, 1864-08-13
IMPORTANT FROM FLORIDA.
AN Ac1xyE .CAmeaten BEGUN.


IMPORTANT FROM FLORIDA.
AN ACTIVE CAMPAIGN BEGUN.
Fear saooesi1fal expeditions o1
Our Forces.
We quote from the Por. Royal Neso South
Of August 5th:.
FIRST observation-disclosures AND CARS DE-
sTRoIED.
>, Acting under the direction Of Major Gen.
FOSTER, Gen. Bifney has recently made &C.
res Of successful raids In Florida About
oacAsonvnle force Of troops o'laut at the
mouth Of Trout Greek, stream which flows
INTO the st. John'e River, about twelve miles
ut!oW tbs town. The landing Wgs effected
anletly and without the least opposition
iIom the enemy. The force then marched to
tae vae Of the forks Of the creek and destroyed
sno bridges, after which they pushed for
yard to Callshan station On the Fcsnandiha
1Han1oad, where they captured and destroyed
sHo cars, telegraph Office and other public
Ptopefty. They also captured and brought
u"Ay considerable pumber OF horses aud
4uahtty OF small arms. 4 little skirmish
n' loox y place at the station, during which TWO
men was wounded.
SECOND E8rED1T1oS-TuE REBEL FORCES DE-
FEATED.
rom Callahan Station tha troops returned
.Io Jacksonville and joined another expedt-
H9n Which left that place on the night OF the
Iono~1ng Saturday. The force Comprised
the three branches Of the service, and en-
TaEn.t Ts15eo On transports which were taken to
1a3Iof's Ford on Black Creek. On account
81 Tue scarcity Of vessels the entire expedi-
tion could not get Oft on Saturday night, and
portion Of the troops did not reach the
rendezvous until Sunday and Monday. Ev.
el1thfng being In readiness, column started
On sunday under command Of Gen BirneY
anu proceeded towards Whitesyille, q point
on the south fork Of Black Creek. Al this
pace the rebt1s hat made arrangements to
a'spute the crossing. They had planted
tdo pr ces Of artillery on the opposite ei1ore
trees. N'''N
To meet this force Gen. Blrney sent for.
ward two colored regiments as skirmishers,& :
portion Of whom had Waded to about mid
Fsy o1 the stleam when the enemy opened
with their artillery. The first shot passed
naffnlessly over the heads Of the men, but
the second shot was aimed lower and did
some execution. While this artillery prac-
tlce WIS going on party Of our skirmishers
took position TO the right and where they
could ret good range on the enemy's gun
ners. The Ek1rmishers used their pieces
with such excellent effect -that in a ehort
time the enemy vas obliged TO tuke his
pieces to the rear. This movement was fol-
lowed by an advance OF our troops, but when
the bank opposite had been reached none Of
the enemy could be seen. In this briet ekfr.
mish the enemy was handsomely beaten and
routed.
THIRD ExrED1r1oN-TKgsTLE-Wo DESTROY
ED.
On Sunday night force Of cavalry under
Lieutenant Colonel Morgan, marched dis
tance OF thirty miles to point 6n the South
Fork Of the Ut. Mary's River, and twelve
miles In the rear of Baldwin. The object
Tns TO destroy trestle- work. which, II Is
needless to add, was satisfactorily accom-
pl,shed. Besides c',ttang the trestla' work,
bridge was d.: Ia;5sd and number OF horses
were captq1td. This column did not -neer
with any s@szre holts the etaselny-
FOURTH Observation-Disclosures AND CAN'T
NORTON OCCUPIED.
On Monday morning, q column under Col,
harris proceeded On the road leading to Clay
Hills, At which placs the rebels had portion
Of the I'd florida cavalry, under Major Scott,
drawn pp TO oppose the crossing OF the tord
clay Hills being an arc OF the forks Of
Black Greek. Col Harris led gallant CD .rge
on the rebels and dispersed them. Our los
vas t1iaing: The enemy. left their dead on
the field. The entire column then crossed
the ford; temporary bridge Of felled trees
having been first constructed. Everything
was passed over :he stream In safety, al.
though the water was quite deep, and at
tunes the guns were completely submerged.
Having crossed the stream the column pro-
ceeded' to Trail Ridge, On lhe Cedar keys
Railroad where they destroyed ten trestle-
works. They then pushed forward on the
old Alachua Trail to Darb3's Still, on the
Lake City. Railroad, and i've miles in the
rear Of Baldwin. At Darby's the cavalry b.
s,olt Sonaesesd, the infantry taking position
stroyed at DarbJ's a trestle~work and q
water tank. Unfortunately, while the latter |
Was burning, the wind suddenly yeered and |
communicated the flames to an old shed,
containing two thoueand barrels Of rosia.
An effort NOS made to avert the progress Of |
me nre, but a1l to no purpose. The shed |
was soon envef0ped In flames, aud itself and |
contents were consumed The immense vol. |
u1ne of dense, black smoke caused by the |
burning, Indicated to the r3bel5 the position |
Of orr 'orce, and thatportion OF them who |
"erc at Baldwin took advantage of the cir |
eumstance BY eyacuatinE the torn, a1d re-
trc1tiug on tie road which CROSSES Brandy |
Creek.
This movement, however, on tho part OF |
the rebels was not discovered By us until the |
advance OF Baldwin the following morfog, |
They were followed to Brandy Greek, but it |
was not deemed OF sufficient importance to |
cross our men oEer that stream. At Bald
y In our men captured large quantity OF sa-
bfes and otber small arms, also, a goo1ly
supply. OF forage. Officers and other bag
gage Was a1so secured. A 1,bel mani was
taktn from the depot, which contained let
Ter dated Baldwin, July Il, giving the force
then IN the town Us the ed Florida cavalry,
scotts battalion, four companies OF reserves,
[ery.
Our troops how not only hold Baldwin
but also Camp Milton, and the whole section
of country bttween it aud Jacksonville.
The earthWorks constructed arouad Bald ain
md Camp Miltan at the time of General SeY-
nonr's expedition are preserved in good |
condition. Cars run daily between Bald wtn
and Jacksonville,
THE REBEL s7rPLr OF BEEF cuRrALEp.
The rebels bJ holding Baldwin were ed.
sb1ed to send to their armies In Georgia and i
.lseWhere large dEoves Of becEes. or course,
Ehts supply will nor In n great measure be I
cut off, The tebels had also been using the |
Cedar Keys railroad to transport the cafgoes
of llociadcrs into the interior. That traffic
|s also stopped. As military point, Bald
WINS very tmportant pint to hold.
RAILROAD CAPTURE.
Since writing the above, authentic infor-
nation has been received Of the capture on
The railroad, bstween Bald tin and Fernan-
lima, OF a locomotive and seyeu cars-fpur
box and three platform, AL the cars are In
good condition The locomotive Was slight
y ont q orae;, but It can be easily and |
readily repaired and put into use. This is
decidedly an Important capture, aud reflects |
credit upon thtse who had the matter in
Charge