The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1864-08-16
GENERAL BUTLERs NEW MOVEMENT.
AFFAIRS ON THE JAMES RIVER.


Crows NEST, ON THE JAMES RIVER, August
! u, 7 A. M.-The guubosts opened most h5lyy
| fire on the enemy from this point an hour siIcC,
/ ard | am sorry the reason Of their dOins so is
! contraband 10 the public. l may, however, say
| that the enemy are developed In sufficient fOrsr
/ iu our immediate 'front.' tO fully warrant the severe
| shelling they are receiving, and when is cause
shall reach the public ear there will be new occi-
| sitn for an expenditure OF admiration on THE
| campaign by the people.
! Otherwise the general quiet throughout this
| section has not bcen Interrupted since my despf
| of yesterday morning.
GENERAL BurLER's HEADQUARTERS, Angus.
] T. \ 80 a, M.-Ihe firing continues, aud Major
| G,rerAl Butler and staff have proceeded 90 thc
scene az Crows Nest, tjscent 10 Dutch Gap. II
is too late TO supply further particulars.
AFFAIRS AT DEEP BOTTOH.
DEER BorroH, SOUTH SIDE JAMES Rryrp.
! Virginia, August l3, Evening g.-TheTe is every
| indication hcrolbOuts that the enemy will hear
! nom th, United states forces Stationed on the
north bank ut th James nc this point within the
| ensuing twenty. tour hours. Ii my prediction
| proves true the enemy will have ample occasion
| % feel the weight OF the power Of tnc United
! states and doubtless 10 vince beneath it
! DER Borrow, August Il, 2 \. M.-rhc bai
! has opened Tor the possession VI position essen-
| ual 10 our tuJther op rltiOns.
At about , O'Clock in the afternoon one o. She
! monitors opened on she rams after dropping
] down the river, and did some eycelleu. exc
! yutien
poINr on Rocks, Va, August Il, % An
| Ny brief despatch OF yesterday evening frr-
shadovet the sharp contest between tle Rsoe,
/ rams ana our artillery that opened az n ws
| written, and the mail was leaving. giving me no
/ time % verify It's statements. | herewith transmit
| aulI account OF the engagement, not overlooking,
! by permission, the causes that immejiltely leG
! 70 j.
A CANAL scHENH.
| For some time past Major General Butler mas
| been coming over brilliant scheme wuerrwlsG
| 70 anne the enemy and advance the CaiOr in-
| tercst in this region materially. His plan con-
! iemplaied nothing les. tHau the construction of
| canal AZ what has been hitherto known a7 Dltrh
! Gap-hcreaucr 10 he known as Buffers GIp-in
! the face OF the enemy, which, whel done, slIlll,
! among other results, by reason Of / : stu ttuu
compel the Rebels to eEtCnd their lu5 Of defense
! distance o! four mCs-lhat is u say, tie DIS
| tance saved 10 us by the digging OF the canal,
! which is TO be one hundred aud forty yards in
length, is seven miles Of wltcr,ourse 10 the tmrs
| river. Some four days since che prOper details
| u men and officers were made for this i'm lO-t-
| ant and hazardous work, and these men were
! encouraged in its performance by extra induce
| merts, and placed under the general com mand
| OF Major Ludlow, Of The department staff.
! The work proceeded handsomely for three
! day s. during tie lat Of which the enemy DIS
! covered our operations and made instant prepi-
ration 10 open fre, which the result will show tp
| have been 81 advantageous one for them, though
Ludlow roOly and successfully held his position,
sill holds II, and sill continue to hO.d l. until his
| appointed work s accomplished.
| THE ArrEAHANCE OF THE REBEL HAMS.
At five O'Clock yesterday morning two Rebel
| rams, believed 70 be the Iirgipid and the Rich
mond, though some think one of them was tho
| Lazy DorjS appeared at Dutch Gap, in the James
| river. The james at this point fOrms a prOmon-
! tory, which is very narrow at il, apex. The
! shape OF this prOmOntory is in the form of long
| tongue, and, yerginP to the noIthwIrd aud west
| ward makes another turn, which forms point
| similar tC the first, east by north.
Hence The river bends YET again. and forms a
| third apgle running northwest. Cnler cover of
| this ange, completely and literally sheltered
! hom our gun tja's, lay the two Rebel rams.
| Thor position was such as, taken in connection
with the Hewlett House battery of the enemy,
| to subject our forces to a severe enfading fire
| which was borne throughout the day with m ,nly
| iortitude by our men.
OUR ADVANTAGES or POSITION.
| II was one of our advantages of the day ~ in
| auguralc ana keep up cross fire, whi3h we made
| TO ar most heavily upon the enemy, our arul-
lCry having excellent range of their 6itteries in
| Cluding the famous Hewlett House battery from
| which work Our fire dismOunIed and disabled a
| gun carly in the day, finally silenc.nL the bl'-
terry, as well as the encmyo batteries situated in
the bottoms.
The Union monitors and gunboats, as before
! stated, lay wholly quiet in their positions 10
| Crows Nest, in the James, not participating in
| the action Cf tac morning by reason Of the pecu-
| hariy Of the enemy's position, set forth above.
| Ire successful construction OF the canal, of
| which there can be no doubt, will, It is alleged,
| enable our gunboa TO wholly overcome the for
| mldablc ohstructOns in the James river, and
possibly ultimately be the means of their eugag-
! ing Fort Darling, and o:her Rebel strOn ely lort-
| fed places adjacent 10 Richmond, and perhaps,
| before the END comes, operate largely in the re-
| duction of the Rebel capital itself.
! These are glowing antiCpations; but neverthc-
less they are capable of realization by patient anl
| indulgcnt waiting for. Any one of these results,
| added 20 the necessity imposed upon the enemy
| Of lUngihenirg | il line OF dctrusa distance Of
! four miles, requiring several thousands of men
| to man this prOlongaton of their lnes will GER
| tainly be regarded as adequate compensation for
! the time, labor, and men bestowed upon the ac.
| complishment of the undertaking.
THE CONDUCT OF THE NEGROES.
The negroes, who are largely engaged upon the
| work of constructing the canal, behaved we'll
| under the continuous and CALLING fire of the day,
never for an instant hinching, but standing TO
| their work manfully and credtaOy. This fact
| was a source Of favorable comment during the
day, and am glad 10 be able to record il.
THE RESULT.
In every view the substantial results of the day
remained to us nc nighttall. There can be no
| manner Of doubt thar we administered a severe
| lesson TO the foe, ana punished him stOutly for
| his temerty in killed and wounded. Tho work
| upon The canal viii 90 on 70 completion, and we
snail insist upon all its completed advantages,
though We shall not probably realize them fully
without further dispute Of a similar character TO
that we have encountered to-day.
PERSONAL.
Colonel John w. Shafier, Chief OF Major Gen
eral Buffers STAFF LEFT by special steamer for
Washington yesterday afternoon. The mlvc-
ments OF this distinguished gentleman, ju't at
this moment, too, are especially significant, when
regarded in connection with certain rumOrs
touching the political situation that have far
more than ordinary foundation in fact
General Sheplcy and STAFF reported at these
headquarters last evening returning from n
twenty days leave Of absence.
General Gregg, Of the cavalry, also had an
interview with General Butler last eycnilg.-N
l'0UF HCy9R.