The weekly Ottumwa courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1857-1872, 1862-02-26

and the 14th Mississippi the kft flank. The
Kent ,cky regiment was one of the largest
best disciplined and drilled in the rebel ar
my.
Col. Lau'nan gave the 81 Iowa the honor
of leading the charge They moved actos,
the meadow through little belt of woods,
came to the base Of the hill, and met the lead
en- rain. But they paused not a moment =
Then they encountered the fallen trees, but
instead Of being dishear,ened, they seemed
to feel mem, life and energy. Without firing
short, without ancfing moment or falt.
csins as their ranks were thinned, they
rushed up the hin, regardless of the fire in
front OF. on their flank, jumped upon the rife
pits and drove the enemy down the eastern
slope. They escaped Into their inner line OF
defenses. Col. Laumsn dil'not deem it pru.
dent to follow, but halted his men and pour.
ed deadly fire npon the foe, in force, with
four cannrn behind tie works.
Z Then for ten minutes the fre was exceed
Iingly severe. I visited the spot on Sunday
afternoon and found the ground thick with
bullets fired by the rebels The trees were
Scared but bore evidence on their limbs that
the aim of the rebels had beel much toe
high. Col. Human called his men back to
their rifle pits, and there they lay down up
on, their arms, holling the position through
the night, ready with the first fash Of dawn
to make breach in the line beyond.
ooh the wild charge they made
Honor the Lauman brigade!"
deemed it perfectly ad nissible to alter
Tennyson in making this brief note Of a
brilliant achievement.
Twenty four hours after the fight visited
the spot and saw ten of the brave ones
whose lives had been given for their country
lying upon the slope in front of the rifle pits
Behind the pits were several of the enemy
who had fallen in their attempts to fee.
There were numerous pools Of blood upon
the crest Of the hill where the wounded had
fallen, but who had been taken to the hos
pitals.
Col Lauman was apprised duling the
night that the rebels were about to surren-
der, by negro who escaped to his lines
Soon after daylight an Office, Major Calsbry,
appeared, bearing white flag and note
from Gen. Buckner to Gen. Grant, proposing
a cessation of hostilities and the appoint
ment Of Commissioners As the telegraph
has given you the correspondence that fol-
lowed, need not insert it.
The victory was won, and Ft Donelson
was ours, with its seventeen heavy siege
guns, its forty-eight field pieces, its fifteen
thousand soldiers, its twenty thousand stand
of arms, its tents and ammunition-all were
uncondtionally ours.
Wild were the cheers, loud were the sa.
lutes from the fleet and from Taylors bat
teries when the Stars and Stripes, the glo-
rious old flag, was flung to the breeze upon
the ramparts of Ft Donelson.
| cannot give you the sights or the Incl.
dents. You must imagine them. Neither
have time to tell of the appearance of the
rebels in their snuff colored, shabby clothes
--tleir beadquilts, pieces of carpeting, coy
crli1s, sacking-but there they were, gloomy,
downcast, humbled, apprehensive for the
future and yet think that many of them
were not sorry that there was to be no more
lighting. Imade myself at home among
them, talked with them freely, heard their
Indignant utterances against Floyd, who
had sneaked away with his Virginia regi-
ments, the Both, 5jth and 5lst, and host
Of stragslers-o!licers many of them--w no
did not hesitate, to desert their men in the
hour of adversely. They went away at mid
night, after an angry alteration, as | vas
informed by secession officer, between Pill
low, Floyd and Buckner. am also inform
ed that about five thousand rebels escaped,
the boats being loaded to the guards. For.
ests Louisiana cavalry escaped on their hors
es along the creek. But the great bulk of
the army is ours. Fifteen thousand prison
ers! What shall we do with them? We
have indeed drawn an elephant.