Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1862-06-19
THE REBEL ONSET-AN AWFUL SCENE

An extract from private letter of member
of Battery A, N. Y. Artillery, in Cascy's Divi-
sion, better known as the "Napoleon-gun Bat
terry" in the front line of the first days battle
before Richmond, says -
"Our spherical case shot are awful
missiles, each of them consisting of a clotted
mass of seventy-six musket balls with a charge
of powder in the centre, that is fired by a fuse
the same as a shell. The missile first acts as a
solid shot, ploughing its way through masses
of men, and, then exploding, hurls forward
shower of musket balls, that NOV down the
foe in heaps Our battery threw twenty four
of these minute, and as we had the exact
range of every part of the field, every shot told
with frightul effect. But the enemy were not
at all daunted They marched steadily on, and
hailed perfect tempest of balls upon us.
Why we, as well as our horses, were not every
one shot down, will forever remain mystery
to me. We did not mind the leaden hail, how
ever, but kept pouring our case-shot into the
dense masses of the foe, who came on in prod
igious and overwhelming force. And they
fought spendidly too. Our shot tore their
ranks wide open, and shattered them asunder
in manner that was frightlul to with ess but
they closed up again at once and came on us
within four hundred yards, we closed our case
shot and opened on them with canister, and
such destruction | never elsewhere witnessed.
At each discharge great gaps were made in their
ranL" indeed whole companies went down bo
fore that murderous fire but they closed up
with an order and discipline that was awe-in-
spring. They seemed to be animated with the
courage of despair blended with the hope of
speedy victory il they could by an overwhe!-
ming rush drive us from our position, 1t was
awful to see their ranks torn and shattered by
every discharge of canister that we poured
right into their faces, and while their dead and
dying lay in piles, closed up and still kept adj
vancing right in the face of that fire. At one
time. three lines, one behind another, were
steadily advancing, and three of their flags were
brought in range of one of our guns shotted
with canister. Fire shouted the gunner, and
down went those three flags, and a gap was
opened through those lines as if a thunderbolt
had torn through them, and the dead lay in
swarhs. But they at once closed up, and came
steadily on, never hating or wavering, right
through the woods, over the fence. through the
field, right up TO our guns, and sweeping every
thing before them captured every piece. When
we delivered our last f;e, they were within fif-
teen or twenty PAGES Of us, and as all our horses
had been killed or wounded. we could not car
ry off a gun. Our whole division was cut to
pieces, with what loss | do not krow. We fell
back to a second line of intrenchments and
there held tho enemy in check till reinforce
mente arrived, and then we kept our position
till night put an end to the battle. This morn
ing the fight was renewed, and we have driven
the enemy hack, regained possession of our
camp, and it is reported, with what degree OF
truth cannot say) that our battery has been
recoptured. The rebels stripped our camp
thoroughly