Daily Nashville patriot. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1860-1862, 1861-06-16
The n.t,Ie OF netbeI Cburcb.

writing from Yorktown on the IIth, gives
the following particulars of the battle on the
10th at Bethel Church
The road from Bethel Church to Hampton
runs South. The Confederates posted them
selves on both sides of it at the Church, fac
| ing down the road to Hampton. The u. 5.
troops came up it until within artillery range,
and planted their battery in the road, but
screened from sight by small house and by
woods. The Confederate battery on the
| right and close to the road opened on the q. S.
battery and on the column 10 its rear. The
u. s. battery replied. and columns of q S.
| troops wheeled to the right and left, circled
around the position OF the Confederates, and
assaulted 1t on the right and left. On the
| right OF the COnfederates there was outer
line of defence consisting of battery of one
howitzer, supper eddy Colonel uart's bat
talon entrench'd on the right. and a company
of North Carolina Infantry entrenched on the
| left. The howl Fer becoming spiked by the
| breaking OF a primng wire. was run back
| INFO the bushes, and the infantry supports re-
tired. The ourer line being lost, the q S
troops approached and opened heavy fire of
| muskrtry on the Confederates concentrated
On the hill at the CHURCH.; but owing to the
thick growth of woods Intervening the fi,e
was not eff ctive. At the same time the left
| of the COnfederates was assaulted by q col
umn which approached to within fifty or six
| ty yards under cover of woods and deployed
| in front of them. 7 lis fire took the main
| battery of the Howitz-r Bat eliOn in the
flank, wounded three men, and killed and
wounded fine horse; struck their pi-ces and
| ammunition chests. The HnwiiZ r Battery
could not, however, return their fire without
| firing over the North Carolina Infantry, en-
| Irench,d on the left. and risking them. The
| fire of the Battery Was. therefore. In tintaiued
| to the front On the troops and battery of the
| enemy in the road. and The North Carolina
| infantry repulsed the assault ON the LIFT.
Another HOwiIzer arriving from three miles
| IN The rrar, was run out to The outer line
On uh right which had be previously Ieoc-
| cupied 10y the Conf. 'derate iIfa TRY, III. enc
| my falling back. the howItzer Immediately
opened with she'll on u house uccupI d by the
enemy's sharp shooters, and which al-o y. rived
| to screen the Uutrd Stat battery from
| view. The United STATES battery replied
| wi round shUt. all of which passed over the
| howiz-r, while tn SHELLS from the howiiZ. r.
| fired the hOnse, and ranged ON towards the
United States battry, and probably crippled
| il; for after five or SIX shots on each side the
| lire Ut The enemy Ceased, and the battle end
| ed.
The first battle has. suspect, given the
Yankees test of very d ffi-rent kind of re-
c-ptiUn from what they have expected. |
nave uOl tue least OOuDL tnat they expected
To sweep away our little band at the first on
sci, aud march on in triumph To this place
Ii such were their cal ulaIiOn, never were
men more f-arully mi-tak"n. They were
ut AT the mouth of the cannon, repulsed,
routed. driven off the Fl Id with So litil hope
OF rallying. that they threw away their arms,
naVersacks, everythirg that could impede
their flight. In one instance they even lett
the RAINIER of ii Cannon on The field. and two
medicine chests n4nfureH and
accou rements of all descripIi ms were among
the trophies gathered from them.
The boasted Il 'uaves did not wait to cross
bayOneIs with the North Carolina Regiment
They d ID, the first fire. and could not be
brought to toe The mark a second. An officer
of the 9TH Regiment OF New York was lied
endeaVoring iO induce company (not Zou
ayes, however, to follow him. H mounted
fence that parated his company from our
Infantry, and with gallantry waving bis sword
aud Calling on his men to follow him, when
he received mu>ket shot in the breast
be fell dead. His men Immediately fed. The
dead officer had a turlOugh IN his pocket. He
ID gone 10 Old Point on leave of absence,
aud had probably volunteered TO lead the
troops. at the head of v hch he tell. His rank
was a>ceT tained from his furlough. 1t was
that of captain.
rbe North Carolina regiment behaved
>plendidlY ON the occasion. as did Stewards
cOmmand-comprising the Young Guard,
apt. Walkers company (Life Guards), the
S bern Guards, the Pittsy lvania r les Gap
tiin Werth)-and, indeed, all our troups. 1t
must have BEEN 30, OF how could =, 100 men
have 80 utterly routed 4 900, for such Was un-
,l"ubledly the force of the enemyi For my
Own cUrps-whOse fortune aud glory, alas 1
did not sbare-they Won the highest encom-
iuIn from the commander, Col Magruder, who
declared he bad never seen more effective ser
vice from any artillery, and said he was proud
Of them. Iu fact the battle was more an af
falr of artillery than any thing else. like that
nf Volney, which saved France in 1892, al
though Not more men fell than fill al Bethel
Church, goo al the lowest estimate killed and
wuUnded). The general characteristic of all
our late battles was not wanting on this Oc-
casiOn The Huwitzers lost not a man killed,
aud but two or three wounded. The oiher
troops lost two or three wound, d. Surely.
bus far, the Lord seems to have been Oh our
side.
have not room in his letter for details.
sill give you enough of them bereafter.-
would merely intuition. here, that one of
cur corps picked up on the field of battle,
memorandum boUk, b>longiug to one r. NJ
p ak r. private in the I'd Company, Ii regi-
menI V-rmont Volunteers. in which / iud
The following entry
June 5th. Harriet Lane demolished fh-
battery nppr sit". Six Ma>sachu sets privafes
shot NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. in an attack.
Eight huLdred more troops arrived f. ON New
York. Ii. Lauc was struck-25 on bosTd
wounded"
SD. there IL the truth about Pig Point. W.
have punished The Yankees awfully. depend
upon it, in every battle We have yet had with
him.
A correspondent of the Dispatch snppli
the following particulars of 'h,. pursuit:
Oar Cavalry. NUMBERING three companies |
went IN pursuit aud harrassed them 'wn 10 !
the edge OF Hampton. As they reIreated |
many OF tie wounded fell along the road aud |
iii d. and The whole road 10 Hampton was |
-trewn with haversacks, overcOats, canteeu-, |
mu-kets. &C., which the men had thrown OFF |
ia heir Retreat.
After the BATH, / VISITED the position they |
hell. The houses behind which they had |
been hid bad heen burnt by our troops
Al round the yard were The dead b dies OF the |
men who had been killed by our cannon. |
mangled 10 the most frightfu manner by the
.hells. The uuifOI ms on the bodies were very
d q rent. and many of them are like those OF !
the Vlrgi soldiery. A little farther on We |
came TO the point to which they had carried |
come OF tn, ir wounded, who had since died. |
The gay looking uniforms of the New York
'uaves contrasted greatly with the pale,
liked faces of their dead owners. Going to
the swamp through which they attempted to
pas to assault our lines, presented another
pioudy scene. Bodies dotted the black morass
from one end to the other. saw one boyish,
looking fellow lying on the mud with
II bullet hole through hiss breast. Els band
was pressed on the wound from which his
life blood had poured, and the other was
ctenched in tue grass that grew near him.
Lying on the ground was Testament which |
had fallen from bis poke dabbled with blood.
o. opening the cover found the printed in
scription, Presented to the Defenders of their
Country. by The New York Bible Society,""