Stockton Herald, South Durham and Cleveland Advertiser. — 1871-09-23 (Stockton-on-Tees, Cleveland, England)

MONDAY.  A vivid description of Monday's manceuvres is furnished by the special correspondent of the Times. The state of affairs at eight that morning was as follows :—The 3rd Division were face to face with the Ist, on the verge of the newly won ground ; the 2nd Division on Cove Common, five miles to the left and one to the rear. The railway line at Pirbright runs along a high embankment, through arches in which the roads pass, and then by bridges over the Basingstoke Canal. This canal is playing a great part in the campaign, and here runs. for some distance, about fifty yards north of the embankment, and parallel to it. Grant's troops, camped on Cholffiant ridges, held the ground down to the north bank of the canal, and the high railway embankment made admirable shelter behind which Staveley could form his men, launching them, when the time came to advance, through the archways of the Cowshot and Brookwood roads. Shortly before eight, Stephenson's Brigade and some artillery left the now fallen camp on Pirbright Common, and, marching along the half mile of sandy road towards the embankment, formed up behind it, discreetly avoiding the arch. Presently down trotted General Staveley and his staff. With great indiscretion they role in under the archway in full view of the watchful Highlantlers beyond the canal not a hundred yards off. In an instant twenty barrels, with twenty fierce faces behintl them, were lifted and fired, and if sever a man was killed in theory General Staveley is he. But he is not the only one, for that archway seemed to have some strange fascination about it. The Generals could not keep out of it, and MacMahon and others were riddled with bullets. As for the staff officers, the hollow way must have been heaped with them ; the umpires do not take cognizance of individuals, but if they did the 3rd Division would now be without so much as an aide-de-camp. After receiving more wounds than Cmsar, General Staveley hurried back, got off his horse; took the plume out .of his hat, and clambered to the top of the bank to reconnoitre. These manslaughtering Highlanders must be dislodged, and the 82nd is sent up the embankment ; the men spread out behind its crest, and lie down and open a rattling fire on the skirmishers. It was an exciting scene—the 82nd swarmiug up the steep gorse bank like rabbits, extending themselves right and left, and pelting the Highlanders with ten bullets to every mash at least. The Highlanders were admirably posted and would not budge. Every cocked hat which appeared above the embankment they saluted with a volley, and at last Staveley called for the um wire, in hopes that he would order them off and allow his engineers to carry their planks and beams through the arch and lay a bridge over the canal loch. The umpire, Colonel Hamley, cannot be at once found, and presently one of the enemy's Generals comes riding up to the blown-up bridge, and does not consider that his skirmishers should he held to have been beaten off. Meanwhile the space behind the railway embanktnent has beet crowding up with the Ist Division troops. The umpire comes, and the firing is stopped till he gives "his decision. The skirmishers close to the canal are ordered back, and the engineers are allowed to bring their bridge material through the arch. During the consultation which ended thus there was a pause of war. Officers joked about the thousand deaths they hat.' died in the archway, and one told how he had been shot by a Highlander an hour before the time ordered for the commencement of hostilities. A report goes about that the enemy's guns have been ' playing on our cavalry since an early hour. These Highlanders fired with marvellous earnestness. I saw them with their faces heated, their teeth set. and murder in their eye, and one of them was cruel enough to take a most cold-blooded shot at my breast at ten paces. "Are you not dead yet?' said one of them to an officer he had shot seven times; and no one without seeing them would believe how merely playing at war gets their blood up. They are tine, strong fellows, and when Colonel Hamley ordered them hack to their battalion it was a sight to see them ,::-.lltt ling across the open like rabbits, their rifle- at t tr.tiL and their kilts and bonnets blowing ; 1;10 I,