Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1861-08-01
Our Volunteers in tho Battle of the
Twenty First. -
Hiram Tho New Ytrk pt,ati -


Our Volunteers in tho Battle. oftne
Twenty First. -
st [F'ron the New York Postl
Perhaps the most distressing, certainly the
nlost moitifying circumstance in the accounts
which we yesterday had Of the battle OF The
2lst of July, was thnt our nrmy was repre-.
sented as abandoning itself to transport Of
cowardly fear, and running away from the
enemy The moro correct statements of to-
day, meagcr as they are, put a very different
face on the affair. The first stories Of tho
dreadful carnage aud the shameful flight
were told by persons who went out as spec
tators of the engagement, and who half
frightened to death themselves innocently
magniiiod both the fright of others and tho
disasters of the day. Nothing so bewilders
the imagination and fila it with empty phau-
toms rs the passion Of fear.
On looking,over such oflhc later accounts
as we have ofthe battle, we see that our
men behaved gallanlly and nobly, standing
their ground like experienced troops, while
their comrades were everywhere falling
around them, and rushing, when the order
was given, upon the batteries Of the enemy
with fury and impetuosiy which the rebels
were unable to resist. Never did men COM
front danger with more heroic courage.
Three of the encmy's batteries, while they
were dealing death among ourrpnks were
carried in this manner, and the rest would
hayo been suceessivelg occupied b. impetu-
Gus assault, if the number of troops engag-
ed on Our side had borne any proportion to
those by which they were withsiood. ~
Ii may Not be out Of place to mention
here a remark made by an eyewitness of tho
Crimean war, in conversation with Senator
/ N,l.,,, onl % tl,a n,t
Russell, of the London Times, said to them,
that not at Inkermann, nor at any other
place during the war Of the Crimea, had he
seen such brilliant and gallaut charges as
our troops made in carrying the batteries Of
the enemy. -sse s.s.,----
| TWAS not until, upon the junction Of John-
ston $ forces with those of Beauregard, swell
| ing their number to ninety thousand men,
the enemy came pouring upon our army like
a flood, sweeping us by mere force of num-
bers before them, that our gallant soldiery
gave way. They gave way, but it was not q
! flight-it was retreat before numbers so
overwhelming that it would have been mad
nessto attempt keeping their ground. They
retreated as the most renowned warriors
whom the world has ever seen might have
retreuted '-
4 The retreat was effected in calm and de-
l,berate order The panic and flightj Of
which so much has been made, took place
only among the followers of the army, the
spectators of the battle, aud the struggling
soldiers not in the engagement, and were
occasioned by sudden charge of about two
hundred of the enemy's cavalry, who dashed
| In among the baggage wagons. -~,
All the while that our soldiers were sus-
taining a murderous fire, capturing the hos
, tiin hnttnY,ns and r,i,,
with increasing numbers of their foes, they
, were suffering under hardships and priva-
, tions which would have disheartencd the
boldest and best disciplined veterans They
were weary with long march, the sun was
: pouring his beams upon them with tropical
tierceness, they had tasted nothing all day
= but dry biscuit, and for nine hours had not
! moistened their lips with water That vol
unteers, under such circumstance men
, wholly new to war--should have behaved
themselves with such steady gallantry, is
, certainly marvellous. a1LGltE
What now remains is to make the best of
the disaster which our troops have suffered
! in this first Of their great battles. 1t will
, not surprise us to hear soon that General
! Tyler has allowed himself to be betrayed,
by his love of adventure, into the indiscrction
, o. beginning the battle before receiving or
0 ders from his superior officer. 1t will ap-
r pear we believe that General Patterson has
Q been inexcusably remiss in allowing General
e Johnston to push on and join his forces with
: that Of Beauregard, without making any
) vigorous attempt to delay his march. But
o OF the valor of our volunteers there is fortu-
D nately no doubt, and every new piece of in-
teligencc that we receive from the Virginia
side makes this more and more clear But
tLe disastar we have Suffern1 shnuld ha re.