March 9.—A fight took place near Suffolk, Virginia, between a force of rebels and a portion of the Second Virginia colored regiment, commanded by Colonel Cole, resulting in a loss of twenty-five rebels, and twenty killed, wounded, and missing of the Nationals.[1]
—Forty of the Thirtieth Pennsylvania cavalry were captured by guerrillas about a mile and a half from Bristoe Station, Virginia. They were surrounded and compelled to surrender. Several of them afterward escaped.
—The steamer Hillman was attacked by a gang of guerrillas, stationed on the Missouri shore opposite Island No. 18 in the Mississippi River, and several persons were killed and wounded.
—President Lincoln this afternoon formally presented to Major-General Grant his commission as Lieutenant-Gcnoral. The ceremony took place in the Cabinet chamber in the presence of many distinguished personages. General Grant having entered the room, the President rose and addressed him thus:
“General Grant: The nation’s appreciation of what you have done, and its reliance upon you for what there remains to do in the existing great struggle, are now presented with this commission constituting you Lieutenant-General in the army of the United States. With this high honor devolves upon you also a corresponding responsibility. As the country herein trusts you, so, under God, it will sustain you. I scarcely need to add that with what I have spoken for the nation, goes my own hearty personal concurrence.”
To which General Grant replied as follows:
“Mr. President: I accept this commission with gratitude for the high honor conferred. With the aid of the noble armies that have fought on so many fields for our common country, it will be my earnest endeavor not to disappoint your expectations. I feel the full weight of the responsibilities now devolving on me, and I know that if they are met, it will be due to those armies, and, above all, to the favor of that Providence which leads both nations and men.”
The President then introduced the General to all the members of the Cabinet, after which the company were seated and about half an hour was spent in conversation.
—Major-general Peck, in general order, issued the following from his headquarters at Newbern, N. C.: “The moment when we are threatened with an advance by the enemy, is the proper time to remind the gallant officers and soldiers of this command of the results of the recent operations in North-Carolina.
“Besides the repulse of General Pickett’s army at Newbern, the following have been captured: Six officers, two hundred and eighty-one prisoners and dangerous rebels, five hundred contrabands, two hundred and fifty arms and accoutrements, one hundred and thirty-eight horses and mules, eleven bales of cotton, one piece of artillery, caisson complete, one flag, many saddles, harnesses, and wagons. Much property of the rebel government has been destroyed from inability to remove it, as appears by a partial list: Two hundred and fifty thousand pounds of pork, eighty barrels of lard, seventy-five barrels of meat, twenty thousand bushels of corn, thirty- two barrels of beef, five hogsheads of sugar, five thousand empty sacks, one corn-mill, ten wagons, one ton of tobacco, eighteen mules, two warehouses of salt, and two extensive salt manufactories. Thousands of deserters have; entered the lines, and resumed their allegiance to the Federal Union with joy and gladness. These valuable services will he appreciated by the Government and the people, and this brief allusion to them should stimulate all to renewed energy in the final campaign against the revolutionists.”
[1] The following Is the Southern version of the story:
Weldon, March 9.—The enemy occupied Suffolk in force on Sunday. We attacked them to-day, and, after a short struggle, drove them in a rout out of the town, killing a number, capturing one piece of artillery and a large quantity of commissary and quartermaster stores. The enemy are flying to Portsmouth, burning bridges, and leaving every thing behind. We pursued them beyond Bernard’s Mills.
M. W. Ransom, Brig.-Gen.
G. E. Pickett, Major-Gen.
