The weekly pioneer and Democrat. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. Territory) 1855-1865, 1862-10-10
The Battle of Champions Gap.

An army correspondent of the New York
Tribune writes an account, which we
print below, of the engagement under Gen.
FrankliE, at Champions Gap, on the same
day with the battle of South Mountain.
This brilliant affair has been generally
overlooked iii consequence of the great
interest excited by the decisive movements
elsewhere. 1t will be remembered that
while Burnside and Hooker forced the
enemy's position on the right, Franklin
held the left of our advancing line:
Gen. Franklin had followed the line of
the Potomac and Rugged it's shores close
ly. On Saturday he gained Sugar Loaf
Mountain, surrounded it with his cavalry,
cleared it of rebels, and from a rebel sig
nal station changed it into lookout for
our own signal corps. Leaving Sugar Loaf
Mountain on Sunday morning he passed
through the small village of Burketsville,
and had advanced but mile before he
came in contact with the enemys picket's
at the top of the South Mountain range,
and near Champions Gap. The enemy
was strongly entrenched at the. base, on
the sides, and in strong force with infan
try behind the Mountain. Howell Cobb's
division of $4,000 held the Gap. Eight
pieces of artillery planted high up on the
slope of the Mountain Immediately COM
menced firing upon our most advanced di-
vision, under the command of Gen. Slo
cum. Gen. SlOcum's division consists of
three brigades, under command of Gems.
Bartlett, Torlitt, and Newton
The entire division was formed in line
of battle and ordered to advance up the
side of the mountain and take the batter
les. The brigades of Gems. Bartlett and
Torlitt had advanced but short distance
before they came under the fire Of the
enemy concealed in strong force behind a
high stone wall, running along the base of
the Gap. At this point desperate fight
occurred, and it was nearly an hour from
the time the first shot was fired until the
rebels were seen flying from the charge of
the New Jersey Brigade of Gen. Torlitt and
the brigade of Gen. Bartlett.
Once routed the rebels did not stand
until they gained the crest of the noun
tain. When there they turned and prepar-
ed to hold our advancing column at bay.
But up the steep mountain rushed the gal
liant New York, New Jersey. and Pennsyl-
vania boys, led by both their division and
brigade Generals. The top of the noun
tain gained, another fierce struggle ensued ;
but the enemy finally gave way. and rushed
in great disorder down into the valley be-
You'd, leaving in our possession four hun
dred prisoners, three regimental cOlors,
two pieces of artillery, and three thousand
Springfield rifles. The rifles are now used
by the New Jersey brigade in place of the
muskets they carried before
In the battle at Champions Gap our
loss, according to the official report, is one
hundred and five killed, and four hundred
and forty-eight wounded no missing.
The loss of the enemy was over one thou
sand. General Slocum told me to-day
that the dead upon the battlefield of An
tietam nowhere lay SO thick as behind the
stone-wall at Champions Gap. The victo-
ry at Champions Gap was important in its
relations to the battle of South Mountain.
Both battles were fought and both victories
won on the same day and almost within
the same hours. was present at the bat
tie of South Mountain, and saw how mag
nificently all our troops behaved, and the
great obstacles they had to overcome, but
from all l can learn the hardest hand-to-
hand fighting was at Champions Gap.