Daily Nashville union. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1862-1862, 1862-06-18


The Rebel Onset--An Awful Scene.
An extract from private letter to a
gentleman in New York city, from his
nephew, a member of Battery A, N. Y.
Artillery, in Casey's Division, better
know as the Napoleon-gun battery" in
the front of the line of the first days
battle before Richmond, says;
Our spherical case shot
are awful missiles, each of them consisting of
a clotted mass OF seventy six musket balls,
with charge Of powder i'm the centre, that
is fred by fuse the same as she'll. The
missile first acts as a solid shot, ploughng its
way through masses,of men, ana, then explo-
ding, hurls forward a shower of musket balls
that NOW down the foe in heaps. Oar bat
terry threw twenty four Of these q minnie,
and as we had the exact range of every part
of the field, every shot told with frightful eff
feet. Bat the enemy were not at all daun-
ted
They marched steadily on, aud hailed
perfect tempest of balls upon us. Why we,
as we'll as our horses, were not every one
shot down will forever remain mystery to
me. We did not mind the leaden hail, how
ever, but kept pouring our case.shot into the
dense masses of the foe, who came on ia pro-
dgious and overwhelming force. Aud they
fought splendidly too. Our shot tore their
ranks wide open, and shattered them assun-
der in a manner that was frightful TO wit.
ness; but they closed up again at once, and
came on as steadily as English veterans.
When they got within four hundred yards,
we closed our case-shot and opened on them
with canister and such a destruction / new.
er elsewhere witnessed At each discharge
| great gaps were made in their Tanks-in-
deed, whole companies " ent down before
that murderous fire but they closed up
with an order and discipline that was awe
inspiring. They seemed 10 be animated with
the courage OF despair blended with the hope
Of speedy victory if they could by an over.
whelming rush drive us from our positson.
1t was awful to see their ranks torn and
shattered by every discharge ofcanister that
We poured right into their faces, and while
their dead and dying lay 10 piles, closed up,
and still kept advancing, right in the face
Of that fire. At one time three lines, one
behind another were steadily advancing
and three Of their flags were brought 10
range OF one OF our guns shotted With CAMS
ter.
F." Firei" shouted the gunner, and down
went those three flags, and gap was opened
through those three lines as If a thunderbOlt
had torn through them, and the dead lay Ia
swaths. Bat they at once closed up aud
come steadily on, never hauling or waVer-
ing, right through the woods, over the fence,
through the Geld, right up to the guns, and
sweeping everything before them captured
every piece.
When we delivered our last FIRE, they were
within fifteen o. twenty PAGES OF Us, aud as
all our horses had been killed or wounded,
we could not carry off gun. Our whole
division Was cnt TO pieces, with what loss
do not know. We fell back to a second line
of intreucbments aud there held the enemy
in check till reinfUreements arrived, aud then
we kept our position tai night, putting al
eud 10 the battle.
This morning the eight was renewed, and
We have driven the enemy back, rvgalned
possession Of our camp, aud Il is reported,
tgilh what degree Of tFeth eaases ssy,1
that our battery has been recaplured. The
Iebs stripped our camp thoroughly.