Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1861-07-17

SlSirmIsh at PattersOn's Greek.
The following is an extract from a letter
from Col. Lewis Wallace of the Eleventh In
diana regiment, who is brother of Senator
Lane Of Indiana -
My report of the skirmish on Kelly's ISL
and, near Patterson's Creek, is not only true,
but, in fact, too lightly colored. There were
but thirteen of my picket, and at least seventy
of the enemy engaged. On my side there
was but one man killed on the enemy's side
twenty seven were killed, including those who
have since died. This disparity is accounted
for by the fact that my men were on the isl
and, under cover, e the enemy had to
cross the creek directly under our fire. In the
first engagement, The enemy, in the despera-
ton Of fear, spurred their horses into a Gull
vert, where, heaped into a helpless mass, they
fell an easy prey. Eight of them died there,
and were left on the track. Hay, my corpo
raj, led the attack To illustrate his perfect
GOODNESS Turning a sharp elbow, close to
the railroad, he saw the enemy, and counted
them, AZ in all (; fearing the effect Of the mum.
Der upon his squad, he shouted TO the rebels ::
"Halt! turn aud fight, you id sons of
-! Then to his men :--"Forward, boys
there's only twenty-one of them. Let out
the best horse gets the first man." On they
roie, each one like Nolan at Balaklava--Hay
at their head. Sp.endidly mounted, the gal.
| liant fellow soon overlook the flying enemy,
| and closing with them, at their horses tails,
| empled every barrel of his revolver, all the
| time brushing their pistols out OF his face, as
| if they had been musketoes.
In further illustration, one of the pickets, a
boy named HollowelI, 10 years old, fired away
his last cartridge, and, having nothing else to
do turned to picking raspberries, pausing only
to yell: "There's another down-hit 'em
again"
Again bullet grazed the right corner of
Louis Forey's forehead and knocked him
down completely. Three men rushed on. &c
kill -AAiiF444. 0se,5-dTm was raised to strike
bullet from the island stretched him across
Forley body. Another put pistol at For
ley's head-whiz came another ball, and the
second rebel went down upon the first The
third ran. Forey recovered, shook off his
dead enemies, rose up to run, and after few
steps fell again, this time into pile OF friendly
grape vines, under which he hid till dark.
While he was thus concealed the enemy
searched the ground Some of their express
sions were very amusing: Come away from
there" yelled an officer, while the fight was in
progress. Oh you, don't you see we're
fighting the whole regiment 2" The idea was
that the thirteen were my entire regiment, and
so the secession journals are reporting it. In
the same way Forley overheard them at each
shot from my picket :-"Who is hit now 2"
When my boys at last scattere /, two Of them
were compelled to throw away their rifles.
Instead Of leaving them where the enemy
could get them, each one pitched his weapon
into the canal. A big fellow was in the act OF
plunging his sword into Hays back, when lit
tie Hollowell eveled him with the butt of his
gun, breaking it into fifty splinters. But it is
no use going further. l could fill pages with
incidents of this fight.
The Romney fight was my own. can say
nothing about that, except that the southern
accounts of it have given me great amuse-
ment hardly less than the frequent assertions
which have fallen under my eve that it was
ordered first by Gen Patterson, then by Gen.
Morris. The whole thing was OF my own
planning and ordering.