Quite a little engagement on the left.–A host of unpleasant rumors afloat.–Diary of Josiah Marshall Favill.

April 18th. At twelve o’clock last night we were suddenly routed out by a heavy cannonading and musketry, apparently in our front. As we always sleep here fully accoutred, we had nothing to do but grasp our arms and rush for the color line. Stood in line about an hour, watching the beautiful effect of the shell fire in the dark night, and then dismissed the regiment, but got little sleep, as the firing continued, apparently, without any object. We learned subsequently that the pickets had been engaged in our front, and that quite a little engagement had taken place on the left, where the officer commanding has made a reconnoisance. During the afternoon a string of ambulances came in, bringing about one hundred wounded men and passed to the rear. In the evening we gathered some particulars of the last two or three days’ operations about the movement of the troops. The reconnoisance was made by General Smith, commanding a division of Key’s corps, at a place known as dam No. 1, on the Warwick river, between Lees and Wigans mills. The dam, defended by a rebel battery of two guns and a line of rifle pits, was attacked by Brook’s Vermont brigade, under cover of the fire of a battery of artillery. After the battery had shelled the works, the brigade made a rush for the dam, driving back the rebel pickets, and captured and occupied their rifle pits. Smith found but few troops to oppose him, and in one of the small redouts nothing but wooden guns. Later on, several companies of the Third Vermont crossed the river below the dam and carried the works there with ease, driving the enemy pell mell before them. Expecting to be reenforced, they held on to this position till the enemy moved down upon them in force, obliging them to retire across the river under a heavy and destructive fire, losing nearly one hundred men in the retreat. The heavy cannonading we heard yesterday in that quarter was Smith’s guns. There are a host of unpleasant rumors afloat which we have no means of verifying, and, therefore, I shall not mention them, but the affair was undoubtedly badly managed. The greatest need of our army seems to be general officers that know something, to lead it, but, of course, we can’t believe all we hear. After tattoo, received orders to hold ourselves in readiness to move forward into the advanced trenches to-morrow.