The weekly Ottumwa courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1857-1872, 1862-10-04

!, Finally, at 40 clock, Mcclellan sent sim
ultaneous orders to Burnside and Franklin
to the former to advance and carry the bat
teries in his front at all hazards and any cost
10 the latter to carry the woods next in from
OF him to the right, which the Rebels still
! held. The order to Franklin, however, wa!
practically countermanded, in consequence,
Of message from General Sumner that j
Franklin went on and was repulsed, his owr
corps was not yet sufficiently reorganized tc
be depended on as reserve q 'a 1''
Franklin, thereupon, was directed to run
no risk Of losing his present position, and
instead of sending his infantry into the woods
contented himself with advancing his bate
ries over the breadth Of the fields in front,
supporting them with heavy columns ofin-
fantry, and attacking with energy the Rebel
batteries Immediately opposed to him. His
movement was success, so far as it went,
the batteries maintaining their new ground,
and sensibly affecting the steadiness of the
Rebel fire. That being once accomplished,
and all hazard Of the right being again fore
ed back having been dispeled. the move
ment of Burnside became at once the turn
ing-point Of success, and the fate of the day
depended him. a.-.l "a ra,a Of.
How extraordinary the situation was may
be judged from moments consideration of
the facts. 1t is undc rStood that from the
outset Burnside's attack was expected to be
decisive, as it certainly must have been, if
things went well elsewhere, and if he sue
ceedsd in establishing himself on the Sharps-
burg road in the Rebel rear.
Yet Hooker, and Sumner, and franklin,
and Mansfield were all sent to the right three
miles away, while Porter seems to have
done double duty with his single corps in
front, both supporting the batteries and hold
ing himself in reserve. With all this i'm.
mense force on the right, but 10000 men
were given to Burnside for the decisive move
ment Of the day. .r-s.. t.-..f ~.7.s. ..a -s.-
Still more unfortunate In it's results was
the total failure Of these separate attacks on
the right and left to sustain, or in any man.
ner cooperate with each other. Burnside
hesitated for hours in front of the bridge
which should have been carried at once by
coup de main. Meantime Hooker had been
fighting for four hours with various fortune,
but final success. Sumner had come up too
late to Join in the decisive attack which his
earlier arrival would probably have convert
ed into complete success; and Franklin
reached the scene only when Sumner had
been repuised. Probably before his arrival
the Rebels had transferred considerable
number of troops to their right to meet the
attack of Burnside, the direction of which
was then suspected or developed
Attacking first with one regiment, then
with two, and delaying both for artillery,
Burnside was not over the bridge before
o'clock-perhaps not till three. He advanc-
ed slowly up the slopes in his front, his bat
telies in the rear covering, to some extent,
the movements of the infantry. A desperate
fight was going on in deep ravine on his
right, the Rebel batteries were in full play
and, apparently, very annoying and destruc-
tive, while heavy columns of Rebel troops
were plainly visible, advancing as if careless
Of concealment, along the road and over the
hills in the direction of Burnside's forces.-
1t was at this point oe time that Mcclellan
sent him the order above given. eH
Burnside obeyed Utmost calamity. Get
ting his troops well in hand, and sending a
portion Of his artillery to the front, he ad-
vanced them with rapidity and the most de.
mined vgor, straight up the hill in front, on
top of wh:chthc Rebels had maintained their
most dangerous battery. The movement
was in plain view of McClellan's position,
and as Franklin, on the other side sent his
batteries into the field about the same time,
the battle seemed to open in all directions
with greater activity than ever.
The fight in the ravine was. in full pro-
gress, the batteries which Porter supported
were firing with new vigor, Franklin was
blazing away on the right, and every hill
top, ridge and woods along the whole line
was crested and vailed with white clouds of
smoke. All day had been clear and bright
since the early cloudy morning, and now this
whole magnificent scene shone with the
splendor Of an afternoon September SUM-
Four miles Of battle, its glory all sisable, its
horrors all vailed, the fate Of the Republic
hanging on the hour--could any one be in
sensible Of its granduer. gr..a
There are two hills on the left of the road,
the furthest the lowest. The rebels have
batteries on both. Burnside is ordered to
carry the nearest to him, which is the furth-
est from the road. His guns opening first
from this new position in front, soon entire
" controlled and silenced the enemy's artil
lery. The infantry came on at once, moyin
rapidly and steadily up long dark lines, and
broad, dark masses being plainly visible
without a glass as they moved over the green
hillside.
The next moment the road in which the
Rebel battery was planted was canoped with
clouds of dust swiftly descending into the
valley. Underneath was tumult of wag-
ons. guns, horses, and men flying at speed
down the road. Blue flashes of smoke burst
now and then among them, horse or
man or half dozen went down, and then
the whirlwind swept on.