Perth Amboy evening news., 1904-09-08
TRUCE IN VIRGINIA.
General Corbin Calls of the
Fighting Armies.
DARING ATTEMPT TO CAPTURE BELL
Colonel waeoner, Umpire In. Chief,
Gave DecisiOn Favoring Blue
Army "A SIoddless Loss
of 1890 Men. Aa& IA.

H 49, L|
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES. GAINES
WILLIE, Va, Sept. S.-With practically
continuous lighting since. early MORN
ing ON the defense line established by
General Bell, running north and south
through Thoroughfare, hostilities were
stopped by General Corbin at noon in
order that the men on the firing line
for thirty-six hours might be relieved
1t is estimated by army officers that
the casualties during the two days of
fighting have depleted the blue army
by 1900 men and the brown from 1850
to 1900.
A daring attempt was made to cap
ture General Bell in his headquarters
at Thoroughfare. General Bell heard
of the plan. and literally. took up his
bed and walked. He secreted himself
in a farmhouse neal by. The capture
was planned by a scouting party.
General Bel had stripped his head
quarters Of its guard for other duty
and if confronted by the armed scouts
would have had to accompany them to
the lines of the blue army.
Just before the recall Colonel Wag-
oner, chief umpire, sustained the adj
vance of the blue army practically
through General Bells left wing. This
! would give the advantage to the blue
army on its face, but there are many
other points to be taken into consider
alton which may have q bearing on the
| general result.
Time after time the blue army ven
tured out in the open, only to be ruled
| back by the chief umpire Twice hos
| tilities We're stopped that decisions
might be rendered.
When the battle opened General
| Bell had no artillery to oppose that
| of the blue army, which was pouring a
| terrific fire into the woods at short
range. Shortly after the first cessa-
| ton was sounded General Bell threw
| a battery into action directly opposite
that of the blue. This battery, how
ever, consisted of only eight guns.
For fifteen minutes an artillery duel
was fought with great vigor. At the
same time the musketry fire continued,
both in the open, on each side, and
from the edge Of the woods. There
was a lively mix-up in the woods also,
and the roar of battle was reproduced
with the exception Of the kissing of
the bullets and the shrek Of the
shells. n.4.
A colonel of the blue cavalry was
captured, as were the colors of the
Fifth Massachusetts regiment. These
colors were returned to. corps, head
quarters by General Bell with a letter
stating that he should have returned
them to the regiment, but he did not
want to take any action that might
be regarded al spying on his adj
versary. The colors were returned
through corps headquarters.
Connecticut's governor, Chamber
lain, is in camp at Manassas. He will
witness the military maneuvers on
Bull Run field with the governors Of
other states and military officers. Colo
mel William E. Landers, assistant adj
jutant general, accompanied the gov
ernor.
The first maneuver problem has
closed with General Grants force
| puSueu llIOuSH the lelt WlhS VI Och-
eral Bell. This put the blue force with
in two miles of Th~oroughfare gap, the
objective point. However, General Bell
had Smiths brigade On the right and
Barry's brigade on the left of this
breach in his line, and Colonel Wag-
ner, chief umpire, draws no conclusion
as to what might happen had not hos
tilities ceased under the command pre-
viously issued by General Corbin to
cease hostilities so that the tired
troops might be given relief.