The weekly Lancaster gazette. (Lancaster, Ohio) 1860-1863, 1862-04-17

BILE. Inelead of being able to slip up on
Is through the night, as they had prob
lbly intended, they were compelled to
all back from point to point; each time
Is they had found places, they thought,
,ut of range. shell would come drop
pihg'in; nowhere within range could they
lie, but the troublesome visitors would
find them Ou., and to end the matter,
they fell back beyond our inner camps.
and thus lost more than half the ground
they had gained by our four O'Clock re-
treat the afternoon before.
NELSON'S ADVANCE.
To the left we were slower in finding
the enemy. They had been compelled to
travel some distance to get out of gun
boats iange. Nelson moved his division
about the same time Wallace opened on
theIebel battery, forming in line of bat
tie, Ammon's brigade on the extreme
left, Bruce's in the center aud Hazcn's
to the right. Skirmishers were thrown
out, and for nearly or quite a mila the
division thus swept the country, pushing
few outlying rebels before it. I'LL it
came upon them 10 force. Then gene
raj engagement broke out along the line,
and again the rattle Of muskeiry and
thunder of artillery echoed over the late
silent fields. There was no Struggling
this morning. These men were better
drilled than many Of those whose reSl
menis had broken 10 pieces on the day
before, and strict measures were taken, at
any rate, to prevent the miscellaneous
thronging back, out Of larm's way
They stood up to their work and did their
duty manfully. ,s
1t soon became evident that, whether
from change Of commanders or some 9th
er cause, the rebels were pursuing dlf'
fercnt policy in massiug their forces. On
Sunday the heaviest fighting had been
done on the left. This morning they
seemed to make less determined resistance
here, whib toward the center and right
the ground was more obstiuately contest
ed, and the' struggle longer prolonged,
Till half past ten O'Clock, Nelson ad
vancei slowly but steadily. sweeping his
long lines over the ground of our sore
defeat on Sunday morning. forward ovel
scores Of rebel dead, resslessly pressing
back the jadod and worried enemy.
Gradually as Nelson pushed forward
his lines under heavy musketry the enemy
fell back. ill about half past ten, when
under cover Of the heavy timber, and
furious cannonading, they mate a genera
rally, Our forces, flushed with their easl
victory were scarcely prepared for tn
sudden onset where retreat had been al
they had been seeing before. SUDDEN.
the rebel masses were hurled against ou
lines with tremendous force. Our mel
halted, wavered, and fell back. At thi
critical junoture Capt. Terry's rcgula
battery came dashing up. Scarcely tax
log time to unlimber he was loading an
sighting his pieces before the cai'son
had turned, and in an instant was tossing i
shell from 2l pound howitzers TO the
compact aud advancing rebel ranks.
Here was the turniUg point Of the bal
tie on the left. The rebels were onl
checked, not halted On they came
Horse after horse from the batteries W.
r picked of, Every private at one Of tt
= howilzers fell, and the gun was worke
by Captain Terry himself and eorpora
The rebels seemed advancing. A reg
ment dashed up from our line, and save
G the disabled piece. Then Tor two hou
artillery and musketry at close range.
. sst they began to waver. Our men
pressed on, pouring in deadly volley
Just then Buell., who assumed the gener
- direction of his troops in the field car
. up AT a glance he saw the chanc
:: Forward at double quick by brEades
:, Our men leaped forward as il they h
been tied, and were only too much r'joi
= cd to be able to move. For quarter
. a mile the rebels fell back. Faster a
. faster they ran, less and less resistao
was made to the advance. At las!
e lrount amps on the left were reache
u ed. y
J. ADVANCE OF cRrrTRHDEN's DIVISION.
y have sketched the advance oI Nelsc
Next to him came Critlenden. lle
+ swept forward over his ground to
front some distance befote finding the fl
T. Between eight and nine o'clock. hOwev
- while keeping Smiths brigade on his /
up even with Nelson's flank, and joini
! Boye's brigade to McCook on the rig
in the grand advance. they came up
y the enemy with battery in position, a
well supported. y &
!, For half an hour, perhaps, the sto
10 ragged around these captured guns. Ia
H. came the reflex rebel wave that had hu
A' ed Nelson back, Crttenden, too, caug
D. its full force. The rebels swept up to
i batteries around item, and On down ar
our relreating column. But the two br
y AIDES, like those Of Nelson to theirleft, to
u, fresh position, faced the foe, and h
90 their ground y y
y At last our brigades began 10 gain
y advantage again, Cri,ten1cupushedtl tl
steadily forward. Mendenhall, with
accomplished First Lieutenant. Parse
one Of Bartlett. poured in their shell.
n. rush for the contested battery, and it
,s. ours again. The rebels retreat5d tow
n. the left
,d M'oooK's ADVANCE
he Thus the left was saved. M@nwf
McCOok. with as magniGcen. regime
.- as ever came from the Amy of the |
in tOmao or from any army of volunteers
we the world, was doing equally well
- ward The center. His division WAS hi