Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1862-03-19

evidently heStatlng what to do. We gave them
but little time to make up their minds, for, as we
stood on the top of the hill over which the shot
and she'll flew thick and fast, we poured a terri
BILE fire of musketTy into their launches and
through their port holes. until they bundled on
board their gunbOats again, leaving three dead
and four prisoners on Shore and sullenly retired.
their fire slsckeuing considerably As we rose
the brow Of the bhilf, Corporal Higgins C. En-
sign, OF the Orleans cadets, fell, torn and mutt
lated by a shell, his lett arm broken and loft side
torn out. We must have been over half an hour.
on that naked hill, cheering and firing, the grape
tearing up the ground, the shells humming and
the musket balls whistling around. Lieutenant
Lavery, who was wounded early in the fight by
a ball passing through his thigh, could not be
induced to leave the field, and having borrowed
a Maynard rifle, he leaned against sapling, and
blazed away as hard as he could. The cOnse-
quence Of which, however, is, that his wound is
very much inhamed.
The fight, take it for all in all, was brilliant
little affair. With our muskets alone we drove
OF two gun boats, each carrying four sixty-f0ur's
and two thirty-twO's, and a twelve-pound how
itzcT. I cannot imagine what made them leave
so soon unless that we had killed and wounded
large number in their launches and on the
boats. We heard this morning that they buried
sixty or seventy on the other side of the river
and think it very probable, as during the time
we were pepperine them the average distance
of our men from the beats could not have been
over seventy-ive yards. They were under the
bank, and we poured it right down on them
We on the right never saw a Yankee on shore.
as when eur left advanced to the charge they
retreated precipitatey TO their boats, and they
passed through the hills down to the river it was
only our extreme left that had a chance at them,
but when we got them out on the river every
one had a fair pop, and ! could see the bullets
falling round the launches like big rain drops.
An Escaped Prisoner and his Report.
A correspondent writes to the Southern Con-
tcdsraey as follows:
met on Wednesday on the streets of Knox
vile, a brave boy named Yestal, who was
wounded and taken prisoner in the battle OF
Fishing Creek, and who made his escape from
the enemy He says large portion of the Fed
era forces which won the day at Fishing Creek,
were drawn off to the West from Somerset, and
aided in the capture Of Fort Donelson. He
said that the great body of the others very re-
Gently had marching orders to leave for the
West-doubtless to aid in striking some i'm
portant blow, probably at Beauregard on the
Mississippi river. Let our generals initiate this
good generalship of our foes, which can adroity
concentrate divided and distant forces and crush
all DolOIe ELbu Dy OFti W llelLllliG AuAAlDGlos
As it seems from Vastais story, and from
other sources Of information, that there is no
considerable Federal force at Somerset, l must
think no early attack on East Tennessee proba-
bic. Our forces will not get a fight at that point
By way Of Somerset and Monticello in Ken
lucky, and jamestown and Montgomery in Ten
nessee, the great valley Of East Tennessee is
penetrable, over a better road than by way Of
Cumberland Gap, and without any fortifcations
to encounter. Why, then, should they waste
men and powder at Cumberland Gap2 The lat
ter is thanked, /" and must be abandoned when
ever Federal army occupies Knoxville or Lou
don. They viii not do the lattet without some
field fighting, and think not with It but they,
of course. would attack Us IN the field rather
than behind strong tortifcatons. I regard,
therefore, the "massing" of the euemy's forces
at Somerset or Monticello as the only true symp
tom of the attempt on East Tennessee. As
stated in my former letter, the Um0nists, by
thousands, are running away from East TeDnes-
see to Join the Federal army. These iugitives
carry with them thorough local knowledge of
the country and its affairs, and / can hardly
imagine how a Federal commander could com
nit the blunder of attacking Cumberland Gap.
Heaven send he may