New-York daily tribune., 1863-07-18
LATE SOUTHERN NEWS.

BrnggiDy bTtter irrro Gen t-e'-H 'F
Mission of Alex. xa. Sispacns 9" Was''-
incson- Letters Gssa -5eG. DaVis nId
Stephens.
We have Richulond Ya?ers of the 18th and lit'
trst. The ESdniner Of tie l3'h Gays sever"
wounded officers had reached Richmond and from
them it learns come details of tie fret days hgh''
ing. 1t then proceeds to give tleir version u tne
Sighting, showing concIusiyely thst they kh'w on'
very little of it. The EramiHer adds Tie following
az postscript:
Since the above was in type 20 hsye, through
wounded officers who reached the city LIST n-hI,
some particulars Of the las' Coy nst' ~ 'e''ys'
burg. After tie battle OF Ihuisoay, which Was
kent up with undia inieted sIdOr slle until
a very late hour the enemy took position GA three
Immense hills, or mountain spurs aud Friday mofu-
ing's light showed but too plainly tu"t they had not
been idle during tho night. long heavy line OF
earthworks, brstling with cannon. iringea The ba
Df each hil ln front hnd OF the hanss o. tsese tie
Yankee army was drawn up In Inns OF b.tlis. We
made the attack and drove tie enemy into their To-
srenehmeuts. Tak.aE the ,"tre"chneats wos a
more serious mater. We rers ,epaistd setegdi
tiiaes, aud finally succeeded IN taking the oueT
line Of works only 10 find that 1t was commanded
by smother equally formidable higher ny tie mount
aiu side. In the retreat from toese 'ntrene]ntht hts
gre0test loss is 5eieped 10 hdVe teeH sUStGHed
1he eae0sy brought tAe'r hoTazers 10 beur on cur
eo!ImhS, cutting Lhem 20 pieces hOrrtDiy.
Our artillery charge when we took the euemy's
works 10 said 10 have been magnificent. One "uH-
dred and forty Of our peres cbarsed np 10 wrhlo
$40 wards Of cne of tae eucmys works grG silcuCed
il Ia @ short space OF time bat not without veD
great loss. Our loss in horses ID this pHr OF tie
Agbt was heavier than ever before known IL snil-
lar length Of time. One OF oar batteries alone los
SS borses Ia IA many inmates.
HaviRg abandoned the Idea Of stormtng the ene-
uys position, Gen. Lee }ca back to,corG Gettgs-
Srg and rested there that night. No pursuit was
made by the enemy then or during the no&! day.
On Saturday our ambulance aud Wsgon trslL5 Oe5An
20 move back toward Hagerstown. Seeiog ihis
movement, and suspectng deoign on TIE part OF
Gen. Lee 10 tara bis faux snd march sudden on
Washington, Meade left his position and turueG to-
ward Frederick. Tba, night Gen. Lee Withdrew
slowly toward Hagsrstowu, wRsre tie army aOc -
~ as good condition ard spirtfs as 6.fore tge fght
The strength Of Meade's army at the battle OF
Gettysburg ID an open question. In BIS addfess TO
the troops after the battle he says, "wlih al late
officers ,ate positively that his forces were vastly
superior TO ours. maUy ef them eStimat'Hg them at
10000 men.
OF the loss on either side we here IN Richmond
know absolutely nothing. We have beard ours
sstius,ed ut eleren and the enemy ut 1oyty HoS-
saad men; how far either or both may be OF the
mark we have means OF knowing. We iost be-
tween 800 and 1900 prisoners, and car'ured not
less thsn six anG perhaps as many as S'Ifee" tau
sand.
GEN. LEES LETTER.
Aletter from Gen. Lee received BY the Presi-
dert Yesterday morning, bat II has not been made
public, though a number Of persons have been ei-
lowed TO read portions OF Il. From Their relfesen-
ts,ions we understand that Gen. Lee says be Uea
the enemy in every day, fight, and ook their IT.
trsnchmests on Friday, but abandoned theti OF lnd
Ing they were comnsuoed by more ELEVATED yos
tiOns in the rear; thai the enemys lO,s was I'M
nnense, aud his own not slight; thai he bad III
niced on the Army OF tbe Potomac he most tfe-
mencous blow il mad ever received, ard thai ns
own army was IN good condition, ready for aUy
movement offensive or defensive. lie gives rs rio
rss.on tor his mmsdI tie ret'r ment lhe desire to
secuIe the vast wagon ,Talns captured bN StuaiI.
THE RETREAT FROM GETTYSBURG.
. II re MS tha, while orr inisn ~ sad artillery
were fighting tie baths of Getty sburg, Stuart was
securing tie whole ia,e oi the earth III seerco OF
horses mules snd wagon trains, and 20 pre-em-
nently successful was he, th3t before Fhdiy nignt
he had collected IN the rear Of our army, "a uam-
moth tram oUer fjtesn mHeS an fe.Rta. 10 seciie
this plunaer, which IL o. course u 10 oouhied a.
mart OF the spos Of Gettysburg, our army made i's
retrograce movement. Such booty Is not TO be
made light Of, but TIE thought occurs Wheeler iAe
Thousands Of Stusrts bold troopers couli bot bavr
rendered mere valuable service on tue battlefield {
There must have beeu many opp'tuniles Tor The
effective o,efstloDs OF eayoIry dVhg tile ieteAt OF
the enemy from tie wet rice Oi Gety sburg to lie
mountains ia which iley found refuge Oh Friday.
But u as useleH 10 discuss HiS question H"T. Ne
hare so! the 9Ggons and n'aIes ana sA0a1d 0s MG"h
}A.
TIL il reached Hsgers.own, it was teeet by lhe
enemy r cavalry, regular and guerrilla. Even the
stupid Dutch lessan,Ty, believing the OTes tod Of
our roui and demOraliZstiOu, msde bold 90 tsk- d
hand; and from all we eau learn, that 50 Tar de
handed UPON the protection afforded by our cavsIry
e,cort they could have had ttelr own gay. /
nearly every instance they were driven oil By our
wagon drivers.
A CAVALRY FIGHT.
A considerable battle Is reported 10 have taken
rlace on Sunoay between The cavalry covering our
rear and the Yankee cagalry. We are kuowa to
have beaten the enemy and taken large hnuioer Of
prisoners. Why our cavalry who 1sht 80 courage
ously should be 60 eslly tiampeoed wien acting as
escort to wagon trains ia one Of those things that
we cannot understand.
AN ATTACH on wILLIAMsPORT.
A determined attack wss made " ihamspOrl
lat TuesGay by cODsdsrale force If cavalry. in
fantry and artillery. We had at that point many
wounded officers and men, and large amount OF
property, guarded by Imboden cavalry aud t"O
res einents Of inlantry. lneTe were aso about =
thousand Of our wagon-driyers WHO, procuring a NO
sailed out 10 mes, the enemy. very sharp en-
eagemeut took place, aud Tho enemy wa iepolsed
snd driven Of, mainly. It is alleged, By thorr wuo
witnessed il, BY ,us gallant hghing oil the wagon
drivers.
The same paper IL rOyiew Of the engagement
ssys
The story Of the battle of Gettysburg beqins to
take different form. IL is u somewhat Different
from what WAC expected 10 come out oi tie
brilliant crowd Of early run0rs. The Confcderates
did not gain victory, neither did The enemy. He
succeeded IN defending blmse, anu we failed In
in soyne portions OF attack But the failure was
very different from that Of the enemy az CLaucsOrs-
Vile and Frederie eksburg. We Killed more oi The
enemy than We lost we took very many more
prisoners than we lost. TIE Confederate army did
DOT leave the enemy until it had tined every huk oi
alara hora "a IL 4 ilpf q -.