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nf 31 im lift i If till It.l 1 L I J II 1 MTV L It I SI n H HI H it JKi. IK. !R. IWN II V fl. M McCLUNQ COLLECTION VOL. 1. WINCHESTER, TENN., JANUARY 14, 1863. knoxville. Tennessee Nq. 73 f J She gjailg fguUctta. Terms : Notice to Subscribers. "When you And before your namo on your paper, pk'iiso renew your subscription, as it is u notioQ that the time for winch it has been paid will expire in u few days. Bfgk. A very limited space in the Daily Hul lejin will be allowed for advertisements. Terms, $1 for each square, 1st insertion j OUets for each subsequent insertion. Articles of much length, intended for publi cation, must be handed in in the forenoon to insure publication next day. Obituaries, Tributes of Uespect, and Funeral Invitations charged as advertisement, but mar riages and deaths published as news Advertisements of charitable institutions at half price. . Letter from Mississippi. A FULL ACCOUNT OP VAX DO UN'S BRILLIANT PAID. Grznad.v, Sunday Evknixo, ") December 28, 1802 j Tho town is in a furore of excite ment at the return of Major General Van Dorn and his dashing command from the brilliant raid upon Holly isprings, which has been ho stupendous ly disastrous to the enemy and so im p rtantly successful to our arms. Gen. Van Dorn started from this place thir teen days since, having first supplied h s cavalry command of 2,700 men with fifteen days rations to support and satisfy the inner man, and a bottle of turpentine and b x of matches, each, to enable them the more perfect ly to carry cyt their work of destruc tion upon Abolition property. Striking out northeast, the command passed through Pontotoc and having no time to devote to the Yankee marauders -who wfi-.' at tU- tiny? onth of thtfiii on the Mobile and Ohio Jlailro d, hav ing much more important work on hand, Van Dorn's lurce marched or. through New' Albany and started out on the KipIejCV ad, tu order to perfect ly deceive tho enemy Two hours af ter the force passed through Pontotoc, 1100 Yankee cavalry, which had been on a raid down the Mobile and Ohio road, returned with a train heavily la Ien with the plunder they had stolen. They were informed that Van Dorn had only passed an hour beforo with 15,000 troops. Taking a few minutes' time to destroy their train, the)' took tho shortest route to Corinth and left on lear-inrpelling wings. Meantime. Van Dorn left the Kipley road to tho left and took a byway and meandering routo through the swamp, and came within eight miles ot Holly Springs m the evening, where ho bivouacked hia forces until two hours beforo day, -when ho moved cautiously into town, leaving the Texas brigade upon tho heights outside as a reserve. As our troops dashed in from all sides, the en trance proved a complete surprise, tho breaking streaks of daylight showing tho Yankee tents; with their yet undis turbed plumlurers. A charge was or dered upon them, and tho torch applied to tho canvas 'which c vorod them. To paraphraso "Belgium's" picture "Ah then and there was hurrying to and fro, And running in hot haste, And cheeks all palo and blanched with woe Exhibiting Yankee cowardice" The rapidity with which tho tents of th,e enemy were vacated was marvel lous; and irnpehed by burning torches and rapid discharges of side arms, tho Yankees took no time to prepare their toilets, but rushed out into the cool at mosphere of a December morning; clothed very srmilarly to Joseph when jtbo lady Poliphar attempted to detain hiiii. The scene was wild, excitimr, tumultuous. Yankees running, tents burning, torches llaming, Confederates shouting, guns popping, sabres clank ing; Abolitionists begging for mercy, "'rebels" shouting exultingly, women en dishabille clapping their hands, frantic-with joy, crying "kill them, kill them" a heterogeneous mass of exei ted, lranfjc, irightenod human beings, presenting an indescribablo picture, j more adapted for the pencil of IIor- gart.h than tho pen ot a newspaper cor respondent. The surprised camp surrendered 1,800 men and 150 commissioned offi cers, who were immediately paroled. And then commencod tho work of de struetion. The extensive buildings of the Missisrippi Central depot, the sta tion house, the cngino houses, and im menso stoie houses were filled with supplies ot clothing and commissary stores. Outside of tho dopot the bar rels of flour, estimated half a mile in length, one hundred and fifty feet through and fifteen feet high: Turpen, tino was thrown over this, and tho whole amount destroyed. Up town, the court house and public buildings, livery stables and all capacious estab lishments were tilled, coiling high, with medical and ordnance stores. These wero all fired, and the explosion of ono of the buildings, in which was stored ono hundred barrel 1 of powder, knock ad down nearly all the houses on the south side of the square. Surely such a scene of destruction was never bofore presented to the eyo of man. Glance at tho gigantic estimates: ' 1,800,000 fixed cartridges and other ordnance stores, valued at 81,500,000, including 5,000 rifles and 2,000 revol vers. 100,003 suits of clothing and other quartermaster stores, valued at 6500, 000; 5000 barrel, flmr and other com missary stores, and about $1,000,000 worth of medical stores, tor which in voices to tha. amount were exhibited, and 1,000 bales of cotton and 000,000 worth of su tilers' stores! As there was no lime to remove the'u immense stores from the buildings con taining them they vorc all destroyed, comprising the .Mississippi Central de pot, engine houses and store houses, the most elegont and capacious in all the South. thA courthouse livery st-w bio and the largest buildings on tho public squaro. " Winle the capture of the camp, pa roling of the prisoners and destroying; of the stores were going on, the Texas Hangers, comprising the 9th, 0th, and' ;)d legions, becanio engaged with tho Michigan cavalry, and drove them pell mell through tuwn, and run them off North with a considor.iblo loss to the Abolitionists, and a loss of thirty in kided and wounded on our part. 4 Tho ladies rushed out from the houses, wild with joy. crying out! "There's1 somo at tho fair ground. Chase them? kill them for (rods sake?". One lady said :" The ' Yankee Commandant of tho Post is in my house; come and catch him ;" and a search was instiga ted but without success, when tho noble woman insisted that ho tvas there, con cealed ; and finally, after much ad'J, the gallant (aavo the mark) Cedonel Mur phy, the intrepid Yankee Commadant ot Holly Springs, was pulled out from under his bod, and presented himself in his nocturnal habiliments to his captors. Tho Provost Marshal was also taken, and addressing Gen. Van Dorn, said: " Well, General, you've got us fairly ' this time. I was in bod with my wife ! when I heard the firing, and I at onco ' said, " Well, wife, it's no uso closing lour eyes or hiding under tho cover; we've gono up. " Our attention was given to Grant s headquarters, which he had left twenty- j lour liours beloro. All his papers, ' charts, maps, etc., wero captured, to gether with his splendid carriage, which was burned. Among his papers wa found a pass, to pass the bearer over all tho railroad and steamboats in the United States, at Government oxpenso ; to pass all pickets and guards, and othe papers, at onco interesting and valua ble. Mrs. Grant was also captured,' but no indignity was offered to hor. Nearly every store on tho public squaro was filled with sutler's stores,-! and after our men had holped 1 had holped them ' selves, .tho balance of tho goods were burned. When our forces first reached the. depot, there was a train about leaving. 1 1 Xhc engineer jumpod off and ran away, and one of our men took his ilace, shut tho lhnltlo-valvo and etop ed the train. Sixty cars and two ocomotives were then fired and destroy od. ( , ' ' : After tho complete destruction of all public property about tho place, and after each man had supplied himself with a suitable quantity of clothing and boots, at six o'clock in tho morning the march was -renewed,' and Davis' mill was tho next placo attacked. Here the enemy were entrenched, aud sheltered themselves in a block house and fort formed of cotton bales. Tho cavalry were commanded to charge,' and at tempted to dej so, but tho swamp and intricate lagoons breaking off in front of the enemy's position would not por rait it. Tho Yinkees opened fire with some effect from their fort, and wore supported by, a nine pound riflo gun mounted on afl iron clad railroad car, forming a railroad battory. Tho Tex ans wero again ordered to charge, and Major Dillon, of Van Dorn's staff, whoso gallantry during tho expedition was particularly conspicuous, attomptod to lead them to tho attack, but the men refused to follow, believing tho way im passable and the position too strong for cavalry demonstations alone. Col. M' Cullough, of thj Missouri cavalry, was ordered to get in tho rear of the rail road battery, cut the track to prevent its oscapo, and capture it. I believe they succeeded in cutting the road, but our forces were compelled to withdraw, and the steam battery was not taken. Tho forces then pushed on to Middlo burg and Bolivar, and attacked both places, hut found them too strongly do feuded arid garrisoned to succeed in taking either of the points. Tho gal lantry of Col. Al'Cullough and his com mand, the 2d Missouri cavalry, Pinson's and Sam-dors' Mississippi battalions, is especially mentioned byMaj.Gon. Van Dorn. -Major Fi n krrtxrn a tftwg' ;7ri d" 31 ajo"f Phifer euntt ibuted jnueh to tho success of the expedition, both being dashing cavalry leaders and members of tho old army with tho rank they now hold. It is u great piece o'f injustice that the government d es not make these dar ing and experiencod officers Brigadier Generals of cavairy, which this army is sadly in need ot. Major Armstrong will be remembered as the successful loader of tho expedition against Deca tur and Bolivar last summer, and Phifer as acting Brigadier of an Arkansas bri gade at thti batilo of Corinth. Maj. ivimmell, Alaj . Schaumberg, and Lieut Sullivane, of Gen. Van Dorn's staff, arc highly complimented for their gallant conduct. When tho command turnod back after i unsuccessful attack uppn Bolivar, U10 onemy sent a force of 10,0(10, com prising threo branches of tho service, .out after Van Dorn, and made groat e fforts to flank and cut off his force, but this dashing officer was too wary for them, and succeeded in returning with four hundred head of captured horses and mules, laden with booty taken from the enemy. Tho presenco of Gon. Vaj Dorn with the cavalry expedition tho Yankees cOuld not understand, and they bo- liev,od he was nuA ancing at the head of tho whole army. The people of Tenncssoo aro repre sented as having boon almost frantic with joy at tho appearance of our forces oncenore upon their borders. . They fed our soldiers with a bountiful hand, and wept for joy. "Tn.uik God, you have come at last!" one and all ex claimed. Thoir hospitality was not a little Surprising to our soldiers, who havo beon bo uniformly swindled and oxCorted from in Mississippi. Tho poo pla of Tennessee had been induced to believe that Gen. Grant's headquarter were at Jackson, Miss,, and that our whole army had been captured.. Judge, toon, 01 their surprise when they were visited by an Dorn's command. an Dorn did1 not form a 1 lunction wi'.h Forrest, as ;vo wero lod to believe, but thoir forces were at one time within a milo of each otifer. Forrest captured Treuton, and .completely destroyed tho railroad connection between Columbus and Humboldt, and Van Dorn did tho same between Bolivar and Grand Junc tion. Tho enemy aro now, without doubt, forced to fall back to Jackson, and Forrest, in all probability, will acccler. ato their movements towards Colum bus, Ky. General Van Dorn's raid provod en tirely successful, and is to be regardod as one of the most important, if not tho most important cavalry demon stration of the wa Ho has caused tho enemy a loss of stores which it will take months to recover Sroni, and has deprived his command of everything essontially nccco iary to tho placing of hi 8 forces in tho field. It is to bo regretted that he docs not remain in command of tho ontiro cav alry of tho army. We learn that ho has been ordered to report to Jackson. The ontiro number of prisoners cap tured and paroled during the raid i 2,100 privates and 175 oommissionod officers. 1 Ono thousand of our men supplied, themselves with now revolvors. Truly, an important affair. IImpoute. Headquarters, Army of Tennessee, Winchester, Jan. 9th, 1803. General Orders, No. 2. Tho Gonoral Commanding has per coived with surprise and pain that somo of tho troops of this army havo been engaged in tho indiscriminate destruc tion of fences and houses, devastating a fair and fruitful country, on the pro ductions of which our salvation de pends. Fields of growing wheat havo been loft without fences, and property, which oven a rapacious enemy had ro specttd, has been needlessly destroyod. Such wanton acts of waste aro un worthy the character of Confederate soldiers, injurious to tho holy cause they defend, and aro alike destructive of personal honor and military disci pi me: This growing evil must bo checked, and' Commanders and Inspectors aro enjo;ned to take all proper precautions in future to prevent such disgrace to our fair name. Inspectors will in all cases report to these Head Quarters by what troops such injuries havo been in flicted. They will causo a ligid scrutiny into all such acts, and bring to punishment all offenders. Citizens aro invited to bring in their accounts for such injuries, when they will bo audited and paid, and tho amount charged against tho responsiblo comraandor. By command of Gen. Braqq. (Signed,) GEO. WM. BKENT, A. A. Gon'l. Official Jg Tho Savannah News, in speak ing of tho fight at Murfrccsboro and Gen. Bragg, says : The fight of tho 31st was certainly ono which would do any commander credit; and wo havo yet to soo tho reason for censure in his abandonment of Murfrccsboro for a stronger position whon he found himself hopelessly out numbered by the enemy. Let us get tho facts before wo pass judgment. And as for the requirement of in varia ble success as a lest of merit the greatost military captain the world ever saw Frederick, of Prussia, would havo stood it but poorly; Bonaparte would havo been a lame duck, and as for Washington, as his career was pret ty much ono of defeats, had ho been operating in our times the press would havo given . him fits,, or tried to do it. If Gon. Bragg is i.ot a thorough soldier in temper, habits education, and mental constitution if ho is not a man of largo capacity, of indomitable pluck and untiring energy wo aro a good deal mistaken in our judgment of him; but, then, it is truo our judgment on such a matter is n t worth much. Ah, if ho had but ton thousand moro men tho world would havo been sounding his praises this vary day. SST Tho report that a Confederal fleet is fitting out in England is truo. Look out, Yankees. '1 - V-