Charles City Republican intelligencer. [volume] (Charles City, Iowa) 1861-1864, 1862-02-27
ty-ninth Illinois regiments, which were

.'S' ~ AZ lHiitictH itiHolS, Lieut.
Col. Dennis commanding followed
10y the Twenty-ninth, Col. Reardon
which supported the right of Schwartz
battery Of light artillery, while the
! Thirty-lirst,s Col. John A. Logan, on
the extreme left. and supporting the
left OF Schwartz battery all Illinois
regiments. =. .s..
The second brigade, Col. w. II. l..
Wallace commanding, consisted of the
Eleventh, Col. Ransom commanding :
Twentieth, Col. c. Carroll Marsh, For.
ty-fiith, Col. Smith, and Forty-eighth,
Col. Hainey, all Illinois regiments,
McAllister's and Taylor's batteries,
and four siege guns.
The attacking force of the enemy
was about 1000 men.
The position Of the ground was
such that not more than one of our
regiments could operate at the same
time, while the rebels could bring
nearly their whole force to bear
against us.
The first regiment to receive the
rebels was the Eighteenth, which
fought with desperate courage, un-
I'll their ammunition became exhaust
ed, when they were forced to retire,
with loss of officers and men, and
were replaced 10y the Eighth regiment,
which fought with like bravery, but
they, too, were driven back after dis.
bursting their ammunition, and was
replaced by the Eighteenth, which al
so fell back in turn. Meanwhile the
other regiments were lending such
feeble aid as their position would ad-
nit.
Lew. Wallace was then ordered to
reinforce McClcrnand, and he sent two
briSadcs of his division from the CEN
ter.
The Thirty first regiment, Col To-
gan, fought like veterans, who had
never had any other occupation, and
struggled, defending Schwartz bat
terry under the most calling fire of the
enemy, until every horse at the bat
terry was killed, with the officers who
had charge of the guns. as well as
Lieut.. Col. White, Capt. Rigby, (act-
ing Major) and seven Captains and
a number of Licutcnants of the Thir-
ty-iirst had been killed, with Col. Lo-
gan wounded /; and being nearly sur
rounded 10y the rebels, Capt. Edwin S.
McCook, who was left in command,
drew the regiment (or what remained
of it) off the field, but not until their
last round was expended and they had
commenced to drive the rebels before
them.
The second brigade now came up
and took the place of the retired one.
They fought desperately, losing a
great number in killed and wounded,
when with the assistance of a portion
Of Wallace's division (the Forty-ninth
and Fifty-ninth Ohio), with Taylor's
battery, which was stationed on hill
near by, as the rebels came up they
opened fire upon them and drove a
portion of them back into their en-
trenchments, while large portion of
them still occupied the ground they
had gained. The object Of the rebels
was evidently to cut their way
through our troops.
In the afternoon Gen. Grant saw
that something should be done to re-
store the spirits of our disheartened
troops, and ordered Gen. Smith to
make an assault Oh the enemy's works.
Gen. Smith, as quick as horse flesh
could bear him, rode along his lines
and ordered his men to prepare for
charge which caused shouts of Joy to
ring along the lines. Without a mo-
ments unnecessary delay Col. Lau-
mans brigade, the Second and Sew
enth Iowa, and the Eleventh and
Twenty-ffth Indiana, charged up to
the enemy's rcdoubt, driving the ene-
my before them at the point of the
bayonet like frightened sheep, aud
gaining possession of their outer
works. ra. H4
Gen. Smith behaved like one inspir-
cd for nothing less than continued VIC
tories. He could be seen riding along
the lines with his hat swung on the
top OF his sword, amid the thickest
of the fight, encouraging his men aud
cheering them on to victory, regard.
less of the deadly missiles flying
around him. t.
The Colonel of the Second Iowa
was the first to mount the enemy's
works, with his men close in his wake.
The storming was complete. Our
troops gained a position inside Of their
works, where they lay on their arms
all night, prepared to follow up their
success in the morning. 49, as
The Seventh Illinois, Col Cook, fol-
lowed up as "A reserve, aud part of his
regiment got into the action while the
balance acted as skirmishers with the
sharpshooters. p
After Gen. Smith had gained his
position inside the enemy's entrench-
ments, Gen. Grant sent word of his
success to the right wing, aud order
ed Gems. McClernand aud Wallace to
return their attack, when the first and
second .brigades, which had been in
the bloody affair in the morning, Of
McClernand's division, and two brig
AIDES Of Wallace's division, made a
fresh assault upon the enemy, regain
ed the ground they had lost, pushed
forward close to the left Of their forti-
fication, and then lay On their arms,
prepared to act in concert with Gene
raj Smiths column, this Sunday
morning, when most desperate at
tempt will be made to carry the whole