Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1862-03-29

operations on our left. The battle ragged along
the whole line with great fury from eleven a.
m. to half past two p. m, when General
Shields, who received accounts Of the progress
Of the fight on his couch, ordered the right,
where the contest ragged the hottest, to charge
upon the enemy.
That was an awful charge. The left of the
enemy prepared desperately TO repel our gal
liant troops, but their rush was as irresistible
as the tide in the Bay of Fundy. Previous to
this time our line of battle had been somewhat
changed. The saith Penusylvsnis reinforced
our right, and also a battery Of artillery. Our
whole force now engaged was about 5000 men,
while that of the enemy was at the lowest es-
innate 5000. The rebels had also changed
their line, and extending both their wings,
presented a concsve front to our army. They
had also reinforced their left wing, and the
charge to be made BY our right was all i'm
portant in its consequences. On il, at three
o'clock, depended the fate of the entire battle
The gallant Tyler led the charge, ,ssword in
hand, at the head Of the line. The Rebels
fred from the woods with artillery and small
arms, while our men advanced against their
nurderous showers Of lead and iron. return.
ing few shots and reserving their Ere. Up
to this time the Armies had not been much
nearer to each other than three hundred yards,
unless in some few instances. The wood was
soon cleared at the point Of the bayonet, our
men discharging their pieces at twenty and
even i've yards distance from the Rebels, and
then dashing at them with the bayonet The
Rebels fought well, however. They contested
yard Of it with blood
Retiring behind their stone wall, on the
ridge, our men jumped over after them, and
drove them along in the grestest confusion
and with fearful slaughter upon their center
The panic communicated. Kimble ordered
charge along the whole line, and for a short
time the fghting was most deperate. The roar
Of the cannon was no longer heard, unless in
occasional bursts Of ftful explosions, and the
rattle Of musketrv was more boisterous than
ever, and sounded like the noise made by a
very close thunder clap, except that 1t was
sharper and continuous. The rout of the Re-
bells had fairly commenced, however, and two
of their guns and four caissons were now ours,
and though many ef them turned and fred
again and again at our pursuing host, many
more threw away muskets and bayOnets with
out hesitation -
Darkness and the extreme fatigue of our
troops, however, saved the enemy for the
time, and we retired about two miles and
blvouacked till yesterday morning At day
break General Shields ordered the rebel posi-
hon to be attacked, and the enemy, after
replying by few shots from his artillery,
continued his retreat. Meantime General
Banks, who had been at Harper's Ferry,
arrived, and taking command of the troops in
person, is now continuing the pursuit with
about ten thousand men, and at the latest
accounts had pressed the rebels beyond Mid
dleburg, cutting of many stragglers and press
ins he enemy very sorely. The object is 10
capture his whole force if possible.
1t was not till yesterday morning that any
Of the force of Gen. Williams arrived on the
6sld, and then they were too late to partici-
10 -. Al.
The loss Of the enemy in killed aud wounded
will foot up about 900 men, of which 225 were
killed. The number of prisoners taken from
them Is 2S6. These figures are independent Of
what they have lost and will lose in the pur-
suit. The regiment which lost most on the
side Of the rebels was the 5th Virginia.
Our loss IN killed, so far as ascertained, is
less than 100, and about 300 of our men are
wounded. Though the enemy had a much
larger force, four pieces ef cannon more than
our army, the selection of fighting ground and
every other advantage, yet all the trophies Of
the occasion belong to the Union army
There were many deeds Of heroism performed
on the battle field. While the Fifth Ohio was
charging against the enemy the color bearer
was i've times shot down, yet another instant
Iy replaced him at the risk Of his life. Tho
last color bearer Of the Ave was private named
I. b. Isdell. The flagstaff was broken, yet
the glorious banner never ceased to Hoat in
triumph over this gallant regiment.
The Rebels had an Irish battalionvof enc
hundred and Fifty men, Of whom forty were
killed on the field and nearly all the rest
wounded. Il
The loss on our side was heaviest in the
Pennsylvania Regiment OF the
Eve companies Of three hundred men, in all
engaged, they lost Col. Murray, as dashiuc
and brave an officer as ever drew a sword
one Captain, one Lieutenant, twenty-th three
privates and non-cOmmissioned officers killed
and wounded. The loss in the Eighth and
Fifth Ohio Regiments is about seventy-6ye
and sixty respectively, killed and wounded
Lieutenant Colonel Thobsrn, Of the third
Virginia, is among the wounded on our side
These are the only field officers killed or
wounded in the Union forces.
The Rebels carried no knspsacks with them
into action, and all the rations in their haver.
sacks was small cake of bread to each m an
they counted to certainty on capturing Win
chester The only wagons they brought with
them were provision wagons. This explains
bow it was that they did not lose much be-
sides arms In their retreat.
The battle field after the struggle was a
sight to be seen and remembered. The night
was dark and cold. After the battle the am
balances were busily engaged removing the
wounded. The enemy carried of most of their
wounded and some of their dead. The wound
cd were intermingled with the dead, and their
suferings were poignant. Yesterday was
spent In burying the dead. The CHASTITY aspect
OF the field yesterday after the wounded were
removed, and before the dead were inferred,
was appalling. Some with their faces of,
some with their heads of, some torn int frag.
ments and frightfully msngled by the round
shot and shells, and others simply but quite
as effectually killed by bullet wounds. IT is
singular that most Of the enemy killed by
bullet wounds were shot through the head OF
the heart, showing the remarkable accuracy
with which our Western troops use the rife.
The enemy's wounds were not near 20 fatal to
rs as ours were TO them, and their weapons
were, as general rule, decidedly inferior TO
those used IN our army. About the stone
WAL the enemy were strewn almost on top of
esoh other In heaps Of dead At this point
also many OF our brave fellows also bit the dust.
Captain Jones, who commanded the Irish
battalion In the Rebel army, Is prisoner in
our hands, with both his eyes shot out by one
bullet. :.
The calm which has succeeded tho mighty
tempest Of the past few days here is something
exceedingly solemn. Everything around Win.
chester Is now quieter and gloomier than ever
T,aE UNDERSIGNED Wishes 10 inform hin