
Fort Beauregard is on the right Jour right
OF the railroad, and contains but Single gun
not disabled. The cannonade of the 23d disa-
bled thirteen gnns, and killed and wounded
many Rebel soldiers. On the 23d inst, eight
Georgia and Tennessee regiments refused =
fight, and fell back into the rifie-pits; Iouisi.
ana. Texas and Missouri soldiers are consid-
cred reliable.
ITEMS FROM vICKsBURG.
A letter from FicksbGrg, 2Sth ult., to the Mis-
souri, Democrat, furnishes the following items
We have made us breastwork on the brow
of hill by digging in the solid hill; it makes a
good SHELTER and is three hundred yards from
the enemys works. We do some Of the incest
shooting that is done in the army-haye dis
mounted eight rebel guns, and our shooting is
SO accurate that they dare not mount gun
within 4 thousand yards of us.
saturday there was an armistice OF two
hours to bury the dead, and both armies came
out without arms, and many came together and
had n long talk. l went up within twenty
yards OF their works and shook hands with a
rebel artillery captain, and had a long talk with
him; he said that rified battery on the hill was
too much for him; it would not let him keep q
gun within a half a mile OF the works; that he
had to keep his calssons down in a hollow: his
guns having all been dismounted by our shot;
that we had him Gagged and SO we have.
"The rebel captain told us that one of their
brlgades lost 5O0 men in one day behind stock
ade that is in front of US.
"There is a notion in the minds OF our Gen.
erals that the rebels will break out some night,
and the troops conseq uently sleep on their arms.
We sleep around our guns when we have q
chance; for the last two nights we have not
slept any. We sleep in the day time, when the
guns are cooling. / have been writing while
they are cooling, and the captain has called all
hands to guns