Daily Ohio statesman. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1855-1870, 1864-07-30

THE FIRST STEP IN THE SECOND INVASION OF
naassug MARYLAND. .a-i' 'A' :. y, ''''
The forebodings expressed in my last tlet-,
ter. of Second iiIh;lsion OF Maryland, Nare
already realized. You will have received
ere this, by telegraph, some account of the
defeat OF our forces at Winchester; of the
retreat of General Crook, and the troops of
General Hunter, from that place to Martins
burg and from Martinsburg to Harper's
Ferry: of the advance of the Confederate
forces to Martinsburg; and Of their crossing
the Potomac at Sheppardstown,an advance
toward Frederick. There is only one mean
ing attached to the movement by all we'll
informed persons here. 1t is believed to be
the first step in the programme of the rebel
leaders which have before described,
namely, an invasion of the North in force;
the transfer of the seat of war from the
South to the North the capture Of Wash
i ington; and the dictation Of treaty Of
peace, not at Washington, but at Philadel-
phia. p'" @.f
THE ADMINISTRATION TAKEN BY SURPRISE.
The movement finds the government en-
tirely unprepared, as might have been ex-
pected The administration organs here
and in Washington give the assurance this
morning that if another rebel invasion into
MARYLAND is contemplated, ample measures
have been taken to defeat and capture the
invaders. But it is cruel to deceive the
country by such statements. The same as
surances have been made by the same pa
pers on every occasion that Maryland has
| been invaded. They have always been fall
sified by the event, and they will be falsified
! in this instance also. When, on the 18th or
18th inst, the forces of Early and Ransom
disappeared from the vicinity of Washing
ton, the government jumped to the conclu-
sion that they had, of course, retreated to
Richmond. The fact was, they only retired
far enough to the southwark to throw our
astute military authorities at Washington
off the scent, and to guard the long trains
oftheirc ircaptured plumber on its way to Rich
mond. At Strasburg, it seems, they were
joined by the reinfOrcements that were sent
to them by Gen. Lee. The latter are those
bodies of troops that have heretofore mem
toned as having arrived at Warrenton and
Manassas junction by railroad from Cor
donsville.
PURSUIT OF THE REBELS BY THE SIXTH CORPS.
The only organized or vigorous pursuit
of the rebels that has been made at ALL was
that made by the Sixth corps, under Cen
eral Wright, the facts concerning which
have derived from an officer of that corps.
The pursuit was vigorous and judiciously
executed as far as it was made. But the
corps was recalled from the pursuit, and
ordered back to Washington, at the very
moment that they had come up with Early,
and when in ten hours more they would
either have defeated him, or been themselves
defeated.
DETAILS OF THE PURSUIT.
! Two divisions of General Wright's corps
crossed the Potomac on the 18th instant,
above the mouth of Goose creek, and were
1t. II l.-n
Ricketts, division of that corps, by General
Emory's division of the Nineteenth corps,
which was already at Leesburg, and by
the troops under General Crook, who had
come from Harper's Ferry. On the 18th
the combined forces moved to Snicker's
Gap, with General Crook in the advance.
Here, for the first time, the enemy, or rather
the enemys rear guard, was encountered.
But it was SO strong, and posted in such an
advantageous position, that General Crook
was repulsed with some loss when he at
tempted to force the passage OF the Gap,
and was obliged to fall back upon the main
body under General Wright On the 18th
the whole of the rebel forces having crossed
the Shenandoah river at Berry's ferry, the
rebel rear guard followed, and the whole
of the Union forces pushed through the
Gap, advanced to the river, and attempted
to cross. u.e ..'-...a 3D. I'.t.l..
SPLENDID APPEARANCE OF THE REBEL FORCES.
The rebel forces under Early, Breckin-
ridge and Ransom were drawn up in line of
battle on the left bank of the stream, pre-
senting splendid appearance. This was
the true moment for ascertaining the real
strength of the rebel forces who had be-
sieged Washington-for, with the exception
of camp guards and details for guarding
wagon trains, they were all assembled there.
They were exactly the bodies OF troops de-
scribed in my letter of July 16; and were
now about thirty-flve thousand strong
The crossing of the river was actually eff
fected by General Ricketts, division, late in
the afternoon. But it was met on the other
side by the full strength of the rebels, and
obliged to recross to the right bank, where
our army bivouacked for the night. On the
10Th, after close reconnaissance of the en-
emy's position, Gen. Wright decided that it
was too strong for him to force, and issued
orders for the march of the army down the
right bank Of the river, intending to cross
near Charlestown, and hoping to be Joined
there by Gen. Hunter and his troops from
Harper's Ferry.
BOTH ARMIES ORDERED TO RETIRE.
But on that afternoon courier arrived
at General Early's headquarters, from Cen
eral Lee, directing the former to fall back
to Strasburg, in order to meet his reinforce
ments there. This order was obeyed by
General Early in the course of the ensuing
night. General Wright, therefore, on the
10th crossed the river, and pursued Early
as far as to Millwood. Here he was over
taken by courier from the War Depart
ment directing him to bring the whole of
the Sixth corps and the troops of the Nine
teenth corps back to Washington immedi-
ately, and to send General Crook and his
troops to report to General Hunter, at Har-
per's Ferry. The order was peremptory,
and all that General Wright could do was
to obey. If he had been allowed to con-
tinue the pursuit ten hours longer he would
either have defeated Early and Breckin-
ridge or have been himself defeated. On
the 21st General Wright's troops passed
through Leesburg on their return; on the
22d they recrossed the Potomac at the same
point where they had crossed just week be-
fore, and on the 23d they reached this city.
OF their movements during the last three
days, it would be improper to speak now,
huf fhau will soon no hoard from Go en-