, 1862-05-12
THE BATTLE At WILLIAMS
BURG.
Graphic Account Of Haucock.S Fa-
nous Bayenet Charge.
TIE DESpERHTE INFANTRY EHIEEE az
The RERKI8

WILLIAMSBURG, 4ay s, 1852.
OHc Of the most brilliant actions Of the war
Was the fight between Gen Hancock7s hri-
gade and III equal force Of rebels, near WI
Gamshurg, Va. Hancock had been sent for.
ward to flank the enemy's left.
The combat Is thus described By an eye
witness:
THE FORT ENCOUNTERED Bf HANCOCK.
Different statements haye been made Is to
the force the enemy had engased in this
movement. One prisoner stated tha. there
were sH regiments, aud another that thew
we're led By 1To Generals. It Is probable that
there we're fFo brlgads. or parts Of two. One
ot these WIS General Early IS, and comprised
the gun North yaroilna anu Iw5atE-fousth
pirglnts regiments and Georgia regiment.
dead men we're toEnd on tho Held in the mi
form Of the Louisiana Tigers. Beyond thIs
We cannot designate the regiments but It
would bv safe to state the force at three.
thoussnd. On our part this feree was en-
conntercd By the Sixth Maine, the Fifth Wis
consin md The Forty third New Yorh rsgi.
menr=, and Captain Nhe=ler's battery Of y3!-
lleTe, Of Captain Kenued5's battery; bv.
Cartaan Kennedy MAS Oh duty il another part
TIE FIELD.
Gen Haneoek'5 position wss in m onen
pls1n o. about Two mllss in length FROM north
to soate, and about naile In width. de had
en.erea H. Ut the northerlF cnd, aud at the
Other stands Fort Aassruder: About mile
and half above Fort Magruder, aud ha|f =
mile AWAY from the line OF Nopds That poi7nd5
the plsin on the left, are 4 farm hoase and two
baIus. Hct#een the farmhouse and Fort MA
g1uaer are two rtdouhts, and thfye hundred
!dras aoove the lsrin house is the first Iedouht.
Arf15nf4 T.
we're posted. Whee1er's battery vas in rosi-
tion by the corner of tho farm towards rha
pl;asn, aud commanded the whole fad be,ow
it. Behind, and well toward tile first re6op ht
or The left, was the Sixth Maine Regiment,
ana between the farm house and the Inst re.
doubt on the right were the Fifth Niscn1sin
anl Forty third New York regiments. skir-
mlshers from the latter were thrown out in the
woods On our right and far il advance; skir-
mishers Of the Filth Wisconsin were in ID
yancc on the open fe1d, and Ekirnishers Of the
sixth Maine were in advance, also in the opcu
t;eid, On our left.
ALL READY.
Cnder cover Of the wood, and d;ns.tly
through 1t, the enemy advanced from the
nelShborhood Of Fort Magruder, doubtless
tempted, as we have said, by the bait Of a Bat
Ler5 o. 9eaultui fed PIECES. From the sharp
nle OF Inc s6lr1nlsher5 in the woods on cur
!lsht came the first iutimaiion Of a movement
u tf1at direction, and this put Ill on the alert
~ the Held pieces, the great eeatral point OF
interest, every man Was in his place, and n Al
eyes turned with deep interest on TIC hand
some aud intellectual face Of their comtuaud-
er, the am1able gentleman and gallant soldier.
Capt: Wheeler, Of the New FORK Volunteer
A:s'1llery. He was not only in his place, but
it Was emineutlY the right place. and he Wis
tie right luan IN it. Down the Iince. too, Of
the i1t1antry regiments all was steady, and the
Jadcd men. who had bi7ouacksd the nigh. be-
1oEe n mud and rain, and were dgabblcd from
nead TO foot with the one and wet to the skin
with the other, stood up in their places likr
heroes, though THEY did not look exactiy as il
they were Oh parable. They did not have tLs.
parade dress, nor had they either the par4de
faces.
SPLENDID ADVANCE OF TIE ESEMr.
Stu the fire grew hotter In the woods, aud
ID tew minutes, at q point fully half a mile
ava! ftonl OF! tug battery, the eneny's men be-
gan TO tile out Of the cover and form in the
open field. Il was bold aud proved au ex-
penelTe Tay to handle men Wheeler o.enc5
hls guns Oh the instant, and the swath Of dead
that subsequently marked the course Of the
brigade ACROSS the open field began at that
spoil. At the same moment also the skirmish-
cfs II the field began their fire. Still the en-
emy formed across tile opening with admir-
nte r4pidity and precision, and as coolly a. if
the tire had been dirccicd elsewhere, and then
came On at the donbIe. onick step, in three
distinct lines, firing rs they came: AtlEo1nds
vert lust Tor tcw moments in the short roar
Of the field pieces. and in the scattered rattle
aud 1apid repetition Of the muskctry Natu-
rally their fire could do us, under the circuru-
stances. but little harm, and thus NC had them
at fair advantage, and every nerve Nsa
Strained to make tic most Of IL s1ill they
came on they we're dangerously near. Al
ready the skirmishers to the left had fallen
back to their line, and the skiraizllers to the
right had taken cover behind the rail fence
tdat ran from the house to the woods, but
from thence they blazcd Away earnestly
as ever. let the gums arv ont there, and
they arc What these fellows want; and in the
next instant the guns arc silent. For mo-
ment, in the confusion and the smoke, one
might almost suppose thlt The enem} had
them but in moment more the guns emerge
from the Rafe side Of the smoke cloud, and
away they go across the field to point near
the upper rcdoubt. There again they are un-
,lmhered, and again they play away: Farther
few moments the rebels had the partial
cover OF the farm and outbuildings, but
they saw that they hid all their work to do
over, and so they came on again. Oace more
they are IN fair, open field, exposed both to
artillery and m0skct1y; but this time the dis
They move rapidly; there, however, S an
other dangerous Eae Of infantry they are
near to Us; but Fe also are near to them.
Scarcely hundred yards were between them
and the guns when our sl1irnish fire became
SILENT, the lines Of ,the, Fifth Wisconsin
and the Forty third New York formed
up in close order to the right OF the battery,
the long range Of musket barrels came to one
leve1, and one terrible yoley tore through the
rebel li1c. In moment more the game long
range Of 1NRskcts came to smother le7el-the
order to cEafge With the bayonet was given,
ard away vent tho two regiments with one
glad cheer. Gallant as our foes uu-
douhtedly were, they couldn't meet
that. But few brigades mentioned in his
tory have done better than that brigade did
For space which was generally estimated at
thfee-quar1era Of q mile, they had advanced
nader the fire Of splendid dly-eerved battery,
and with cloud Of skirmishsrs stretched
across their front, whose IRE was very de-
stzuctirc: aad If, after that, they had not the
nerve to meet line Of baJo1ets that came to-
wards them like the spirit of destruction in
carDatc, it need not be wondered at. They
broke and fed in complete panic One hun
dred and 1orty-ive were taken prisoners.
Nearly five hundred were Killed and xounded
From Charleaton via Eaesau--The