Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1862-04-24
OUR ARMY CORRESPONDENTS.
LRTTaR FROM YORKTOWN
FLYING HosPITAL,
FridaY. April l6, 1862. !

blood before the creek and earthworks at
Lees Mills. Day before yesterday a. m
was IA clear and beautiful as dawn
ever rose. We had received orders the
previous evening to be in readiness to
march in the morning. | requested leave
OF DR.. Phelps toaccompauy the regiment,
which he granted, saying, however, that
he didn't believe there would be much
done that day. We left camp about Z
o'clock, passing nearly due west into the
woods-directly towards the position OF a
new earthwork which they had been dis
covered building, by sundry of our engin-
GERS. | will not describe the march out.
Mr. PlymptOn and myself rode together a
few rods in the rear ofthe regiment The
forest was very dense, of large trees, and
our approach was entirely unsupported by
the sCoundrels, who were having Guard
Mount inside their works, and we could
hear their music, and knew from it just
what they were about. Presently their
band struck up Rosa Lee'-when Col.
Stougbton opened the ball by taking a
housekeeping to the front and firing into
their embrasure nearest us They CAV
a veil and sprang to their guns. Mean
while Motifs battery had come up into an
open field along side the woods, when we
were ranged up and came around and in
battery pointing the guns and planting
the Union Standard, as steadily and as
handsomely as if on parade. Col Stough-
toms shot aroused them, as | said before,
and they fred shell which struck a pine
tree under which the chaplain and were
sitting, cutting it off, although it was ten
inches through, as neat as a candle with
butcher knife, and covering Mr.. P. with
bark and leaves, like robin red-breast and
the Babes in the Woods and throwing
few fragments on me. You may imagine
we scattered suddenly retiring TO an
adjoining hill, when old Mott opened on
them, and they had all they wanted to
attend to, and fred no more in our direc-
ton.
All this passed in less time than
you can read this, and the ball was now
fairly in motion. From the clearing
Motifs 12-pound Parrots were talking
with tears in their eyes"-frOm the slope
opposite us shown on the diagram, our
skirmishers were firing like corn popping,
and the rascslly rebels replying as rapid
" as they could But SO! poor rebel
, whose untutored mind" thinketh none can
shoot but thy gentle chivalry-who are
these in Lincoln green-creeping serpent
, like up to the rail fence commanding your
cannon? My rebelious friends, those are
Berdan's Sharp Shooters, as you are
in moment to find out to your dreadful
cost and sad experience There those fell
lows lay with their telescope rifles, and
within !css Than half an hour had entirely
sllenced the rebel battery by picking of
their gunners as fast as they showed them
D. selves. Grew after crew would come UP
to the piece, but after the sharp shooters
gained their position and began firing,
they didn't fire tour times in all day And
the few times they did fire are aterrible
, lesson in regard to the "barbarism OF
slavery where their chivalry dared
not 60 themselves, they forced the poor
negroes, though they knew it was as near
certain death as anything in life is certain
for man to show himself an instant. /
say after they dared no longer to load and
fire, we could plainly see negroes making
the attempt, and many Of the poor wretch
es were thus sent to give fearful testi-
| mony against their cowardly masters,
whom God shall judge.
1t was simply horrible All day long
things KEEP about the Same-for several
hours not cannon shot was Gred-untiI
about o'clock in the evening we heard
our skirmishers firing very rapidly aud
also the peal of musketry from the rebel
works, and soon our first wounded man
was brought in, - Fi>ke, Company X,
wounded through the Ieg--and in short
time two more similarl y wounned, as fol-
lows: They were standing behind a
tree, when they stepped to one side and
immediately both telL-boh wounded by
the same ball, and not One-fourth of an
inch difference in the position of the
wounds The bulet-a Minie-witb a
wooden plug passing through the thorax
of each, and lodging in the shirt of the
rear man.
The report was now circulated that
the enemy were firing their Quartermas-
ter's stores and evacuating the works.
| The Sd and 9Th Regiments on the other
side OF the fort were each ordered to send
forward detachment to attack and occu.
Ply. Sharp fighting was now going on
for two hOurs-when four companies of
the 4th were ordered to charge across the
plain, through the swamp and across the
creek, and if possible take the work.
/ My poor pen can go but little way
toward describing the events from now
until night closed the scene. 1t did not
take long for Col. s. to select the cam.