May 6, 1863, The New York Herald
Our latest intelligence from the battle field on the Rappahannock is up to Sunday afternoon at six o’clock, at which time things looked favorable for General Hooker. Three sanguinary battles had been fought up to that time; the heights of Fredericksburg, with all the lines of the enemy, had been taken; the attempt of General Lee to turn our right wing had been defeated; we had captured from four to six thousand prisoners, three thousand of whom had already arrived in Washington; and though no positive of official reports of any later proceedings reach us, the result cannot be looked upon with much misgivings, while intense anxiety necessarily still prevails. We have accounts from the vicinity of the battle ground as late as Monday night, from which it would appear that the fight was renewed that day near Chancellorsville. It was thought that General Lee had been reinforced from Richmond, which would throw doubt upon the cutting off of communication by General Stoneman, about whose movements nothing very positive is known, except that he had got into the rear of Fredericksburg, and was attempting to cut the railroad connection.
We refer our readers to the thrilling descriptions of the battles of Saturday and Sunday, given by our special correspondents on the field. They paint the scenes they witnessed with a vividness and force which leaves nothing to the imagination to supply. A map accompanies their accounts, showing the theatre of operations. The list of killed and wounded proves our loss to be heavy in the three engagements, particularly in general officers.
The reconnoissance in large force made by the army of General Peck on Sunday from Suffolk, under Generals Getty and Harlan and Colonels Stevens and Dutton, for the purpose of ascertaining the position of the enemy on the north side of the Nansemond, and learning whether General Longstreet had withdrawn to aid General Lee, resulted in a very serious and sharp encounter with the rebels, in which our troops did valiant service. The gallantry of the officers is described as magnificent. The enemy were driven into the woods in disorder, and on the following morning there were none of them to be found within twelve miles of Suffolk, except the wounded left behind. It would appear that they had commenced a retreat for the purpose of joining Gen. Lee before the reconnoissance was made. They fled along the South Key road, and were hotly pursued on Monday by Gen. Corcoran and the Irish Legion. He had captured and sent back several prisoners. Our losses were small compared with the importance of the undertaking. We give a list of the killed and wounded, as far as ascertained, together with a map of the region around Suffolk, where the operations occurred.
The reconnoissance of General Palmer from Newbern to Kinston, North Carolina, in which he drove the rebels from their intrenchments at the bayonnets’ point, is given in detail in our columns today. The Massachusetts and Pennsylvania infantry regiments, and the New York cavalry, distinguished themselves splendidly on this occasion. Our list of casualties was small. It is evident from the result of the expedition that a large portion of the rebel forces have gone northward to reinforce the army of General Lee in his momentous conflict with General Hooker in Virginia.
We have some important news from Front Royal by the arrival of the United States steamer New England last evening from Hilton Head. The captain reports that the Ironsides was to cross the bar at Charleston on the 2d instant, and the Monitors on the 4th. This, if true, would indicate the commencement of a second attack on the forts in Charleston harbor.
The news from the Southwest is highly important. A despatch from Cairo to Chicago yesterday says the steamer Lady Franklin arrived from Vicksburg on Thursday night last, and reports that on that morning General Sherman, with a fleet of transports, accompanied by gunboats, passed up the Yazoo and made an attack on the rebel batteries. In the afternoon several more transports followed, with troops on board. It was reported that General Sherman landed precisely in the same place he did when he made the former attack. Cannonading and musketry were distinctly heard at Young’s Point, that day, till long after nightfall. A gentleman who left New Carthage on Wednesday last, states that a very heavy force of General Gran’s tarmy has been landed on the Mississippi side of the river eight miles above Grand Gulf, and that our gunboats had been shelling the latter place for several days. A despatch from the rebel General Pemberton to the War Department at Richmond, dated the 29th ult., at Jackson, Miss., also states that six gunboats, averaging ten guns each, opened a terrific fire upon the rebel batteries at Grand Gulf, at seven o’clock that morning, and continued without intermission for six hours and a half, when they withdrew. Several boats were apparently damaged and one disabled, which was then lying on the Louisiana shore below.
Our Missouri news today is full of interest. The late battle at Cape Girardeau is finely described by our correspondent, the advance, the defeat and pursuit of the enemy being graphically portrayed.
By the arrival of the steamship Continental yesterday from New Orleans we are put in possession of all the highly interesting details of the late victorious movements of General Banks, supplied by our special army correspondents. The map which we publish on the first page will show the whole scene of his operations and the locations of his several battles throughout his successful advance.
The arrest of the Hon. Clement L. Vallandigham, at Dayton, Ohio, by a posse of soldiers sent from Cincinnati yesterday for that purpose, has created considerable excitement in both cities. A stubborn resistance was made at Mr. Vallandigham house before his person was secured. The fire bells were then rung and an attempt was made by his friends to rescue him, but without success. He was carried off to Cincinnati. An immense mob then assembled in Dayton, cut the telegraph wires and set fire to the office of the Journal, a radical paper. The telegraph office was closed for fear of an attack by the people. The charges against Mr. Vallandigham are not stated.