Semi-weekly standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1853-18??, 1862-02-26
81 TX
Fight At R6anoke island.
Kf a FARTfCiFANr.
- s.s;

from the Richmond Dispatch Though, perhaps,
defective in many particulars it is the best and most
Interesting descriptions Of the fight wshase SEEM
Our readers will, no doubt be interested in its
perusal. = ~ i
GREAT BEIDGE, Feb 16, 1852.
Those posted in military affairs, lwho are not a
large ciasS whether West Pointers Others know
that the defenees Of Roanoke Islana were wholly !
inadequate NothEg but strong batteries and heavy
Instructions 1t the marshes, {siIe,e there were
none) could have preycnted the enemy, if in force
from passing Onee past the marshes, there had
been Hfty thousand men on Roanoke Island, TIE
FederaIistss 'wIth0at wasting u ehargeof powder,
could have. starved them iuto eapitulation more
easily than with the force that was there onethe
morning of Che th, the signal being iIed by Com.
LyncL, between u and 3 p Nj. the 59th Reg'tsVa
Vols, (Cul Henningsen's regment) Lieut.. Col
Anderson commanding, and two companies ofthe
4&h ,Reg't Va. Vols, Captains o. Jennings Wise
and Coles commanding crossed over from Nag
Head to Roanoke Island. That evening" Com.
Lynch with seven steamers, engaged the enemy
fleet. lscoanted sixty vessels, There said to
have been treble this number9 of which about
| twenty steamers were i'll action. After, losing one
Of his steamers and firing away bis last charge,
Com. Lynch retired. s. - E.- p =. rts,s-
We advanced about five miles to, and manned the
6arrcade IN the swamp, the enemy having effected
a landing. There were, before we came the u.s.
land two North Carolina Regiments--the Sth Col.
Shaw, and the 3lst, Col, Jordan. They reported
200 men for duty, Of which 400 in the bat.
tereS. The pickets having been driven in by the
enemy, Lieut.. Col Frank Anderson ordered down
twenty men under Capt, o. J.. Wise, (ten Of the
Richmond Blues, 4Sth Virginia Volunteers, and ten
OF the McCullOch Rangers, ,59th Virginia Volun-
teers,) the writer and Sumper Williamson, of Ala,
joining them as volunteers, We met their picket.
Williamson shot one, and we maintained our ground
till A. H., on the Sth, when the enemy began
skirnishing with | could then see about 500
laf. al, IL
The MeCulloch Rangers were then sent TO sup
| port Us, under command Of Lieut. Hazlett, whose
| former Captain lmboden, was a volunteer in our
| party. We kept diminishing with them till 81
o'clock falling back from first position, about
half mile distant to within three hundred yards
OF the barrlcaae, beng undcrity men, and pressed
at last by at least one thousand of the eneiny-the
whole or chief part Of the 2lst Massachusetts, reg
ment, as We recognized from their dead, eight or
| ten that We examined, and some troops in red
| breeches and caps, supposed to be the New York
| Zouaves. We were then compelled to fall back to
the barricade. There were then at the barricade
and under the command of Lieut. Col. Frank An
derson, eight companies OF the 59th regiment Slr
| Gnia volunteers, two companies of 49th regiment
Virginia volunteers, and two companies Of North
! Carolina regiment. They were supported by thSee
pieces Of ariillery-viz: one Is FOUNDER command
ed by Major SchermerhoIn, (vounteer;) one "a
| FOUNDER, by Lieutenant Kinney. and one FOUNDER,
ny Lieut. Oeluen But tneSc pieces nan only twenty
rLundS between them, and the large pieces used l2
FOUNDER canister. The total force at the barricade,
(the only force engaged about 500 or less.
At about 3, the enemy having increased in numbers,
opened fire from 2t pound howtzer and 12-pouhd
hOwitzer, with shell ard spherical case, and at about
| ~ o'clock advanced some one thousand men to
! charge this battery. They came in column thanked
by skirmisherS in good urder and up within fifty
yards OF the barricade, yelling and cheering.
! could not, for the smoke, discern uniforms or
/ regiments. Our men waited in silence and when
our guns opened, the enemy broke and scattered.
! At this time the Richmond Blues, Captain Wise,
and the McCulloch Rangers, were deployed on the
left and right wings, respectively, as skirmishers,
and stood their ground, though entirely unprotected
by the. barricades. The enemy then again piled
with artillery, and about half an hour after (ss near
as he reCollected in fght) made second
charge. | should judge this charge to have been
made by two regiments. They came up in fine or
der, but not close at first and met in the
same manner and worse broken than before Lieu
tenant Seden at this moment shot dead by
} bullet through the head. Again they Piled us with
! SHE'LL canister, and spherical case. At about II
o'clock, the third charge took place Major Scher
merhorn, the ammunition having at the end Of the
second charge given out had started driver with
cart TO try to obtain fresh supply. He being shot
through the head, jumped into the cart, drove him
TO the hospital, and went after the ammunition At
this charge the enemy were again driven back, be-
! lieve entirely by mrISkctry; but the guns may still
| have made two or three rounds. This charge, how
| ever, | did not see About 500 yards off found
Col. Shaw'S and Col Jordan's regiment; abort three
! and half miles off met Major Fry, with four
/ companies of the 10th Virginia volunteers, having
just landed and advancing, and Colonel Green with
/; North Carolina regiment Of The Wise Legion, also
Just landed, and waiting for the landing of his am
munition and baggage. then obtained little am
! uunition pa rounds of and II pOunderD and re.
! turned, and after proceeding about two miles l.
found some fugitiveS, Col Green's regiment, and
Major Fry's companies, who had halted here,
and I was informed that the barricade had been
carried This was about l2k p. NJ, heard that
two more charges were made by the enemy. Short
ly after, met Lieuts. Bolton aud Bagwe, who had
received orders to spike the guns and throw into
the water the powder of the northwest battery
Lieut. Bolton proceeded thther for that purpose. |
then got into my boat with Lieutenant Bagwell,
and we moved round to the other end of the island
| and picked up Lieutenant Bolton, who had faith
! fully executed his orders This is what saw:
I | should Judge that the enemy landed not less
than from 900 to B. 600 men; but reliable accounts
! since states the number as 14O00 / heard that
Col Shaw after the capture of the barricade, decld
4 ed to capitnlate, together with Coils. Jordan and
Green and Major Fry, and their regiments and COM
! panies ] saw Lieut. Col Anderson before leaving,
and offered to take him off. He seemed much dis
tressed but said he could not desert his men.
heard that Captains Wise and Goes were Killed
! Ofthe 500 men engaged, Capt Wise's company ana
the McCulloch Rangers bore the palm for bravery,
where all behaved with galantry, especially the two
North Carolina companies, one of which was from
/ Currituck county. This saw. also heard that
the North Carolinans behaved with great gallantry
| in Che Pork Point battery With regard to the
surrender ofCol Shaw, ian officer of acknowledged
bravery / attribute it to the fact Of his having
many in his own and Col Jordan's regiment so well
acquainted with the locality that they knew sur
render was only question Of time, as soon as the
enemy's feet passed the marshes AS far as the
500 who fought are concerned, in the battle OF the
9Th their loss in killed is reported tteen but the
| killed do not incinde the mortaly wounded. The
proportion of wounded to killed is rarely less than
tbree and often five to one This is, therefore, at
- - I'LL I'D .rornLnl md I Ernr nearnr nna