Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1861-07-18
Letter from Buck khannOn.
CAMP RosrCRANZ.

into the wilderness.
On the evening of the Sd Of July we struck
our tents and left Clarksburg, leaving one
company Of our Regiment (com pany G) at
that place. We started out about clock,
and marched about miles, when we en-
campcd for the night. On the morning of
the glorious 4th we again took up the line
of march, and at about sundown reached
this place--distant 30 miles from Clarksburg,
and at that time the advance post of Gen.
Mcclellan division.
There is no incident connected with our
march from Clarksburg here worth mention
ing, except night alarm in our camp
We were encamped in small meadow of
two or three acres, completely surrounded
by woods,--the road running close along one
side Of the meadow, and a small stream on
the other-a place wholly unfit for a camp
in an enemy's country, and, | presume,
would not have been selected had our Off
GERS apprehendcd any danger. Camp and
picket guards were put out in position. and
at an early hour everything in camp was
quiet. At about o'clock in the morning
however, the camp was alarmed BY
the firing Of a musket by the camp guard,
and everybody sprang to his gun and run to
the centre OF the camp, where the men were
being formed. Whilst this was going on
another musket was fired by the camp guard,
in the same direction. This served to in
crease the alarm, and for moment, think,
almost every man in the company expected
u volley from some Guerrllas concealed in
bushes and, situated as we were, ten men
in the woods might have held us in check
until morning, and killed many of us before
we could have done anything. Almost every
man felt that it was q moment of danger
but no one shirkcd from the position assigned
him, or quailed in the face Of what he be-
lieved to be imminent danger. A squad was
sent to the relief Of the sentinel, when it was
found, to our great relief, to be a false alarm;
and that, in the darkness. the sentinel had
halted and fired ut some creature of his i'm
agination.
j When we arrived at this little village (the
county town Of Upshar county, we found
encampcd in it and around it the Third,
Fourth, Ninth and Nineteenth Ohio Regi-
ments and the Eighth and Tenth Indiana
Regiments, together with companies A and
B of our Regiment. several Dragon compan.
les and LOOMS and Hines batteries
making total force of over seven thousand
men here, on their march toward that ubi
quitous enemy that we have been 50 persis
, tently JouoUing and never overtaking, in
, Western Virginia. On yesterday Sunday,
the Tenth Ohio Regiment and company G
Of our Regiment, arrived here making a to
tai force OF over eight thousand that hav,
( got up to this point, and it is said there arr
| m p,p o.,
tomorrow. At this writing, however, tn,
troops have all gone on from here, excep
our regiment, or rather the four companie
: that are here, and small detachment from
Y the I'D. We know nothing of where thes
troops are going to, but suppose they ar
9 after the enemy. Our Regiment will not b
moved FROM here, l understand from Col
Council, until it is all together once more
t and some Of our officers tell us that this pos
= has been assigned to our Regiment, and tina
;, we will remain here. We don't know wha
la day may bring FORTH" and, like MI
i Micawber, are waiting for something t
turn up"
A detachment Of the Third Ohio (fft
men) got themselves into skrmish o
F' Saturday last. Some rebels, sixteen mile
e from here, had run some Union men out
d the country, and when Gen. Schleigh dt
j. tailed these men to go out and drive tn
:: rebels back, they found them in bridge an
l, concealed in the laurel. Our boys discove
Of ed them first, and report that they fired
and killed four men, who came out of til
l. bridge-that they fired into the bridge an
: killed great numbers of the enemy, but thl
' they were fired at in turn from both sides
r, the road and from concealed foes in IL
mt laurel thickets, and were obliged to retrea
r. Our men lost one-reported to be killed
and some three or four wounded. None
"s the wounded are dangerously hurt. Da
10 Edison, of Barnesyille, is among the woun
I'd ed, having been shot in the arm--the wour
t. very slight.
q detachment out without the knowledge
al Gen. Mcclellan, and that it spoiled N
IT, Clellan's plans. | think there is nothing
this, however. The general opinion here
that this was mere scouting party, conce
ed in the laurel, and that their numbt
IN were not very great, as they did not attem
es, were posted-in the laurel. Col McCoo
,on with the Ninth, started out Immediately
10" hearing of the attack, and he has not fou
me the enemy up to this time.
as Gen. Henry A. Wise is the great sea
Id crow of this part of Western Virginia.
suppose that in all probability the threats
subjugation made against the Union peo
ZEN here by the redoubtable General have be
er- freely published by the Secessionists; at q
'co' rate his name seems to be q kind of ter
ar, ar to Union men and women out here. He
an at this time, according to very reliable
ns- formation (received from a badly seal
icn countryman, who rode all the way from
ior very neighborhood, on purpose to let G.
rn- Mcclellan know encamped just t,oeaty-i
", Mules from this, with at least seven thouss
iof men.
re- Our camp is constantly filed with
OF kinds Of rumors. The dust had scare
20 settled behind the Ninth until the rep
,el. was flying through camp that the Ninth
'ust fighting dreadfully, nine miles of. Th
De sensations for the camp are got up by co
try people, who live in constant dread
their lves,-many of them sleeping out
in the bushes at night, from fear. I'll
t;no people are constantly coming into camp v
,srs @ big stories of big armies all commanded
,;rs. I Wise! We have learned to pay no atten
nm whatever to these stories, but to qui
law "wait for facts. E" I.
EN-, We are told that our Regiment will be
ing gether in few days; four companies
The B, G and X are here. L and e are SC
m ofl where down the river @, ID; II and l