Burlington free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1827-1865, 1861-07-12
A SOUTHERN ACCOUNT OF THE
RETHEL FIGHT.

n 4 U "
BETHEL FIGHT.
We find in the Rome (Georgia) Courier,
:. c,pv of which of June 2lst has reached US,
the iollawing account of the Bethel battle
hyone Of the rebel soldiers engaged in it. 1t
j.. interesting to note that the writer give S
the exclamation land undoubtedly the true
onc) Of the small loss on the rebel side, that
has been given for the small loss on our side,
viz firing Too hgh on the part Of the opposing
trooys. Each side expended most Of their
ammunition on the boughs Of the trees.
The encampment was a parallel formation,
the corners of the lortifcauons lying nelrly
due East and W est. North and South, and
was protected bv cmbaukments thrown UP
on inur sides, the strongest Of which was on
the southeast side, which commanded the
road, the bridge and the field, though which
trcoIs must pass coming from Hampton and
was well fortified To tho defence Of this
position, a howitzer battery of three guns,
under the command Of Major George w.
Randolph. and four companies Of the \. G.
Regiment on the northwest side, the re-
mainder Of the y. c. Regiment were station
ed from East to West On the south side
was a ravine thirty feet deep, and very
marshy. This position was defended by
battery of one hOwiizer gun, under the COM
mand Of Capt. j. Thompson Brown on the
left, and an earthwork and trench made and
occupied by the cOmIanlcs OF Lieut.. Col.
Stewart command consisting OF the NIr-
gInia Life Guards Capt. halker; UenricO
Southern Guard, Capt. Childrey; and Young
Guard, Capt Charters-the remainder OF
the troops, Of infantry and cavalry, were
stationed inside the enclosure, and c0mplet-
"a the defence Of the entire parallel. All was
now in readiness, and with calm, determined
countenance, the men awaited their coming.
In few minutes our scouts and yidettes
commenced firing and coming ID announcing
the advance. The cannOnIers and infantry
m the line Of notifications were notified and
stood ready. Our men (Col. Stewarts)
were ordered in the trenches, when they
we're compelled to kneel in order to escape
o2eervs tion, it being our object to conceal
our position until the enemy advanced to the
middle of the field. and then open fire. The
approach t. the fortiiicatious can only be
made through a field six hundred yards
wide, and by the bridge spanning the creek
running along the line southeast OF our po-
sition.
Our Colonel stood with glass in hand and
soon discovered the glistening of bayonets
coming from cover OF the woods and up the
road. As soon as they had arrived about
one thousand yards from us, they planted
two cannon in the road, one in the woods
and several in the field, to our left, all OF
them being guns Of heavy calibre. As 5000
as they were seen in position, Maj. Randolph
gave the command, and our splendid parrot
gun belched forth a shot which took effect
on the column in the road and did consider
able damage this was replied to by the
enemy from their gun in the road, and re-
piled to by Capt. Browns Battery in the
field. The action then became general, and
the deaiening roar of the guns was all that
could be heard for an hOur-0ur shot taxing
good effect. that of the other side not having
hit a single man or gun, all being aimed too
high, doing great damage among the bougEs
of the trees. Col. StewaTts command were
placed fifty yards on the right of Capt.
Brown battery. to serve as a protection to
them, and we soon saw the approach of a
company Of Zouaves of New York regI-
nent advancing under cover of some houses
and a large orchard to the right of the field.
rhc Virginia Life Guard were ordered to
rise and shoot them as our position had not
been discovered. the men Of the first platoon
rose, and taking deliberate aim, fred; the
shots had good effect. seven Of the Zouaves
falling, two killed and the remainder wound
ed. Us we asccrlained afterwards by finding
che bodies Of the dead We Immediately
drew upon us the trc of the ZJuares and
one piece of clunon. but our men were un-
dauutcd, and between every fire OF the das-
tarIly crew they r3so by file and fired.
Nearly every time a man was ielled. Our
guns being the Enfield rided gun, were very
effective. The entire iJrcc of both sides then
came into action and to the men uuacustomed
70 such sights the scene was sublime. After
the first fire all the hcsitancv ard trepidation
incident to the first battle was over, and
every man felt ger to give them salute
. There was cessation of firing for five min
ntes. when our guns commenced again, and
constant and rapid firing was kept np for
one hour more. our guns working beauti-
fully, and doing great damage. The shot
Of the enemy wounded three OF our h0wltzer,
and one Of the y. c. regiment men.
During the engagement the howitzer gun
in the field waa accidentally disabled by the
breaking OF a vent wire IN the touch hole,
and had to be hauled into the woods and
9 abandoned aud Col. Stewards command was
ordered to close IN upon the forufcations,
aod defend the interior Of our camp as we
5moved of. 4 regiment of infantry was seen
& file up the road to the south of our posi-
non, IN order to get into our rear, and seye-
raj cannon were ordered 10 the road through
which they must pass, The cannon were
supported by the commands Of Col. Stewart
aud Capt. Montague but they did not make
= their appearance, and we remained interested
j spectators of the third attack, holdinr our
position in the trenches, and prepared to de-
lend the ravine and the road to the south and
west Of our i0rtifcationS.
This attack was made few minutes after
l. O'Clock, and was the most severe of all
the days work. Our guns commenced again
and after exchanging shots for 10 or 70 min
utes, the enemy formed in column l,OOO
strong, aud under command of a brave look
& ing general, well mounted, advanced over
the road, over the bridge, and up to the EN-
bankmentS, on the south east. Every man
looked on with breathless interest, as the
charge was brilliant one As soon as they
were IN good range, our battery opened, and
the hrst fire struck the head of the adyanc-
8 Ing column, and crashed through from rank
70 rank. They attempted to mount the
em5ankment, but our infantry rose and they
were repulsed with great loss, and SO discon-
fitted that they retired with a double Quick
movement down the road. The Colonel
commanding in this charge was seen to reel
in his saddle. The battery again exchanged
shots, and the action closed with 6 men
wounded on our side
1t was now one O'Clock, aud the enemy
saowing 10 disposition to commence again,
the dragons were ordered oft, and found
the enemy retreating with al speed toward