Weekly standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1858-1865, 1862-07-23
Your fellow-citizen,
HOW THE REBELS FIGHT.

The Cincinnati Commercial publishes an extract
from a private letter written by member OF Bat
terry A, New York Artillery, in Casey's Division,
better known as the Napoleon Battery" in which
the unyelding and irresistible prowess our troops
is described as something wonderful If the writer
had only stood to his gun little longer he would
have learned still more of the fierce and dauntcss
resolutions of brave men fighting for liberty and
home. lie is speaking Of the battle Of The Seven
Pines:
sour spherical case shot were awful missiles, each
Of them consisting of cotted mass Of seventy-six
musket balls. with charge of powder in the centre,
that is fired with fuse, the same as a SHE'LL The
missile first acts as solid shot, ploughing its way
through masses of men, and then exploding. hurls
forward shower of musket balls that NOW down
the foe in heaps Our battery threw twenty-four
Of these minute, and as had the exact range OF
every part of the field, every shot told with fright
full effect But the enemy were not at oil daunteo
they marched steadily on, and hailed perfect
torrent of balls upon us Why we, as we'll as our
horses, were not every shot down, will forever
remain a mystery to me. We did not mind the
leaden hail, however, but kept pouring our case
shot into the dense of the foe who came on
in prodIgious and overwhelming force. And they
fought splendidly, too. Our shot tore their ranks
wide open, and shattered them asunder in manner
that was frightful to witness; but they closed up
again at once and came on as steadily as English
veterans. When they got within 400 yards, We
closed our case shot and opened on them with can
ister and such destruction l never elsewhere wit
messed. At each discharge great gaps were made
in their ranks-indeed, whole companies went down
before that murderous fire but they closed up with
an order and discipline that was awc-inspiring.-
They seemed to be animated with the courage Of
despair, blended with the hope Of speedy victory,
if they could by an overwhelming 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 advancing right in the face of the fire.
At one time three lines one behind the other, 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 three lines as if q thunderbolt had
torn through them, and the dead lay in swaths.-
But they at once closed up, and came steadily on,
never hating or waverng. right through the woods,
over the fence, through the field, right up to our
guns, and sweeping every thing before them, cap
tured every piece. When we delivered our last fire,
they were within fifteen twenty PAGES Of us, and
as all our horses were either killed or wounded, we
could not carry off gum Our whole division was
cut to pieces with what loss do not know. We
fell back to a second line of entertainments, and
there held the enemy in check until reinforcements
arrived, and then we kept our position till night
put an end to the battle"