Daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, Va. [W. Va.]) 1859-1865, 1861-07-27
Lieutenant SImpsnn's Account of the
BnIIle NJ Bmll,s Run.

Battle Hf Bulls Run.
The following very interesting statement
Of several unpublished facts cnncerninG
the battle Of Bulls Run hns hern very
kindly furnished us by Lieutenant Simr-
I sou, nm officer of the uuion army, connect
ed with the Second New York regiment,
which took an important part in the battle
The statement of Lieutenant Simpson
is plain, unvarnished tale of n portimn
of the hot action of the 2ist inst. He
,soys.
attack on the regimental colurs Of the Se"-
nnd regiment, the design being nulouht-
eddy 10 capture them and carry them ntf as
II trophy for their side. The Second regi-
mon,. both officers and men, saw NJ once
what the enemy wished to do. But rs
much ~ the rebels hitd resolved to take
our col0rs the men of the Second were de-
lrrmincd that they should not be taken.--
We well knew that they had an ovsfwhel-
ming force, but they did not intim:daie us
| ia the least The fight WAS very smart but
there WAS no one TO sustain Va. Had we
hIl 81 few good aud experienced generals,
I il is my opinion that the disastrous retrcH I
| which ensued would never have occurred.
Not thar wish or could blame G. neral
| Mcdowell. He is an!cXce!lent officer, but
| his force was entirely too small to cops
with the enemy. But other officers were
entirely behind what the country expected
and hoprd from theta. There was only
three or four wounded in company q, to
which belonged. The orderly Sergeant
OF our company was shot th=dugh the
shoulder, the same bill breaking the leg of
- nun next to bim. Two men of company
| X, were killed. One man of company A,
was also killed, whose name w:I7 Newell,
and. two or three of company 1 were severe
| ~ wOundcd, who have since most proba-
bly, died.
saw the whole action myself, but AL
| though cannot state that 1 SAW ull the
! facts That have been published, believe
! the Union forces suffered very seve ely =
I Our regiment certainly lost in killed and
wounded some forty or Fifty men. Tie
regiment stood its ground mantuily, and if
we had hud an Opeu field and no favor, we
would haze made tho rel'els seamper in
douh!r quick time.
The Stxty-uinth Regiment New York
State Militia. performed prudigies of vlior,
| They stripped themselves aud dIshed into
the enemy with the utmost fury. The diff
ficulty was to keep them quiet. While the
Second WIS engaging rebel regiment
they retreaiGd into II thick hay field, to
draw the Northerners into a trap. The
Second continued firing into them, while
the Sixty-ninth, byh funk movement, took
them in the rear, ana pouring Il deadly fire
| into their RANKS, and afterwards charged
them with tue bdyouet. The slaughter
was terrible, aud the defea: complete, f,r
4. not man stirred of the whole ave or six
hundred. In this attack there were very
few of she Sixty-ninth wounded.
The enemy fred very rHpifly and very
well. They were apparently well supplied
with artillery, and were not sparing ia its
use. The balls flew about us very thirkiy.
During the heat Of the FIRE our men had TO
lny on the ground, aud thus endeavor 10 e5-
cape the tremendous result of the enemy's
fire. We kept as silent as possible ali the
! while. For more than an hour the fire OF
/ the rebels continued in the most furious
! manner. One man was shot ia the head
and his face injured in the most irighttnl
manner. His suffering was most awfHlly
severe. For an hour and 81 half the Seq
ond regiment was under "A most CALLING
! fire. without once having an opportunity
of returning single discharge. Had It
not been for the CoIonel's prudence, or
whatever it might he called. every mnn
I would doubtless have been killed. In mr.
! opinion, the ar,nr IL very banly nfiicered ;
there are very few good generals in the
! servire. We are not in want of men,
i They are in abundance everywhere. but
we want good commanders. have fro.
quently heard the men say that they
would never again serve under such men
I as Scheuck and TuyIor.r The state.
ment concerning the gallant repulse OF
tue Black Horse cavalry BY the Fire Z5u-
ayes is entirely wrong. Not man of the
Zouayes was ia sight when the terrible reg
iment came up. They dashed right down
on the Second regiment. and our gallant
fellows had as much as they could do to
keep their ground against them. They
seemed to be wild with hate aud rage,
rushing right on US with drawn swords =
Oar men took deliberate aim. and firing
killed neNrly every one of them. Their
I splendid black horses went galioping over
4 tiie' field. PrivHtes Gilmore and Perry he.
havei very. briyely. They killed from
4 eight to twelve men and thus saved ouI
cviors. The retreat was conducted under
tho LieubSSAnt-Colpnel and Maior Fks