The spirit of democracy. [volume] (Woodsfield, Ohio) 1844-1994, 1862-12-24

hled to.gat- g,anca- At the epemS's ,worksr,
the light was an artillery one, and pro-
ductive Of no very important result on
either side. AS soon as the Sunshine
showed itself, however, the infantry we're
brought into play and the work commenc
ed in real earnest. Generals Meads and
Gibbons divisions encountered the right
of Gen. A. p. Hills command aud Long
streets veterans.
The fight ragged furiously durins=tbe
entire day, and cur troops suffered terribly
from the .ensmy's artillery. The enemy
were posted behind hills in great strength
and at one time it seemed impossible to
disiodge them. About noon Gen. Glib
bons was relieved by, Gen. Doubleday's
command. Gen. Mead, who was fight
ing against superior odds, was also rein
forced by General Stoneman's command,
which had the effect of checking the reb-
els and driving them back q short dis
tapce It was in the midst of this strug-
Gle that Gen. Gibbon was wounded and
partially disabled. So t9Hi 's4s's.i.
!. During the afternoon Gen. Newton's
division was moved up to the left of the
center, when the firing, which had ceased
in that part Of the field, broke out again
with redoubled fury. Our troops were
here exposed to . plunging FIRE from the
Eenemy's artillery, which was posted on
the neighboring hills, and for short
time the Union soldiers were opposed to
"a destructive FIRE. Our artillery returned
the FIRE with deadly effect, and immortal
lied themselves by their accuracy of aim
and unwavering courage seATue,s,i 81
THE RIGHT, oaiists
Consisting of the Seventh. and Ninth
corps, Under Gen. tSumnsr earned imper-
ishable honors, and, as the list of the
killed and wounded will testify, the lau-
Irels were won at a fearful cost. The ac-
tion on the right commenced about ten
o'clock, and ragged furiously all day long
The enemy occupied the hills and woods
i'm, the rear Of. the city, and in point of ad-
vantage the odds were decidedly in their
favor. The courage of the Union troops
was unbounded, however, and every inch
of the ground was hotly contested. 1t
soon became evident that the first ridge
of hills on which the enemy were posted
behind earthworks, could not be carried
except at the point of the bayonet, and
Gen. Sumner ordered Frcnch's
division to charge upon the batteries.
Gen. Howard's division acted as sup
port, and the troops sprang forward to
obey the order with much enthusiasm
Frem the moment the storming party
left the rayine, up TO the time they reach
ed the foot of the hills, they were exposed
to the. hottest G4o oir the euemy. Tic
concentrated fire of Lees artillery and
infantry rained upon their devoted heads
in a manner truly terrific. No troops,
however disciplined and brave, could with
stand the shock, and, after suffering ter
sribly, our soldiers were thrown, into dis
order and brought to a sudden halt. AT
this juncturel the center of, the column
gave way and fed in dismay, but they
were ,aftcrward. rallied and brought back.
A second and third attempt was made to
dislodge the rebel artilleriats, but in vain,
and at each attempt the ranks of the storm
ing party grew thinner and thinner. Sum
ner now brought all his available artillery
into play. hoping to she'll the rebels out,
and from that time until dark the roar of
cannon was incessant. The rebels. who
had been driven back a short distance
during the day, returned to their original
position when night came, SO that We
were unable to remove our dead. Several
attempts were made to remove the. bodies
during the night. but the enemy opened
upon US with their infantry and compelled
US to desist. All our wounded were re-
moved, however, aud such of the dead as
were notwithin niusket range Of the rebels
were buried, -, "a fos :. =
! Among thelweunded is Gen. Meagher,
Of. the Irish brigade, and Col. Nugent, Of
the !, Sixty ninth New York Volunteers.
The latter is said to be badly injured, but
will probably recover. a large number
Of the officers Of Meagher's brigade were
wonaded, and many of them killed.
he1 ..aets THE CENTER.
The Third and Fifth army corps, under
Gen. Hooker, formed the center and CO.
operated with Sumper's column during
the battle. Gen, Burnside was anxious
that movement should be made as early
as possible, and accordingly at the break
of day, the troops commenced to move to-
ward the enemy earthworks. The men
were, full of hope and confident Of sue
cess, and they fled out of the city in splen-
did order. SkMmishing commenced short
ly after daylight, and in short time af-
terward the rebel ARTILLERY commenced
playing upon us throngh the fog. The
firing was SO inaccurate, however. that our
troops paid bat little attention to it. and
kept pressing on, regardless of the deadly
missiles which were flying through the
air. BY and by our artillery responded,
and for hours a most terrific cannonade
was kept up on both sides. The enemy's
position was one of exceeding strength,
and appeared to be invulnerable to our ar,
tillery, notwithstanding our guns were.
excellently handled, 49, ss,e,I ~,
About noon the infantry, who had been
waiting for the fog to clear of, advanced
for the purpose OF storping the snemy's
position on the hill Confident Of victory,
the troops marched steadily ap to within
musket shot Of the batteries, but muir
G. T. ~ Z = -