The New York Herald Newspaper, May 6, 1862, Page 3

Hy HH ‘BVACUATION OP YORKTOWN. General McClellan. Precipitate Flight of the Rebel Army. ‘Qne Hundred Thousand Rebels on the Run, - ] "Phe Rear Guard of the Enemy Over. taken by Our Forces, ] _° {@avalry~and Artillery Engagement Near. Williamsburg. Zhe Rebels Driven from Their Position and Twenty-five Prisoners Taken, (PROBABLE CAPTURE OF THE TOWN. Umteresting Accounts from Our 4 : Special Correspondents, fOperations of the Enemy Previous Planting the Stars and Stripes on the ‘ A =. ‘ ; WBEVENTY-ONE HEAVY CANNON CAPTURED [he Guns from the Merrimac Mounted Mmmense Strength of the Rebel Fortifications, [Witter Demoralization of the Rebel Army. + BARBAROUS CONDUCT OF THE ENEMY. Arrangements of the Rebels to Blow Up the Works. WEB SCIENTIFIC PLANS OF GEN. MCLELLAN. Wrilliant Achievement of the - Union Arms. MMPORTANCE OF THE UNION SUCCESSES. Emportant Movements ofthe French Minister. 3% MERCIER’S ABRIVAL AT YORKTOWN, Bary Rev Re Despatches from General McClellan. ° ‘Heapquanrans, Anwt oF tar Potoxsc, ; May 11:00AM.” f wn. ‘M. Graton, Secretary of War :-— a Jost made shows that the rebels aban- Gane tn thelr works a Yorktown two three-inch rifled @anee, Wo four-and-s-balf-inch rifled cannon, sixteen ‘@eyty-two pounders, six forty-two pounders, nineteen @ePetowd oolumbiads, four nine-inch Dahigrens, one ten- Sach eolumbiad, one ten-inch mortar and one cight-inch (age howitser, with carriages and implements com. (gate, cach plese supplied with seventy-six rounds of @memanition. On the ramparts there are also four (@ageatues, which bave not yet boon examined. This Gees not include the guns left at Gloucester Point, and ‘Shete other works to our left. G. B. McOLELLAN, j Major General. Bespquanrsrs, Gg Ay wh a me} ‘Be Bon, B.'M. Stanton, Secretary of War:~ ‘Gur cavalry and horse artillery came up with the ene- ‘@ay’s rear guard in their intrenchments about two miles Clo side of Williamsburg. 4 drisk Sght ensued. Just as my aid left, Smith’s @rision of wwfantry arrived on the ground, and 1 pre. wame carried the works, though I have not yet heard. ‘The enomy’s rear ia strong; but I have force enough ‘w there to answer all purposes, * ‘We have thus far taken sevonty.ono heavy guns, large @mounte of tents, ammunition, ke, All along the lines their works prove to have been mos, formidable, and Fam now fully satisfed of the correct, ters of the course I have purened. ‘The success ts brilliant, and you may rest assaved that te effects will be of tho greatest importance, ‘More ebal) be no delay in foliowing up the revels. A redHly have pow gulty of jhe mon) prurdgrong ETS TRS ae a INEW YORK HERALD, TUESDAY, MAY 6, 16 ve Ruy “lay: 2 yh eas " <p Gi mt mi W<-WATERSS Wz, SHEET, THE REBEL DEFENCES AT YORKTOWN. The Formidable Oharacter of the ‘Rebel Fortifications Around Yorktown. ENGRAVERS > B MILE and barbarous conduct, in placing torpedoes within the abandoned works, near wells and springs, and near flag. Staffs, magazines, telegraph offices, in carpet bags, bar- rels of flour,&. ‘We bave not lost many men in this manner—some four? or five killed, and perhapsadozen wounded. I shall make the prisonors remove them at their own peril. G. B, McCLELLAN, . ‘Major General. Despatch from Colonel Astor. The following despatch from Colonel Astor was yester- day received in this city by Mr. Porit, President of tho Chamber of Commerce:— Yorxtown, Va., May 4, 1962. The rebols evacuated this place at four o’clock this morning, keeping up a brisk cannonadeto the last mo- ment, leaving all their heavy guns, eighty in number, with their ammunition; also large amounts of materiel of war of every kind, abandoned, burned or sunk. Days, Johnston and Lee wore present, uniting in opin- fon that McClellan’s disposition of bis forces and artillery had made the place untenable. Magruder furiously and publicly urged fight. The fortifications are very exten- sive and formidable, and their force had been large. Au assault upon them before bombarding would have pro- duced great carnage, and might have fuilod, Our gunboat flotilla has passed up the rivor, followed by large bodies of troops in transporia; also several columns are moving rapidly along York river. We hope to come up with them before they can reach Wost Point Our army is in the finest condition aud best spirits; the rebel army much demoralized. J. J, ASTOR, Col. and A. D.C. Cavalry and Artillery Engagement Near Williamsburg. Heapquarrers, Near ‘aan’ May 4—Evening. 'f / ‘The advance of the forces, under command of General Stoneman, with the view of ascertaining the position of the enemy, reached this place, two and a half miles from Williamaburg, about two o’clock this afternoon, on the road from Yorktown. The country, in most in- Stancos, was Inid desolate,and but few of the houses are ecenpied. ‘On emerging from a cover of woods we came in view of Williamsburg and the enemy’s earthworks. At the tame no guns wore visible on the enemy’s works, but a regiment of cavalry could be seen approaching, about one mile off, in line of battle, Captain Gibbon’s reserve battery was then ordered to the front to open on the enemy's approaching cavalry, while a portion of the Sixth cavalry wore deployed as skirmishers to the night and left. ‘The fire from the battery was very offvotive on the enomy’s cavalry, but gever changed their course, About two hundred yards to the right of Gibbons’ battery was an earthwork, which had all the appearance Of being desorted, when all of a sudden our troops were opened upon by @ deadly fire from artillery posted be. hind the works. At the same time the rebel cavalry continued advancing wntil they were checked by a charge made by & portion of the First and Sixth eavalry, which was performed in @ most admirable manner. In more smstances than one it was a hand to hand encounter with the enemy; bot, strange to relate, none of our men were made prisoners, while we captured about twonty-fiye o, the enemy, among whom is Captain Frank Leo, of the ‘Third Florida infantry. Captain Gibbons bad fourteon horses killed, Lieutenant De Wolf was mortally wounded. One gun was lost by sticking fast in the mud, Lieutenant Benton, of the First cavalry, and ton men of the samo regiment, were wounded. Licutonant McClellan, of the Sixth cavairy, ‘was slightly wounded, as were also twelve others, Lieu. tenant Colonel Kness, of the First cavalry, had his horse phot eager Rien While p>gspeG 1p & band tp Dead epecin ter with two of the enemy. Ho escaped with a fow slight bruises, Private Noble (Irish), of Major Barker's McCiellan Dragoons, had his horse killed and was severely wounded in the leg by the explosion of a torpedo, while passing through Yorktown, ‘The rebel cavalry was forced by our men to abandon their position, but the want of infantry prevented our men from advancing on the enemy’s works. It being evident that it was useless to attempt further operatiens, the troops fell back about two hundred yards to await the arrival of infantry. General Hancock’s brigade goon after arrived, but it was deemed advisable to defer further operations unti! to-morrow. - We have information that the enemy are still on the retreat beyond Williamsburg. ‘The rear guard of the enemy is very strong.as was shown to-day, Sketch of General Stoneman. Prigadier General and Acting Major General George Stoneman is a native and citizen of New York, and was Appointed @ cadet of West Point from that State in the year 1642, He graduated on the 30th of June, 1346, standiog No. 33 in his class, in which there were iifty- nine members, Among his classmates are the names of Major General G.B. McClellan, Acting Major Gouerals J. G. Foster, “Jesse L. Reno, D. N. Couch, T. Seymour, and others; Brigndier Generals 8. D. Sturgis, Jas. Oakes, I. N. Palmer and others, in the Union army, and some few who have joined the rebel cause. On the Let of July, 1846, he was promoted Brovet Second Lieutenant of the First dragoons, and on the 12th of July, 1847, received his commission of full second lieutenant of that regi- ment. In July, 1854, he was promoted to a first liew- tenancy, and, in January, 1856, was appointed aid to Major Gen. Wool, then chief of the Eastern Department, and in the following March was promoted to a captaincy of the Second cavalry. In 1850 he held the captaincy of Company E of that regiment, ranking No, 8 in the list of United States cavalry captains. He held the fame position in 1860, and in 1861 ranked No. 7 Jn the list of the captains of the cavalry in consequencs of the promotion of Joseph E. Johnston (now a rebel) to & brigadier goneralship, Ou the 9th of May, 1861, he ‘was promoted to be a major f theSecond (now Fourth) United States cavalry, and on the 13th of August, 1861, was promoted a Brigadier General of Volunteers and chief of cavalry on Major General McClellan’s staff. Ho has since been made an Acting Major General, with the command of the whole of the cavalry forces of the Army of the Potomac. He outranks General Smith only by being frst mamed on the army roll, and not by. any dif, ference in the date of his commission, The Latest News from the Army. ‘HRADQUARTERS OF THR ARMY, Nean Whuaumenc, May 6-4. iM. f Tt commenced raining about two o’clock this morning ‘and has continued heavily up to this time, ‘There is no news from Williamsburg, a8 it is yet too ‘carly in the morning to hear, Woe will occupy Williamsburg early thia morning. From there our course will depend upon that taken oy the enemy, PARTICULARS OF THE EVACUATION. Special Correspondence of the New York Herald. Yonxrown, May 4, 1862, ‘This morning, soon after six o'clock, Brigadier Goneral Jarneson, haying learned that the enemy had evacuated Yorktown, went forward with detachments from different regiments and occupied the deserted earthworks. The Stars and Stripes were raised on the deserted fortifien- tiona arid the unbounded enthusiasm of our soldiers. ‘The most reliable information T havo been enabled to re- ceive shows that the evacuation was commenced on ‘Thureday last, Tho last of the rebel force, consisting of General Longatreet’s brigade, left the works about one o'clock this morning. DEMONSTRATIONS OF THE ENEMY DURING THR BYA- OUATION, ‘weather was dull and cloudy, rain falling a portion of the time. It was exovedingly difficult to observe any of the enemy’s movements, by reason of the hazy condi. tion of theatmosphere. Success in any undertaking de- pends, to some extent, upon a timely improvement of adventitious circumstances, Such has always been one of the secrets of the enemy’s succesé. In several in- stances since the commencement of the rebellion he has displayed the power to seize upon and improve favor. able opportunities. And so he took advantage of the dull, dark, droary weather of the past few days for the evacuation of his position, which was universally believed, from what had been said concerning it, to be all but abso- lutely impregnable. On Wednesday last there wat firing from different directions going on all day. The enemy threw a number of hif largest ehot and shell over from the immense fortification which overlooks the river. Although those missiles flew ali areund us, some falling in the camps aud some passing over the:n, there wore only a few slight casualties among our mon. After the rain had commenced to fall in tho afternoon the firing was jucrensod, Up to this time it was principally con- fined to the right of our line, from which our battery of fiveone hundred-pounder Parrott guns and one two bun- dred-pounder, situated noar tho river, had returned the brisk fire of thoenemy. Thus there had boen quite @ cannonade, Finding that our guns were prov- ing 0 effective, sevoral of thos tremenaous shells having burst over the fortifications, and others, as I have percoived this morning, hay ing knocked away portions of the parapet, and dismounted one of the heaviest guns, the onemy concluded to rolax his efforts im that direction and turn his attention to another quar~ ter. Then, tater in the afternoon, between threo aud four o'clock, we heard cannonading to our left, and it was evident that it was tho intention of the enemy, if possible, to divert our attention for the time being from his formidable post to the right, On Thursday, the Ist of May, the onemy sont forward ‘® small detachment of infantry, tho Mississippi Rifles, to koep up appearances and create the impression that he intended to fight, while subsequent events haye shown ts that he was afraid to fight, and had determined to silent~ ly evacuate. Everything was remarkably quiot during the morning; but both sides resumed thoir artillery practice in the afternoon. Several of the shells from Yorktown buret in some of our encampments. A pro- mise of fine weather was blighted later in the day, when the sky clouded over deeper than ever. There was an ‘occasional shot fired during the night. The morning of Friday, May 2, was dull and dreary, as several of the previous mornings had been. Soon, how- ever, a gentle breeze arose, the sombre covering of clouds parted like curtains drawn aside, revealing a clear, beautiful sky. Fromf early in the morning, for several hours, the enemy kept up a rather regular and constant fire from bis heavy guns, as before. Many shots wero sent from the left of the fortifications surrounding the town itself, and as our men were busily engaged in run- ning the parallel on our extreme right, near the river, iy was supposed that he had brought a number of field pieces to @ favorable position outside his works, and was endeavoring to enfilade our parallel. Our dig battery, number one, near the bank of the river, returned the fire, and made some splendid shots, a num, ber of the shells having boen seen to burstover the enemy's intrenchments. Still he kept up the cannonade with a vigor which seemed to say that when tho siege should be opened he was fully determined to make a desperate resistance. For hours tho air resounded with the tremendous reports of heavy guns. Sometimos the report of one cannon and of the bursting shell from an- other would be heard simultancously. About noon tho cannonading was louder and more rapid than on any day sinoe the arrival of our army before the town. ‘The un- usnally loud reports from the rebel guns ovented the impres#ion among some that the enemy had recently been mounting cannon of larger calibre than he had mounted there heretofore. Some of the shells went clear over General McClellan’s headquarters, ‘Thie was the first time that any rebel miswiles had come so great a distanee, Quite a number of the fuse shelle burst very high in the air, and large wreatha of smoke, created by the bursting, aseonded towards the sty, It was manifest that, instead of having heavier gone, the rebels wore putting into thore whieh they had. enormour charges of powder, Ong of their iar guns burst with @ tremendous noise, This aarp engrge- | an hour, when the firing became less frequent as the sun shono out bright and warm, and the sky became clear as crystal. In tho evening all firing had entirely ceased, and the sun set in great boanty. Many of our regi- ments were out on the open plain, going through the usual evening parade, and these, together with the delightful scenery and the pleasant weather, which was highly appreciated by everybody, Presented a picture of unusual splendor. ‘The mildness of the evening and the peaceful aspect of the surround- ing scenery contrasted strangely with the manonver- ing of troops and the active preparations for the siege. There had been so much firing during the day from the enemy's vide that it was supposed on ours ho had ascer- tained the precise position of our camps and had began at last to strive to shell us ont. Hence, in the evening an order was promulgated to the elfect that during the pending operations emall fires only would be permitted during the day, and those must bo extinguished at dark, from which time until daybreak no more fires would be permitted. CONTINUATION OF THE CANNONADE EFFECT OF OUR RLIFLED GUNS, 'y early on Saturday morning, an hour or more befure yn, the enemy opened a rharp and heavy fire, rousing | many of our soldiers from their slumbers. When day- light appoxred a soft haze hung over the atmosphere; but by eight o'clock the weather began to clear off, and the remainder of the day was warm and beautiful. General Jameson was general of the trenches that day. One of his aids being sick, my fervices as volunteer aid in his stead were accepted, Hence I had an excellent opporta, nity Lo 290 the rebel fortifications, to Joarn the first facts concerning their evacuation, and to witness (heir subse. quent occupation by our troops. That Saturday was one of the most interesting days we had had on the right of our line since the comneneement of the preparations for the siege. Large detaile from many of the regiments — in all several thousand meu—were as usual working on our first parallel, which wos nearly finished, and on new batteries and redoubi# which were in process of con- struction. The rich crimeon uniforms of the Fifth New York Zonaves formed a pleasing contrast to the durker uniforms of our other volunteers. To see them all at work was a very picturesque sight. The rebels, according to their custom, kept rather quiet during a few of the morning hours, little more than an occasional shot boing fired; but in the afternoon they opened fire and blazed away as usual. We wanted to got the best possible range of the enemy’s works, both at Yorktown and over the river at Gloucester, before begjnning a regu. lar bombardment; so we replied with those big rifled gune, Theecarth beneath fairly trembled at each dis- charge. ‘Fhe sequel has disclosed the interesting fact that ever since we opened with that battery, at each dis- charge the rebels trembled too. The sound of the shot and, shell from those Parrott guns, as (hey whistled through the air, was at ance fearful and beauti- fol. It seome strange to write down such a sound ‘peautiful,’” when each revolution of the projectile is. * tive of destruction and death; but, nevertheless, the ge 1 have used gives a correct idea of the sound. The shot which does the most execution—which dismounts a gun or kills a crowd of men—ts instinctively styled a “beautHul”’ one, Any artillerist will talk inthe most phitosophical manner of the beanty of his guns, projectiles or shots, At the engagement near Lee's Mill, on the loft of our line, a few weeks ago, it will be remembered that @ shot from the enemy knocked down seven out of the ten men who were serving one of our guns, killing three and wounding four, Captain Mott, Whose bravery is as unquestioned as his tenderness of heart, could not restrain Bis admiration of the ‘splendid’? manner io which tho rebels served their artillory. His words wore, ‘It was a beautiful shot; but it killed and wounded some of the bravest and best men I had under my com- mand.’ T mention'this in order to explain why I have called the singing of the shell in the air a beautiful sound, Doring a greater portion of the day, and until after midnight, the rebels continued firing, principally from their largest fort, where their heaviest guns are mount- ed. Shells were bursting near where our mon wore working, and in our camps further to the rear; but when the smoke or tho first flash of the discharge is seen, soldiers sppoar to have a conveniont way of getting ‘ander cover; #0 that, after all the firing by the enemy, yer, few of Our moh were Injured. Our big ory fired’ leisurely, frequent “changes in the ~ half mile from their fortifications and ricochet over the heads of our troops im the trenches, The burning fuses in the shetls ag they went through the air looked like shooting stars. DIGGING RIFLE PITS BEFORE THB REBEL WORKS, At one time, when those shots camo the ground, we supposed that the encmy had ¢: ‘a small ferce which was sent under cover of the darkness far be- yond our lines to dig two rifle pits in close proximity to their largest fort, almost bencath the muzzies of their guns, and was firingat those men. The batteries which we had erected for the reduction of the town are known by numbers, aud the regular redoubts by letters. In front of redoubt C, towards the right of our positions there is a rugged ravine, on one sido of which there rune one of the Revolutionary rifle pits, or, perhaps more pro” perly, one of the ancient parallels made by the American forces when they first invested Yorktown. Near by is'@ strip of woods, and in front the open space of gently rolling and gradually ascending ground, which isswept by the heavy orduance mounted on tho parapets con- structed by the enemy. It was considered « matter of much importance for us to have @ fow rifle pits for our sharpshooters on this ground, From them our Berdans could pop off every rebel who dared to sight @ gun. Several officers had oxamined the ground with re- ference to the digging of rifle pits, and had pronounced it woll nigh impossible to dig them without bringing on a general engagement, the position was so much oxposed and so dangerous. In the afternoon I went with Genora) Jameson near that place on a reconnoissance, when, un- aware that it was the point which had been previously indicated, he suggested to the director of the siege the importance of having rifle pits pat there, and indicated his willingness to dig them. ‘The proposition was imme- diately approved, and after nightfall he took a smail de- tachment from one of his own regiments, the Sixty-third Pennsy!vania, and proceeded 'to ;perform the work. We advanced cautiously, hoping that we would not be per- ceived by the enemy so long as the clouds auspi- ciously continued to obscure the rising moon. Arriving near the Yorktown road, skirmishers wero thrown out and advanced to the indicated points. A little knoll te the right and another to tho left wore chosen for the rifle pits. The men with their shovels were then brought forward, and while they were digging the skirmishers were lying down afew feet in front of them. All this time the rebels wero firing off their cannon in the wildest manner. Wecould hear the rebel artillery officers as distinctly as though they were not more than a dozen yards from us, giving the command, “One, two, three, fire!’ It was then, when the sholi# came so vlose, that wo thought for a moment we had haen discovered, and that they were firing at ua; but the sequel shows that the rebels were too busy themselves to be on apy particular lookout for us,and that they were not over careful about taking aim: However, we did not know ‘Dut that the entire rebel force of a hrmdred thousand men were still confronting us. And after they had fired their last gun we could still see their lingering lights upon the parapets, though they themselves had gone. Our rifle pits were finished shortly after the time the enemy had completed the evacuation. FIRST INTELLIGENCE OF THE EVACUARION, Yu the meantime a deserter came within our tines farther to the left, and said that the enemy was evacn- ating Yorktown. Just at the first faint light of early dawn, three men were observed approaching our outer pickets with a flag of truce, They were received by Colonel Black. At first it was supposed that they were sent from Yorktown oflicially—perhaps with & pro- position for surrender—but we soon ascertained that they had come over on their own account. They are men who formerly resided in Hampton, the beautifuy Kittle village which was situated near the narrowest point of the peninsula, and which the rebels wantonly burned down. Those men had been forced into the rebel service, and they expressed their great delight at the event which enabled them to escape from such a distaste- ful and exacting service. This event was the complete evacuation of Yorktown, which they then announced to us, They belonged tothe. Thirty-second Virginia regiment, which was one of the Jast to-leave. They said that when our army arrived jp front of Yorktown the rebel force under Gencral Magroder was not more than eight thousand men. ‘Their statements confirm the opinion which tho movements of the rebels since our arrival Bave in~ duced some of us to form—that is, that they wero actually frightened at our approach, When the bri- gade which had the honor of our advance marched along the turnpike road and halted iu the open field in fol view, and not more than a mile and abaif from their most formidable works, and when a few battorics of our light artillery wheeled into positions perfectly un- protected frum ihe fire of their heavy guns, and threw a few shetls at them, the rebels were terrified at our dokdnes! The precise language of one of these de- gertors, and oue of the first observations which he made, was this you had gone over there that night you could bave carried everything.” He confirmed the fact of the bursting of -one of their guns on Friday, which we saw burst ovr- selves, and added that they had burst about half a dozen ogether. Some vf them I have since secn lying in the works. THE OCCUPATION BY THE UNION TROOrS. ‘A few hours previous to this thne our telegraph had been carried $0 far to the front as the old gristmnill which has been used 4s the headquarters of the gauorala of the trenches. General Jameson immediately. tele- grajhed to General Fitz Jobn Porter, director of the siege, the intelligence which these deserters Drought ving the evacuation, He soon reeeived a repiy ting bim to push forward a small force to procure authori(ative information as to the truth of their assertion. Ho took detachments from tho Sixty-cecond Pennsylvania regiment, © under Colonel Black; the Twenty-ccond Mxgsachusette, under Colonel Gove, with a support of two com- panies of the Piret Maseachnsetis, under Lieutenant Colone) Wells, and advanced along the border of the woods, on the commanding blu which ovorlooks the eas we were constructing were astonished when they miaced the rocustome| rebel watchmen from the waiie. Our men in the trenches evinced, if possibie, as much curiosity as thore who wore advancing towards the enemy's fortifications, Thousands of heads appeared above the top of our parallel, and overy one manifested the deepest juterest in the scenes which were ; Tt was only by a stern command that the General kept’ “into the intrenchments. Very soou the detachments tor oed the ditch in front byte ey ociew’ ug pets. General Jameson and Colynel Black in the morning our outposts and sentinelson the ~~ 1a of in after times, not alone as the @cone of ax» , Alene surrender, but also, after the lapse of more than eighty years, ns the scene of @ grand evacuation ard, of the suddon flight of the Aomoralized rebel army— those fortideations aroand Yorktown were of the mosd ormiitable character. cocaine that ever since the battle of Big Bethel, al- moat a year ago, and before it, eta at work fortifying this works at Big Bethel, and thoro which 1 allnded in ® previous when