Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1864-10-08
'sa, Fkcs rHE sourH. ~
kiebnend Dates II Dctoh.,
Jeff DAVIS at MEces-Th.
A~.Eust Inn eUG

1hr Htchpcnd papers which wers .p.y,r.
ed lac. ~e.k, oor.ng the pssie oses-a oy ,Ss
moyem, nts of Grant, res pmeu publication on
Nor osy, ard we give elsewhere sbme -xuacta
IT. N ID. Examiner, Jssff tisvle ms made Q
.pee IA GsessssE s:ss'ss-att 'r-osa p'p-rs are
Its tore, but II elVes unmistiktbie evidence
that ne COnfsderacy rs bling to pieces.
HE taIF sbout the des perats necessity of defeat
ing sherman " ili throw light on the ne We OF
The rec' n, offers reeet opera'ions In Geor-
Rs, reported 10 day. He says hat two. thirds
OF the ~ bel soldiers are aSscnt fro tha RAJ rs,
'some sick, some woun dsd bat most OF them
eoSth todhe.i lear be ferth.r states that he
az s sfats SeoIsta NO further retntorcsments,
rrest &c M :. pe..IS OF RaInesrs IN Virginia is as
ne Examiner is evidently alarmed by the
tofofuob oi affairs in Virginia and lustiiv
cries cur ier erreihfcrceEnents IL saxs ad,,orj.
~ ~ aSPS oe orosge % iIr9iHru .yithout
atiay y'em eHsshtre The safety of our Iiaes
caDIot fairly De len to Lees n,es.ut ~ r,aos
which has too great ioad on Il slr.sav n,
zfed n Ihs hoUr--the hour or fnt,t tr,s, ..n,S,.
close at hard That some new dIyistnna as
coed troops ssoill6 inst0Eig se brought 10 R,,k
asond, and that i's vast population az negro
should he sen, forth with away, are the eyident
ard pressing want Is of tbs OCCASION
General Bsauregard, the Richmond Exam.
iner OF tte4t instant states, has been assigned
To the command OF two military departments,
knowp ar the Department, of Tennessee and
Gtorg1s, spd ne Departmental OF Alabama, Mis-.
r.
the commands Of General Hood and f}enersT
DICK fayior beth OF whom are TO retain their
present positions. =
SterioaR's successes and Early's reyerses
have caused weeping and waihng throughont
the oConipderscy - TIE Charlestop Merrnrv
which insisted at the outbreak OF the ~ belIion
ttat one OF the chis airy could whip Ave Yam
kees, now takes a more temperate view, and
copciodes that the soldiers of Tie Union, W men
FIoptry offtcered, are more than a match for
reh+l. In commenting on a letter from Rich
ne no nf trof Eiaha
HILL and the failure of his cam paign generally,
The Mercury says IL mophecied when Early
nrst crossed the Potomac nothlng but evil
" Oold suit 10 the rebel cause aud the burn
IDg of Cbambers burg confirmed its fears 1t
says the fruits OF the expedition have been tho
raising II an army for the FedeS al Govern
ment, the defeat of Early In Two battles. and
ibe aiding OF the euf0I cement of the draft which
is pnttipg tens OF thousands more soldiers In
The Union armies.
President Davis's Speech AT Macon.
From the Charleston Mercury
We make no comments upon this speech; but
we cannot refrain from expressing oar pro-
found regret hat such speech shonid have
been saiO TO have been delivered ny the Ohief
nj asistTate OF the Confederate States, for we
cannot n axe mp cur minds mat he delivered IL.
We hope speedily to De able TO deny its authen-
ticity. -ft--
War News
From Ri hmond Examiner Oct Al
AtteI ton Is still concentrated on the lines
near Chaffns but there Is nothing. of moment
TO report 1t rs believed that Graat has car
Rid portion OF his troops back 70 the south
side, but a strong force Temsihs m n. neigh.
horhood Of Signal I'm and Fort Harrison No
hghting has occurred since our last issue Both
are workltg, aud each thrOHS occasional
shells over The working parties That was the
canDonade heard in the city yesterday. The
Yankees are strengthening Battery Harrison
The copfederales have strengthened their lines
SO as 10 leave Battery Harrison entirely out Of
their system of Notifications. 1t is the general
opinion that the Yankees are about 20 CON.
mence serious operations from the base, whieh
will shortly be gained by the completion OF
their canal, and will endeavor to dig up 10 the
city from that direction.
From Petersburg.
I From the Richmond Examiner, October 81
Important events have come to pass on he
other end OF the long lines. While Grant Was
sending a column OF twenty.fy thousand on
Fort Harrison, be was making similar move-
ment 10 the west OF the Weldon road. There,
too he took q small advanced outwork, and
pushed forward hts column. But here, as at
Fort Gilmer, he was strenuously met and de-
feated, with yet heavier loss Besides hts killed
and wounded, which can be estimated only,
Generals Hill and Hampton give the Official
information that they have secured nine hun.
loss was very slight The corps of the enemy
who made the dead failure was that OF urn
side. General Lee furnishes the following
bulletin OF the affair:
HEADQUARTERS ARMY NORTHERN VIR-
GINA, Oct. HIM j. N. !Seddon, Secretary of
Wdr:-Yesterdny evening General Heth At
Ys
through q portion Of the line held by our artiI-
lery on the Squirrel Level road, and drove
them back. 80
ss(fen Hill reports that they were severely
punished, and 400 prisoners captured.
'a4eperal Hampton, operating on General
Heth's right, also drove the enemy, capturing
two stands Of colors and about 500 prisoners,
including five colonels and thirteen other off,
GERS. r. E. LRKn
The fighting was renewed Saturday, with
further success on our eide, but up to q late
honr last night no official report Of the result
had been received. cd
We regret to learn that DR.. John Fontaine,
medical director of Hampton's cavalry, is
among the slain. DIR. Fontaine was the son of
Colonel Fontaine, president of the Virginia
Central Railroad Company.
1t is reported that the number of prisoners
captured on Friday and Saturday will exceed
1,5N0.
The Yankees lost 5000 killed, wounded and
prisoners in the fighting OF the 30th and lst,
near Petersburg. Our loss was less than 600.
Attempt to r ecapture Fort Harrison.
[ From IN Richmond Examiner, October 81
We stated in the paper on Saturd ay that an ,
attempt had been made to retake Fort Har.
rison, which had failed, but did not amount
to q repulse Later IN the day. an assault was
actually delivered, which was repuised ~.
We have since learned that the canse Of the
failure was miscons Juction of the order
fixing the time OF assault by one of the division
commanders. He ordered his troops to charge
the position twenty minutes before the ap-
pointed time, and, Of course, received the con-
tTdpcO uTe Vi tue ehtmy. Inc men display ed -
great inuepidity, and, it is said, icame near
carrying the fort, but were compelled to fall
back before the heavy fire.
By the time they returned 10 the cover Of the
works from which they started, the other col
umn rushed forward at the precise minute
prescribed In the order for the assault, and soon
encountered the same destructive fire which
had repelled the other column The men
seemed animated by determination 70 recov-
er the lost position at all hazards, and at one
time 1t was believed that, unsupported as they
Were. they would succeed In expelling the enc
my from the peak but tae fire poured into their
ranks at length compelled them to reeoil, and
finally to fail back to their original line. There
seems to be no doubt that the fort could have
been re. taken, had the forces assigned to the
duty acted in cor cert, as it was designed they
should.
The Yankees will, no doubt. gre atty magnify
the failure OF this attempt TO re-take the fort;
and we shall not be surprised al reading in their
the announcement that "the rebels
were repulsed with the loss Of 1000 men;"but
The fact ia, that In both assaults we did notlos
=, oro AIM men. killed and uu0undad