Fayetteville observer. [volume] (Fayetteville, Tenn.) 1850-1966, 1862-02-27
LATEST NEWS.
The War.
CaSQApNO
THE FIGHT AT FORT D0NElSON.
/SS2N

tehileht Of all the Telegraph Com
panies an the Confederate States
Of Aanerica, ,cAo left Fort Done-
son Sunday morning and came to
Clarkscigle and remained mnta
Tuesday night, until one Of the
Lincoln boats came up 'oith q flag
/ of Truce, bringing up all orr
qcounded, ,vho haze been sent to
! Chattanooga.
Mr.. w. remained at Fort Donel-
son until the Fort was surrounded
when he took one of the artillery
horses and intended swimming the
river, but just as he got there q
boat came down and he took pass
age with Pillow, and Floyd, and
Others. Mr.. w. states that up to
II o'clock Saturday night we had
invariably defeated them, gaining
a succession of the most brilliant
victories ever achieved upon this
continent The enemy were rein
forced until their number was 49,
900, while ours was only IA Reg
ime1ts Infantry, and some Caval-
ry, and 500 Artillerists in the Fort
who had IA guns varying from 81
to 12S lbs. The Fort covered one
acre of ground; all the Infantry
being outside of the Fort, and be-
ing only protected by temporary
breastworks. They bombarded
our forces for 4 days, amounting
to Sc hours incessant firing at the
rate of % a minute, and the whole
fort was covered with shot and
shell from s to 10 inches deep and
only one killed, Capt. Dixon, the
commander of Artillery Find
ing that they could not silence our
guns {essy one being in perfect
order even up to the surrender)
thew advanced with their Gun
Boats to within 200 yards and
and fired 80 rounds of grape with
the expectation of killing our ar
tilleryman, but they being protect
led, the firing was Intellectual. Our
guns being charged were brought
to bear upon them, and SO effective
was it that it knocked pieces of
wood and iron from their y inch
iron-clad gun boats to the other side
of the river, wien they went down
| the river for some distance in per-
feet disorder, 5 out of the s being
so badly crippled and damaged
that they were rendered unfit for
service. The Conestoga being the
only one that escaped injury.
Our loss not exceeding 500 in
killed and wounded, and 5000
prisoners, who have been sent
down the river. Their own admis-
sion at GAINESVILLE is that they had
1000 killed-supposed by CUT Off
GERS to be from 6 to 5000.
Our Battery at Hyde's Ferry
4 miles below Nashville, said to
he as formidable as at Donelson.
During the engagement we took
three parks of artillery (l6 guns)
and rolled them down the hill into
the ravine. The Yankees fought
valimtly, but never withstood the
charge of the bayonet. Our boys
drove them back repeatedly, and
his opinion is that with 10000
more men we would have gained
the greatest victory ever won on
the continent.
Our mems wounds are very
slight, being mostly in the legs
and arms. None of our men were
buried Sunday morning.
On Monday night there were
100 Yankee cavalry ! miles beyond
Gallatin-no other troops in hear
ing. $4,000 of Buells army were
at Donelson.
Pillow is at Tuscumbia, Floyd
in command at Nashville, Beaure-
gard at Columbus, Tuesday,
The bridge at Danville burned
Sunday by the Federals..
Tom McNorton was killed on
the square at Dover in fifteen min
utes after landing, while in the act
of mounting his horse; was shot
in the small of the back, by a shot
from one of their land batteries.
Two hundred of Heimans men
escaped by being clothed in Yankee
garb that they had taken from the
soldiers they had killed, and Col.
Forests cavalry made their escape
bysprumling up the river before