November 29, 1863, The New York Herald
The news from the Army of the Potomac up to seven o’clock yesterday evening shows that it has completely severed its connection with Washington and is now advancing, with a new basis of supplies to rest upon. No news of a serious battle has reached us. The cannonading heard in the front was probably nothing more than outpost skirmishing. It was reported in Washington that on Friday morning our cavalry pushed forward as far as Locust Grove, four miles south of Germanna Ford, where they met the advance of the rebel cavalry, and the latter were driven across Russell creek, and afterwards across Mill run, two miles from the grove. A body of rebel infantry was posted between that point and Orange Court House, and the whole rebel force moved off in the direction of the latter place, which is nearly twelve miles to the southward.
The map which we give today will show the fords and the routes by which General Meade’s army crossed the Rapidan.
The report of Quartermaster General Meigs of the late grand battle near Chattanooga shows that it was a surprise sprung upon the enemy, our troops moving upon Missionary Ridge in such perfect order that the rebels had no suspicion of an attack, but regarded the movement as a dress parade of our troops. The details of the fight are most satisfactorily given by General Meigs, who declares that so well directed and so well ordered a battle has not taken place during the war.
Our last reports from General Burnside are to the 25th. He then still held Knoxville, and was in a position to do so for ten days to come. The victory at Chattanooga has no doubt relieved him ere this from much solicitude as to the security of his position.
By the arrival of the mail steamship George Washington from New Orleans, with dates to the 21st, we have some interesting news relative to the movements of Gen. Banks’ forces in Texas, which our special correspondent gives in full. Corpus Christi was captured on the 15th inst. by Generals Banks and Dana, who marched upon that place overland from Brownsville. Aransas city was attacked, and taken after a very brief resistance. One hundred prisoners and three guns were taken. The British brig Dashing Wave was captured by the gunboat New London off the Rio Grande, with a cargo consisting of seventy thousand dollars in gold and a large quantity of clothing and medicines intended for the rebels.
The despatches from General Franklin, in the Teche district, Western Louisiana, report a gallant attack of General Lee, chief of cavalry in that department, upon the rebel Camp Pratt, on the 19th inst., in which the Union troops captured one hundred of the enemy and killed forty, taking all their arms and equipage. We give a map of the vicinity of Corpus Christi and Aransas in another column.