AMERICA.

Southland Times, Volume III, Issue 23, 30 December 1863, Page 5 (Supplement)

AMERICA.

ft GREAT BATTLE J# TENNESSEE. f"". £ Rreat battle fought on the js P «nd 20th of September, in front of Jfr ittanooga, O L th& Chickaraanga the Southern attack JJ^^^^HHu Rosencranz was CUD) P e ffi^^^^H[^R| we disposition of the 'l^^^^^^^H lis army after the batj|H^^^^B^Hlj| jegun. He seems to^ij9||[HHHf rhere the real assault wa^raH^l lit not to have discoiMj^^S^Hp . bough. . The shifting of|HHH^Kf t * •love to strengthen theJjflJ^HHHSfj; jp position; gave the Gmj^^^HHHn;' jpor tuni ty of throwingnj|^^^HkagL L '. rce on the points left itj§jHH^HMJ :ted by the corps movij9^^^^^Bl| panciea. The resu ltjPj^H|H^H ftir army had been jBWBmMBBHI ?4 at this crisis the first telegrams . t<ft>ed, with the alarming announce* ne\bf a "substantial victory." During height of the 19th the Federal positionkd to be changed again, and on : the 9th the Confederates repeated the ■:■ tactii. of the previous day. Fit* t '■„ attacjng the left of the line, and push- ' ing üback, the Southerners threw all ' theilbrce on the Federal centre, which jad sen " weakened to tbe extent of ; me- ird." It could not sustain the hoc! •' The regiments began to prea! out like a fan, wider and wider, ill It last they were broken into Vagments." The breaks caused by th\ shiftings of divisions frowi one point f the line to another " were so promply perceived and turned to -ad ran Ige " by tbe Confederate "that they proved fatal and -caused the loss of the day," The Federa line, after being thus broken, -could lot again be formed. At this point if time the disorder began. of demoralised, uncontrollable droops, flying to the rear, were all that •remained of a large portion of the army Four divisions were thus broken -and dispersed, only one retiring in tolerable order. AH afterwards was the •confusion of a route, '** crowds of "stragglers in mob-like disorder making good speed towards Chattanooga," A .partial rally was made, and General Thomas was enabled so far to check the pursuit as to save the Northern army irora total destruction. The whole incidents of the two days, it must be admitted, are very -candidly summed up by all American narrater : — "*' While ' struggle of the first day ended in ; ai djtjiwn battle, that of the second f"" uVted in a disastrous defeat. 1 ' Bad motion of the Kne of bat Is, bad ' tactKs on the field, "and the absence of ■some commanders at the most critical peribd of- fciie fight, are alleged as the •causes of the -disaster. Two seem to ; have disappeared, -though nothing is «aid of their having been wounded. Rosencranz himself had ahrb to quit the field before the battle was quite over. Rosencranz attributes 'the loss of the 1 battle to M 'Cook's disobedience of. orders. The Indian name of the battle-field (Chickamauga) means the " Stream of Death.'* The great losses on both sides give the name a new and jfeerjsible fitness. But the oft-repeated vtale of carnage mates small impression -, on fthe American mind, even -though th-e j'dif&culty o f filling the thinned ranks is becoming every daj more -evident. The Cincinnati Gazette publishes the £ull account of tne battles of the 19th and,2otb. The repjrt concludes : — Our losses havejbeen most severe, and!' can scarcely nil short of 1700 killed and. 8000 rounded. Colonel "BaflTett tells me olr loss in artillery •willl not fall short a 50 pieces. Our -deficiency in transporation and baggage canriot be estimated. 'Notwithstanding this {says the report), t was a substantial failure to the ene^y, if not a victory to the Federals. Phey were foiled in "the attempt to datroy the army, And suffered in loss <$ life fully as «nucui as the army of tl» Cumberland. Theilsth Ohio has bt| 176 of 450 •■effectives left. Some regiments are •almost annihilated. Gfceral Garfield telegraphs from Ro.ssvi!le>n the evening ■of tlte 20th as follows :-|» Thomas has Jeft JBaird's, Brennan'sS Reynolds's, Wood's, and Palmer's di^ions in good -ordetj, and has maintain^ almost the «xacs position occupied imhe morning, I -exeepit that the right has foyung back. JLytle) fought a most desdrate battle, land 'pas damaged the e«my badly. /General. Granger's troops raved up just /•in time, and fought magnificVitly. The / fighting was far fiercer thai&ny I ever I saw before. Our men no^only held / their ground, hut at many rints drove / the epemy splendidly. Ihgstreet's / Virginians have got their bjlies full. I every division in theSeld had •exhausted their ammunition. vTurchin ..charged the rebel line and ook 500 --'" prisoners* became envelope| swept aroundi behind their lines, aadjit their way out in another pla|, but \ abandoned their prisoners, mother brigadej was Attacked just it the close of the fight, and its imnau«tton jbeing exhausted, wit in th the bayoHet and drove tbememy, taking 200 prisoners, and th|&ave them yet. On the whole Thocts and Granger have dono the enemy lily as much injury to-day as theyjhave suffered from him. They succea ? ully repelled repeated combined a acks most fiercely made by the rebel my, frequently pressingjtheir front an|ioth flanks at the same time. \ A correspondent bf the New ,'ork Journal, who was in eye-withe« of the battles of Chickinanga of the|9th and 20th, asserts t<at the army othe

I Cumberland has met with a defeat which must put it on the defensive for some time to come. The corps of I General Thomas was almost the only I one which; did any fighting. Those of gffieneral's M'Cook and Crittenden — were ||pth badly beaten and driven in all nKrectioW on the first day, and on the f%cond the first charge of the ConfedePfites, trdke their lines, routed the 1 entire, commands, and drove them in ■^disgraceful panic into Romille and The Federals lost heavily tv material, hot less t^an 50 pieces of artillery falling into the hands of the Confederates. ■ General Bragg officially reports under date of September 2 1st: — "The enemy tetreatefd on Chattanooga last night, leaving h la dead and wounded in our hand*-. His loss is very large in men, artillery, small arms, and colors. Ours is heavy, but not yet ascertained. The victory is complete, and our cavalry is pursuing. With the blessing of God, our troops have accomplished great results against greatly superior numbers. We have to mourn the loss of many gallant officers. Brigadier Generals Preston Smith, Helm, and Deshles are killed ; MajorrGeneral Hood and Bri-gadier-Generals Adams, Gregg, and Brown are wounded." A portion of General Meade's forces have crossed the Rapidan, and his cavalry have reached Orange Court House. There were no signs of the Confederates, who are confidently supposed to be at Gordonsville. It is reported from Washington that the Federal cavalry occupied Gordonsville on the night of the 23rd. There are rumors that the Confederate General Hill is at Frederieksburg, marching to flank General Meade, and cut off his communication. The opinion exists in military circles that no considerable portion of General Lee's army has been sent out of Virginia. The Richmond JSxaminer states that the opposing armies were drawn up in line of battle •from a half to a quarter of a mile apart and at some points in full view of each other. The Richmond Dispatch asserts that the Confederate Government has effected a loan of 100,000,000 fr. in France, upon the security of the cotton now in the South. Three Russian men-of-war have arrived at New York, and five others are expected in a few days. Ihe municipal authorities are making preparations to give them a grand reception by a public banquet. General Lee's army is said at present to consist of 90,000 men, besides 12,000 reserve at Richmond. This intelligence comes from Washington and professes to be derived from private Confederate sources. An advance of his entire force is hourly expected, which will have the effect of putting an c.id lo those unimportant, yet, harassing, skirmishes with which the army of the Potomac has amused its leisure for many weeks. i- The Confederates seem to be slowly but sarely following up their recent victory near Chattanooga, and, if the general tenor of the intelligence which has reached us be correct, we may shortly expect to hear that the Federals have' abandoned the line of the Tennessee. Their position at Chattanooga is no doubt strong, but unfortunately the communications of the Federal general are cut otf. Indeed, not alone is his line of communications cut off, but he I appear to be completely surrounded by | his persevering foes. The statement, I more than once repeated, that Burnside h d been enabled to efiect a junction with tihe main army under Rosencrans, is now shown to have been unfounded, and the position of the former general at KnOxville appears to be in no particular more secure than that of his chief at Chattanooga. The Federal Government have pursued their old tactics of dividing and subdividing their armies-, and in the present instance the Confederates are making strenuous efforts to take advantage of the blunder by destroying them in detail. Shelbyville, an important position on the railroad connecting Nashville with Chattanooga, has been taken, together with , 15,000 prisoners. This is no doubt j an exageration ; but of the capture of the town, together with its garrison, there seems to be uo doubt. At M'Minneville, the Confederates have taken 500 prisoners, besides a quantity iof baggage. It is, however, at Chattanooga that the great struggle for the j possession of the line of the Tennessee I River will take place. Whatever may be tbe strength of Rosecrans' army, it is clear that it cannot now be reinforced. EveTy effort on the part of Burnside to join it has failed* Tbe Confederates are well aware of the great disadvantages at which the Federal general is placed, and have despatched every available regiment to the assistance of ! General Bragg. It would be absurd !to suppose that Bragg has received reinforcements to to the extent of 170,000 men, as stated by the Naw York Herald, but he has in all probability received a sufficiency to counterbalance the advantages ! possessed by his adversary through the I strong position he at present occupies. I The Federal government are not enabled to report any material progress in the [ seige of Charleston. The bombardment by the land forces has been discontinued, and the Confederates have taken advantage of its cessation to remount some heavy guns on Fort Sumter, and restore it as far as possible for purposes of defence. The ironclads continue to do nothing. The disagreement between General Gilmore and Admiral Dahlgren Still subsists; and the government, notwithstanding the immense sacrifices they have made in order to effect, if possible, tbe capture of Charleston, cannot make up their minds to appoint a general and admiral who will<act in concert. The relative positions of the belli-

gerents remain practically Unchanged. Rosencranz is " in safety " at Chattanooga, and Bragg is still coneetrating his forces in preparation for the final attack, which it is hoped will compel the Northern army to abandon the line of the Tennessee. Burnside remains at Knoxville, and' his communications with Rosencranz continue suspended. General Johnston has taken posses-] sion of the passes leading from Mississippi into Tennessee, with the view of intercepting the reinforcements which General Rosencranz expects from that quarter ; whilst Bragg has equally cut off all hope of supplies from the north-east. From Charleston we learn for the fiftieth time that General Gilmore's preparations are almost completed, and that the capture of the city may be daily expected. From the Mississippi reports have reached Washington of a serious defeat having been sustained by the Federal army, with the loss of 1500 prisoners. Which was the particular array which sustained this crushing defeat, or which the army that achieved the victory, are not mentioned, and the rumor is only worth referring to as illustrating the singular nature of the war in which the rival sections of the late American Union are engaged. Gold now touches 50 per cent, premium. The paper dollar has consequently depreciated one-third. Gold has stood higher than this before now, but it bodes ill for Mr. Chase's future financial arrangements that just as the winter is closing sn, tbe value of his paper currency should be so steadily and so progressively falling in value. The government at Washington never needed a victory more than they do at present, and never was there less probility of their securing one> In Virginia a possible advance by Lee is occasionally spoken of, but it is now suggested that Meade is about to repeat the experiment in which his pre*decessors Burnside and Hooker failed. The lines held by the Confederates may J be regarded as impregnable to any attacks which could be made by the j army of the Potomac. In Virginia, therefore, the government at Washington must look in vain for such a success as would help to sustain their falling credit.