The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1861-11-04


The Leesbarg Fight.
The Northern accounts continue to repre-
sent the late fight at Leesbnrg as one of the
most bloody contests on record. The terrible
disaster TO their side is not attempted
to be disguised, from which fact we ara led to
believe that death and destruction consigned
hordes of old Abe's followers to an awful exit
from this earth. The New York Times speeill
correspondent sends another Interesting let
Ter to that paper, from which we extract the
following;
Alter the fight had progressed some time
'feh ba"er became eviden tly convinced til a il
was hopeless contest, and addressing y uar-
va muster Dung, who WIS acting his Aid !,
Asheu nam If there was any means to recrose
me river, beside the boats on which thet had
come over Mr.. Young replied. "There is
nothing" The General answered. Then
let Us do all we can, and die hrayeiy." Adj.
oresslng the lnen, ne said, 81 will not ask
you 10 20 where do not lead Three cheers
gr9eteC the Generals remark. He stood with
MS right hand in the breast Of his coat ana
was continually ia front of his command =
re SAID, s. Fire low, boys, and fire steady.
keep cool, and don | get excited
~ iarge Iorce OF the enemy was discovered
advancing upon a don Die quick through an
open lane at the left CT the ground when the
gun was wheeled in that direction and fred
as Inc smoke Of the gun blew away, q wide
=
dey tnen made charge from the front, and
the enemy Were again driven into their CO.
vert alter tney had advanced to within five
feet Of our coiors
1he firing from the right had now nearly
ceased, Only an occasional stray shot from
persons pos ted IN the trees to pick oil the Off
teIs' Az thts luntt q person. wearing a
gay 3acket and blue pants appeared riding a
ddTk brown horse, and beckoned with his
hand TO the Union forces, SAVING. I'VE ara
lrlen3s come this way, Doys.' Firing in
st'trtly ceased tor two minutes Cen Haker
and tee Assistant hdiutant General saving
Cease hring; you are shooting your own
men. The next moment Gen Baker said.
ool"lers, Ihere is Johnston On the left; give
Tnsn a yoiiey.'' q"
By this time the enemy had flsnl,ed us On
the lett The Adjurart GENERAL ircnirad
- W no are ou:' addressing his inquiry to the
ntnhlng party. He was answered. Ne ara.
Gonfederates, you Yankee sons OF b-s''
inns confusion arose from the fact that Gen
BAKER h&d posted Company A as a skirmish
ing party GA the LEFT. The order was then
Sh"n 10 charge, and the Unionists pressed
i4to the woods on the left bur they mot an
oNefpoWerlng force and fell back
II very tall man now stepped from behind 9
tIet' ana, Win Il revolver Ttrei at General
bakrr within I've feet of his person Six dis,
charges We're made, and nearly all the balls
entered the Generals body He fell on his
bacH, partly against a tree, anl, a cd INSTANTLY
Inc rebel who had shot the General then
stla"S ici "ifo' ana was ia the aeI of taking
Capt. Bierai ran forward, placed his revolver
at MS esr, and shot him dead
a heavy volley of Iuusheiry followed
which dTOve the boys back Actiup Adiat,,t
Harvey said, Soldiers who will yoinnrear
10 rescue the Generals bod, 20 Cant B,ereI
ahsWerei tn sum mons, and was followed by
sergeant j ames Clark, Lt-ut. John Murray
private Steehan, and u half d zen others -
They raised him up, and bor- him from The
neid. Three or four of the rescuing parry
were siot IN the at and fell, but Succeeded III
taking The Generals body ca t.iv acr,ss ~,
river.
No Drawer men ever confron ed an enemy
on the field. The rebel officers themselves de.
ciarrd tney thought we had n much superior
lore ana asked ar one tina, =" where are ;ii
Foir men ?" On being answered that they
We're al engaged, he said, . why, if we had
known that, We could have eaten ton mp"
ihV presence or the tYgo pieces of artillery
caus q Inc rebels 10 think that We had a larg.a
reserve anus no donbt pTotracted the fight.
~ a time when our men were f.iriy used un
Captain Bier / took of his cap and called for
cheers, crJ ing our that reint0Tcements were
al hand. This fearless conduct * aKt th. r. bel.
III constant check, and looking to the ratr
Colonel Wisttr was wouned in the. left
cnceh pat stood his ground. cheering on his
nen until his right elb Nv was shattered His
sword fail 20 the ground, but he coolIy wicked
II up with his LETT hand, and was listed 20
the rear.
Captain Of thu Fifteenth Massachusetts
was seen 10 come down Ia the river, and offer
"
him 20 swim acgoss, declaring that he would
rather die than be- taken prisoner No one
was able TO accept his Offer, and he Jumped
III, ana, after briet struggle he sank TO the
bottom
Private Peter Farney of CompanyC thinks
he was the list man who swan from the
river bank opposite the field of Brittle. He
states that as near as lie could fudge from
eighty toa hundred soldiers lay woundra and
helpless on the bank.
ANOTHER STATEMENT.
CORPORAL Fred'k Piper, OF Co,upany p
First California Regiment was wounded in
the right hand, and whea ne r ached the
river, ne plunged in with his clothes on 49,
Five or SIX men sank beside him their ont
cries were terrible. ''My God - ooh nh
" Helpn' were heard from All parts of the
river. He swan with one hand for fifty
yards, and struggled On, rs hardly knew
how, until he reached the opposite bank.
To go lck Mr.. Piper remained concealed
behind rock, ciump Of bushes protecting
him from view, until J. midnight. During
This tlme he saw the enemy's pockets. and
heard them challenging our men who strug-
gled, one after another, into their lines. In
response 10 the Gaestion "Who goes there %
he often hears the answer 80 friend in dis
tress.' These, he supposes, were our men
who went In TO deliver themselves no. A.
midnieht the enemy rallied some two or three
hundred men, and discharged deadly voiiev
Smorg the bushes where our men we're CON
ceaied. Eighteen or twenty men fell killed
lowed, and the demand fTcm fifty voices WAS
heard, 'tSurrender. =" They a.. svvered .1non't
fire, we surrender" Fetch that regiment
here was then deInandei by Il rebel officer,
at the same time hp commanded our men 10
clay down their arms ard come OUT At
this large number rushed To the river bank
and plunged in Come back, come back,
you Yankee sons OF b-s,'' was the next ex-
ciamation, followed by another voliey and
Struggling shots at the men i'll the water. A
large number We're heard 10 give one cutlery
OF distress and sink. The dead and wounded
In large numbers, lay scattered along The
snore, and remained there through the night.
THE FEoERALs NOT SATISFIED WIN THE ExersE
aiyES FoR THEIR DEFEAT.
The Washington correspondent OF the New
York Times says:
Ofeourse the talk of the hour here is of orr
repulse at Leesburg. The people have natu-
rally been surprised that So little reliable in
formation could be obtained respecting il -
The truth is. the whole affair is mystified on
purpose. You will have various accom- Is
and explanations, all, however, ending with
the st~reotyped oue, - we We're overwhelmed
by numbers This last was made to ne by
an officer whose position of importance
gave his remark great significance
wished 10 reply that the expiana
ton partook OF the nature of con-
fsssion. But cover 1t up as you will, the
simple truth is, some one has Numbered. !"
The movement was deliberately planned and
carried out, ana 10 Tell us that IT failed be-
cause We were taken by sur prise is, 10 say the
least, not sat isfactory, A single fiat-boat and
skif one would think, were insufficient
means Of transport with which 10 con vey re-
Inducements, in case of urgent need across a
river whose current at that point rushed
along at the rate OF six miles an hour. An
officer, who was present at the battle, Informs
me that this cum bersone Hat boat brought
back every trip abort as many dead and
wounded as it carried ever well soldiers. That
in the hurry and rush Of de eat sueh crazy
concern should get upset, as il did, carrying
men and howitzer To the bottom, is not