, 1862-07-17

upon the advancing 1ndianianB. This was re-
turned with effect Then commenced gen.
eral engagement which lasted for some hours,
the rebels getting the advantage Slightly and
taking advantage of a momcntary lall il the
turning in body and charging
upon the flank OF Gen Fitch's force, the in
tenlion being TO cut him off from retreat
and capture him. The movement was braveIy
net with the bayonet, and for time tue spar
tan band were apparently about to give way.
But they rallied, made one of their own pc
cullar and desperate charges and repulsed the
enemy. The confederates had returned to the
charge second time, and this time with
certainty OF naDking their exhausted foe
wher, jest at the p1oper juncture the tramp
oftheirIear guard under Lieut. Col Farrow was
heard. Tbi5 inspired the 18th with new cour-
age. They re-entered to the fight with re-
Eewed energies and gave battle against fear
full Odds with most daring and determined
spirit Then came Col FarfoH with his de-
1aehment of the 435d, and pitched IN regard
less Of consequences to the snccor and sup
port Of the wearied and nearly conquered 4Gsh.
By q successful manenrer, the enemy, in
stead of faDking the 10Th, as was intended,
Was itself 1anked, the ranks broken up, men
scattered in dismaY, and finally, after the tight
had lasted three hours, fairly driven from The
field Of battle. The 500 Indianians soon oc-
cupled the rebel position, but were not out
in numbers sufficient 10 make q pursuit pru-
d.nt.
Thus, for the second time within the past
two weeks, have the troops Of Hindman been
routed by the Union soldiers from the Hoosier
State.
The rebel loss, SO far as ascertained, in tile
sklrmish of Sunday, was tRenty-four killed,
thirty wounded and about forty taken prison
Gen. Fitch lost four men killed and threc or
four slightly wounded.
Had not Lieut.. Col. Farrow come in with
the reserve at the very moment he did, there
is no knowing what might have been the re-
suit to Gen. Fitch. Upon one thing hs had
rtsciyed however-and his men would have
stood by him to the 1ast-he would not be
taken prisoner. He would fight until the last,
end perish with his entire command before
they would give up their position. Happily
Lieut. Col Farrow relieved them, and together
the :wo forces put the enemy to flight.
Not knowing the force the enemy might
have in the vicinity, and being fully convinced
tlat be could penetrate into the interior no
farther in that direction, Gen Fitch ordered
back his men, and after short march of eight
mi1cs-siXtcen III all-and three hours hard
ports before sunset. Considering they had no
water during the whole time, excepting the
little they conld carry in their canteeus from
the river, this WAS q pretty hard and very
fair Sundays job.
GEN. FITCH RETALATIHG-
It will be recoIleeted that in a recent letter
! stated that Gen. Fisch had captured seven Of
the prominent residents in the vicinity Of ST.
Charles. and held them as hostages for tue
good behavior of guerrilla bands known to be
on the river banks. For time, after these
nen bad been paraded upon the decks OF the
trlrsports, dressed in federal uniforms and
exposed to all the dangers Of the common sol
diers who kept them company, the rebels did
not fire upon the steamers as they piled the
sfrearn ahnTa and h7fnw ST. Ehsrlns Rut
subsequently from hcedlessness or reckless.
ncss, or because they had not been made ac-
quainted with the generals promise, some
guer1i}las fired upon the steamer Lexington
last week, almost instantly killing her first en-,
gincer, who CHANGED to be sitting at an open
port at the time. As good as his word Lhe
general Immediately selected two Of the most
Tabid rebel Of the seven hostages, and hung
them by the neck until dead, in sight OF the
Arkansas shore, and undoubtedly ln view O
their oWn neighbors and friends. It was {
| hard duty Tor a man Of Gen. Fitch's humane
! Of honor that he 7oos2d do it, aud he was mo-
| the man to swerye to the right or the left
| when duty called. Fair and timely waruing
had been given the people all along the shores
| Of White River where 1nc boats had been. thai
| The men acould be hung should another UnioI
| soldier be shot by them, and it is not for any
| man to say that the sacrifice was uncalled fo
I snd unmerited. After few Of their best met
have suffered the death penalty, perhaps th
| country will be aroused to the necessity Of q
least aiding the Union force to rid the Viciait,
| Of their cut, ,throsts and midnight assassinB.
WHAT SHALL BE DoSE2
| A messenger arrived from Gen. Fitch Il
| Major General Grant, last evening, represent
| ing that the condition of the formers fore
having entirely failed to find Gen. Curtis
whereabouts to relieve him with the barges O
provisions and provende7-neededh his carefu
consideration. Gen. Fitch asked for orders
Should he send bis men on shore, less tia
2,500 in number, order the transports back
Memphis and push boldly for the interior, a
The risk Of being cut of and captured b
Hindman? Or, Ehou1d he come to Memphi
with troops, conveys, barggs, transports, &t
&C.? He was willing to risk the former. Fl
only desired to know what he should constde
from Gen. Grant. " within reasonable spac
Of time,'' he stated In his dispatches, his nj
a!te1able determination was to undertake
cross the Mississippi, find and reinforce Gel
Curtis, or perish ln the attempt.
Two guns and men to work them, from G.
4, Chicago light artillery, had arrived at
Charles, to be added 10 Fitch's force, aud /
felt that # anybody conld perform the task
) If anybody could get into the interior aRd e
! out again a1iye-he could. # anybody mu
needs be sacrificed to the end that Ge
Curtis be found. he Was ready to be led
/
ing to follow him.
GEN. GRANTS ORDER.
Orders were Immediately issued By &c
Grant recalling Gen. Fitch and his comma,
to Memphis. The word will 20 down Il
river this morning. The Indiana boys ha:
done all theJ could. The failure has be,
.uas stH,ee:e He:e Is hot water enough in White Riv
| to float gunboat, else Gen Fitch bad neg
l been ordered home until Curtia's army h
i received needed relief.
l 4 RUMoRED FIGHT BETWEEN CURTIS 4.
+ HISDM4S's FORCES.
A report Tas in circulation here last eve
,. Ing, said by several to have been brought he
b By well known citizen Of Arkansas, to t
+ effect that Curtis, forces had met those
Htndman in the interior some place east
JacEeonpo1t, and that in q severe contest
4 several houre' duration the confederates b
been worsted and Curtis had come off victo
l. wounded being immense. I give this a.
e rumor. It may be but Of piece with the
sands Of such stories which seem to vegets
here in Memphis as naturally as elephantj
mosquitoes In the swamps Of Arkansas
FROM yIcKsBURG.-
d a copy Of the Grenada AppaaI Of the {
q inst. has found Its way through both conf
Il crate and federal lines. It contains, amc
~ other exclusively Southern news, the follc
4 ing letter from Vicksburg:
y1cKsBuna, Miss July 6, 1ss:
Forty-fi7e days have now elapsed since
u feet Of Lincoln made their appearance In
T. river below V1cksburg, and yet the city is
f. nearer Ia the possession Of the enemy thai
was before that time.
Soon after the fleet anchored below the {
they summoned The city three times to {
d render, and three times was the summons I
4, emptorily rejected. Then they comnen
~ ahelljng it, which has been kept up at inter,
ever since. It Is estimated that no less t.
10000 guns have been fired at the city
suburbs; yet only three soldiers and
SC woman hare been killed, and two sold
a. wounded. The damage sustained by bn
- ings -has Hot beeh more than one-tWenti
Ii part as great as:Mtght be supposed. The Z
c. Z. Marshall, who has been an eye-wit1
Of all the siege, Gays that $40, 900 would Ia,
ar all the damages IN this particular.
:. There Is no doubt thRt the enemy are n
ee ing an attempt to divorce VicksbuIg from
river, Immediately IN front of the city
: / Mississippi makes a bend IN the shape
IL horse -shoe-the angles extending vest,
ng from the town. The distance across the q
4. est point -frpm the channel above to that
e. 1ox-is only three quarters Of mule.
he timber is Of that heavy nature peculiar TO
us s.fear1, while the soil is tough blue clay
to ctedipely' hard, eudt can be removed
oit | with hefcule7u labor. . The Yankees
pressed betBcen 900 and 5000 negroes,