Cleveland morning leader. [volume] (Cleveland [Ohio]) 1854-1865, 1864-09-16
INTERESTING FROM RICHMOND.
The Number and Condition Of the He.
bel Army-EHect Of the Loss OF the
weldon RaiIFOad-The Distinctions
in the James River, &e., &c.


A gentleman, connected with the Rich
mond papers, and who left Richmond on
the 9Th, furnishes some interesting state
ments concerning Southern affairs. His
statements are, therefore, of unusual inter
est Lees army, in and about Richmond,
amounts to IS, 700 men of allbrsnches- 1t
extends from Coal Harbor to the Weldon
Road. Every male, between l6 and 60,
capable of bearing arns, is in the service.
His army is, therefore largely made up of
boys and old men. He says the rebel
forces, now in the valley, cannot be more
than l5,OOa, ten thousand having returned
to Richmond.
The loss of the Weldon Railroad was a
severe Flow tothem. 1t was the chief line
of supply to Richmond. The Danville
road amounts to nothing in comparison
Very few supplies can reach Richmond
over the Danville road or the Lynchburg
road. The rolling stock on the Dan7ille
road amounts to nothing, and there is
nothing to be brought over the Lynchburg
road. In fact, Esrly's principal mission to
the valley was to procure supplies.
After the occupation of the Weldon Rail
road by Grant an immediate reduction of
rations took place in Lees army Before
its ocupacy the rebel army was receiving
half pound of bacon anda pound and a
quarter of meal perman daily. Thisal
ance was at once reduced to quarter of q
pound of bacon and three quarters of a
pound of meal. These are now the rations
of the rebel army under Lee around Rich
mond and Petersburg. Early's men, who
have returned from the valley and fought
in the battle of Ream's station, now form
the extreme right of the rebel army. They
are posted on the Weldon railroad, so as to
hold what they have of it now He consid-
eres the rebels were so badly cut up in the
battles for the repossession of the Weldon
Railroad that another attack by them is
improbable, unless they have nothing what
ever to eat in Richmond.
About the rebel iron-clads and obstruc-
tons in James River, our Informant gives
very important information. From what
he, as citizen, could learn, he is of the
opinion that there are NO distractions in
the river as far up as Drury's Bluff and
none up above the bluff. There appears Ia
be only one line of obstructions in the
James River; and that is opposite Drury'a
Bluff, and consists of ore line Of torpedoes
stretching obliquely from Fort Darling tC
wards the bank on the northwest. This
line only reaches near where channel along
the north bank runs, and by this route the
rebels have never mad any distractions
/ from Fortress Monroe to Richmond, MOI
have they now. The rebel squadron in the
James consists of two iron-clads and one
wooden gunboat The iron-elads are bull
of wood, with three plates of iron for coat
ing, each plate being laid traversely to the
one underlying it, and having thicknes:
of from three-eights to fve-elghts of an
inch. This is covered by ooatiug of rail
road iron, ON which q slsnting surface i;
everywhere presented, SO that the shots viii
glance of the sides of the vessel or any
other part of her exterior surface. There
are two of thess iron-elads, one carrying
four heavy guns and the othert two There
is absolutely nothing but these, if the chan.
mel already described is taken by the Union
iron-clsds, to hinder them from going up
to the city.