Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1862-06-21
GEN. eRENTEss ARH TEE PRHsO-
NAtMa de ssELE.Oan.

/
v the JSth Illinois, prisoners Of tie field OF SIUlI
from Selma. Alabama, as placed me- in % sses
l. sion OF many uiel stu facts in relation to Il
DsIt ct the bat le Ilost involved in Obscuritl
d namely, the eEgngem, nt in the center htld by
4 Gen PFentiss and Gen. w. II. L. Wallace
Y ahcse trool wee uear'y all killed, wcun6ed, ol
q made pTlsoI eTs by reason CT the ebStinacy vi j
: which they aintsiu,d their ground after the
/ supporting columns ON the right and let had
ftiltn bat X TIE tfiictlsE Eb0Ye named have b, Ell
!. ent TO Washington 10 ArIarge for general tx
!. charge Of prisoners conditional upon the r.
, l. ase OF Gen BUSknoT for Gen. Prtutiss, OF lis
j rAchaI geabie value in ether ficeIs. From
these gentlemen, and moie particularly from
, II T Stone have obtained the following mar
+ lat0n, which lhcy are willirg to ma.ntsin on
any occasion and before any tsibunal.
\ They affirm that G II Prntiss, far from
b, iug sun SD tJT want of adequate pickets
was Ihs only general who had any pickets cut
a. al, aud thst these were stationed mile al d
a quart beyoEd the lines OF the road to CoJin;h,
, c0IlSi ting Of hye cVmpsies unGer Col. N ore,
1f thr 81 bIi sou l. From PItsbu:g Landing
10 CoIinih are two rasds, OF cal ed the PuIdy
It ud, aud the otler the Spring Creek rad
GsR W 4. Sherman h-li the advance on the
tod HtT with his division, ard Gen PreLtiss was
sin iiaIly posted on the other The army had
u, Ell ihare IhTce Hctks, hut not a spade had be-
iittrd, not an iutTy nchnent dug, not motion of
any kind made to meet the enemy in case Of al
attack. Cen. G ants headquarters were at Sa
varuah, eight miles below, al Gen Low. Wal
lace stationed at CIump's Landing with t, Il
thousand men, tive or six niles below Pittsbu z
lending
Z l. Morgan the re- el partisan scout, hsd
brought info nIiiou 10 Gen Albert Siln, y John
st0a al CUruth, Tia. q H. Buell. c,uld not pos
sby reach lfilsbug aading aud # ct jpnc-
lion tn q alit be tore Tuesday, the 5th Of april
! The te bel army, 100 Ong, according to tie
admission of ihrir own fiictrs, vas put in mo
tion on Wedn' sday the u, and Gen. Johns on
expected to make his attack On saturday. over
whrln Grant, and then beat Bu, on Tuesday
| or prevent his crossing The river and turn him
back p "a Nashville. The distance from G rinlh
tOt ur advance divisions was twenty niles IL
CONS queBce Cf ravy rains Johnston had 70
' cc!dmoy all the low ground to get his artil-
| eIy uveI, AID his progress was very Il w. o
/ the 6rss day he march ten mics 10 n mteley,
on the 5, cuI.d e mUY, only three miles on the
tLird six IN les, On Tie I, uIth (SatuIdsy) il rain
I'd, anu he did net move his main force At ali,
/ but Gen. iiN1I Is corps was advanced on t..
! Par y read 10 7rif.ta Hrec huaidrcd yyTdS Of
| ShermaHS p, Gnd Ia this proAim " they
bisOuacked Sa: :uIdsy night The rrbel ,fiicers
| ioid Mi Stone that they could distinctly hear
conversation in Gsu Sa,rman's camp that light
They occupied derse thicket in ravine and
after the La.tls # the fist day cur cfi ;ers were
shown the POT where ihty had slept ard ga Ell
their breakfast. Il ned every appearance Cf /
napi! b el occupied iUr that pjrpusp, aud, as
touudng as it may appear, they DO not doubt /
tha. !I=its 5 rps passed the night within /
nusket range o. Gen Sherman's tent, " bile the /
latter never diealnsd Of there being au enemy /
vi hin tvintY mil Uf lin. But this is not |
more ansz . than the fact admitted by ali that !
- 0C0 men WI proved again ); US at an average /
rate + only five nil pr day, wi houi the whis- !
pr or suspicion OF i Doirg known to cur own /
mmHndeTS. ILe;e had been slight shirmish /
On tlilgy ngi', out Gen. Sherman pronounced /
tie enemy tuIcc vuly a accommodating party
On Saturday the common soldiers became, by /
S2me sUIt # Claw vance, fully impressed with |
the lac, h.t The Irbsl army was close upon
them, and il was the topic of general conveTsa- /
ton amcng them Gsn Pfeutiss had arrived at |
the same suspicion, and he suggested to Gen.
Sherman whI was ranking officer, aud who had |
command Of the v hole advance line, the pTopii- /
city o. taking a small cavalry force and riding
out toward CJliath to see what Was the cUudi- |
;iou of th- county in ih,t direction Gen S
rep led that lie wUuli not 90 that day, but be
would go elliy On tie foil wing morning Sun
day) Sunday noIniIg found Ills camp In pos
session OF th enemy, and his men shot OF bayo-
ueted in their tents, driven il the widest con-
fusion toward the river.
mu.tlGeouSly the attack made upon
Col. MJoTe'S five companies, performing picket
duty for G IL Pisnt.ss' division on the Spring
Creek read. Col. NJ. az once sent word back
that he was asssiled a superior force, but hs
thought pranptiy assist by his o,he: five
companies, he could hold his position. Gen.
preuliss sent forward the five cJmpAi-ies and
immediately put his division iu order OF battle.
lie also ut Wuld to Gen. HUribut and Gen.
w II l. Wsllace, whose divisions lay between
bins 3f and the landing, that b expected an at
tack momentari'y. These two divisions were
hsn 1t once formed and put in motion up ths
Spring Creek read Gen. Ilurl5ut taking po j.
'iou on ns let, and Cen Wallace on the light,
Of GrD. PreHtiss, who received the shock Il MY
and sent back a whitening fire.
l. is net nc ssaIy 10 go over the desc iption
Of the b .td' as detailed with great RlinuteneSs
by Major Stone and his companions IL is
cnougG 10 say that PTeatiss and Wallscp, side
by side, held their ground, not changing posi-
Il N more than twenty rods the whole DAY, and
maintained the BATH against vastly superior
numbers from eight %, 'ck in the morning till
five in the afternoon. Daring all this time they
received no orders frOa anybody aud kn, W
nothing Of what was going on at other parts Of
the field. & neral lluTibut, who held he Cx
tleme left, fought with great bravery and effect
but was gradually pushed back by the masses
thrown upon him that the ehemy w"re ena-
bltG to cst-biiSh mixing battery on Prentiss
left. TIE great mischief of the day, however,
wgs the surprise and Iout Of Shermaa's division
on lhe right, fr al hough gailautiy supported
by AcC.ernaud, they were driven back so tar
that III. PIX got directly in PfentSs rear,
AID hon the latter fell back al five O'c'Ock, TO
avoid tue f,nking battery on his left he was
met by fu j u5 fire from ridge between him
self and Pittsb .rg Landing Riding to an emn-
ence ir IN whch the s. ength OF this unex
pee ed force could be ascertained he saw that it
Z liz
through with a still superior force pressing
after him, aud hence there was nothing to dc
but sur end,r. G.ncTsl Johnston fell in sight
Of both preIIiiss' and WalIace's divisions, abuu;
halG-psst two O'clock while rallying Tonnes
see regiment tha. had been thrown into confu-
sion. Ge eTal Wascs himself fell b,twecn
four and i've, and was borne to the rear by his,
or rather Gen. Smiths and Capt. MeMirhael OF
Philadelphia. All Of our fl eTs, captured in
that part OF the field, concur in saying that no
more intrepid st,.:t ever went on the field of
battle than General Wallace of nois.
Maj 7 Stcne believing firmly that if General
PTentiss had been prised, as it is supposed he
wsy, If be had given way as it is supposed he
did, if be had surrendered at the time, as II Is
supposed he did, the whole army would have
been capiu e1 or driven into the Tenaessce.
Major Stone was not in Gen. Plentiss' division,
though very nesrit during the battle, and he has
no purpose TO serve in setting the facts right BE-
fore the public, xcept to do justice to a brave
aud eiiic ent officer whose reputation has b5eh
assaiied whero he ul ] not peak in his own de-
tense l. was known among cur piisouas at
Selma tha thu report was current at the North |
hat G n Preniiss was surprised, but it was not /
lNpTEs Gen. Hurlbut occupied lie extreme /
left Of Gems Sherman and McClernand's line.
The ba:t,ries re ferred 10 were those of Capts
Trsbue, Sanfuld ard D4nkhesd, amounting in |
all to some fifteen guns; collected and brought /
into acticn by Gen. Ruggles, who had previous
ly discovered the exposed position OF the enc
my's faux The evident effect Of these battle