Alexandria gazette. [volume], November 19, 1862, Image 1

About Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974

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I PUBLISHED (DAILY) BY
E J) (IA R S N 0 W J) E N, Jr.
^-OFFICE?No. 104 King street, over
Stone's, (formerly French's) Book Store.
Change of Operations. ?The Washing
ion correspondent of the N. Y. Express, on
ilie ]7tli, says: ?tI hear, from what I consider
reliable authority", that the base of operations
is to be changed, and the army is to move on
Richmond by the line of Aquia Creek and
Fredericksburg. This change can be readily
made, for they are alicady on the Rappahan
nock. and a move to the left for a short distance
trill bring them upon the new line. I have al
ways contended that the proper advance on
.Richmond should be either by James river or
by the line of Aquia Creek. The former gave
a water communication for the transport of the
army, and for its continued supply to within
?
striking distance of that city, from any point
where the river was capable of being obstruct
ed, even ii these obstructions could not be re
moved ; but unfortunately, when Gen. McClel
lan went to the peninsula, the Merrimac pre
vented the tree access to James river, and York
river had to be selected. From the mouth of
Atjuia Creek the distance to .Richmond is only
about sixty miles?less than half that by G or
Monsville; WjkI byl|he former the Ihv* of rail
road for supplies can be much more readi'y
kept open and protected than by the way of
Gonlonsville. The great difficulty in the ad
vance of such an army is to keep it supplied.
"It has with it not less than 30,000 or 35,
000 horses and mules, and the country in which
it-is moving is so exhausted that forage cannot
he procured for so targe a number of animals.
To supply these, together with provisions and
other necessaries, the army requires the daily
transportation of not less than six hundred tons
which can only be done by means of a railroad,
and if the eueiffc' can cut the railroad, the ar
my has all its supplies interrupted. By the
route of Fredericksburg the road can be pro
tected: but by that of GordonsvilJe it would
be difficult, at any rate uncertain, if not im
practicable/*
jlie army correspondent of the New lork
rime.-, writing from Warren ton on Saturday,
says:
"Owing to i! eneral McOlellan s tardiness in
performing the part allotted to him, the grand
>fraiesric;il }.?liiii arranged at Washington has
Kovoij a faux pan?a complete failure. A new
J,ioveh:ul consequently to be determined upon.
151 ttmsequcnce of the tima required tor plan
ing: it. and the necessary delay arising from a
^uiiire of commanders, the army has laid com
I'&ratively idle since entering this place, a little
^re tli;iri a week since. Before the expiration
f another weak, however, every regiment will
^011 the onward march, rr we shall realize
t,ls truth of the old ada<re, that 'appearances
are often deceitful/ den. Burnside's head
^lartiM-s were removed yesterday from the
)' wren Green House to a beautiful groveabout
& mile out on the Gainesville turni?ike.
(;* retains two or three members of General
-'tClellaivs staff/' \
*'L lias been determined to replace the Fede
unuy supply wagons. to a considerable ex
lL'l!L with pack mules, for the transportation of
' ^es; for the army.
The War in Virginia.?Thj base of ope
rations of the Federal army has been changed
to Aquia Creek, and the advance is to be made,
it. is presumed, along the Richmond and Fred
ericksburg railroad. It is believed that ( im
Burnside's advance took possession of that town
on Monday. The present position of the Con- j
federates is not. known, but it is not unlikelv :
. " j
that their generals have been advised of the j
Federal movements, and are now concentrating !
f ^ ;
their forces nearer Richmond, perhaps at Sax- j
ton's station, the junction of the Fredericks-j
burg and Virginia Central railroad, a point of j
great strategical importance. This place is 37 I
miles south from Fredericksburg, and 47 from j
Culpeper Court He use. the last reported head- j
quarters of the Confederate army. Speculation j
is yet rife as to the whereabouts of the Con-;
federate Gen. Jackson, there being nothing!
known positively of his movements, but most j
accounts agree in placing him in the valley of I
the Shenandoah, in the vicinity of Winchester.
The expeditions of Gen. Milroy to Hunters
ville, Monterey. Franklin, and through the
counties of Pocahontas, Bath. Highland and
Pendleton, Western Virginia, have been suc
cessful. He captured Major Win. Harness,
Captain Evans, Captain Boggs, the famous
Camp, and about forty-five prisoners; also,
-about twenty-live horses and seventy head of
beef cattle. That region, has now 110 Con
federates. The small-pox is reported to be ra
ging at Staunton and in the surrounding coun
try.
The reconnoitering party sent out from York
town towards Gloucester has returned, after ap
proaching to within three miles of the Court
House, discovering no Confederates.
The New York World savs. "A letter from
Washington has the following: Gen. Halleck
urged a prompt advance, and in reply to some
difficulties that Burnside urged as to an imme
diate and rapid advance, Gen. II. said there
was a political necessity for it. * Gen. B. imme
diately interrupted him. and said he did not
take the command of' the army with the view
of having its movements governed by political
necessity; that he had not solicited the com
mand, nor expected it, and that if its opera
tions were to be conducted on that basis, he
must request some one else should be appoint
ed. and lie would cheerfully serve under him;
but that while it was under his command its
movements would be directed solely under mil
itary, and not under political motives." Sim
ultaneously with this intimation we find the
Republican organs in "Washington exclaiming:
uWe go for change till we get the right man. if
it have to be done every month.7'
Washington, November 3,1862.
Major ]ioscc)'(Jn$:
The authority you ask?promptly to muster
out or dismiss from the service officers for fla
grant misdemeanors and crimes, such as pillag
er
ins. drunkenness, and misbehaviour before the
enemy or on guard duty? is essential to disci
pline, and you are authorized to use it. Report
of the facts in each case should be immediately
forwarded to the Department, in order to pre
vent improvident restoration.
E. M. Staxtox. Secretary of "War.
The Xkw Ba.sk.?Inasmuch as tiic news
i has reached the public from Richmond, we
suppo.-e there can be no objection to the loya!
population knowing from tliis point, tliat the
Arnn* of the i)otomac is to be provided with a
new "base'* in its approach to Richmond. All
its corps are now, and hn ve been for two days,
on the march down the \ alley of the llappa
li an nock toward Fredericksburg. from which
place it is proposed now to conduct that pil
grimage toward the Jerusalem of our crusade,
which our embattled hosts have so long pur
sued by other and devious-and retrogade ways.
That Fredericksburg-"-accessible as it is to
supplies by water, and furnishing, as it does, a
shorter and better road to llichmond than any
other port?possesses unusual advantages as a
base of operations against Richmond, is so ap
parent. that we are compelled to wonder why
it was not oriermallv chosen.
V. V
To stop the leaks of intelligence in the Ad
ministrative vessel seems a hopeless task. Not.
a day passes but some important secret of the
government, guarded with savage jealousv
Vv / I. . O ?' #
against inquisitive loyalty, conies to us from
llichmond or its agents. The latest was the
hews of the proposed change of base in the
operations of the Army of the J otomac. It was
fully determined upon on Thursday night, after
the visit of Gen. Ilalleck to the headquarters
of Gen. Burnside; and on Saturday night we
learned, via Baltimore, of the quaking appre
hensions which this decision had inspired in
the minds of the citizens of llichmond ! This
was twelve hours before the. army had struck
its tent* and commenced its heft^ movement! ?
IX. Y. Times.
-
The Associated Press lias furnished us
witli the official report of the battle of Corinth,
made by Major (< en era 1 llosecrans, the com
mander of the Federal forces engaged in that
sanguinary conflict. The battle, was fought
on the 3d and 4th of October. The Command
ing (Jeneral gives what appears to be a very
fair statement of the battle, leaving in his own
words. ::to pens dipped in poetic ink. to in
scribe the gorgeous pyrotecny of the bat-tie.
and paint in words of lire the hues of the
fight. According to the official report the
Federal loss was only 315 killed, 1.812 wound
ed. and 232 prisoners and missing, which cor
responds with the casualties given in the ac
counts of the engagement published shortly
after its occurrence. The report makes the
loss of the Confederates 1.423 killed, 5.fi92
wounded, and 2.268 prisoners; among the latter
were 137 field officers, captains and subalterns,
The Confederates also lost fourteen stands of
colors, two pieces of artillery, thirty-three hun
dred stand of small arms, forty live thousand
rounds of ammunition, and a large lot of ac
coutrements.
The statements recently circulated respect
ing the building of rams. &c., on the Mersey,
for the Confederate Covermnent, are said by
the London Times, to be false. Since the
despatch of the Allabma, or i;200,M no further
contracts have been undertaken. The Confed
erate agents are purchasing vessels of known
speed, and drawing little water, such as the
Clyde vessels Ioua, Clydesdale^ r?irafte. <!cc.*