We have received Northern papers of Thursday, the 20th of March. Gold was quoted at 152 1-2.
The battle of Hare's Hill.
The army correspondent of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes as follows:‘ It is hardly necessary to speculate or generalize on the events of yesterday. Their full significance is apparent to the public mind on a bare recital of what was done and how it was done; keeping in mind the central fact, that Lee massed four divisions on our right and made a desperate attempt to the rest is easy to see. The operations on our left, partaking more of the character of a demonstration in force, or, more properly, being a readiness to take advantage of any discoverable weakness in the rebel line, were subsidiary to the great fact that Lee attacked heavily on our right. Still, these operations are highly important to this extent: that they served to again make manifest the readiness of American soldiers to dare death for the sake of American liberty.
’ At about 9 o'clock, General Miles advanced the Sixty-first New York, following it up soon after with his First brigade, under Colonel Scott. The advance was soon general along Miles's whole front, the Second brigade, under Colonel Nugent, (Sixty-ninth New York,) known far and wide as the Irish brigade, going in with its old time valor. It did not take many minutes to ascertain the fact that Lee had not denuded his line.--Hill's corps was found, but Miles pushed on, charging the rebels out of the rifle-pits, forming their skirmish line in front of their main works.
In the meantime, General Mott had advanced the Third division, General DeTrobriand's brigade on the right, Pierce in the centre, and McAllister on the left, his first, advance on his right being led by the Twentieth Indiana and Seventy-third New York on the right, and the One Hundred and Twentieth New York and Eleventh New Jersey on the left.--Here the same result followed as in Miles's front. A brisk fight, a determined advance, ending by our occupancy of the rebel rifle-pits. The fighting was principally with musketry; artillery, on both sides, being very little used at any time during the day.
Further down on our left, General Smyth, with the Third brigade of General Hayes's division, advanced up Hatcher's run until he reached the Boydton plankroad, a bridge on which he found burning, the rebels having fired it. His position being far on the flank and very much exposed, General Smith withdrew, and formed connection with the left of General Mott.
So far, along the whole line of the Second corps, our advance had met with full success and little loss. The rebels, however, woke up to the fact that, if let alone, we might discommode them soon, and issuing from their works at all points, drove us out of the pits by a sudden dash. Nothing disconcerted by this, our whole line charged again, and drove the rebels out a second time.
A pause followed. Each side seemed considering what to do next. On our part, we were making demonstrations against their main line that kept the rebels constantly on the alert.
In the middle of the afternoon came the grand struggle. In front of Miles and Mott the rebels girded themselves for a final effort to dislodge us. Their bugles sounded the charge, out rushed the masses of grey, and on they came with their old yell. The Second warmed instantly to the work. It gave yell for yell, volley for volley, but stubbornly refused to give an inch of ground. Mott and Miles, Nugent, De Trobriand, McAllister, Scott, and hosts of others, shone conspicuous in the battle, for such it had become, a fair open-field fight.--The contest raged for three hours, and ended by the withdrawal of Hill to the cover of his works.
Miscellaneous.
The guerrillas under the command of the rebel Major White, who have been operating so industriously of late in Fairfax county, have gone up the Shenandoah Valley to a new field of operations.Advices from Arizona to February 5th announce that the expedition under Lieutenant Barr had attacked a camp of hostile Indians and killed nineteen warriors. The Apaches continue to steal and kill horses, mules and cattle.
