The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1862-04-05

the Generals informal account IF the
battle of Winchester:
ApQUAHTEHs GEN. SHIELDS
DIVISION, MANCHESTER, Va,
- March 26, 1862.
/ will give you brief account Of our
late operations. My reconnaissance
beyond Strasburg, oil the 18th and ID h
instant, discovered Jackson reinforced,
in a s rong posi- ion, near New Market,
within supporting distance Of he main
body of the rebels under johnson l.
was necessary to dccoy him from hat
position Therefore, | fell back rapidly
to Winches err on the 20 h, as if in
retreat, marching my whole command
nearly thirty miles in one day. My
force was placed at night in secluded
position, two miles from Winchester, on
the Martinsburg road. On the 2lst the
rebel cavalry, under Ashby, showed
themselves to our pckets, within sigh.
of Winchester. On the 23d all of Gen.
Banks command, with the exception Of
my division, evacuated Winchester, Ell
route for Ccntrcville This movement
and the masked position of my division
made an impression upon the inhabitants,
some of whom were in secret commune
calon with the enemy, that our army
had left, and that nothing remained
but a few regiments to garrison this place.
jackson was signalized to This effect
saw their signals and OWNED their
meaning About live o'clock on the
af erno6n of the 22nd Ashby: believing
that Inc town was almost evacuated,
attacked our pickcts and drove them in.
This success increased his deluson.-
1t became necessary, however, % repulsc
them for the time being. therefore
ordered forward ii brigade, and placed it
in front between Winchester and the
enemy | only let them see, however,
two regiments of infantry, two batteries
of artillery, and small force of cavalry,
they which mistook as the whole force left
to garrison and protect til c place. In
skirmish that evening, while placing the
rille,y in position, was struck by Il
fragment of shell, which broke my arm
above the elbow, injured my shoulder,
and damaged me otherwise to such an
extent that have lain PROSTATE ever
since. l commenced making prepare
tons for any emergency that might
occur that night or the next morning
Under cover of the night ordered an
eu;ire brigade (kimball's) to take up
strong position IN advance. | pushed
four batteries, having them placed ina
strong position to support the infantry.
placed Sulivan's brigade OH DO h
TANKS to prevent surprise, and to keep
my TANKS from being turned, aud |
held Tyler's brigade in reserve, to
operate against any point that might be
assailcd in front. In this position, |
awaited and expected the encmy's at ack
next morning. My advance brigade
was two miles from the town, its pickle
extending perhaps mile farther along
the turnpike leading to Strasburg.-
About eight O'Clock in the morning,
sen. forward two experienced officers to
reconnoitre the front, and report indica-
tons of the enemy. They returned in
an hour, reporting no enemy IN sight
except Ashby's force of cavalry, infantry,
and artillery, which by this time had
become familiar and con cnlptible to us.
General Banks, who was yet here in
person, upon hearing this report, conclu-
ded that jackson could not be in from;
possibly, or be dccoycd away so far from
the main body of the rebel army. In
this opiuon J., too, began to concur, con-
Guiding that jackson was too sagacious
to be caught in such trap. General
Banks, therefore, left for Washington
His staff officers were directed to follow
the same day, by way of Centrcville.-
knowing the crazy enemy, however,
had to deal wi h, l omitted no prccau-
ton. My whole force was concentrated,
and prepared to support Kimball's
brigade, which was in advance. About
half past ten o'clock, 1t became evident
we had considerable force before us; ;
Z but the enemy still concealed himself so
adroitly in the woods, that it was i'm
possible to estimate It. | ordered a
portion of the artillery forward, to open
fire and unmask them, by degrees they
began to show themselves. They
plan cd battery after battery in strong
position, on the centre and on both
tanks. Our artillery responded, and
this continued until about half past
three o'clock in the afternoon, when l
directed column of infantry to carry a
battery on their left flank and to assail
that flank, which was done promptly and
splendidly by Tyler's brigade, aided by
some regiments from the other brigadcs.
The fire of our infantry was so close and
destructive that it made havoc in their
ranks. The result was the capture of
their guns on the left, and the forcing
back of their wing on the centre, thus
placing them in position to be rou ed
by general attack, which was made,
about five o'clock, by all the infantry,
and succeeded in driving them in fight
from the field. Night fell upon us at
this stage, leaving us in passion of the
field Of battle, two guns and four cais-
sons, three hundred prisoners and about
one thousand stand of small arms. Our
killed in this engagement cannot exceed
one hundred men, wounded two hundred
and tllirty-three. The enemy's killed
and wounded exceed one thousand
The inhabitants of the adjacent villages
carried them to their houses as they
wore ron,orcJ from tbc field If b,, tln =