Daily Richmond Whig. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1861-1862, 1862-04-08
TIE ROANOKE DISASTER.

hIcHN)sD, APrh ON, loo@'
To IL. EDITOR of the Wh;g:
In Que Of the editorials Of your paper Of this morning.
YOU very lsty claim that very defeats aud ssters
show that our men can and do light better and Drawer
than tho Yankees. But in speaking Of the R9anoke
Island affair." you doubtless from msnformation, unir.
tentionaly make two invdieus distinctions: First, you
seem to class that s r not proving much for our
mea as other defeats and secondly, you say; 1.-THE bat
teres we're fought splendidy, and some Of the troops
acted CALAMITY, but Gen. Wise told the whole story,
when be said to OF bis sciierr, who had retrea
1t ere is no hood on your bsyones Now, to the
It point, permit one who symrahiIsa with all OF our
gant aud pe be soldiers in their defeats to say, that
comparisons Of this sort often unjust for Of
Discrimination and that is wanting from defective d,s.
The force at Roanoke S t)d did not consis: OF more
than 24OO men; and Of these po mora than 200
en- tclerab!y equipped and drilled. About 600 were
seasoned men, who had been under fire and were wei
e,uipped They we're on an Island, deienctes and not
supplied with any hing ado stc attacked by water and
by land, by force it'll, short of 20 900 men, soldiers
and seamen, fully equipped They stood one days eI-
tremely heavy bombardment and second days battle,
with small arms and with those who fought the odds
were twelve to one ayats them. They fought this
nal contest for Al hours firing away upwards Of 80
rounds Of ammuniiior per man. and yielding only when
all VAS Exhausted. We k1ow of s,erner resistance
hsn thai, vhere there hope of victory repul
sing the enemy from the ct. Is to the 21d point you
do bu, ilsiice to the mer at the batteries. They did
M. 81 lenddly," but no more OF them, In proportion
to their whoe number fought than did those of the in
anIry in proportion to their number But one battery
GU. Of five could brig any guns to bear and that ore
could bring but three AL Of hsm would have fought
alike we'll; but the enemy seeced position cut Of
range Of oil the guns but three badly the bat.
teiies located The infantry AID field artillery, in oil
n imbered but 65s men. Nine companies, comprising
405 men, never got into actor ard 95S were al Su.
pies Hill m time TO fight OF these, 400 men sustained
the whole brunt Of 10000 Of the enemy They fought
thsm from 7s0 o'clock A. NJ, until 1920 p. ~, and
killed and wounded 9l6 Of the enemy. AID great as
this havoc was was greater in proportion than the
400 The eneny's los was about one in six, and our
lcss wss G3 killed aud wounded or abtu in seven
of those actually engaged The field battery Of only 3
pieces fought as 'sp!endidy" did the "POrk Point
Battery" aud they did excel the infantry in either
"splendor" or ''ga!lan;ry."
H., us rather try the dissfIcs Of the fororn,
and Il there ever forlorn command il that at
Roanoke Island. Gen. Wise, perhaps did ask The hrst
two IefuCees who brought bin the first report Of cis
aster "Whether there any blood their bayonets
but those men had fred away all their ammunition, hsd
been on picket du ard fed only "h,n our Bnks we're
,urued, aud they were likely to be Gu. on There was
TOO much precou, blood of the brave Fpt hopeh s'y
at Roanoke Island for slur to curl the lip at
the sad misfortune. JUSIioh'