Burlington free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1827-1865, 1862-07-11
THE six DAYS BATTLE.
INCIDENTS OF THE FIGHTS

the labors OF the batlle. AAuA-ANN' NA ]
-srs Uuping hiiher aad thither, their arms IN
inc. asking for their regiments. Hundreds Of
.,bfrs started upon painful and almost hopeless
,iIgrimares to the James, where they iondly De-
"a he Upioa eunboats to be, and felt that uu
lar their vatchful ports there would be rest, safe
4, and shelter. Tho long lines Of ievered' stag
-, rsople struck out for the river, and many
; dr,S 81 blood .pattered the sand as they hled
: ,,,b brook AID wood over hill and dale, nervcd
10 ~ certainty that every football ensured more
4i.o,,l, their deliyerance. Some Of the wounded /
tbbisd ten mile. the first DAY, upon cTutches, and
% s,,E the nan with ball through one hip and /
he other ankle broken, who kept up Win an am |
r,upition wagon through eleven hours Inc am
l-I,ncss we're crowded with men until the springs
-, "a, rpon the ayles, and very common mat !
,sr 10 acc was several wounded men sitting IN the
tail Il the wagon with bloody feet dripping upon
the stems The roads were white with dust that
rpreb aided 20 the i'll condition Of the Woun1eL
and many Of the fev,red went out oil theif minus
A vouDg officer who had been down with the "
phoid fever, had got 50 lar on inc loa4 ne -.
rould see the vtsses, en- he sufened out IN zoe
bsnds Of the men who were holding him on MS
IoTss The agonies Of the wounded in the retreat
from the Chickahominy to the james, can never
be known.
rae FIGHI o. SUNDAY.
Tie enemy suddenly became elatsd. HIS sue
,ss.es stimulated him to press Us hard. rmith
division and sedgvicks fell back ria savage
station On the York River Railroad II vas neces-
s.rv that they should halt and hold the POSITION
maj the long winding train might move away.
Thew took posit ons in the woods north anu east
Of A large field All Of their artillery, with the
exception Of two pieces, was masked IN the front,
bearing upon the road doWn which they had re-
treated.
Thev had not long 10 wait. First the enemy
sgrlnishers came In sight, carefully smelling tseir
ton de- faas 81 1hraza
Taey saw the guns glittering like goidin the sun
shine They looked, talked, pointed One or two
officers went back Other officers came NJ. soon
the dark masses Of infantry followed. The two
Guns gave them 4 salute, but every where else
there was silence. Flushed with victory the reo-
els started upon the double-quick across the field
To- CAPTURE tue coveted prize Suddenly, quick as
flash OF lightning, twelve additi nal pieces huIl-
ed crane and ctlister upon them, followed by the
mi If ten thousand muskets. NJ. longer thought
Cd. Getting the pieces, but how 10 get cut Of the
place After "a few frantic efforts the ranSs became
confused broken, disj iuted, ami uotWithsiAndin5
the enteavers e ,ieers q rllly the watering col
uroHe. taoy fed prscipitately, leaving multitute
uron the plain dead and dying 10 was trap
must successfully sct add sprgn. upon a Ea-hei
foe.
A BLOODY BATTLE cN Vs~uAY.
IeiptzIstaau was On the road furthcr-st over
o
enemy, in strong force, appeared, opening with
artillery, ard advancing dIvisl after division ~
infantry ia solid masses. He resisted bravely,
but was compelled % fall back 90 rev position
The enemy followed, Employing BIZ old tactics u
hurlin- masses Il meu. Low upon the right, nov
uran tlu lett, and now tudlsuly 10 the centre.
lie hel1 his ground uuAid=i ul o'clock HIS
ranks were terribly tninueii ard he was mfellcd
90 bring I'D Mccall once morc. IS division had
been IN AID the fights. u vas WfrI cut But
with hearts true steel they rc-T1utgi o. the
order. simultaneously upon tnsir advance came
fresh troop, from Richmond, and az loud an tor
rif- a. 90 any time during the SIX dss-' fighting
reared the contest. Their Leaders had 90 csIe for
saving life. They rushed on imTc,191sly, .irsh-
ed upon Gus hatteries,f captured AanIslis and
captured large number Of prisoncrs- iirre the
brave and tfcIeut commander # the corps Gen.
McC all vent down az the hea Of his troops. sup
D.. SD o. be badly wounded. A score q ,fhcers
fell. The lines gave way. Il was critical mo-
neut. Now or never was brave work % he doue-
N,w or never vas the army 90 be saved
Seigaick came. Hooker and ksaraey came
Hooker with the 2ud New Hampshire Aai lst and
IN Massachusetts kearEey with the lie blood
Of New Jersey-brave men all OF them. Ihey
rallied for a desperate charge. Twenty four can
non additional we're brought VI. Inc united di-
visions, firm and uuyieldiug As the grani-e Of
their native mountains, moved o. The charge
onward, right 1nEaru, undeedlng death or life .
They came upon the enemy like a tnuuderoolt,
bore down the living masses 10 front a. il they
we're sutomstons, sent thtm lyiug over the field,
aud captured twelve pieces Of artillery, ems bri-
gais, including three regiment also Col. Peudle-
ton Of the louisiana battalion, and CT Congress
man Lamar Of the lst Ge0rgisB egiment-
While the f ynt was going on, ten &Crei oF-
deTed the bands 10 play. For a month they have
been silent. under orders. They gave Yankee Doc
de- The star Spangled Banner and Hail Coium
bia. Il was like bread t. a hungry man. The
troops felt the soul-stirring strains and forget
that they we're tired, hungry, exhausted aai ready
90 faint
AT wHIIE OAK swami.
The enemy appeared on White Oak swamp II
strong f0rce. aud directly opened from some tTen-
masked batteries that blew VI several Of Capt.
Motifs caissons, dismounting his pieces AMI raised
hubbub generally among teamsters, Wagoners,
canuoasers aad iltaztry. The 21th y Y al this
time made heir celebrated stampede, for which
next day, the Provost Guard BY order Of General
Mcclellan picket them up and took them to
headquarters like So many culprits
However, very soon our light batteries rccov-
cred themselves and vigorously responded b the
enemy, who was soon at PeIecPtible disaiyan-
tage. The reoels made some desperate efforts 10
CT, S the creek, but Gen. smith brought bis men
up 10 close quarters with them whenever they
dared tc contest, and although in each case some
OF our hest and believe soldiers DIT the dust
there were no signs Of holding Of. The cannon
fring was incsssant here aud be infantry Gre ex-
teEded along whole columns.
At CHARLES CITY Cross ROADS.
We had prevented the enemy from crossing the
swamp in cur front, and fondly hoped that he
would be unable 70 pierce Its Businesses at any
other point. That tins hope was 40 founded was
soon testified by the appearance OF the enemy IN
great force at hsrlgs city Cross Roads.
lie had advanced direct from Richmond eight
bri -a1es, the FIRST under command Of the red1ubt-
able lieurY A. Wise. aud when discovered A. the
Cross Reads was euieavoring TO work quietly
dJwu the river roads between our trains, our
wounded and the army. Two nours previous such
an attempt might have been successful, when Ut
ter ruin wouli have en.ueI. Porter and Keyes
were or ered up.
Al o'clock they engaged the enemy, hidden
by woods and the swelling Of hills, and the 6rins
from maskctry and field batteries vac coon in
tense. Il, was scarcely an enthusiasts fight, for
al he r0mince Of battle had worn OF By reason Of
its mouotouy. The men fought we'll, however.
though halt dead with heat, thirst and WEAKNESS
Fresh troops and iuperior nuWbers seemed bear
ins the tic Of battle a-ainst Us at oic.ock, and
the fate oi tue army hung trembling in the sun
set, hen new advocate-haIf Of God. hslr Of
mla-cane t. cur relief.
1HE GUyBoATs oFES FIRE
Abou; o'clock in the afternoon the cunboats
Galenai Ar00stook and JACOB Bell opened from
Turkey island BENZ, in the james river, with
shot and shell from their Immense rifed guns
They fred about three times a minute frequent
y trCaiside az time, aGd the immeuse hull OF
tae Gslena caEeeued as sue delivered her compile
ment Of iron and fame. The first few shots went
wide, but the msa in the ialena's topnast look.
out sigualed the proper elevation % the guns and
soon they threS out among the surred rebels on
the hull their pouderous Obligation that cut down
who-e ranks, sIreadin; colfusioa. d.slIation and
dismay.
cALLAsr CHARGE oy BarrEEv
Meaghers brigade, however. succeeded in chars.
ing right up o. the gurs Of a Virginia tatterv
II uuL.u- IT, L.-.L--I II