The garrison consisted of about four hundred and fifty men, exclusive of the officers. There were found in the fort nearly twenty thousand pounds of powder, shot and shell in proportion, and a large quantity of provisions.
The rebel loss was 7 killed, 18 wounded; Federal, 1 killed and 3 wounded.
SIEGE OF YORKTOWN, VA.
On Sunday, the 9th of March, the rebel camps at Centreville, Manassas and vicinity were evacuated, and on the 10th, the army of General McClellan commenced a forward movement from the vicinity of Washington toward the abandoned works of the enemy. On the same day a portion of General Kearney’s forces reached Centreville, and Federal scouts had explored the deserted works at Manassas Junction. The enemy continued their retreat on the line of the Orange railroad, burning the bridges, and destroying the railroad property on their route.
On the 14th, General McClellan issued an address to the army from his headquarters at Fairfax Court-House, complimenting the men on their discipline, equipment, and patience during the long delay incident to the work of preparation. They were now to be brought face to face with the enemy, and he besought the army to place perfect trust in him, though his plans of action might seem at times unaccountable.
The cheering news of the capture of New Madrid, the evacuation of Columbus, and the victory at Pea Ridge, now filled all loyal hearts with enthusiasm; and it was fully believed that the army of the Potomac was on the direct route to Richmond, destined to give the death-blow to the rebellion before the month of April should open. Will the rebels make a stand? asked many a confident Unionist, hopeful that the prestige of McClellan’s splendid army would compel the enemy to retire from point to point without risking a battle.
The month of March passed;—and while the public mind was animated with the most cheering details of the western victories—the capture of Newbern, and the defeat of the enemy at Winchester, the great army of the Potomac appeared for the time to have passed from recollection. The Government censorship restrained the publication of any reports of McClellan’s movements, and the people, left entirely to hope and conjecture, were sanguine in anticipation of the speedy possession of the Confederate capital.
Late in the month, rumors reached the northern cities of the arrival of forces at Old Point, on the James river, twenty miles from Norfolk, which were supposed by the Richmond papers to be reinforcements for Burnside. Again curiosity was awakened by the immense number of transports called for and chartered by the Government, daily arriving at the mouth of the Chesapeake. On the 26th, Great Bethel was taken possession of by the Federal troops, and on the 29th a reconnoissance in force was made toward Yorktown. It was now generally known that the large army under General McClellan had been conveyed by transports to Old Point, and was marching to attack the rebel entrenchments at Yorktown, the key of the Peninsula.