, 1862-04-05
Ctr Grriitttu:rj, i
SATURDAY, April; 5, s.: 1862. ;. :
-. - - .--
MATTERS AT WINCHESTER.
Various Items. Relative. to: the
Recent Battle,
THE "CONTRABANDS.,,

THE "CoNTRABANDs!,'
-=1 -:----: ~ j.: -
lGorrespondencc Of the New York Tribnne1
WINCHESTER, March 2a, 1862.
As In some OF the battles Of the Crimcan
war, there are instances, especially among the
rebels, where more than one man has been hit
BY the same ball-the projcctile passiuegu-
trely through the body Of one man and kill
ing or woundlng the next behind him. We
saw one instance in which a ball shattered the
arm Of soldier and then killed his filc-cIoser.
very few injuries are reported BY shells, and
still fewer by bayonets. OF bullet wounds
there Is every variety Enfield, MIME, musket
and rifle balls Of ai1 descriptions, from the
buck shot. The most terrible appear to be
the Entipld rifle ball, which tears ont holes
large enough to put Silver dollar in, smash
ing bones ike straws. Tie effect Of these
bullets is we'll seen on the trees where the
rebel right wing was stationed These are
canister had been poured into them, ..stcms
as thick as mans wrist, having been severed
by single ball Oar fire at this battle shows
q terrible precision. almost unheard Of. A
belt Of scars and sp1inters is marked upon the
thleket, ranging from an extreme hight Of
seven feet to within half a yard of the ground,
most OF the shots bcip. about breast high.
On that portion Of the ground defended by
the stone wall, Of the men who fell by our ire
nearly al were hit in the head, and In the ma
blood show where some poor fellow, severely
wounded, slowly ebbed his life away. There
must be something demorllizing in the fact
Of soldiers seeking shelter, or how is it that,
with all the advantages Of cover, men run in
so many instances when the position is threat
ened? Very few Of the rebels awaited the
shock when our gallant reg gImcnts, dasbing up
the open field, advanced to the charge. One
or two were Dayoneted, stopping beside the
wall to cap aid cock their pieces for another
shot. And In one case the fmpetuosity of one
soldier carried him inside . rebels euard.
where, as he conld not use his mnskef, they
took to tiEtfcuffs, the rebel striking ont with
his fist, receiving scientific blow in return,
and then becoming prisoner to his opponen+.
Although much broken by the charge, the en-
envy did not give up the tight, but continued
to fire at the victorious lines of the patriots
from every stone and fence. When the wall
was cleared Of its defenders, two pieces Of can
non, hitherto masked, opened on Tyler's brig
. atc, but were soon captured.
In this fight the colors of the 18th Indiana
received 28 balls, and had two bearers shot.
The 5th Ohio suffered more severely still, hay
ing five Of its color bearers struck down
The men captured emitted stranG smell of
whisky, which it is said was given in large
quantities to increase the courage of the chiy-
airy. This was all very we'll during the first
tAi u tAG tW&lEu LuE aT1l1RfP
had it all to itself; but like that Of Bob Acres.
this Dutch courage oozed out at the fingers
ends at close quarters. fit were needed, this
tight settles the question Of courage entirely
in the favor Of the Union men.
1t is generally believed that Jacksbn's force
is too badly denoralized and scattered to ever
be got together in anything like its former
numbers. The cavalry and artillery covered
the retreat. Ashby, however, much he may
pc considered responsible By his officers for
their defeat, is, notwithstanding, a brlrc fel-
Iowa model cavalry officer His coolness is
unsurpassed; every one knows him, conspieu-
Gus On his white horse, and nearly every one
takes shot at him; he is never hurried, and
takes 70 more nDtice ofthe bullets tlvipg
around thar: II They VIII: Eo uaaay gnats. The
Well-tTaincd, b!ooded horses Of which Ills
command is nionntcd are much coveted By
our own cavalry, who, however, have not had
so many ehahccs Of coming to close quarters
as they desire, Although carrying sabres,
Ashby's men seldom use them, but Stand be-
bind their horses, or sit in the saddle, firing
their rifles. occasionally securing across tho
country, taking fences and ditches, and shout
ing Ike mad men. In the matter of noise,
nothing can equal the wild hurrah Of the Ohio
hoys, when 1hey first attacked the .secesh.
lhe latter did the E1rickiug to an alarming
extent, especially when they thought there
we're signs Of wavcrlng on our side; but in
the Charge, change came oyer the rebels, and
be heard for miles.
In one pluce boot with human leg in it
was found, upright on tho ground, where its
owner had stood, and portion Of finger #as
seen also sticking to tree, where it had been
blown from human hand This WIS near
where the S4th Pennsylvania regiment lost its
colonel, by the terrible storm Of musketry
which the rebels delivered from their coyer,
but which had no power to check the yictorl-
ous advance of our columns. In this battle,
many OF the officers used muskets and rifles
bY the side IL thtir own men. Although this
is Somewhat opposed to the strict rules Of tac-
tics, tlt example seems not to have been lost
upon the soldiers.
Among those WHO went over the field next
day Wasa Baltimore sscess1oEist, who selected
as the most agreeable trophy OF the combat
small trce-tlcm which ne manufactured q
caDe-stained with bloody tinger-1narks made
l1y brother rebel. The cane he proposed to
carry to his native place, to delight the eyes
OF his sympathizing friends, regardless Of tho
joke which a Massachusetts boy made, to the
effect that lie was slow IN following the ex-
ample Of the Confeds., who had cut their
sticks some tinc before.
When the troops first entered Winchester
the people kept very quiet and secluded; their
rampant secee6ionism was robbed Of its ex-
preEs1Tc features. Soldiers that entered tile
lev places remaining open were given the ar
ticlcs they wanted without money. This did
not last long, finding themselves uumolested,
some Of the boldest spirits made their appear.
anee on the street to; scowl at the military
bands parading up and down, and sneer at the
tired soldiers At the hotels and stores scrip
Of all degrees of bascness was forced upon
those in need of change. If any grumbled
they were sauci1y Informed that it vas good
enough fos Winnhse. = .11y tfae),
sate eu spde S,d % Te
der read to the regiments Of his division for
bidding them to take the Southern rags, and
subsequently the natives have refused to cir
culatc any but their own corporation paper,
showing Il duwuing Of reason which argues
Of tile attributls Of the white race.
The negroes, as usual, Eeem to understand
matters with tolerable elea1ness. One of them
speaking Of freed Slaves and the worthlessness
their lives generally exhibited after receiving
their freedom, proved how almost impossible
it is Tor free man to prosper, where it is
made the principle to brand him as vagabond,
lower in society than the slave, from whom
work is Withheld, and from whom is expected
nothing but sloth and hen-roost robberies; for
which pcculiaritics, if they should be punish
cd, It is assumed they will burn haystacks and
barns. On the other hand, if o free man pros
pcr6 and sets too good an example Of the re-
suits Of freedom before the eyes Of the slaves,
an opportunity is soon found to accuse him
ofsonlcth5ng for which he can be sold into
slavery aguin, that being the fayorite mode Of
lAA3Su1AE l11G uiGlOC9 Iul dtt@iup4 tU [1EE
| above the Level Of beasts Of burden. 1t was
| this mans opinion that the slaves would do
much more work on the footing Of free labor
| crs, and take Il pride In emulating the better
| ter qualities Of the white race, and this MAJ,
| whose argument was delivered with clear
| headedness, was b}aek-and had been repress.
| cd since his birth, by the weight OF Southern
slave rnlc. One Of the most touching scenes
in the hospital was the kindness aud delicacy
| Will which some coloFcd women approach the
| patients There was 4 quadroon woman il
| one Of the rooms of the Union House, hel
| large eyes brfm full Of tears, with tender cart
and nlmble fingers, assisting the dressing o.
wounds, with such success that the unfogtu,
| nateE stretched upon the floor seemed to be
come much easier directly. Behind her came
| white woman-peFhaps her mistress-with
| tray holding refreslment, Her feelings were
no doubt, as deep, but they lacked the expires
sion Of the co1ortd womansS, whose face, full
Of sweet sympathes, looked almost angelic il
that chamber Of horrors.
| The Slavery Question In Tennessee.
The Nashville correspondent Of the Work
writes very interesting letter about the re
markable speech which Mr- Etheridge gave a
Nashville few days ago to crowded audi
ence. We make the following extracts:
"But the huge thing Of the speech WIS it
declaration, in this proud slave capital, tha
whenever the question arose, the Constitution
or slavery, slavery must go doWn-that ever
negro would be liberated. He declared en-
pbaticaNy that slavery would never be a1lowe
to e1nbarass the United States Government 0
to protract the waI.