The Richmond palladium. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1855-1875, 1862-04-19
More OF Lew. WaiIace's share In
she Fight

had Intended. at the close Of my ac-
count, to speak more of the length of the
brilliant day s work OF the Major General
Lew Walace's Division, on our extreme
right. but the ponde-osity Of tie letter was
already becoming frghtful Il were hard
to award too much praise to that splendid
Division, or to its accom- plished Gen
Ohioans had in il Col. Whi;tlesey's Goth,
Col. Chas. r.. Woods 10th, Col. Leggett's
18th. Col. Kinney 5Gih. Coz Bausenwein's
5Sth. and Col. S:cadman's 6sth. Indiana
had the 11th. 23d. ard 2ith; Missouri had
her best regiment, the 9th, and Nebras
ka had her 1st. uhich gave sieh promise OF
the noble fruits the maturity OF the young
Territory may be expected to tear.
The division was longest OF any in the
fight that day. and there can be no doubt
that it bore the brunt Of the rcJcis' last
spasmoiic, terrible effort As ctr left
gradually cleared their front. the cnemy's
troops ware shifted TO the right, ard in the
last hours (from two TO hall past FOUR there
seems 70 be little reason to doub, thai
Beauregard led them in person, and charg-
ed them never to yield that ground. or il
they did, to throw down their arms and so
home at once. His favorite troops, the New
Orleans Battalion, and the regiments OF
Louisans. were there, as we know from The
wounded left upon the field: and the can.
teens, filed with a mixture of whisky and
gunpowder, found on the dead and wound
ed, show whence their fiery courage came.
From the hour tie artillery opened on
the rebel batteries in the morning till nearly
five in the afternoon, the division was hand
led with skill that deserves higher praise
in the grateful heart throbs of mothers
whose boys were brought through the ter
rible conflict scatheless. by the superior
management Of the Generai-that deserves
far higher praise, l say, that any poor
words from pen Of mine can express 1t
was like game of chess By sharp. quick
struggle, with loss Of life al the less for lis
very sharpness and 9uickness. We gained q
position that commanded a castle. o.
course the castle Tell. Then the lines would
advance till we came upon knight or bish
CD battery that promised us blo5dy resist
ance. The division would halt fall to the
ground behind some swell of the hill. or
take such protection in the woods as II
might find safest. and await events. Skir
mishers would go creeping out gradually
the artillerists would find their men falling
around them, and their horses shot down
till there was danger of their losing thei
guns if they remained. Rake the fields with
grape or shell as they would, they could
little against skirmshers scattered that
volley Of grape did go near one. it wa
certain to miss every one Of fifty Others
while their small arms were in the mai
no match for ours, and hence their infan,r,
were as powerless as the artillery agsins
our CALLING skirmishers. Presently the gun
would timber up and retreat-the pawn
had driven off the knight or bishop
This was scientific. orderly. reasonin,
war. There was much Of itin some Of tn
other divisions, on our victorious Monday
but nowhere was the system so perfect, tn
Generalship so manifest and commanding
Lew. Wallace's division. which saved th
right. defeated the rebels in their last hop
Of turning our RICH, flank. and so finsli
won the day. Parents, and brothers. an
sisters Of the brave men who fought und,
him, and whose lives he may thus be said
to have saved. will cherish the memory Z
the dashing young General revently for it
WIPED OUT T0REyES
But began to speak Of this division
mainly 90 record one importan. fact which
History will not fail to preserve. The di
vision, alone Of all engaged 10 the battle
either on Sunday or Monday. nerer ga,
back an inch. Every other division fal,ei
q times. fell back regularly. or retreatsd i
disorder. This one never filtered. Fror
the opening Of the fight is pressed steadil
forward aNiia resfigid yttrorsnn to ID
close.
Prominent among the regiments thus no
bly, Advancing. second to none in determiu
alton that day. when Ohio and Indiana vslo
was put TO the test. not against cowardl
Mexicans, but with the chivalrous South
rous Of Mississippi and Louisiana. was til
Twenty third Indiana. Col. SASDKRsos
Lieutenant. Colonel ANTONY. That regi
sssmf ssas voissd in the same region from
sr1ieA come the Indiana troops rho re,e &C
e,xssd of cocaydice at Bnesa Visto. Their
h justice in History !-Cor. Gin. Gas.