A Diary of American Events.

October 8.—Last night the garrison at Harper’s Ferry, Va., were alarmed by an attack, and the cavalry and two regiments of infantry started out to meet the enemy. Near Charlestown a force of between three hundred and four hundred cavalry, commanded by Imboden, were posted. The rebels had a large portion of their force dismounted and in ambuscade. Captain Somers, with his company of cavalry, had advanced to hunt up the enemy. He met a company of rebel cavalry, who charged upon him and were repulsed. They purposely retreated, Captain Somers and his company pursuing until they entered the fatal ambuscade. At the first fire Captain Somers and ten men were killed, as many more wounded, and nearly all the others captured. The few who escaped carried the information into camp, and the rest of the cavalry started in pursuit, but were unable to come up with the rebels.—The following order was issued at Richmond, Va., by the rebel Adjutant-General Cooper: “The Chief of the Nitre and Mining Bureau is directed, through the officers of his bureau, to impress copper, coal, and such other minerals as may be needed for the use of the government.”—A fight occurred near Salem, Miss., between four thousand rebels, under General S. D. Lee, and five thousand Nationals, under McCullis and Phillips, resulting in the defeat of the rebels with a loss of fifteen killed and wounded.—A mob at Jackson, N. H., burned the hotel where the Deputy Provost-Marshal was stopping while serving notices on drafted men.— Carthage, Mo., was burned by the rebel troops. —A party of one hundred guerrillas, under command of Captain Richardson, at two o’clock this afternoon, placed obstructions on the track of the Lebanon Branch Railroad, at New-Hope, Ky., twenty miles from the junction, threw the train off the track, and fired into it, but did no damage to the passengers. They then captured the train, burned two passenger-cars, baggage and express cars, destroyed the locomotive, robbed the passengers of money and clothing, and decamped.