The Cass County Republican. [volume] (Dowagiac, Mich.) 18??-1880, 1862-06-12

reports held it TO be impossible to finC
any foundation for piles TO support the
superstructures One of these bridges
was some two miles above Bottom
Bridge, and the other mile further ul
the stream. The lower of these wa,
carried away during the heavy storm
of Friday night, and Gen. Sumner was
obliged to depend upon single shaky
structure for the passage of his troops
who nearly all, however, succeeded IN
crossing that night, the head of the
column reaching the Nine Mile Road,
along which the rebels were pressing
our troops, at abopt 7o'clock, holding
the enemy in check for the night, and
preventing them from following up the
advantage they had gained during the
day. ~
THE FIGHT on SUNDAY.
Flushed with their seeming victory
of Saturday, the rebels awoke with
confidence on Sunday to follow up their
movements, sure of driving MS this
time to the Clickahominy and beyond
But they had made the unfrrtun a mis-
take of estimating our reserves by the
weakness of our advance. JIost bit.
terly did they pay for their mistake.
Pressing eagerly forward with conf
dence of victory, they were met by the
trained troops of Heintzelman and
sumner, who's unyielding columns
checked their fierce assault, turning the
tide of battle everywhere against them.
and forcing them at the point of the
bnyonet on tOacdrd Richmond 1t was
their turn now To break and run. and
their losses Of the Sabbath left them lit
tie cause of rejoicing over the trifling
gain of Saturday. Terribly did the
rebels snffer on this, as well as the pre-
vions day, fIom the wcll-directed fire
of our artillery. aoilinG the ground acith
the slain. Terrible also To them were
the frequent charges of. our solid col
umns, pressing them back, step by step,
Ia the last poit of endurance schen
they broke and run, ingloriously leav-
ing many of their men and officers, as
well as privates, prisoners in onr hands.
The number of these it is not yet pos
sille to ascertain, several days neces-
sarily elapsing after every engagement
before full inventory can be taken.
THE KILLED AND WOUNDED.
Even of our loss it was impossible to
frm any corrcc: idea at the time left
the field of battle.
That the rebel loss was greater by
far than our own | do not doubt. BE
sides our superiority in artillery, our
small arms were murh more effective,
having all the superiority in fatal power,
which the Minnie ball has over the
round rifle ball. The wounds inflicted
by the enemy were mainly by the latter
Had the lca.len hail in which our men
were obliged to stand SO long, been
composed of conical instead of round
shot, many more Rachcls wonltl he
mourning over the lost, and many more
homes draped with funeral weeds.
THE CASUALTIES OF FRIDAY.
OF those who entered into close
range of the cnemy's guns, scarcely
one Of the officers that | saw escaped
without some mark of the enemy's bul
let's on clothes or person, when no posi-
tive wound was inflicted. Gen. Naglee
was struck four times by balls that
pierced his clothes, inflicting slight
bruises on his person
q Of the line officers not positively
wounded, Col. &. III. Van Wyck, of the
Fifty Sixth New York regiment, seems
To have met with the most narrow es-
cape, being struck by spent shell
which d"nblrd up his sword sheath,
and severely bruised his left knee. Had
The shell been nearer its itialvelocity,
the Colonel wonl,l have lost pair of
limbs. of essential service to q man Of
his active habits; aud had it exploded,
Congress would have been minus one
of its working members. fei.ef