The weekly pioneer and Democrat. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. Territory) 1855-1865, 1862-10-03
FIELD OF SHARPSBURG.
The Day After the Battle.
EXTENT OF OUR LOSSES-ARRIVAL OF
REINFORCEMENTS- EVENTS
OF THURSDAY
Correspondence of the N. Y. Tribune.

Correspondence of the N. Y. Tribune
On THE FRONT THURsDAY,l
/ Sept. IL, 1S62-1OPM
A day of rest-such rest as can be found
with three miles of dead men to bury, and
thousands of wounded to bring from the
field. A day standing on the line where
the battle clOsed-of intermittent sharp
shooting, occasionally discharges of artil-
lery, but no general skirmishing -no at
| tempt to advance on either side.
The enemy is still here, apparently in
strong force. Sorely pressed back YES
terday, to-day he could not attack. and we
have not. This morning, with the fresh
arrivals, and one full corps not engaged of
| yesterday, we could have thrown 10000
| or 10000 new men into action. We have
been waiting, it is said, for the troops to
rest, for some kinds Of exhausted ammu-
milton to come forward, for reintorcements
to arrive. The troops are rested, the am
munition is received, the reinforcements
are here
The newly arrived divisions are sent up
TO the front; tonight we have planted
new batteries and the general belief is that
we attack in the morning. Will the enc
my be here for another life or death strug-.
gle, or will he adopt his old policy, and
improve the leisure We have given him, by
stealing away in the night? he has no
empty breastworks with which to endow
Us, but he can leave us field ploughed
with shot, (lrenched with blood. and thick
with dead
"A great victory" said Wellington, KS
the most awful thing in the world except
great defeat. II yesterdays battle was
not great victory, at least it had a terri
tic feature of one Our loss in generals is
unparalleled; and the Commander-in-C Chief
estimates the total OF our killed and wound
ed at 10000
Many of the wounded have been taken
back to Frederick, eighteen miles. Kee-
| dysvlle and BOonesDoro. with every house
and barn in the adjacent country, are full
OF them; and large numbers are carried to
Hagerstown, whence they will be carried
by railroad TO Harrisburg, Philadelphia,
and New York.
On the whole our troops behaved admi-
rably. No great army ever did better
Every loyallst who saw how steadily and
solldly they moved forward to encounter
that terrific storm of iron and lead felt his
heart swell with pride.
The opportunity for seeing the battle
was unparalleled. \ single standpoint
commanding nearly the whole field from
dawn to dark. No one who looked upon
that wonderful panorama can describe it;
neither can any who saw forget. Contrary
to his usual policy, the enemy met US in
open country, and he was pressed back
But every hill and valley, every cornfeld,
grove, and cluster OF trees was fiercely
fought for
The artillery was unceasing; we could
often count more than sixty guns to the
minute; and the musketry was like the
patter of raindrops in an April shower. On
the great broken field were riderless horses
and scattering men clouds of dirt from
shot and exploding shell, long dark lines
Oh infantry swaying to and fro, with CO.
lumns of smoke rising from their mnskets
with flashes and white putfs from the
batteries-with the sun shining brightly
on all this scene Of tumult, and beyond it,
upon the dark, rich woods, and the clear
blue mountains, flows the Potomac.
Amid all the screaming of shot, and
laundering OF cannon, and whistling Of
balls, with the fearful carnage they brought,
l saw no considerable breaking among our
troops, save with several new regiments of
French's division, in Summers corps They
fell back in confusion, losing considerable
ground. True, it was ground we had won
from the enemy; and Franklin afterward
recovered the most Of it. but not ALL A
marrow strip is still within the rebel lines,
and more remains disputed territory
To-day, on the front, has been devoted
mainly to the burying Of the dead In
front Of Richardson's (now Hancock's) d.
vision, at P. NJ, flag Of truce was rails
ed, and the sharpsheoting ceased. On the
debatable ground between our line and the
enemy's, Gems. Hancock and Meagher rode
over into cornfield and met Gen. Roger
A. Pryor. Pryor stated that the flag had
been raised by us, and asked if we desired
permission to take off our dead and wound
ed. Our generals Indignantly denied that
the signal for truce came from us, as we
claimed the ground They informed Pryor
that we had been engaged during the whole
day in bringing off and caring for both onr
own wounded and his, and suggested ces-
sation of sharpshooting until all the suffer-
ing could be removed. This he declined,
though the ground is so exposed to our adj
vance that the rebels line made no attempt
to bring in their wounded, and in ten min
utes the firing re-opened. ]ta
In front Of COUGHS lines, by common
consent, both the rebels and our own SOL .
diers were mingling freely, taking away
the wounded. One Of our regiments was
within quarter Of a mile of rebel bat !
terry, and the ground near it was covered
with spectators from our lines Whenever
the enemy detected any one using a field
glass on his camp or battery, his sharp
shooters would at once reopen, notwith
standing the informal truce A. D. r. "a