The Portland daily press., 1864-12-17
General Warren,s Expedition on Weldon
l-..a Railroad.


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General Warren's Expedition on Weldon
Railroad. 49,
The force under Genera "srren' na"oei
inc altooetber about twenty Thousand men,
wG;o, ,sst tho Army of the Potomac on We'd
nasday week, and moved southwark parallel
80, he Weldon Railroad, has returned to the
'front.' of Petersburgh, after having accomplish
sd in the most complete manner all it set out
to do. The object of this expedition was not,
as the rebels supposed, to capture Weldon, but
to SO damage the railroad running to that place
from Petersburg, by which the rebel army has
been extensively fed, as to seriously interfere
with Lees future supplies, and this was most
effectually performed. 1t is believed that the
damage done to the railroad cannot be repair
ed this winter. ees
From dispatch to the New York Herald
from its army correspondent who accompani-
ed the expedition, we gather the following in
teresting items:- s ss
We moved in southwesterly direction,
passing Tough small village called rComels
Wcll ailu 6ApcCbluH W oIAAhc sA@S %->A-~ ~
Jarratt station. Great vigilance was now re-
quired in watching the enemy, as he was DIS
covered towering in front ana flank. Inc du-
ty devolved upon the cavalry, who not only
marched in front but occupied all the side
roads until the whole column had passed.
The first lighting ofconsequence occurred
Just after the rear of the cavalry column mao
passed on to the halifax road, when the enc
my succeeded in getting between us and the IN
fantry. General Gregg at once halted the
column. ~ 5,4 5aasf 56 aJq41ma lg8s
A few miles further brought the head ofthe
column to the railroad at point where the
road crosses the Nottoway river. The third
brigade of cavalry, under Brigadier General
G. I'll. Smith, was here detached with orders
to take The bridge and burn it II possible. Ii
was supposed the enemy would defend this Pc
sition to the full extent of his ability, but 1t
was found on reaching the point that be had
withdrawn the garrison and General Smith
fred the bridge without opposition. We then
marched on some five miles further to Jarratt's
station, where halt was made and orders is
sued 10 destroy the road. The Tenth New
York, under command of Lieut.. Col. Avery,
was detailed for this purpose, and adsucceed
ed in thoroughly destroying portion OF the
track when General Gregg received orders to
move forward his columns TO allow the infant
ry to work at the road. be1Is g8l 3AaA0s
The destruction now commenced in earnest.
As fast as the road was torn up the ties were
piled up and fired, and the rails placed on top
in order to bend them and render them unfit
for future use. a siaal nig ssls
By twelve o'clock at night over five miles
of road had been thus destroyed, including
The depot, water tank, &C., at Jarratts sta
ton. In the morning the cavalry again adj
yanced to allow the infantry to continue the
destruction of the road, which was accom-
pished as far as Bellheld, making the whole
distance of road destroyed nearly twenty
miles. When the cavalry reached "Three
Greek, small stream some three or or four
miles from Belfield, the irstserious resistance
was encountered. 9Q 8gigas fHairi
For the defence Of this position the garrison
of the whole road had been collected, together
| with the reserve militia and two brigades oil
Hampton's cavalry, with several pieces of ar
tiIery. General Davies commanded the ad-
| vance. am2h oj lasod3 sea 4tasu
From the forts heavy fire of artillery was
opened with some effect To ascertain the
exact position of the forts, General Davies Or
dered mounted charge OF the First Massa
chusetts regiment. Nothing could excel the
gallant manner in which they obeyed the or
der; and they had fully accomplished the pur-
pose, and Colonel Sargent was just giving the
order to fall back when he was struck In the
shoulder by piece of shell and mortally
wounded. M bla so H8o1g
He lived about three hours after being
wounded, and although he was conscious al
the time his wound was too painful to admit
of much conversation. Surgeon Marsh and
George remained with him till he died an
brought back his body to send home. s
io The country marched through beyond the
Nottaway retains the datness that character
ICES it on this side; but the plantations were
I frequent aad large, and gave evidence of high
cultivation for this partof the world, and had
evidently been the habitations of wealthy and
Intelligent people. A noticeable feature was
the great abundance of corn, sweet potatoes,
fodder and live stock on every plantatian
/ passed. Thousands and thousands of bushels
were found 10 crib, and hundreds of acres ye,
on the stalk. bba9iir 81 fi.giaf III b b 4
4 The horses and mules were generally hidden
| 10 the woods and swamps; but the cattle and
hogs we're too numerous to be thus disposed
of. Chickens, turkeys, geese and sweet pota
toes were in abundance, and constituted the
daily rations of our hungry boys. saoilasnp (
The Tribune's correspondent says:
A terrible retribu ion was visited upon the
denizens of Sussex Court House, on our re-
turn, for the cold blooded murder of three Of
our men, who we're probably set upon while
struggling, killed, and their bodies denuded OF
their clothing and placed side by side in full
view of our returning column.
For This wanton and deliberate act, the des
truction of Sussex Court House was deter
mined upon, and looking back our troops saw
\ the leapipg flames licking up with eager
tongues what the Virginisns would call o
"right smart sort of town." consisting of the
court house and JAIL tavern, and perhaps a
! dozen dwelling houses.
/ The negroes on the route, both young and
! old, focked to our standard as they are wont
to do whenever opportunity offers, and were
jubilant at the prospect Of moulting the
shackles of slavery.