, 1865-03-31

| "1S0 ARMY fCSo4AC.
Saturday, March 70, 1665-M1dnlght.
To-day has indeed been busy ono for the
Army vi the Potomac-what with the rebel
attack on their right aud our counter attack
upon our left, and the varfous movements OF
the reserves within our interior lines scarcely
any one can say that the day has passed
easily.
A FIGHT ON THE LEFT.
jest -four, hours nfter the repu1se Of the
rebel attack on the right Of our lines the
the thunder Of artillery and the crash Of
musketry again rolled loudly on The chilly
March air. This time, however, everything
was leyersed.. The sounds came from the
left, not the right; we were the attacking
party, not the rebels, md the ground We won
vas not recovered BY the rebe1s, and Is now
seld by the Sixth corps, ,WlEeh knows no such
word as TAIL whcn ordered to the assault,
The object Of this demonstration on our
ieb-'s massing their ttoops; dat The I same
t1me to aseeftosn, if possible, thetrssrcngth.
The rebel line which We t@ok, and now
hold is considerably in advance Of our main
line. They had erected an elaborate eeries Of
rife plts, behind Nhich, md outside Of their
main line, 1t Wonld have been quite possible,
had THEY so desired It, to lnve massed,twenty
thousand men, as they arn built much 'fur-
tber from 1helv main line than are cur owu
works Of = siml1Ar character. .Th9Y, were
driven ont Of these works and compelled to
taEe shelter within their forts, or else be
captured. The majority preferred the latter
alternative
TIE SCENE OF TIE r1Gnr.
Our position, from which the attack was
nude, was at the extreme left angle Of Cur
,gu1k6. at this point our lines orc only
about two miles from the Southslde Railroad.
The ground in font is more level than is.
usually seen in this part of the country, and,
the wood has TO = Ertnt extent been cleared.
"a FNf fT1ff f,f 11c ee{f
1ebel batteries to a certain extent entil ,de
our works. and many Of cur campsa are within
easy artillery range.
THE OPENING ASSAULT on THE ESEHY.
The first assault on the rebel line Of rifle"
pits was made BY the sixth corps troops, all
under command Of Lieutenant Colonel Geo.
B. Damon, Of the 10Th Vermont ,xoluntcers
Trey charged the rebel position with great
ralantty and success, entering and occupy
ing the line. But the rebels becoming aware
Of the weakne: IS of the attacking party massed
a large and overwhelming body Of troops,
and our men weru compelled to fall back to
their original position. This they did In
them had been on picket for many hours,
they showed steady and bold front to the
enemy.
The artillery. in the different forts had by
this time become warmly engaged With the
rebel batteries, md company Of the 9th
Thirty ponndtrs, sent g. sheN with such nc
cn'acy as to blow up q caisson In one Of the
rebel works.
Shells were screaming through the ale and
away to The lett volleys Of musketry told that
the "a Corps had become engaged.
The center Of the line VIA formed by the
I'd, Sd and 1st brfgades Of General Grtty's
division, md the right By two bffgad.s, the
I'd and Sd OF General Frank Wheat0n's divis-.
Ion. When the line was fully formed and
everything in readiness, the lag Of the I'd
for the troops to move forward ).
TIE CHARGE AND IFS RESULT.
From the parapet of Fort Fisher the blue
crossed flag waved, and from the thousands
Of brave men about ~ risk life and limb came
back q ringing cheer, and as onward they
swept many God speed" followed them.
work, and not many minutes elapsed before
the sharper ring Of small arms was heard.
The nne WAS fast closing on the rebel posi-
tion, and few minutes would serve to chow
what our SUCCESS would be. Another cheer
from our II oops, and q simultaneous yolley Of
were reached. Colonel b. F. Smith, Of the
122d Ohio volunteers, and Major Clifton K.
Ptentiss, of the 9th Maryland volunteers,
were the first to enter the rebel lines. Amen
works were ours. Scores of the rebels prefer
red being captured TO running away, and.as
soon as they saw our troops inside their lines
they threw down their arms, md give them
selves up as prisoners Of war The fighting
on the ftcnt OF the I'd and 9th corps was Of
IN killed and wounded were: heavy on both
sides. The 9Th corps loss is estimated ut
about 400 killed, wounded and missing. That
Of the ed corps will not fall fur short Of that
number. The 9Th corps captured nearly 500
prisoners. and the I'd corps must have cap-
number lind reached General Humphreys
headquarters, before left an hour ago.
PRESIDENT LINCOLN REVIEWS THE THIRD D1y1-
The forenoon rolled away, and there was
no resumption of localities. About 2 p. m.,
as Gen. CraWfo,d's division lay massed await
Ing orders, President Lincoln, who, with
quarters. expressed desire to review. it.
The wish was g1atitied, and in Its gratitlca-
tfon he expressed himself exceedingly pleased
with the tlrm, soldic1iy bearing and splendid
discipline Of both officers and men. The sol
diers wsre hearty In their welcoming cheers |
Ct the United States. It WIS most agree
able as we'll as encouraging spcctacle-agree-
able because 1t VAS unexpected, and encOur-
aging rs regards the President, particularly
because his presence on such IN occasion
showed TINT in the present crisis, when uo
OuE Cou4A lCl1 WELL uc!GE u 0AtklE
any moment might bring forth, he. was not
afraid to show himself among them, and will
ing 70 share their dangers here, rs often. lar
away. he had shared the joy Of their |
tr.umphs. Mrs. Lincoln and Mrs. Grant,
with. other ladies, we're Of the review
ing party, whose presence also showed |
If the word is allowable In this con-
nectiou--a manly courage Subsequently, the |
ladies and their masculine escort, al a.. low
With glit1eling stars and buttons, and to
whom Gen. Warren now joined himself, went |
to Fort WadsWor;h, near by. from which |
could be stcn our own and the enemy's pick |
cts and the exchange Of hostile shots. It |
was on exciting speclicle, to the Indies, and |
one that is likely 10 live long in their memo
This ceremony was most singular specta- |
Gle. just outside Of shell range, but Within |
heasing Of the terrific engagement then in |
progress, tiAs division was forced tntongh /
The moment they would be called upon to |
meet the enemy's fire, q flag Of truce flying |
over the works Of both armies near the Ap-
pomattox, pending the buriul OF dead rebels, |
desperate battle IN not md bloody progress |
on aur left, near Hatches's Run, and grand |
review before the President near the Weldon
railroad.
The results Of the day arc briefly these:
We have defeated the enemy in b projected |
breaking through Of our lines, taken urge |
numbers OF his men prisoners, and prov. d the |
strength OF our positions. We, have ad-
yanced our lines on the LETT, captured quite a
number ol prisoners, and tighttncd our hold
on his communications via the South Side
railroad. I he latsness Of the hour prevents
a more extended report.