Cincinnati daily press. [volume] (Cincinnati [Ohio]) 1860-1862, 1862-02-20
he Fort Donelson Battle.
DETAILS OF THE ENGAGEMENT.
SATURDAYS OPERATIONS-THE AT
TACKS OF GENERAL SMITH AND
GENERAL LEW WALLACE.

We have the details of the great fight at
Fort Donelson. The hardest fighting and
the decisive blows were made on Saturday.
We copy from the st. Louis Democrat the
details Of that days work. 1t is very inter-
esting:
SATURDAY.
Saturday, which was destined to witness
the grand denouement of the tragedies which
had scene about Donelson, was cold, damn
and cheerless. Our troops, however, had
but little time to cogitate upon the weather
or any other subject, ere they were called
upon to attend to more serious matters.
The enemy, during the night, had trans.
fet1ed several of their batteries to portions
Of their works within a few hundred feet of
which our extreme right wing was resting.
Upon the first coming of dawn these batter
les suddenly opened on the Ninth, Eight.
eenth, Twenty ninth, Tbirtieth and Thirty
hrst regiments, comprising 0glesby's bri-
gade, and who had the advance. Simulta-
neOusly with the opening of the batteries
force of about twelve thousand infantry and
regiment of cavalry was hurled against
the brigade with vigor which, made against
less steady and well. disciplined troops,
must surely have resulted in their entire
demolition.
Sudden and unexpected as was the sally
ON the part of the enemy, 1t did not fud the
gallant llinoisians uupTe pared to meet them
The attack was made in columns of repi.
ments, which poured in upon the little baud
from no less than three different directions
Every regiment of the brigade found itself
opposed to three, and in many cases to no
less than four, different regiments Undis-
mayed, however, by the greatly superior
force of the enemy, and unsupported by ade-
quate artillery, the brigade not only held
their owD, but upon two occasions actually
drove the rebels fairly into their intrench-
ments, but only to be pressed back again
into their former position, until at last, hav-
ing expended every round oftheir ammuni-
tion, they were obliged to retire and give
way TO the advancing regiments of Col. W.
h. l.. Wallace's brigade, of the Eleventh,
Twentieth, Seventeenth, Forty. 6fth, Forty.
eighth Illinois, and Forty-ninth Indiana,
regiments.
Here again was the battle continued with
redonbed vigor, now one side and now
another giving way. Our troops fought
with the coolness Of veterans and the des-
peration of devils. l would not diminish
the gallaDtry Of our own troops by saying
that the enemy did not fight bravely and
well. They did both. An exact statement
of the varying fortunes of the field for three
or four hours following the first attack, it is
impossible at present to definitely present.
Suffice it to say, our troops fought, and not
only fought, and fought couIageously, but
fought coolly and ndscientifically. In the thick
est of the fight, where officers had to re
move the dead bodies OF their men out of
tie way of the backward wheels, regiments
coolly performed maneuvers which Scott ia
his tactics pronounces impossible to be made
on the battlefield.
The battle, for the most part, was fought in
q forest, with a thick underground beneath,
and regiments acted mostly on the principle
of hitting head wherever it could be found.
| Swarming on al sides of them, they were
not al loss to find them. One regiment was
only driven from before them when another
sprung up to take its place. and there is
hardly a regiment of the force engaged but
was opposed to triple its numbers. Thus
went the tide of battle for four hours-now
gaining little, but upon the whole obliged
to retire. Officers and men dropped upon all
sides. Field officers were borne killed and
wounded from the field, and their next in
command coolly took their place and con-
tinued the fight Lieutenant, Colonel White,
Of the Thirty first, Lieutenant. Colonel
Smith, of the Forty. eighth, Lieutenant
Colonel Irwin, of the Twentieth, and Major
Post of the Eighth Illinois, and scores of
company officers were killed, all gallantly
leading on their men.
| OOlOu0lb LORdD, lIbWleT anu hhnSOm were
wounded, but yet firm in their determina-
tion never to yield.
! And still with unyielding courage the gall
liant Illinoisians and Indianians would not
acknowledge themselves vanquished. When
the last cartridge had been expended, and
orders were given TO retire, for other regi-
ments to take their place, soldiers, grim with
smoke and powder, would angrily inquire
for what and beg to be allowed to use the
! - NJ sE - -. Nhn -
mortal men, occupying the position ours did,
and exposed TO such raking artillery fire
as the enemy subjected them to, TO maintain
| their ground against the overwhelming force
which the rebels continued to push against
them.
Oglesby's W. H. L. Walace's and Near
thurs brigades were successively obliged to
retire; portion of Schwatz's and McAllis,
ters batteries had been lost and gained, and
lost again, and it was not until the ad.
vancing enemy had reached Crafts brigade,
| and Taylor's and Willard's batteries could be
| brought into action, that we were able to
stem the tide. These two batteries outdid
themselves. Grape, canister and shrapnell,
and an uninterrupted musketry fire from the
First Nebraska, Forty. eighth and Fifty
eighth Ohio, proved too much for the so far
victorious toe, and they at last were obliged
to retire.
By this time II was noon. General Grant
had Just returned from the landing, where
he had conference with Commodore Foote.
That officer had informed Che General that il
was impossible for him to put his gunboats
in condition to make another attack, for
several days at least. Notwithstanding this,
upon being informed of the severe repulse
our troops had met with In the morning, he
saw that some immediate action on our part
was necessary to retrieve the day.
| He Immediately gave orders 10 his Generals
of Divisions to prepare for an immediate and
general attack along the entire lines. The
regiments which had suffered most severely
in the morning were Withdrawn. General
Lew. Wallace was given division composed
OF two regiments Of his own brigadG-the
Eighth Missouri and Eleventh Indians-and
several other regiments whose loss in the
action Of the morning had been but slight,
and was given the job of clearing the ground
we had lost in the morning, while General
Smith, commanding the left, received orders
| TO storm the works under which his division