The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1864-08-04

one OF those dull, monotonous DAYS,
when no news good, bad or Indifferent,
rs by any means obtalnable, and the
tongue of rumor is still. The manuiac-
ture OF news is inadmissablc, especially
in these times, when there is generally
so much Of the genuine article alloat.--
In the present luil of events, therefore,
the reader must be contented to wait for
something to turn up, and all may rest
assured that they will not be kept long
in suspense.
FROM eErERsBCRo.
AS we stated yesterday, nothing what
ever Of interest occurred in front of Pc
tersburg on Tuesday. That state of
things continued until the close of the
day. The usual picket firing and mortar
shelling took place, but these have now
become of such common occurrence that
they fail to attract attention. In the
opinion of some persons, the enemy are
still mining, and the reason given there
for is that they can see them bringing
dirt from their "saps' and depositing it
in the rear. This may be so; but the
general impression seems to be that they
had but one completed on Saturday, and
that they expected greater results from
that than they have realized. AS the
Express pertinently remarks, it was
manifestly to their advantage, and they
knew it as we'll as we, to have sprung all
their mines simultaneously if they had
more than one. 1t is stated that there
are but few points along the lines where
mining operations can be successfully
conducted, and one of these has been
tried The opinion is, therefore, already
expressed that this mode of warfare is
about at an end with Grant but of this
we should not be too confident
A Yankee officer, who accidentally got
into our lines on Monday morning during
the cessation OF hostilities, was returned
the next day under flag Of truce His
name was Thomas, and his rank that OF
Colonel. His straying into o'lr lines
may not have been altogether accidental,
and his mission may have been thatoi u
spy. At all events, it would have been
good idea to have kept him in rebel
prison for awhile as a punishment Tor his
indiscretion-to call it by no harder
name.
Among the nicely dressed Yankee
officers who. came out on the neutral
ground pending the flag of truce on
Monday was one General Ferrcro, Il no.
| torious coxcomb and dancing master
New York city. He commanded bri-
gadc Of negro troops, and is said to have
acknowledged that Of over 2, 300 darkey s
brought by him into the fight ON SatIlr-
day but 900 returned to the Yankee
lines unhut. During the darkness of
Saturday and Sunday nights the enemy
removed many Of their severely wound
ed TO the rear of their line Of entrench-
ments, but large number still remained
| on Monday morning, having lain there
since Saturday under a burning July
sun, and famishing for water and food
Among the negro prisoners brought
into Petersburg several have been recos
nizcd as runaway slaves OF gentlemen II
that vicinity.
| All was,quiet in front yesterday to Tn,
time of the departure of the train.
A YANKEES EXPERIENCE III GRANTS CAM
We give below letter picked UP at th
| scene of the recent "blow OUT in Pc
tcrsbuig. The writer is evidently one 0
the rank and iile," and rs candle
enough to acknowledge that he has 60
his "fill of fighting" The losses c
regiments and companies noticed in tn
epistle give a tolcrably correct idea c
what Grants losses have been, though
must be recollected that the corp
| (Burnside's) in whic!, Mr. "Thorp" serve
did not commence fighting until tn
battle of Spotsylyania c. H., and mus
be better off in point of losses than tn
corps which have been butchered froI
the beginning of Grants campaign
| BArTLE:FIELD.
| Near Petersburg, July 18th.
Dear Brotlsey:
| have bin In six Battia
since wc left Brandy station. The redgt hs
900 men, now it has for duty 100 men le4
that Is the way that we do things arour
here we are in brest Works
front OF The lsebs about Fore hundred yars
between us and the Johnny Rebs. II
picket firing Ia harder than the fight tn
theay had at Washington. Out here mo
evry day thay + some one killed and woun
ed out of the redgt by the Rebs sharpshoo
era or by mortar shells. The rets thro
there shells into cur works. tell you
Amt no fun tn have them ccme into fqu'
OF US.
We bave bin 80 days in tho works now ~
we have 'no coverin as the boys throw
l thpra fipu W. b.