The western Democrat. [volume] (Charlotte, N.C.) 1852-1870, 1862-06-10

wounds were through the body, more serious, lay
stretched out, aud some i'll the agones of death.
Throughout Saturday night they were being
brought in, and all descriptions of vehicles were
impressed to carry them.
Gen. Stuart was in command of the field, but
Gen. Hill vas in immediate command Of that
portion of it where the fight was in progress.
After the Yankees had been driven from their
camp. it was thought that they were retreatlng
down the Chckahominy, when Gen. Stuart de-
ployed three regiments to intercept their retreat
it was found, however, that the enemy was being
heavily reinforced, and the regiments recall
ed.
About this time, General Stuart sent Lieut.
Fontainc who had attached himself to his staff as
aid, to General Hill, or such General officer he
might fad on the field, urging him to hold his
position, as rcniorccments were coming up. The
assurance Of reinforcements gave fresh impetus to
our men, and the firing continued with loud
and hearty cheers. After the fight had continued
for about an hour, the ammunition of some OF the
regiments gave out, and there Was some wavering
al0n. our lines. Col Lee, Lieut. Fontaine and
Col. Moore were sent by Gen. Stuart to see to
the ammunition train and to rally such OF the reg-
ments as had been thrown into disorder. The
9th Virginia, the 5th North Carolina, and some
other regiments were reformed and led into action
by Col Moore, and then put in command of Col.
Smith
About halEpast six o'clock, Gen. Hugers
division came upon the field in gallant style, the
men dashing on at the double-quick with loud
cheers The combat was furious. There
was continuous roll Of musketry, varied by the
occasional booming Of artillery. The firing con-
tnued until about eight o'clock, when the enemy
were driven still further back, and we remained
| in possession of their camp, having captured a
number of pieces Of their artillery.
| Tho KING William rtillprv. Cartaln Carter
was prominent in the fight and achieved the most
conspicuous results. The battery was publicly
com plimented in a glowing speech by Gen. Hill,
who declared that its gallantry would hold con-
spicuo US part in history, and that he bad rather
be in command of such men than be President
of the Confederate States"
The loss on both sides could not be otherwise
than terrible. In the early part of the action,
we had taken the enemy's entertainments at the
point of the bayonet, our columns suffering from
| the close vollcys of musketry. In crossing the
field to make the charge, Col Smith Virginia
| regiment was badly cut up by the enemys fire.
| Our forces engaged on the right Stuart's,
Hills, Longstreet's, and Magruder's divisions,
the latter having came up during the action.
THE BATTLE OF SUNDAY.
| 4nother Success for orr 4rn,s-PubIic expec-
tation was on tip-roc Sunday in anticipation of the
renewal of the contest for the hard fought field in
front of Richmond on Saturday, and events did
not disappoint in the least. The scene Of the
| fight was near the Williamsburg Road. About
o'clock the 9th Virginia Reg iment, Lieut..
! Col Goodwin, who had been on their arms uncon-
sciously within fifty yards of the enemy the night
| previous, were ambuscaded by Yankee regi-
mcnt, who rose up behind a dense thicket, and,
protected thereby, poured destructive fire into
the uncovered column OF the 9th, which, how
ever, being speedily supported, drove the enemy
back and captured several pieces of artillery. The
| ground Was SO miry and uniavorable for the use
of artillery that but few pieces could be brought
into play, and the firing principally by
mu>ketry, which ragged furiously from the left to
the centre of the lines. The brsadcs engaged
were Gen. Holmes and Griffth's, Of Smith S
division, including the I'd Alabama, Col. Lomax,
and the 18th and list Virginia Regiments. The
advance was gradually pushed until between l and
| , o'clock p H. when our column broke the ce ntre
| of the enemy, and he commenced sullenly retiring
in the direction of the Meadow Bridge and Will
liamsburg Roads, abandoning his camp, occupied
the previous night, and leaving in our hands large
quantities of small arms, overcoats, knapsacks,
! &c, Which secured and carried to the rear
At 4 p. NJ the firing had ceased, except occa-
sional shots at "long taw." In the early part of
the battle, Lieut.. Col. Goodwin, who was in the
advance of the 9th Virginia, had his horse shot
from under him, and the animal in falling, fell
upon him and seriously injured him in the breast
and head. Col. Lomax, of the Sd Alabama was
killed in the action, while calamity leading his
regiment to the charge in support Of the 9th
| Virginia.
| 1t was stated that the enemy fired on train OH
the York River Railroad carrying the wounded to
the city, and that attention was paid to flag
| OF truce that was sent on the field.
| From the numbers engaged on the side of the
enemy, it evident that he had massed heavily
during the night on his left wing, (our right
The enemy 5 strength on both wings Saturday
was estimated at 10000, and ours at between
| 10000 and 10000 to oppose them. On Sunday
his strength at least $4,000, with heavy re-
serves, and our army about the The enemy
during both days had the advantage of position
and entertainments, but lost them both. Our loss
in the battle or rather two battles, was not less
than 1000 or 2,200. The cnemy's loss was as
great, if not greater, besides several hundred
prisoners
| \ Yankee Colonel brought into the Mar
shal's office wounded and a prisoner. \ person
present remarked, "Your 'on to Richmond jour
ncy wasn't very pleasant one for you, was it?''
"No not until after IL o'clock q. NJ, (Sunday, }
when found it pleasant enough, riding in all the
way"
! We took about five hundred prisoners.
! During the progress of the fight, the line of
! battle was penetrated by many of the citizens of
Richmond, charged with the duty of bringing off
/ the wOunded-civilians and others-who in
numerous instances performed feats of yaor
/ wortby of 1iSoiplinnd Col1;or,