Charles City Republican intelligencer. [volume] (Charles City, Iowa) 1861-1864, 1862-06-26
The Late Battle near Richmond.
A THRILLING DESCRIPTION.

THRILLING DESCRIPTION.
One of the most thrilling accounts
we have seen of the desperate fight
at Fair Oaks, near Richmond, is Civ.
en- in private letter from an artillery
man attached to what is known as
" The Napoleon gun battery" in Ca
sey's division, and which was in the
front line of the first days battle be-
fore Richmond. After describing the
opening of that fight he says:
The pickets soon began to fire rap
idly and came running in, while the
infantry, posted behind a fence to sup
port them, blazcd away into the
woods. The artillery on our right
opened fire and mingled their thunder
with the sharp roll of the musketry.
Soon our Napoleon guns (three of
which were posted in an unfinished
rcdoubt, and three on the left near
rife pitt opened with case shot, which
went whizzing through the air, over
the heads of our own men, right into
the midst of the enemy, and there ex-
ploded, scattering death through their
ranks. On the left, the rebels were
seen coming through the woods to
flank us, and wheeling three of our
guns so as to bear upon them, we
fired case shot among them with I'M
examplcd rapidity and terrible effect.
The destruction was horrible. Our
spherical case shot are awful missiles,
each of them consisting of clothed
mass of seventy-six musket balls,
with charge of powder in the CEN
tire, that is fired by fuse the same
as a shell. The missile first acts as
a solid shot, blowing 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 we had the cx-
act range of every part of the field,
every shot told with frightful effect.
But the enemy were not at all daun-
ted They marched steadily on, and
hailed perfect tempest of balls up
on us. Why we, as well as our hor-
ses, 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 in prodigious and overwheim-
ing force And they fought splendid
ly, too. Our shot tore their ranks
wide open, and shattered them asun-
der in manner that was frightfui
to witness but they closed up again
at once, and came on as steadily as
English veterans.
When they got 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 rauks--in-
deed, whole companies went down be-
fore that murderous fire but they
closed up with an order and disci-
plinc that was awe-inspiring. They
seemed to be, animated with the cour-
age of despair blended with the hope
of a 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 into their
faces, and while their dead and dy-
ing lay in piles, they closed up, and
still kept advancing right in the face
of that fire. At one time three lines,
one behind another, were steadily ad-
vancing, and three of their flags were
brought in range Of our guns shotted
with canister.
Fire !" shouted the gunner, and
down went those three flags, and
gap was opened through those three
lines as if thunderbolt had torn
through them, and the dead lay in
swaths. But they at once closed up
and came steadily on, never hating
or wavcring, 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 fire,
they were within fifteen or twehty pa
ces of US, and as al. our horses had
been killed or wounded, We could not
carry off gun. Our whole division
was cut to pieces, with what lass l do
not know. We fell back to second
line of intrenchments, and there held
the enemy in check till achievements
arrived, and then we kept our posi-
ton till night put an end to the battle.