Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1853-1862, 1861-07-17

The State troops were commanded by Generals
| Parsons and Rains. Major Baekof under direction
Of Col Sigel, opened the fire, which continued
brisky for nearly two hours. In less than an hour
the twelve-pounder of the State was silenced. The
| superior of the Federals enabled them to
maintain situation Of comparatively little danger.
The State troops. whom for convenience we shall
| call JacksOn's men, twice broke their ranks but
were rallied, and held their position very well con-
sidering the destructive discharges against them,
until their guns gave out when their column was
! again broken.
At this iuncture about fifteen hundred Of the
cavalry started back with the intention Of cutting
of Sigels transportation train, seeing which move
| ment retreat was ordered, and word sent mmedi
atey for the wagons to advance rapidly as posi-
BILE By keeping up the fire with the infantry, and
bringing the artillery in range whenever practica
Bile Colonel Sgel managed retard the progress of
JseksOn's cavalry, and eventually to fail back al
most unobstructed to the baggage train which was
some three and half miles from the scene Of the
| first engagement.
By skillful movement the wagons were placed
/ 10 the center of the column in such manner that
there were artillery and infantry forces both in
front and rear. Jackson's troops then Fetreated,
and endeavored to surround the entire column by
| taking position upon some high bluffs or hills
overlooking creek. There was but one road lead
ing across this stream and to progress at all with
out further retreatng in the direction Of Carthage
it was necessary to cross the elevation where the
| cavalry were mainly posted.
! Major Backof ordered two of the artillery pieces
in front to obque to the left and two to the right,
| and at the same time similar movement was
made from Col. Sigers battalions. This was a ma
| neuyer to induce Jacksons men to believe that
Sigel was seeking to pass out on the extremes of
| their lines. and TO outfiank the cavalry Ii
followed by closing up to the right and to the left
| by the forces on the bluffs, when, on reaching a
point three hundred and fifty yards from the cav
airy the four pieces were ordered to a transverse
obique, and Immediately heavy cross fire was
! opened with canister. At the time, the in
fantry charged at double-quek, and in ten minutes
the State troops scattered in every direction.
Ten rounds Of canister were fred from each of
! the cannon, together with several rounds by the
! infantry.
This was about five O'Clock in the evening. and
the engagement, with the maneuvering, had Occu-
pied in the neighborhood Of two hours. Jacks0n's
| cavalry were poorly ted, being armed chiefly
| with shot guns and common rifles. They had no
the bluffs or hills, and were consequently
able to make little resistance to the attacks
| of Col. Sigel. Forty five men and eighty horses
! were taken, belonging to Jacksons troops, and
| there were also captured sixty double-baTreled
| shot-guns and revOlvers and Bowie knives.
Our informant states that one of the prisoners, on
| being asked how many had been killed on his side,
estimated the loss at from two hundred and fifty to
| three hundred.
Lieutenant TOsk says that it is undeniablc that
| the officers of Jackson's troops displayed great
ability in their maneuvers, showing much strategic
skill, but that the were raw and undisciplined,
their Inexperience in the art Of war leading them
constantly into danger. 1888
Notwithstanding their losses the State troops held
| their position so far as to cut of Sigels advance
over the creek, and that officer was compelled to
order retreat in the direction Of Carthage, Jack
sons men following and surrounding the column on
three sides. During the retreat, firing by the In
! fantry was kept up, and in this way the cavalry
was kept at some distance. Sigels command got
back to Carthage at half-past ak O'Clock, and at
once undertook to enter the woods about a mile
| distant.
| The movement was strongly and desperately re-
sisted Jsckson's feeling that once in the timber
| they could do nothing, being on horseback. An
| effort to rally the cavalry to n charge was made,
! which brought the whole of the infantry into ac~
/ ton After some hard fighting Colonel S.gel got
his men into the woods, and covered his retire It
as to force the State troops to relinqush the fur
Their prosecution of the fight for the night. The
latter returned to Carthage with the evident Pur-
pose of renewing the battle in the morning. Lieu
| tenant TOsk, without any positive information on
the subject thinks that this last engagement near
| Carthage Jackson's men must have suffered loss
/ of not less than two hundred killed He says that
during the whole day the loss on the Federal side
| was but eight killed and fOrty-tiye wounded,
though we understand that the dispatches OF Gen.
Sigel to Col. Harding, az the Arsenal, place the
| number Of killed at twenty-fOur.
| The report that Lieutenant Colonel Wolf was
killed is erroneous, the only officer wounded being
| Captain StOudmsn, of Siegel's regiment.
Colonel Siegel, Notwithstanding the great fatigue
of the day-his men being in action nearly twelve
hours and suffering severely from the heat and
| from the lack of water-Ordered his men to press
on retreat from Carthage. forced march was
made to SsrcoXie In the southeast corner of Jasper
county, Carthage being the county seat, distance
| of twelve fourteen miles. There they went into
/ camp at three O'Clock Saturday morning In the
afternoon of the next day the retreat continued
| to Mount Vernon, in Lawrence county, sixteen or
/ eighteen miles east of SarcOXe, where Sigel took
a stand and where his headquarters were located
! when Lieutenant Tosk left which was o'clock on
| the evening Of the 9TH.
We should have stated above that our informant
says that the cannon Of the State troops only
provided with round balls and worked by very poor
| artillerists.
Lieutenant Tosk met General SWeeny with his
! force five miles from Mount Vernon. and Colonel
Brown sixteen miles from there, so that the army
under Colonel Siegel has been largely augmented,
and we may soon h3ar more exciting news from the
| southwest.