The Battle At West Point

BniCK House Point, ) NbabWeêi Point, Va., May 8. ) The tirst of this división of the grnnd nnny of tbe Potonjac anivod Mere yes terdav afternoo, under comronnd of Gen.Franklin, and by cl ark mos-t of lbo troops wore iandsd on a beautiíul plián, wliiali is si'.tTounded on tbree bidés by (k-i:S0 wooi!s,ni:d oh tliü fourtb Ky tha river, on the south side of the Pumuokey rivet-, and aboiit half a mile üoathward from West Point. TboreeBon uliy we Ianded l.ere is obvions. - Piad we anded on tho otber mde of the river - West Pniot - whero t v,:is It first intended we should land, we phould then have had n considerable itrenm of water between us and the rebels, and would have bad considerare trouble to reach thcm, as all the iridizes have been destroyed.' Onr unboats have taken undiputed posleomon of the point, the rebels beving disappeared at the nppearance of our "orcea, and the American flag of oar Union now ñoats from one of the most proraineut buildings in the village. I ïave vet to see a white man among the original inhabitants of this piace. Irnmediately on the landing of our orces from the transporta, picketa woro brown out lo tho edges of the surrounding wood, and our tents woro jitcheu on the banks of the river ; not me of the chivalric sons of the ttunny BOUlh had made bis appearance, and our men becarne anxious to know why they had been brougbt to a country where thero was no foe. About dusk a part of the división of Gen. Sedgvvick, undcr command of Gen. Dana, arrived in tracsports from Yorktown, and remained io Ihe center of the river, while some of our light draught gun boats took a trip up tho rivera Pamunkey and Mataponcy, to capture a portion of the rebel mosquito fleet, whicb woro brought into use for carrying our men from the trpnsports to the shore, as the river hero is too ehallow for vessels drawing over six fuet of water. During the night some of the rebel pickets made a soríie on one of our advanced videttes, and shot him thro' the heart. The nevvs spread through the camp, and by daylight this morning the plain, which takes in about a thousand acres of ground, running southwest from the York river, presented a scène snch asi bave never before witnessed. Long lines of men extended from left to right across the center of the field, in dim outüne, their forms againstlhe heavy woods and under braeb, which presents an unbroken front to us on every sido cxccpt tliat bounded by the river. lleve the men stood í'or Borne time, ready to maro'n at a moment's notice ; but no foo appeared, and the men were perrnitted to return to their camps for the purpose of getting their breakfast, and, perhnps, sorae sleep. A strong picket, cornposed of the New York Thirty-seeond, Ninety fiftli and Ninety-sixth Perinsylvania troops, wero left at the edges of the woods to keep a sharp look out for the enemy, who wero now believed to bo in close proximity to our unes. About thil time one oí our gunboate discovered a regiment or in of the enemy on the west side of the river, who dispersed in great confusión after having received some half dozen of our heavv shells in their midst. This was commnnicatcd to Gen. Slocum, who immediateiy made strenuous efforta to get the brigade of Gen. Dana on shoro, that ho rnight be able to g'.ve the enemy :i warm recep'ion should ho mako bis appenranee. General Dana was indefatigp.ble in his labora to get the troops off the transport, and. through bis exertions, noodt of the men and horaea wcre ofl" the boats by nine o'clock, and prepnration'i were being made to breakfast the men of the brigade, when the order was given for the Sixteentb, Thirty iirst and Thirtysecond New York, and the Niuetv-filth and Nioety-sisth Pennsylvania "Regi tnents to ad vanee inlo :he ivooda and drive off some of the rebel f-eouts who were firing oceasional shots at our pickels, and were Biippoeed to be strongly eupported by a forea concenlcd in the woodH. This Büppoaitlon provecí correct, and r.o pnoiier had our men made an ad anco nto (he voo;li, than they were received with a volley of mimketrv ii'om the rebels, who were ' hidden in tho denr-'n growth 61 umlei jrrowth. Our men pressed on, and miva them a volley, after whieh the onomy retreated iurtber itito the wooda, wit'h the thirty-second New York close al. t'neii' heels : but they wero too swiltfootod ior óur bcys, b'eing more proteeted. aid thoy soun Ii'ft the Tliirtyseco-od struggling in the mud. Wlnle this scène liad buen goirg on on the right óenter, bno'.hor waa transpnifig in tho center where the ïfroetyütth Pennsylvahia Regiment liad enlered the wood. In a fow momettts al' tar tliev entei-od they found themselve.i in h deedt swatnp, and in their strug glas (o get neross became separated froni each other. Ono of tho oompflnies managed to get to the otber sido, nnd was climbing a banh on tho opposite side wlien ihey descried a party of t-Oidiers lying in ainbush. " Whd comes there?" cried the pnrty in mi bnsh. "Fiiends," was ilie answer. " What are you ï" was the next inlerrogation. "A eompany of the Ninetyfiith Pennsylvaniaas." No f-ooncr was thiri answer returned than the party, wLcru tho Captain had mistaken ior tome oí his own repitr.eiit, opened a terrible fire npon our men, wbo returned the lire and thei? returned to our reserves. In this affair Captain Beateaes, of Company B., was sliot through the ibouldar, but not dangerously wonnd ed, and ono or two privaten, whoSê names I am as yet unable to lenrn, wero ki'led and earried off the field by their friends, vvho, befiro they quit the grour,(3, revenged thé full of l'r.eir cortlrados by giving the eneiny a íew weil directcd volleys. But dow the action became move general tbrougfeöwi the üues, and frrim evcry quarter of tlie Woods camó the sharp crack o!' miisketr}-. Tlie pharp reporta on me p.earer and noaror, and at length e ball lodged in a tree at my fide. 1 was abo Ut to remove irom my chingerous uartera when ;iy attention was attracted to that poriion cf the woods where tho Thirty 6rat :,d Thirty-second New York State Mili ti i liad entered. Four men Were e:irryine the body of B man, hich, up tl inquiry, I understond to be Citplairi lontifr, oí Coropany (t., ol the i mrty second regiment, wfao was shot in tho throat; and diod netant'y. The fight had now been ffoiag on for threo hóura hora without intermission, and n mimber of rr.'.'n were killed and woundod. At thi jnnotnra oor men vvere witfidiawn f rom the word, where they viere ovidently getting the worst of t, r.nd the Second United Siatos Arüllery, under Captain Arnold, was ord ulo posiiicR on the light, and Cü] tain Porteras Fitst Mhasachnsetts B;i(tery took np a position on the loft, and in :i few minutes tlio sheils wero flying throiigh the air at tho rato of abont tèn a minuto. This Boon compe'fed tfio rebel to innkc a move more ;] our lef t, wliere the shölls flew loss t'; iele thi.n upon the ground fhey wero then occupying. But there is evidently no rust for th tneked ; íbr no sooher had the rebels nmved their fbrces rri our lt:ft than our gunboats, which np to tbftt time had been GBBbTe to havo a hand B tho nffair, oponed their batte ries nponíheíoe with so möoh effect th.at, when I eornmenced to writo they had completely driven the encmy out of' sight and hearirg. I am inulined to thinlc that this inove upon our left was sn expensive one to the rebels. As Boon ns the 2;uns of Captain Portet oominenced to firo smong tliom, acebmpanied by thoso from tho river, tho rebels undertook to move one of their batteries which they had got into position. The New Jersey regiment reoeived orders to charge upon this battery, and at it they went with cheers that made the very forests rinaf ; but the rebels were again too fieet-lootcd. Bef ore the Jersey boys pot throiigh the woods, tho enemy had made til! traveling and got out of sight in the woods. Everybody bas uone well, and the troops have acted nobly. They have been under arms all day thus f ar, and standing in the broihng sun without anything whatever to eat, except that vvbich they raay have had in their haversacks. I have vet to hear a word of comphint froin any qnarter. Tlie idea ol having an opportunity to fight with the rebels seems to have absorbed all their other faculiies. More troops are oohetantly arróring, and justnow Gapt. Saunders' company ot' Massachusetts sharpshooteis pnas by me tojtho front. These are the men bo cm teach the rebels fliat tvvo partios can lay oonoealed in the wood. The artillury has now ceassd firing and I hoar nothingexoept tho occasiot) al discharge of a nmsket; it seeme to bo far ofl towards Villiatnsburg. I tliink we havo rot into tho rear, and, ■,f we have, we intend haking them íor n few hoars until General MoClelhin can come up to earry them hack to tbeir deserted qu artera at YorkUnvn. At the close of the action in tho afternoon the Fifth Michigan Regiment won encomiums froin all the stáfF Lbr their bravery in beading ua advance uto tiie vvoocls on tlie lei't. The gunboats are Btill throwing shell into the woods,; to keep the enemy from erecting batteries. We oxpect to have an attack or make an attack tonight. We have do fear oí the reeult. The rebel arrny nov in front of us, I have just learned, ia ander tiio cornmand of General Robert Loo. General Frank lio has just sent ad patch to Genend McCfelfsn aonoancing the b:iUle (.f to-day.