19 OCTOBER 1861, Page 3

latrirs,—There have been two arrivals of news from America this

week, one by the Europa, on Sunday, and the other by the City of New York, on Wednesday. At the seat of war in Virginia the great event has been the falling back on the 29th of the entire Confederate line upon a position several miles in the rear of that which it pre- viously occupied. Some of the positions abandoned by General Beauregard were immediately occupied by Federal troops, who report that there were no signs of earthworks, or even of guns having been mounted; a few rifle-pits and rudely constructed sheds being all the traces of occupation. The Washington Star of the 1st October has positive information that on the 30th the main body of Beauregard's army, at least 100,000 strong, extended from Fairfax Court House back to Manassas, and from a point near Occoquia Creek to their right, and many miles in the direc- tion of Leesburg. An unfortunate mistake occurred during the ad- vance on the abandoned Confederate positions. A Philadelphia regi- ment and another body of Federalists, including a Californian regi- ment, mutually mistook each other in the darkness for enemies, and a volley was fired on each side with fatal results before the error was discovered. It is stated that great excesses were committed by the Federal troops, on their occupation of some of the abandoned vil- lages, and General McClellan has issued an order making death the penalty in future for all such depredations or outrages, which he hopes officers and soldiers will unite in endeavouring to suppress. From the West, we do not hear much beyond anticipations of the great battle which is to decide the fate of Missouri. The rumours of General Fremont's meal, which had been extensively and confidently circulated for several days, had met with a positive contradiction in a despatch to St. Louis, from Mr. Seward, which runs as follows : "Washington, October 3.—General Fremont is not ordered to Washington, nor from the field, nor is any court-martial ordered con- cerning hum. Reports of the battle of Lexington had been issued by both sides, the Federalists estimating their loss at from 300 to 500, and that of the enemy from 1000 to 2000 ; while General Price states that with a loss of 25. killed and 72 wounded, the Confederates had captured 3500 prisoners, 7 pieces of artillery, 33,000 stand of arms, 100,000 dollars' worth of commissariat stores, the State seat of Missouri, and 900,000 dollars in money. A rumour was current that General Price had abandoned Lexington, but confirmation was wanting.