The daily Evansville journal. (Evansville, Ind.) 1862-1863, 1862-08-21
AUGUST 81. 1862.

huge and fearful couical shot came bursting
through solid brick walls, crashing timbers,
bricks, stones, human earca sses and mortar,
all together in Que almost indistinguisha-
bic mass. .1sF7
The situation Of the rebels now became
truly frightful. Packed closely within the
buildings, tLey fell easy prey to the resist
less shot and she'll that penetrated within
their hiding places, and to the merciles can
ister and grape that swept the streets when
they attempted to escape,s Having no artil-
lery, of course, no effective reply could be
made by the rebels to our guns. Our troops
were at safe range, and for a while most Of
them were merely spectators of this great
game OF one-sided slaughter. - Esris
The batteries, at first planted nearly east
of town, were, after a while, shifted to a
point northeast, from which they command
ed. many new and hitherto unexposed
points. Our forces, or a aapart ofthem, we're
also moved around to the north, and under
cover of the batteries, approached corn.
field in the northern suburbs of the place,
In which large force Of the rebels had
hidden away. This feld was soon made
too bot by our gallant boys, who poured in
such storm of bullets into the ekulkers
that they sbandoned the corn in The ut
most epidation--leaving behind, however,
many representative men, with evidences
upon their persons of the accuracy of the
aim of our soldiers. -s1,
The northern part of the town by this
time had became thoroughly riddled by
balls and shells. But the rebels had still
not abandoned it altogether, when Maior
Benjamin, of the Ilth regiment M. S. NJ
proposed to make charge into that part Of
it. He received permission, and at the head
OF his own battalion of the lIth, in con-
Junction with part of The I'd NJ. s. NJ, he
rushed gailantly in.9 The rebels made bus
feeble resistance. A considerable num-
Der of prisoners were captured in the houses
and the north part of the village was ours.
In one house sixteen prisoners were taken.
The artillery was now brought into the
captured part, and directed at those houses
yet held by the euemy. 0ne by one the
buildings were riddled and the inmates
killed, wounded or forced to fee, running
the gauntlet of grape and canister. A good
maby, however, escaped by skulking
through back and secluded streets, making
their way as best they might to the woods
on the west M T hg
The battle commenced at III o'clock A.
NJ, and continued with unabated zeal till
o'clock in the afternoon. By that lime our
victorious troops bad possession of the en-
tire town-already wreck, filed with
dead, dying and mangled men. sos le 71
One of the straDgest features of this
whole tragedy is that Porter, with twelve
or iftesn hundred men, watched the pro-
gress of the fight from bis first position at
the edge of the woods without so much as
sending men to the assistance ot the i'll
fsted inmates of the town, or making one
single effort TO avert their terrible doom.
The cowardice of this act becomes the more
manifest when we are advised that the
whole number of CJl McNeil's forces ac-
-e2gagsd il the vi ihaItjAs 65jddsat id feHn,
two hundred were left in the rear to guard
the trains, and two hundred were left in re-
serve. Yet Porter did not advance a step
forward to relieve the men be had left TO
be butchered in the town. Nor did be at
tempt hanking movement, to divert at
teniion while his troops in town might es-
cape. l-9aT
Porter tarried not TO see the end of his
" strategy" The fate of the town had be-
come manifest. His men were ordered to
mount, aad his retreat commenced. Strik-
ing due west, be crossed the Charlton river
five miles wess of KirksviIle Thence
turning south they aimed to cross the L au-
nibal and St. Joseph railroad, thirty-five
miles from them.
The total number of killed. wounded aud
prisoners which fellinto Col Mcneil hands
after the battle, we are informed by gentle
men of the highest veracity, who were up
OF the ground during all of Thursday and
Friday following the battle, could not posi-
bly, have been less than $50. OF these,
about fifty were prisoners. Up to the 9Th,
at noon, I46 dead rebels had been fouad,
or died, and been buried. Others were be-
ing discovered every hour, in the fields and
woods, and many were dying of their
wounds. Rev. DR.. n N. W God, Chaplain
of the llth M. s. NJ, who arrived at Kirks-
vile, on Thursday at noon, remaining there
until Saturday morning, and who is SO well
known in this community as to require no
testimonials as to his reliability, informs US
that to the best of his knowledge and be-
lief, after critical personal examinations aud
inquiries, the rebel loss in killed and since
died of their wounds, will rot fall short oi
two hundred. 3'ea e So 81 2
The number of captured from the rebels
is about three hundred land among them
are said to be nearly all the guns captured
from the Militia at Newark. Most of these
arms arrived at Palmyra on Tuesday last
and we saw them. Many were broken and
bent by shells and cannon balls, and alto
pether they were u har1 iUuking iot o.
snooting utensils.
r. Between 800 and 400 horses were cap
tured DR.. Wood made diligent inquiry al
10 the number, aud thinks it cannot fal
short of 800. Capt. Jim Porter (Joe'
brother) had the fingers of his left hanC
shot of. The report that Joe Porter him
self was wounded is not true. Col. McNei
was slightly wounded by rife ball, whicl
just grszsd the side of his head-a marrow
escape from death. A woman who ha,
PERSISTED in remaining in town was serious
ly wounded.
+ The Court House r. very fine building
and large brick seminary, were compleiel
riddled with shell and shot. Scarcely
building remains in town that is not per
forated by one or more balls. Great de
struction was sdone in buildings where shell
exploded. The Indiana battery was har
died with consumate skill. The gunne
could hit tree a mile off at every sho
!, Many instances of fine shooting have bee
related to Us, but We cannot now repet
them. s ace
One of the most painful parts Of the tral
l. adv IL vat tn ha reIated A nnonO tha r,ri