THE WAR IN AMERICA.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 237, 23 September 1862, Page 6

THE WAR IN AMERICA.

(From the Home News.) An eyewitness of the late actions betweea tho Federal and the Confederate armies has furnished the following clear narrative of the important operations which took place between the 26th of June and the Ist of July. It will be seen, of course, that the writer is a strong partisan of General M'Clellan and of the Federal cause :—

In the evening of the 25th June, General M'Clellan was informed by estqfettes arriving from several different sides that the Confederate army, which had already been considerably reinforced, was on the point of effecting a junction with the forces under General Jackson, amounting to 30,000 men, whom-tliat formidable commander, having eluded the loose and. ineffectual pnrsuit of Fremont and M'Dowell, had managed to bring down upon the rear of the army of tho Potomac. -

This intelligence completely changed the situation of the Federal forces. Opposed to an enemy of euch superior strength, General M'Cielian could no longer continue his approaches against Richmond, and at the same time maintain his communications with the White House, which obliged him to cover no less than 20 miles of railroad between his advanced positions and that depot This concentration of the Confederate armies occurred at the most inopportune moment for their antagonists, whose operations "had hitherto followed a course apparently calculated to lead to a successful termination. Even as late as tho 25th of June the division of General Cooker had fought a spirited and successful engagement, which placed it in possession of an important post beyond Fair Oaks, with a loss of about 500 men. But it was too late to hesitate, or to spend time in unavailing regret for the past 1% was necessary to act with promptitude, and to take the most decisive measures to parry the great danger which now menaced the army. Two courses might be adopted. The one ■was. to abandon the operations against Richmond, to. cross the Chickahominy, attack Jackson whilehe was yet unsupported, and then fall back on the White House, and possibly on Yorktown, by a difficult line of retreat, in which great losses must be, sustained. The other was to abandon the White House and the communications of the army with the York River, falling back on such fresh communications as could hi opened into the James' River, undercover of the Federal naval forces. General M'Clellan decided to adopt the second of these alternatives, but the execution of the movement was one of extreme difficulty. The length of tho march was not excessive. The distance was only about 17 miles. But it was necessary to convey the whole materiel and baggage of the army, by a single road, in bad repair, through a country of swamp's and forests,1 intersected by "numerous lateral routes ot tracks converging upon Richmond, by aU'or'ariy of which the Confederates had it in their power to harass or attack the flank of the retreating columns.

The celerity of General' M'Clellan's determiratinn dis&oncett'ud the eti«»ny, .who. probably conjectureil that sosne irscert iin moi'tiinenU would beatteinptel behyre attempting m operate on the main line of retreat, and doubtless expected that the Federal camnaander would hesitate before he abandoned his line of communications with the While H)UB . - Oa the 26th of June the Federal division of General M'Call, posted at Mechaniesville, was attackel by the Confederate forces under General Hill, who had crossed the Chickahominy at Mea-dow-bridge. A sharp action ensued, but M'Call's line wns not broken, although clmged with great vehemence by some Lousiana regiments. The reserves of the Federal artillery were brought up, and checked the attack on the right Meanwhile the Confederates threw considerable reinforcements to the north of the river. This circumstance favoured General M'Clellan's views, for he, on the" contrary, succeeded in the course of the sam-3 night in bringing the whole baggage of' his army to the right bank of the Chickahominy. The right of the Federal army still remained behind. Oa the 27th,at break of day, M'Call received the order to fall back upon the bridges which the Federals liad constructed opposite Games Mill, in order, when the whole army had effected, its passxge, to follow the line of march towards' the James River, M'Call, however, was closely pursued by the enemy ; but ha succeeded in joining the Morill Division and the divisions of the United States' regulars under General Sykes. This body of troops, commanded by FitzJohn Porter, was ordered to cover the bridges against the advance of the Confederates, in order to gain j time. Their orders were to hold the bridges all day, to cross them in the evening of the 27th, and I then to destroy them. The Confederates led on their attack, at about one o'clock p.m., in three divisions. The corps under Jackson came down from Hanover Court House in time to join in the action. The battle wac fought on an expanse of undulating grounsl, considerably wooJed, but with large intervals of" open country. The contest was violent, and for some time the Federals successfully maintained their position, and even at one moment hoped to defeat the enemy. A victory under these circumstances might perhaps have led to decisive results, and it was in this momentary hope that orders were despatched to move forward to the relief of Gen. Porter, all the troops not absolutely indispenaable to protect the Federal lines before Richmond—which lines it may here bs remarked, were attacked by the Confederates in the course of the same evening. In consequence of these orders the division of Genera! Howell reached the field of battle about fonr o'cloak p.m., and was instantly engaged. Two brigades of Richardson's d vision did n»t arrive till later in the evening. Meanwhile the Confeierates were constantly bringing up more meu, and all hope of securing a Federal victory was aoou at an end. A balloon reconnoitering in the air continually reported the advance of fresh bodies of Confederate troops. I galljpel acro33 a bridge over the Chiirkahominy, known as Albermarlc Bridge, and on reaching the rid^e of the opposite hills I percoived in tha valley below me the whole line of battle, a mile and a half long, about 35,000 meu of the Federal army beiug thsre engaged. I could distinctly watch the movements, not only pf the corps, hut ot the officers whom 1 knew m particular of the young Count de Paris and his brother—the former conspicuous, like his royal ancestor, Henry IV., by a peculiar hat. And here I may add that nothing could exceed the gallantry of these young princes, both in the whole course of the action, and in their efforts to check the disorder of the subsequent retreat The Count de Paris was attached to the staff of General Porter, and for upwards of four hours he was constantly exposed to a most severe and murderous fire, from which it is wonderful that ha escaped. The Duke de Chartres was ordered to the front with the reinforcements despatched by M'Clellan in the afternoon, and took a most active part in tho subsequent events of the day. The firmness displayed by these young officers at the most critical period of the action—when in fact the battle bwame a defeat, and the retreat a " stampede"—excited the admiration of the Federal army, and entitled them to the public thanks of its commanders. It is fortunate for the princes tliat their return to Europe, which had ] alrexfly been determined on, irrespective of these i events,- had not actually taken place, and that they were thus enabled to render services at a moment of {jreat danger to the cause they had espoused. The scene which lay beneath me a? I surveyed the field from the position I have described was most imposing, and, I may add, appalling, I watched the renewed assaults of masses of infantry, half concealed by tufts of wooj, and supported by the Federal artillery, while the cavalry j occupied the valley in reserve, and the setting sun throw its blood-red foam* over the dense ver" durc of the forest aud the fluttering ixmnons of the Lineeri. At this moment the fire became stiil more intense at the left centre of the Federal lint-. Reserves were brought up with loul hurrahs, but the attack gained ground on the left. It was evident that a desperate onsliught on that wing might decide the fate of the day. The Federal forces were all engage,-!. No more eupp>rts cirne up. It was already past 6 o'clock, and the day mi-^ht close before the battle was lost. The efforts of JucksojjLx Hill, and Long-street, had thus far been repelled ; and as a last resource while the Federals still held their ground, tliao flanking batteries of field guns were placed on the extreme left to support the infantry. But the Federal troops were weary ; they liad been fighting the greater p:irt of the day ; their ararauni'tion was exhausted. The Confederates, on the contrary, brought up fresh regiments against the left of the Federal live, which gave way, fled, and rushing past the guns, spread disorder through the centre of the army. The enemy hastened forwards. The staff of the generals, with the young princes at their head, plunged into the m?Je&, sword in hand, t» stop the fu"itives. A standard was planted in the ground, round which a few of the bravest rallied but for a moment The fire of musketry and heavy guns was such that the projectiles striking the soil raised clouds of dust. At this moment General Cook made a flnil effort to check the advance of the Confederates, by charging at the head of two cavalry regiments, but in vain ; and the Federal troopers, falling back in clouds of dust and smoke upon the guns, were mistaken by the artillerymen for the enemy, which increased the confusion. The horses were shot down at the guns, while the uen still continued to fire with extraordinary gallantry ; and almost the last thing I saw in the gathering gloom of that tnmeidou!) evening w.is two men still standing to their gun till the enemy was upon them. At length some officers succeeded in placing three | guns in a position which stopped the road, and ! shelled the advancing columns of the enemy; and at this moment up came Meagher at the head of his Irish brigade, filthily dirty, but full of fighting materials. These troops instantly formed, gave two or three wild Irish cheers, and stopped the pursuing, foe. The Federal losses were enormous, and could not be otherwise, in presence of the overwhelming numbers of the Confederates. Sykes's brigade lost half its effective strength. But the lo3s -of the Confederates must also be very great.. If two fresh regiments and another battery had come up at the critical moment, the fortune of the day might have been turned and the defeat have been a victory. As it was, nothing availed, and the battle of Games Mill was irretrievably lost On the other liand, the Confederates did not follow up their success. 35,030 Federals had failed to conquer 60,000 Confederates, but at least they stopped them. In the course of the followingiyght the Federal troops recrossed the Chickahominy in good order by the bridges, and afterwards destroyed them. They left behind them a field of battle covered with the dead ; vast numbers of wounded men too severely hurt to be removed ; a dozen guns', because their horses and artillerymen had been killed ; and a certain number of prisoners, araon» whom was General Reynolds. The same night the corps of General Keyes, which was now the advanced guard of the army, marched forward in the direction of the James River, until it reached a great morass called White Oak Swamp, crossing the road by which the army was about,to retreat as well as the principal roads which" 'converge at Richmond. The 58th and 29th of June were Bpent in sending forward by this road a convoy of 5000 carts and vehicle* with tho baggage and

materi*' of the army, the park, of siege artillery, ami a herd of 2500 oxen to the James River, a J inirch of infinite difficulty, especially as the general h*d but one road at his disposal for the whole column. . / The 23th passed without molestation. The Confederate forces seemed to be perpl*xed, and ignorant of the movement which the F« deral army was then executing. In fact, the Federal army was then entirely on the rightbank of the Chickahominy ; 'while the Confederate - army was, for, the most part, on the left bank of that river, and the bridges between them were destroyed.. For the Confederates to cross they must either have thrown new bridges orer it or retired a considerable distance up the stream to Meadow-bridge ; either alternative required tims, and time was everything in this emergency to enable the Federal array to continue and effect its retreat. It was not till the. evening of the 29th of Jane that the Confederate columns again fell upon the rear guard of the Federal army. They attacked them in tne neighborhood of Savage's Station, on the Richmond and Yorktown Kailway. But these attacks were successfully repelled by General Heintzelmaan and Franklin. Two Federal generals were, however, wounded at that spot—Burns and Brooks. Night ended the affair. : . On the 30th of June the army, with its baggage, had successfully Ciossed the White Oak ■ Swamp, which then placed another barrier between them and the enemy. Already, on the preceding evening," Keyes and Porter, with their respective corp3, had marched to the James River, and had placed' themselves in communication w>th the flotilla of gunboats on the coast. The convoy followed, but after passing the swamp the negroes who acted as guides to the army pointed out several tracks, and the column was no longer obliged to retreat on a single line. The Federal troops were occasionally harrassed by detachments of cavalry, but they met with no serious opposition. It was to be expected, hovv- . ever, that the Confederates would make another efForttothrowtheiropponentsintoconfusion. General if Ciellan had therefore taken his measures accordingly. Tie left Franklin and Sumner to defend the passage of White Oak Swamp, and Jie placed Heintzelmann, with the divisions Hooker, ' Kearney, Sedgewick, and M'Call, on the roads ' leading to Richmond at a point called Crossroads, where several of these lines meet- lender the ' protection of these troops the convoy completed ' its march, and reached the Jarnss River precisely |at the moment when a fleet of transports, bringing provisions and ammunition for the army from Fort Mouroe, made its appearance. Meanwhile, ' however, Generals Sumner and Franklin were ! furiously attacked at the passage of the White Oak Swamps, where the Confederates ' ; had at last brought up . a powerful force r in artillery. They retired foot by foot. ' Somewhat later in the same day Heintzemann , wa3 also attacked at the Crossroads, where au action was fought, chiefly in the woods, with mixed results. M'GiU's division was very severely haadied and lost Us commanding officer, who was made prisoner there. On the other hand, and on another spot. Hawker and Kearney, two capital officer*, took a large number of prisoners from the Confederates. A third attack was also made . by the Confederates on Porter's corps, which was beaten back by the Federal land artillery and the Fe Jeral gunboats On the evening of the 30th o June toe whole army ot the Potomac was collected on the diora of the James River The , position winch it occupied is a strong one, called ; sometimes Turkey Bend and sometimes Mal- ; vera Hill. The lefc of the army- rested i on the river, and was eflectualy covered by the '_ gunboats; only one flank remained, therefore, to be guarded. The whole convoy of baggage wa3 . i? safety behind the army, and the gSnSral-in-chief had succeeded in restoring his communications with his transports and supplies. The bold r movements by which he had escaped from a situation .of great peril, and changed the base of s operations which had been threatened by the - enemy, for one of greater security, had" been - performed. But the army was totally exhausted. is or five contnmous days it had been incessantly hghtmg and marching, and this under the torrid , heat of a tropical san. Numbers of men fell ; out and dropped back into the huge mass of eick r and wounded who dragged themselves alone the m lme of march as they could; in a most piteous • and distressing condition. Nevertheless ia the ' night of the 30th, the whole force was rallied to its position, and if again attacked 07 the Confederates. I venture to affirm that, the army cf 1 Sf. * otomac. is S«H ia a condition to receive them. This result »s mainly due to the numerous and powerful artillery which General M'Clellari has 1 always insisted on carrying along with him, in - spite of the difficulties of transporting guns in so ■ heavy a country, with very imperfect road com- ■ munition. The position he now occupies on . the shore opposite Harrison's Bar, was selected ■ by the engineers of the army and by the navy as t the spot best adapted both for defence and fof the - auival of supplies. Reinforcements have already been sent off, and the Federal government wiU probably attempt to oppose to the concentration • of the Confederate forces a more concentrated y< action of the Federal armies. • The London liiriew makes the following re- » mark? explaining the causes of the Federal , defeat :— ' .i J! i 3 d^ rJ eren from the Northern accounts, > that the federalists were greatly outnumbered ■ • and, indeed, this fact is used by them to viadi--1 cate the conduct of the troops in the field. SupeJ nor as the Northracrs are in arms and equip- ■ ment to their adversaries, it is impossible for one ■ array to resist another when the numbers are as ■ one to three. But whence did this superiority '■ arise ? It arose from the original vice of the Fe- ■ deral plm of operations. The country which the 1 h ederalists have undertaken to attack, has a dia- ■ meter of 700 miles, and a circumference of up--1 wards of 2,0i)0, extending from the Chesapeake ■ round the Atlantic coast, to the Gulf of Mexico, 1 thence along the Misissippi up to Memphis, and' thence eastward again to Richmond. Now the ; Federals determined to draw a net round the ; whole of this vast circumference. It is obvioug ; however, that a net of this enormous extent must ;be weak at some point, and in this lay the strength 'of the Confederates. The Confederates were acting ia th-; centre of this enormous circle By • means of railways they were enabled to trans- ' port their troops with remarkable rapidity - and J even when they were unable to resist the Federal attack in any quarter, they were able to abandon [ the untenable position, and to transfer their army - where they would outnumber the Federalists So [it was with the army of Beauregard, on the Mis- - sissipi. While Halleck, with some 100,000 men ■ was wondering to what point Beauregard had re^ I treated, that officer had time to transport his • whole army by railway to the neighborhood of Richmond. Ana it is probable that the overpowering attack which mas made upon McCte'--1 *£?** m? de hy the &Tmy which h»a lately been 1 fighting in the West. It may nerhaos " be that General McClellan hi 1 T^TT «wart of thU 81 *and ifc ** certai» a that that officer hus never ceased to proclaim his - own weakness. He has constanly demanded rein- ' ion c nents. It may be that the minister at Washmgton was to blame for persevering in a vicious - ?I a o, ?/ Cam, p,aign- But this does riot exonerate U-Uellan. If lie senously believed that he was too I weak to attack Richmond, it was his duty to avoid - approaching so near to tliat capital that he found it impossible to retire in time to avoid a serious defeat .If his convictions as to the danger of an - advance were real, b& ought to have resigned rather than undertake an operation of which he disapproved. He should have said, "My plan of r PP o™*0™**011 is fixe(i, and if you, the President and the tabmet, will not allow me to carry that plan into effect, I shall resign my command and de- ' nounce you when you fail." The position of an r officer who should adopt such a coarse would be ■ as highminded as it is patriotic. This plan of a • series of operations in preference to one grand > attack is the superstition of feeble generals aud • most civilian War Ministers. It was the super- > stition against which Wellington in thePeninj, sula had so vigorously to protest. It was the & superstition which enabled Napoleon to gain so s many victories. It is the superstition which has I caused the defeat of the greatest army of the 1 Federalists, 1 *T U New York r "»«.of'the 3rd July has the ~ following:—. :■;; ..r, -~.; ; i ■ t We have at last full reports of the "recent move! s meats in the front of Richmond. We are sorry to gay they do not sustain fully the encouraeine l interpretation which the public sought to put

upon the brief announcement that our right wing had been attacked, and had withdrawn to the other side of the Ctuekahominy. We hare now no room to doubt that our army has met with a very serious reverse, and that it is in a condition of peril which, if not imminent, at least calls for the instant and energetic efforts of the government end the country. Two of the regular corps of the Times reporters left General M,Clellan's headquarters, winch are now on the James River, on Monday afternoon, and reached this city last night. They were spectators to the events which they describe, arid although their reports are of necessity written in haste, and may therefore err in matters of detail, there is no reason whatever to doubt the entire accuracy of the narrative they give of the principal morements of the opposing forces- It seems firoai their statement that the right wing of our army, numbering about 20,000 men, was attacked on Friday by an overwhelming rebel force of 50,000, and. that after a hot and protracted fight, sustained with gallantry by our troop 3, they effected their retreat across the Chiekahominy. This leading fact was known before, bat it now appears very strange that they did not wait to destroy the bridges across the swamp sotsSectually as to prevent the rebels' passage—that our forces on the left for some reason or other, did not dispute the passage, although they had planted batteries for the purpose of doing so, but decided to. abandon their position, and that accordingly on Saturday and Sunday the whole left wing, comprising the main body of the army under Heintzelmann, Keyes, and Suinner, fell bacv along the whole line of "the railroad and the WHliamsburg-road, turned the foot of the White Oak Swamp, which approaches the Chiekahominy, and marched to James River, a distance of ten or fifteen miles. The rebels, after crossing the Chickiihominy in the immediate neighborhood of what had been General M'Clellan's headquarters, paused oa reaching the railroad, and made no further pursuit* They remained, however, in possession of the ground held by oar own troops on'both sides of the Chickahotniny, including the bridges and earthworks we had erected against their approach in front Onr whole army, therefore, now lies upon the James River, at a point called Turkey Bend, within reach and under coyer of our gunboats. Sup i plies will quickly reaofe it from Fortress | Monroe, and it seems to have withdrawn I its stores" in good order and without much loss. Beyond all question, this news will fall heavily upon the public heart. It is quite j unexpected, and shatters the high hope which the whole country has of late indulged, that with, the fall of Richmond the end of the war was close at hand. A day's reflection will rous2 the whole country to the necessity of another effort to crush the rebellion. However we. may regret the necessity for further sacrifices, there is no alternative. We have no election, even if we wero base enough to desire one, We caunot vieid to the rebels in arms without disgrace—without complete ruin to all our hopes of national renown, without the loss of everything that makes our country, great, prosperous, and free. The government will meet this crisis with an intrepid spirit and a determined purpose, and it must be met by the same temper and with equal courage. The President, as if in anticipation of such a contingency, has already called for 300,000 additional volunteers. Every mm of them ought to be enrolled within a fortnight. We shall have, we hope, no wrauglings in the press or elsewhere over the past, no criminations or hostile criticisms, no attempts to exaggerate defeat. The country needs the best service of all her sons. Let the only contest b3 for precedence in the race for her rescue!