The Evansville daily journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ia. [i.e. Ind.]) 1848-1862, 1862-02-21

rations, their condition was deplorable in
deed.
To add to their discomfort, when thor
oughly saturated with rain, a pelting snow
storm set in-continuing all night. As can
be imagined, with an enemy in front, con-
tinualIy annoying and annoyed, but little
sleep was INDUCED ia. The only demon
stration of importance, on the part of the
rebels, during the night, was formidable
attempt on the right wing to obtain Tay-
lor's battery. The Twentieth Illinois, lying
in the woods below it, however, after a
brisk skirmish in the midnight darkness,
sent the intruders TO their Notifications
again.
FRIDAY.
The weather of Friday was in striking
contrast to that of the morning previous.
The ground was covered with snow to the
depth of couple of inches, and a breeze
that would have done honor to the Attic
regions, swept across the desolate ridge
upon which our army was lying. The
inhabitants of the country roundabout aver
red that they had rarely experienced SO
severe day. Still was onr force on the
outer edge of the formidable works, that
find rising up before him. The entrance
to these works was still to be gained-the
location even of the door was still to be
found.
l must admit, that riding along our
lines on Friday again, and witnessing the
formidable field works of the enemy (be-
tween FIVE and six miles in extent) which
reared themselves everywhere to the front
of us, l feared that the task of reducing
them would be at the best matter of con-
siderable time. But, cold ana hungry, and
with garments stiff with frost, the soldiers
were still hopeful and firm. | did not find
a single discouraged man, or one, if be
were so, that would admit it. The uEiver-
sal sentiment was, as bluff Colonel Ogles-
by expressed it, We came here to take
that fort, and a0e a0iu take 1t, and it is this
self same spirit of logged determination,
and steady, long enduring courage, peculiar
to the Anglo-Saxon of the North, that at
last outwore the perhaps more impetuous
bravery of the opposing force.
Nothing of especial note transpired along
the lines on Friday. The sharpshooters,
notwithstanding the cold, ensconced them
selves in their old positions on the hill
sides, and were as great a terror as ever tc
the gunners of the batteries above them
Lavender, Taylor, Woods (of McAhster':
battery, Dresser and Swartz would oc.
casionally exchange valentine, as they
were pIayfully called, but there were nc
such bloody affairs as had characterized the
operations of the day previous. The bat
| teries, too, had got the range of one an
others positions so accurately, that I imag
inc both parties had preferred, in absenc'
of any positive orders to the contrary, Il
| Iinger beside the camp fire just out of rang
of the others guns, than to indulge in idl'
badinage.
T SATURDAY.
Saturday, which was destined to witnes
| The grand denouenleRt of the tragedies which
| had q scene about Donelson, was cold, dam
and cherries. Our troops, however, ha'
but little time to cogitate upon the weathe
or any other subject, ere they were calle'
upon to attend to more serious Matters
The enemy, during the night, had trans
ferred several of their batteries TO portion
of the works, within few hundred feet @
which our extreme right wing was resting
Upon the first coming of dawn, these bat
teries suddenly opened on the Ninth, Eigh
teenth, Twenty-ninth, Thirtieth and Thirty
FIRST regiments, comprising 0glesby's brig
ssSieI VIZ frFFT Vir0 'scT lITIce. OTnuIta
neously with the opening of the batteries,
force of about 900 infantry and a regi
ment Of cavalry, was hurled against tn
Brigade with vigor which, made agains
less steady and well disciplined troops, mus
surely have resulted IN their entire demoIi
ton.
/ Sudden and unexpected as was this sail
/ on the part of the enemy, it did not find th
gallant Illinoisans unprepared to meet them
| The attack was made in columns of regi
| ments, which poured in upon the litt
band from no less than three different direc
tons. Every regiment of the brigade feunC
4 itself opposed to three, and in many cases Il
no less than four different regiments I'm
dismayed, however, by the greatly superior
forces of the enemy, and unsupported by
| adequate artillery, the brigade not onl,
held their own, but upon two occasions &C
tually drove the rebels fairly into their en-
trenchments, but only TO be pressed bacl
/ again into their former position, until "a
last having expended every round of thei
ammunition, they were obliged to retire
and give way to the advancing regiments
ofCoI w. II. L. Wallace's brigade Of tn,
Eleventh, Twentieth, Seventeenth, Forty
/ fifth, Forty-eighth Illinois, and Forty-nintl
Indiana regiments.
Here again was the battle continued with
redoubted vigor, now one side, and now
another giving way. Our troops Tough
with the GOODNESS of veterans and the des-
peration of devils. I would not diminish
| the gallantry of our own troops by saying
that the enemy did not fight bravely and
we'll. They did both. An exact statement
of the varying fortunes of the field for the
three or four hours following the first at
tack, it is impossible at present to definitely
present. Suffice tito say, our troops fought
and net only fought, and fought courageous
| ly, but fought coolly and scientifically. Ia
the thickest of the fight, where officers had
to remove the dead bodies of their men out
of the way of the backward wheels, regi-
ments coolly performed maueuvers which
Scott 10 his tactics pronounced impossible 10
The battle, for the most part, was fought
in forest, with thick underground be-
meath, and regiments acted mostly on the
principle of hitting head whereverit could
be found. Swarming on all sides of them,
they were not at loss to find them One
regiment was only driven from before them