Daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, Va. [W. Va.]) 1859-1865, 1861-07-25

intervals for two or three hours, but they.
were not answered, even by a single gun.
1t was very clear that the enemy-intended
to take his own time in paying his respects
to US, and that he meant, however, to do
il-in- his Owniway. Meantime we rould
hear in the distance the sound of Col.
Hunters axemen, clearing his way. and
awaited with some impatience the sound
of his cannon on the opposite heights.
Time wore along with occasional shots
from our guns, as well us those of Col.
Richardson's column, but without, in a
single instance, receiving ary reply. -
At a little before. IL o'clock, the First
Ohio and Second New York, which were
lying in the wood on the left. were ordered
to advance. They did so,-passing out of
the road5and climbing fence into Il wood
opposite, which they had barely approach
ed, however, when they we're met by
tremendous discharge of four-gun bat
terry, planted at the left in the woods,
mainly for the purpose of sweeping the
road perpendicularly and the open field on
its right by which clone troops could pass
| forward to the opposite bank They were
staggeredsfor moment, and received orr
ders-to retire. Capt. Ayre's Battery (for-
l,merly Sherman's) was advanced IL little,
so a5 TO command this battery, and by
twenty minutes of vigorous play upon it,
/ silenced II. completely. af rtsy 4
AT hal-past II we heard Hunters guns
On the opposite hight, over a mile to the
right. He was answered by batterics there,
and then-folIowed the sharp, rattling vol
! loys Of mRsketry, as their infantry became
/ engaged. The firing was now ncessant.
Hunter had comeupon them suddenly. and
for Is r,- fr al \
at the right of the road. The enemy drew
mp to oppose him, but he speedily drove
them to retreat and followed them up with
the greatest vigor and rapidity. Mean
time, for some three hours previous, we
had seen long lines of dense dust rising
t from the roads leading from Manassas. aud.
with the glass, we could very clearly per-
ceive that they were raised by the constant
and steady stream of reinforcements which
couticued to pour nearly the whole day
The Sixty Ninth, Seventy Ninth, Second
and Eighth, New York-the First, Second,
and Third Connecticut, and the Second
Wisconsin, were brought forward in ad-
vance of the wood and marched across the
! field to COL Hunters support. They crossed
the intervening stream and drew up in n
small open field, separated from Col. Hun
ter's column by dense wood, which was
uIleu Will OdIleTleS anu lnId0JTy. OHT
guns continued to play upon the woods
which thus concealed tue enemy, and aid
ed materially in clearing them for the ad-
vance. Going down to the extreme front
of the column, could watch the progress
of Col. Hunter marked by the constant
roar of artillery and the roll of musketry,
as he pushed the rebels baek from point to
poin. At O'Clock he had driven them
out of the woods and acros the road which
was the prOlongation of that on which we
stood. Here, by the side of their batter
ies the rebels made n stand. They PANT
ed their flag directly in the road, and twice
charged across it upon our men. but with
out moving them an inch. They were met
By destructive fire, and were compelled!
to fall still further back Gradually the
point of fire passed further away, until
the dense clouds of smoke which marked
the progress of the combat were mt least
half mile to the left of whit had been
the central position of the rebels.
1t was now 29 o'clock was at the ad-
vanced point of the front of our column,
some hundred rods beyond the woods, in
which the few troops then there were
then drawn up, when decided to drive
back to town to send you my dispatch. As
passed up the road the balls and she'll
than usual rapidity. | did not see the
point from which they came, but meeting
Capt Ayers, he said he was about to
bring up his battery, supported sby
the Ohio Brigade, under Brigadier General
Schenck, to repel r@nored attempt of
cavalry to outfiahk this column. As went
forward he passed down. Gen. Schenck's
Brigade was at once drawn up across the
road, and Capt. Ayres' guns were planted
on knoll at the left, when a powerful
body of rebels, with heavy battery, camo
down from the direction of Bulls Run, aud
engaged this force with tremendous effect.
went to Ccntreville, sent off my despatch,
and started with all speed to return,-in-
tending TO go with our troops npon what
had been the hotly contested field, never
doubling moment that it would remain
in their hands. had gone but quarter
of mile when we met great number of
fugitiYes, and our. carriage soon became
entungled ina mass of baggage wagons,
the officer in charge of which told me it
was useless to go in that direction, ns our
troops were retreating. Not crediting the
story. which was utterly inconsistent with
what had seen but little while before,
1 coHtinued to push on. ] soon met
Quartcrmaster Sletson, ofitle Fire 20uaves,
who told me, bursting into tears, that
his Regiment had been utterly cut to-
pieces, that the Colonel and Lieutcn-
ant Colonel were both killed, and that
our troops had actually been repulSed.-
still tried to proceed, hut the advanc-
ing columns rendered il impossible. and
l turned about. Leaving my carriage,
went to high point of ground and saw,
by the dense cloud of dust which rose
over eachiof the three roads by which the.
three columns of the army had advanced,
that they were all on the retreat Sharp
discharges of cannon in their rear indica-7
ted that they were being pursued. watt
Jed half an houror so, 20 OBSERVE the troops
and batteries as they arrived, and then
started fur Washington, to send my dis
patch and write this letter. As l came
past the hill on which the Secessionists