Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1862-02-24


terry, aed also to the left As soon as We en-
tered the clearing we were only 'hree hundred
yards from the enemy, and at once saw the
fact and their army drawn up in line of bat
tie. And we could see their officers on horse
back and hear their orders. When we heard
one OF Tue officers give the order to deploy to
the lett as skirmishers we feared being flank
ed and some of US informed our captain of
the order. As he stepped forward TO see how
the enemy ere situated, ten rifle balls came
by his head. and he gave us orders to lie low
and fire only when we could see them. Some
of the rebels were in trees with red shirts,
some on the ramparts with white shirts, some
on horseback, and We commenced firing upon
them, lying face down, and loading upon our
backs, nearly covered with water. For the
first few minutes four guns having been all
night stacked in the rain, we heard nothing
but the explosion of our caps, while the balls
of the enemy came whizzing by us, but the
explosion of the cap in most cases dried up
moisture, and second cap sent with telling
effect our Minnie balls into the ranks Of the
enemy.
THE BATTLE FOUGHT AND won.
Our captain sent word back to Gen. Foster
that we had hived them. Our first rifle was
fred twenty minutes before eight A. NJ, and it
was full half an hour that companies A and E
were thus exposed before a line of. battle was
formed, Gen. Foster supposing that their first
stand would be two miles further up the isl
| and. Our batteries had to be drawn by hand,
and all our ammunition was brought in the
same way. Our chaplain caught hold of the
rope, and assisted in pulling them to the point
of attack, and, while Gen. Foster was placing
his field pieces, the Massachusetts 25th was
firing in line of battle, directly in front and to
| the right and left, standing In water and mud
nearly to their waists. In a few minutes ten
charges of shell were sent from our guns, and,
in return, came over our heads grape and can
mister from their battery; but, as we were all
| lying down, they went over us, aud it was
then that the battle ragged without CESSATION
and continued for nearly four hours. The
wonder of us all is that through it all we had
no sensation of fear, but, with the dead all
around US. went on doing our duty and faith
fully standing by our guns For 81 hours the
Massachusetts 18th calamity fought, and Col.
Sprague showed himself TO be brave and
fearless commander. He was in the front of
| the battle all the while, placing the different
| companies in line, and by the GOODNESS of his
orders cheering US on At one time a shot
| from their cannon came between Col. Sprague
| and Adjutant Hardness, and three men fell
| dead at their feet. At my right hand, within
few feet of me, two men fell dead, and one
on my lett was nearly cut in two by cannon
| ball. Yet / had no sensation OF lear.
We could see the flash of every gun from
the battery, and had time to throw ourselves
upon our faces before the shot reached us, and
| by thus doing let it pass over our heads, cut
ting off whole trees behind us, and scattering
the limbs in every direction. The first man
wounded was Bigeow of Company A, in the
leg, and the next was one OF Co. q and while
| DIR. Rice was dressing the wound OF Bigelow,
mimic ball struck him in the side, knocking
| him down, and wounding him quite severely
! inwardly, breaking the skin outside, and max
| ing black and blue bruise for three inches in
| diameter Only one Of the captains in our
regiment was wounded, and that was Captain
Foster, who CALAMITY led his company into
| battle at their head, swinging his sword and
| calling them on. Thus he most CALAMITY
fought tor nearly two hours, when a ball
struck him in the eye and he was led TO the
rear Some OF the rebel sharpshooters have
since told US that they saw him with his long
beard, and shot at him many times. Our ma
jor was bold and fearless and did great service
q,
among them during the whole battle. And
Col. Upton, OF course, was in lis place, and
several times we heard Gen. Foster, at a crit.
| cal moment, call out for Col. Upton, showing
| his great confidence in him as an officer
| After our regiment had been ordered
| to cease firing, and were called upon
! 10 retire, the Massachusetts twenty-fiIst went
to the LETT to flank the enemy and the Massa.
! chusetts twenty third to the right to flank
] fbot md VUa
by the Connecticut tenth who fought gallant
| ly, but lost their colonel from the first shot of
J the enemy s cannon, after lie had led his regi.
! ment into action, or from the rifle ball of a
| sharpshooter.
Since the battle we have been told that our
| balls killed many Of the men in their reserve
eight hundred yards off, and so frightened
them that they could not be brought forward
When our regiment retired we were ordered
to the rear, and there lay upon the ground,
| with our arms at our side, company a IN
| front The Hawkins Zouaves came very near
making panic when they were ordered into
line OF battle. They came rushing forward
with great shouting OF 'Zou, zou, zou zou,"
and hearing the roar OF our cannon aud the
musketry of the Connecticut tenth and the
Massachusetts twenty first, took them for the
enemy, and with wild and crazy rush, dodg.
ing i'll all directions, discharged their guns
nearly all at an angle of 40 degrees into the air
directly over the heads of two OF our regi-
ments. Then they broke and fell back upon
the Massachusetts twenty fifth, who coolly
kept their places. Gen. Foster rushed back TO
us and said, "keep COOL boys, keep cool, " and
Capt. Pickett drew his sword and told them if
they did not advance to their places he would
run them through and gave us orders to be
ready to charge upon them if they should
again fall back. They then made one veil
and charged upon the battery, and the battle
was and the victory was ours.
We then went forward to the fort and pass.
ed through it, seeing dead bodies all about U.s.
and dead mules and horses, and in it was one
wounded officer, with his servant by his side
Near tree just outside of the fort was one of
their captains, with ball through his heart
and one through his arm. We were drawn up
in rear of the fort by companies to answer to
the roll call, to see how many were missing.
While there, the Massachusetts twenty fourth,
who had got aground the day before, and had
landed while the battle was raging, arrived,
and, being fresh, were put on the double quick
after the retreating enemy.
THE PURSUIT AND CAPTURE.
On Friday while we were landing, reinforce,
ments for their army were landing on the 9th.
er end of the island, and, on Saturday, one
regiment landed alter we had taken the fort
and heard of their defeat before they had got
II mile from the shore. They turned and run
back, cutting the straps Of their cartridge
boxes and haversacks, scattering them all over
the fields and woods as they run, and when
they arrived at the shore their steamer had