Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1862-09-29
E.6te.t fram ,r.e rsn,,ls FisId.


well-known aud highly intelligent merchant OF
/ Wednesday and witnessed the great battle from
| two o'clock in the afternoon until the close for
4 the day. The following is a summary Of cur
conversation with him:
/ Q What do you consider the results Of the
baule Of Wednesday,
| A. l consider it to have been q great battle,
/ but not decisive one and this was II opinion
Of military men by whom I was surrounded
the position l occupied during the day being the
same eminence chosen by General Mcclellan to
overlook the operations Of the feld. and was
within hundred yards Of him most OF the day
q. Had you a view of both armies
/ q Yes; | could see the lines Of the enemy,
ana bis great masses of reserves en the hills IL
! the rear of his field. As far as l could Judge,
and in the opinion Of military men around me
his force was larger than ours. The estimate
| they made of the rebel army was one hundred
| and twenty-five thousand men.
Q. Was the enemy in good position
A Yes the position was one they had them
selves chosen at the commencement of the day,
their lines extending over area of at least FIVE
! miles, every point of which was distinctly Yisi-
| be from the point which l occupied
! Q Did hey hold their chosen position
A Ne at the close OF the day their whole
line appeared TO me 70 have been driven back
about mile and q quarter, and the Federal
army occupied the position throughout the whole
! liue occupied by the enemy when l reached the
| feld.
| Q Did you converse with any Of the officers
as TO the result Of the days fighting
| A Yes; their opinion was that our arms had
! beea successful throughout the day that we
had gained every position occupied by the en-
| emy and that MS loss was fully equal to ours
though we had been the attacking party on q
/ strong position. Duriog the day the ground
| was fought over several times They drove our
army back several times, but at the close Of the
/ dav' we occupied all the advanced positions.
! Q Did General Mcclellan appear satisfied
with the result Of the day
A. Yes; he WAS calm aud confident, and ap-
| pesred thoroughly confident that the advantages
| are all on our side.
Q Do you think the enemy suffered as much
| as we did,
A. Yes; should think fully equal and some
| Of the wounded brought in from the field e1-
pressed the opinion that they suffered heavier
/ than we did.
Q Did our soldiers behave well
| A. The position l occupied laid the whOls
! field before me like panorama aud the bravery
| Of the troops on both sides appeared to me to
/ be well matched.
/ Q. Were ths troops in good spirits
A. They were most enthusiastic even the
! wounded brought from the field had their
thoughts concentrated rather on the progress Of
| the battle than on their own sulferings.
! Q Did you hear anything Of LongstTeet being
prisoner and Hill killed
A. No; nothing of the kind was heard Of on
the field. When got back to Frederick found
these rumOrs aAoat, together with another that
Jackson is killed; but there is no truth in them.
! If such important results had been obtained
would surely have heard them before they were
known in Frederick.
Q. You think the battle was Federal victory,
but not a decisive battle
a. Yes and / may add that this was the
| opinion of those who are better able to judge
tlsn myself They thought that the final results
would depend in a measure Jon who first got
reiufoTcements in the field.
@ Did you meet any reinfoTcements approach
4 AS I crossed Second Mountain on my way
b.ek to Frederick, shortly after midnight on
Wednesday night, NET an immesss body Of cav
airy, infantry and artillery, which was informed
numbered twenty thousand men. They wer,
! moving steadily on toward the battle field, snC
was told they expected to join General McClsl
lee by ten o'clock On Thursday morning.
/ Q. Did you hear of any Teinforcements a3
| preaching frcm Hagers town and Chambersburg
a. No; heard nothing of any other rein
foTcsments, though they might have been ap
proaehing without my knowledge.
Q Do you think the enemy gained any ad
| vantage as to the result Cf the battle
l. None that l could discover; they were Ger
tainly worse off at its close th&n they were a
its commencement, both in position and ia th'
chance OF getting supplies and reinforcements
@. Was The wousded we'll taken care of
A. They were brought from the field vey
rapidly ard with the utmost care and attention
As they passed along 1 ves especially plesse'
to observe the excellence Of the arrangement
Even handkerchieis were laid over their faces t.
keep of the rays Of the sun.
Q. Did you read the statement Of the cores
pondent of the Associated Press published thi
morning
A. Yes; and it appears to me most accnra'
il every point. l. was not exaggerated in th
least, as far as l could observe.