New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1861-11-11
Letter from "Fishb acl1."
Special 10 the New Orleans Crescen.I
HEADQUARTERS WAsHlNGros AnTIILkY :
Centrtytle, Nov, |. 1851.

at Lecsburg to hear any more? If not, suppose
yourself on the morning after the battle in our
camp. A demand has just arrived from Cen Evans
to Beauregard for 4 reliable battery, and our
third company is accordingly to be sent, and if you
choose you can 60 along with US. 1t is drizzling
and dreary, and the roads as we march along with
our pieces we find to be dreadful Two regiments
founder along with US through the mud as body
guard-generally in very open order, or rather no
order at all, for the roads are too impossible to
admit of that About midnight we find we have
come some seventeen miles, and as we lay down
for sleep IN and around an old mill, more weary
and uncomfortable band of wretches than we are
are probably not often seen. doubt II the broken
fragments Of Napoleon's grand army, in their re-
treat from Moscow, were more cold, hungry and
miserable. At 8 O'Clock we are again on foot.
When we are within two miles of Leesburg we are
met by courier who tells US that the enemy have
been throwing large forces across the Potomac
and that we must hold the road and bridge over
Goose Creek, at Carters Mills and await their ap--
proach at that point-about eight miles southwest
of Leesburg This do. We camp on a blutf
some two or three hundred feet high, whose base
is washed by Goose Creek (or Crosse Tete, as the
Casseurs-h-Pied call iD cuttng down the .fees ana
planting our guns upon its side There being no
enemy to tight-the Yankees having recrossed to
the opposite bank-our principal employment IS
eating dry bread and tOasting bacun on long
skewera. The side of the hill is so steep that we
measure the duration of our sumbers by the
distance we have slid from the point where we
originally lay down: and it sometimes happens that
one Of US who went to sleep onrhe brow ~ "oud nd
Oblique or incline past his own camp flre and
awake amid the blankets OF a comrade VINO was
some fifteen feet farther down.
Two Mississippi regiments, the Thirteenth ana
FirhteeDth who were in the fight, encamped |
with u.s. and the time that is not employed in the |
manner above specified is spent in listening to the
various descriptions of the fight. | must have |
heard twenty different detailed accounts, and WIN
out in the end being able to form any general
idea of the ngagement-party, am inclined 10
think, because not one man in twenty knows what
is going on around him when in battle, and partly
because there was no scientific plan about it. 1t
was purely heller skelter, up anddown hill, bush
fight. 1t was won by the energy and superior
firing OF our men, and my opinion is that it would
have been won by the fierce onslaught Of our sol
diers with scarcely any generalshlp at ALL
As you may not have a more reliable cores
pondent | give you below few particulars, as
narrated to me by Mississippian who saw the
| whole thing:
| Leesburg is three miles distant from the river
| midway between which, and perhaps half mile
| from the latter, is the battle ground. In the 20
t0mac, not far from this point, is small island, to
| which the enemy had conveyed its forces, and
| which were thence crossed over to the Virginia
| shore in long flatboats or scows, This movement
| was effected without the knowledge OF our troops,
| who were scattered along at the different fords.
! For sometime after they had crossed, no reliable
information could be gathered Of their number or
| movements by our scouts, who seemed, indeed, to
be perfectly beWlluered, ana VINO, III one OF TWO
| instances we're as shy of approaching our own as
| the enemys camps. Capt. Duff, who commanded
/ a Mississippi company, was the first to enter the
fight which he did al o'clock, throwing, out his
| men as skirIushers but it was near o clock be-
| fore the engagement had become general. 1t was
then that there seen as determined and reso-
lutte fighting as has ever been witnessed on this
COntinent-deCidedy more deadly than in any
struggle we have hitherto had during the present
war One of the Mississippi regiments (the Eigh-
teenth) had been assigned position at the battle
Of Manassas. and had lett the held with us 5eputa
tion tarnishcd, Under this disgrace it had been
chatting, and the time had now come to redeem its
wounded honor. | need not tell you that 1t did not
pass unimproved
gade consisting of the Eighth Virginia, Ga new
regiment) the Thirteenth, Seventeenth and Eigh-
teenth Mississippi Ut was generally reported that
Cen Evans disobeyed orders in going into battle }
. At about o'clock the enemy's forces were in a
soDe between two hii.S-the ground not only there
but for miles around, being mountainous and
rugged in the extreme. The fire of the enemy
oDened upon as we advanced, at the distance OF
! half mile, killing many of our men. But at that
and for much shorter interval, our muskets were
useless. At this point of time the Eighth Virginia
I though sorely pressed, were holding the enemy in
} check in front; but the Eighteenth Mississippi
who had been double quicking it for tour miles
e were now drawing NIGH and fearful that our line
was breaking, they gave q tremendous whoop and
0 yell, and continued whoopng and yelling, like SC
= many devils, until fairly engaged. The foe tough
!: we'll, but the cheering of men contributed as
e much to win the battle as any particular clrcum
stance Of the day. Whl,e our ammat6a tastee
5 himself behind a tree Or crouchlng upon tht
l. ground, and accounting for his man !" with
r dreadful certainty of aim. On our side we mad az
l. artillery whatever to support us, while the enem,
r. had three light mountain howtzers and one II
If pounder, which did US great damage. But OIL
r round of cartridges Just giving out, a thing
d for which the enemy seemed to ne waiting; an!
it began to be evident that if the battle was won
d must be by some other means OF defence. jus
e then the command came, Drive them aoys, ina
e the Potomac or into Il" and it did not come
ID moment too soon. There was an unbr9sen chaFg
#. along our whole line, which, considering tn
at roughness of the ground and the intervening trees
of was wonderful.
r. body were driven over the brow of the hill an
is down its side where their further course was a
rested by preCpce sixty feet haSh. ThGre wer
/ now no means OF escape open to them and the
lg would probably have been soan. shot and ba.
10 onettd to the last man. but just ahen there was
le confused cry from below in the accents of varo1
st countries, which at first was not understood {
to heeded, but which subsequently resolved itse
lis into "quarter! quarter! We suTrenier Siene
a in the vale!'' One Of our officers then shoute
as Ii you wish to surrender send up field officer
al- Answer: eve have none,~they are all killed
ey Their highest officer, who happened to be Lie
in tenant, was then dispatched with an lmpromp
n; flag Of truce made out of a shirt Five hundr
in and ten men thus delivered themselves up. Ma
w flung themselves over the proGipice and attemp1
to to swim the river, but mostly driven back
H. the cold or persisted in the attempt Otaa
MS whose lines were broken earlier in the fight. h
all meanwhile had time to put off for the Mag lii
ed shore but, the Hatbaats being greatly ov
Mt, crowded, and, from the movements of tho dem
nd allied soldiers in running from side to side
)r. avoid the bails which were now flying arc,u
OBJ them, they most OF them went down. One
IDS them alone was supposed to have contained
ci- men.
v: Many prisoners were taken the next day, W
5ut dering ca the banks of the river with cover
the whatever: and met on his road to Manas
ose pieturesquely attired like the King of the Ca1
tal- bal Islands, merely in long tailed blu coat.
ave The Duke of Newcastle, in recent speech,
,m- trjbuted the Northern reyerses to an nferiory
en- discipline But in this battle orr Soldiers requt
VS., " remarked that their discipline was more st
1ng and rigid than ours, and that tner volieys W
ing kregulary discharged at the tops of the trees.
the At one time during the fight a company of
ism men came suddenly upon some twenty of
,uld enemy The commander of the latter rode up
late the Confederate Captain, and laying his h
rret roughly upon his shoulder, demanded who he v
One of our men spr0ng forward and answered
l to inquiry by knocking oRt the questOner's br'
lde- with his nnsket, and before You could have
ade Jack Robinson, we had s0ucl the last Of til
cans I will mention one more incident, which you
aue agree with Inc is characteristic Of at least chi