The War in the Southwest.
The mails from the Southwest came through on Saturday night, and we are thus enabled to lay before our readers the following interesting summary of news:
A town sure by the Yankees.
The Jackson Mississippian of June 3d says:‘ We are indebted to Capt. Abney, who arrived this (Sunday) morning at 3 o'clock, on the train, for the following particulars regarding the attack of the enemy on Boonville. He says that eighty of the enemy's cavalry made a descent on Boonville, situated on the Mobile and Ohio Railroad, below Riezl, and occupied by our sick soldiers, and burnt the railroad depot, hospital — In fact, the whole town, and several Caroda of ammunition, and destroyed about fifty yards of the railroad, and took a large number of prisoners.
Twenty five of our cavalry came up at this time and fired on the ly, which caused a stampede, and all left. Our men then went to work and moved several burning cars that were loaded with Bufield s, and saved them from being destroyed.
He reports nothing of importance having occurred at Corinth up to Thursday night.
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Further particulars.
The Montgomery Advertiser has more accurate information in regard to the affair at Boonsville, received from a gentleman who was in the town at the time it was captured We cops a portion:There was stationed at this place a company of Tennessee cavalry, seventy strong. It was urged by Dr. Bozeman, and seconded by Col. Henry D. Clayton, who happened to be there at the time, that such of the sick soldiers and others who were able, should be immediately armed with guns from a train with arms, ammunition and hospital stores, which was lying at Booneville. All efforts of this sort proved unavailing and such of those who could get away put themselves out of danger. A counter report was also brought to from at quad of the cavalry company already mentioned, to the effect that the men marching on the place were our reenforcements. This lulled apprehension until morning, when our friends found themselves surrounded by the Yankee cavalry. They drew up in line about a hundred and fifty yards from the Tennessee company who were commanded to reserve their fire until the enemy should approach within gunshot distance, our men being armed with double barrel guns. The Yankees fired the first two rounds without effect, but their last fire killed one man, wounded another, and killed a horse. This put the Tennessee cavalry to fight in the almost confession. The Yankees used revolving rifles, firing with much greater rapidity than was expected — They then set on fire the train, with arms, ammunition, and hospital stores, a large portion of which was destroyed a portion of the train with arms was saved by the daring of some of the rear guard of our army, who disconnected the care when the red hot shells from the train on fire were exploding all around them. The loss is considerable. There were about five thousand stand of arms in all; one car, containing some two or three thousand, was saved. The town was not bu ned, as reported, only the depot building, with stered.
Our informant remarks upon the miraculous escape of our sick soldiers, a thousand of whom must have been scattered around unprotected from the bursting she s Not she was seriously injured. One man only was slightly burned by a piece of red het tell falling on his blanket, which he knocked off himself. The Yankee cavalry, who were in possession of the town about an hour and a half, hold many captives among whom was Col. Virginia Murphy, Dr, Bozeman and Dr. Robert S. Williams. Col. Murphy in trying to escape, in reported to have killed one of his pursuers, and the only one of the enemy that was killed, with an iron le. It is amusing to hear how the affair ended. A little boy, not seeming to recognizes that any of the enemy was present, canine in and said to Dr. Bozeman in a low tone of voice, "we will bag the occundrels directly; 3,000 of our cavalry are just over the hid." The tone of the boy impressed the Yankee General very seriously — He at once got thirsty and pu out for the well. He rent up a signal, and the whole party left more rapidly than they had come. It is thought they abandoned all their prisoners, Soon after their departure portions of our army came up and caught some ten or a dozen of the Yankee pickets, who had not had time to retreat with the body of their set-footed cavalry. It was supposed that the cavalry scouts that captured the town and fired the train were only the advance guard of a large force that contemplated a f nk movement upon our army. The number present was estimated at 39d.
Reported as nation of Hotles.
The Mississippian has the following allusion to an important rumor mentioned under our telegraphic head:For a day or two past we have "heard upon the breeze" a report that the monster who has so outraged the thoral sentiment of mankind by his proclamations and orders, had been sent "where the wicked from troubling" We fear the report has no foundation in fact. Perhaps the wish was father to the thought.
It would be retributive justice, not revenges, which would consign him to the golf of black despair — deep "as his will for others would create" The ra st pious heart might, without irreverence, ejaculate the prayer: "Cannel his boad of life, great God, I pray, that I may live to say the dog is dead. "
What a happy day it will be for the South when, like m, we can celebrate the deliverance of our country from the cruel oppression of a race of whose moral gentleman and feeling the blue eyed slanderer of female chastity and purity is a fit type and representation. When that day arrives the only drop of bitterness which will weigh in our cup of joy will be the r ction that we speak a common language and sprang from a common lineage.
The attack upon Grand Guile, Miss.
A letter from Fort Gibson, dated May 25th, gives an interesting account of the recent exciting event in the neighborhood of Grand Gulf a portion of which we copy:On Thursday of last week a company of eight artillery pieces, from Brookhaven, under the command of Capt Hossina, with four pieces, re hed here on their way to take a position near Gran full. The next day they proceeded to the latter place, c tab ed their camp a mile or so in the rear of the town and opened a read for their pieces to point as near the river as the high water would admit, favorable for annoying the enemy's ven which have been provokingly passing up and down, very much at their case, for the last two weeks. On Monday there seems to have been a strong movement down the river from Vicksburg. After one of their large stoops and a gunboat had passed, two transports, apparently crowned with troops, coming along, Capt. Gaskins opened fire, and disabled one of them before they could get beyond the range of his guns. The enemy afterwards confessed to the loss of one man killed, but nothing more was learned a to the extent of the casna They returned the fire with shell and long range rities the bails from which fell all around our troops, but hurt nobody. And the sleep of war, supposed to be the Brooklyn, and several gunboats, coming down, our battery was withdrawn beyond their reach, and there vessels passed without any hostile demonstration.
In a few hours, however, the whole fleet, consisting of the Brooklyn, Hartford, and three gunboats and two transports, made their appearance returning in the direction of Grand Gulf. As soon as they came within range, fire was opened by upon the town, with heavy shot and shell without any notice of their purpose and without allowing an opportunity for the removal of the inhabitants. Fortunately for them. the people of the town did not trust to the cheervance of the rules of civilized warfare by such an enemy, but a doned their dwellings at the first sight of the approaching fleet and found refuge behind the protection of a convenient h S and shell passed entirely through several of the most prominent private residences, and one shell, after descending through the large and elegant store of the Messrs, Buckingham, exploded beneath it, and blow a large portion of the building to atoms. No resistance could of course be made. The vessel came on, and the Brooklyn and two others made fast to the wharf boat of Commodore Mar. in, and thence lu ded parties in boats, the town bring nearly all covered from two to four feet deep with water. They remained in possession of the town until about sunset, when they all withdrew to their ships, and these were ha led off and anchored in the river, and everything gave promise of a quiet night. It should be noticed, however, that a party of the enemy seized four or five negro men, and carried them off to one of their ships, a movement the object of which was afterwards made plain.
At night Capt. Roakins very judiciously retired with his company two or three miles towards the interior, and a number of citizens volunteered to perform picket duty for him on the roads leading out from Grand Gulf. This proved to be a very wise precaution, for after dark a party of ten or a dozen of our pickets discovered a force of the estimated at from three to four hundred, approaching them about a mile and a from Grand Gulf. Their advance was suffered to come within about twenty yards, when they were fired upon. They halted and returned fire, but advanced no further, alarmed, doubtless, by the firmness of the resistance they met, and after some delay they retired to the town. They carried back with them the corpse of the off or who commanded their advance, and who was spoken of by them as being the aid of Gen Williams, who was in command of the troops on the transports, and also the bodies of two of their men, who were said to be mortally wounded. Nobody hurt on our side.
During the absence of this detachment another body of troops occupied the town, and the whole place was the scene of indiscriminate pillage and destruction. The soldiers were given free license, and dwellings and stores were broken open and plundered. Everything thought valuable or useful was stolen, and what could not be carried off was want only torn up, broken and destroyed — Rarely has a town been more barbarously sucked, or a community more completely ruined.
Yesterday morning the troops were taken again on shipboard, and in a short time the whole first started off down the river, threatening vengeance against every town from which a shot might be fired upon them. The troops on board the vessels were estimated at from two to three thousand.
The evacuation of Corleth.
Much speculation having been indulged in consequent upon the evacuation of Corinth by our forces, a full account of the caused which led to it, copied from the army correspondence of the Savannah Republican. will be found interesting.Your will probably have learnt by the telegraph before this reaches you that Corinth has been evacuated by the Confederate army. At least I infer from what i saw before leaving that place, and from news that has reached me to day, that our troops will be withdrawn down the Mobile and Ohio Railroad probably to-night or to-morrow. I am not informed of the precise locality where they will "p their tents," but have heard it is about forty five miles below Corinth and a short distance above the Oraluna Station.
I endeavored to prepare your readers for this movement by an intimation thrown out in the concluding paragraph of my last latter. I refer to the subject again merely to say, that the evacuation of Corinth, under the circumstances which environed the army, was both wise and necessary, as a brief statement will suffice to demonstrate.
The soil around Corinth is of the peculiar character which is very wet in winter, and very dry in summer. As was stated in a former letter, I saw a mule drowned in a small branch near the town, where, two weeks afterwards, there was not a drop of water to be seen. The consequence was, at the time of my departure, both the troops and horses were suffering for water to an extent you can hardly imagine. The chief supply was obtained from the standing pools in the beds of austed streams. Steps had been taken to bore a number of wells, but it was ascertained that there was no rope or tools to be had in the town, and that is would be necessary to send to Columbus, Miss., for the particular kind of rope desired. The rope had not been received up to the 20th, and but for timely showers which renewed the supply it. the water course, and the wells dug by the men in low, damp places, the army could not have remained there as long as it has. The citizens use rain water, caught in cisterns from the 1st of October to the 1st of May; but the supply in the cisterns was, not sufficient to last the army one week.
But it was not the want of an ample supply of water alone that rendered it proper for our army to retire from Corinth. Our encampment was bounded on three sides by Bridge creek and a dense swamp — in front, on the right, and in the rear — and our breast works were just behind the swamp, and re parall to it for a considerable distance. The swamp was crossed by four or five roads, near which we had planted formidable batteries to cut off all approach by the roads. It would now appear that the same thing has been done by the enemy, who has advanced up near the swamp on the other side, thrown up breastworks, and posted heavy siege gone, which not only command the roads leading cut from our side, but are of sufficient calibre to shell nearly every part of our encampment. He has also thrown up strong- works near Farmington and Pea Ridge, and erected heavy batteries at commanding points along the several routes to the rear. Indeed, the Federal works are superior to ours, and their position equally strong, if not stronger, while their force is one fourth, if not one-third, greater.
It was hoped and expected that Halleck would attack us in our position; but this he was too sensible to do, for defeat would have been the certain result. Could we expect a different result, if we should attack behind his formidable works and with his superior force? It was never intruded to allow him to approach so near and to get into position without first offering him battle. This we did at Farmington, when he deel to pick up the gauntest thrown down to him; and this we sought to do on the 23rd, when it was found impossible, because the ground had not been properly reconnoitered and mapped to get our right wing, which was to lead the attack into position. Had we encountered the enemy on that day, in accordance with the order of battle agreed upon by our officers, I do not see how we could have failed to win the greatest and must decisive victory thus far achieved in the war. That night, however, and the next day, the enemy moved up and got into position, where it would be as great madness for us to make the attack as it would be for him to attack us.
Why, than, it may be asked, should we, and not Halleck, retire ? Because Halleck is provided with guns of long range and heavy calibre with which he can throw shot and shall into almost every part of our encampment every two or three tes, day and night as long as he pleases and because he has better water and more abundant supply than we have.
The chief advantage the Federals will gain by the change will be the use of the entire line of the Memphis and Charleston railroad from Stevenson to Memphis. They are good workers and will soon rebuild the bridges over the Tennessee river and Bear creek, and those over the Ratchie and other streams west of Corinth, which the Confederates will doubtless destroy. As soon as these lost bridges can be rebuilt, Memphis and Fort Pillow will be occupied, as well as those sections of the Mobile and Ohio and Tennessee and Ohio railroad which lie north of the Memphis and Charleston road.
The withdrawal down the Mobile and C road will diminish our transportation and bring the army into a more healthy section of country, where all since of supplies are more abundant and the waters much better. The enemy, on the contrary, should be follow us up, will have to march sixty-five or seventy miles into the interior, where, in Cass of lis ter, he would be cut to pieces and destroyed.
Affairs at Vicksburg.
The Vicksburg Citizens of the 2d, has the following:‘ Yesterday and this morning there were five gunboats in sight, but no transports. It is now reported that the first which went down the river last week is again on the way up, and that thirteen gunboats had passed Baton Rouge. When their full force arrives here, they will no doubt commence their work and try to reduce our batteries. The few boats that have remained here during the absence of their partners, have kept very quiet thus far, and did not venture to disturb any body.
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