Western Reserve chronicle. [volume] (Warren, Ohio) 1855-1921, 1862-05-07
The Battle at Lees Mills, nearI York.
town, on the 18th.


The special correspondent Of the Phil
adelpha Inquirer gives an account Of the
battle near Yorktown on Thursday OF last
week. 1t took place at Lees Mills, about
eight miles south of Yorktown, on War
wick run.
Between Winds mill and Lees mill the
rebels had built fort and mounted sever
al guns upon it to cover the road leading
to Lees mill, which run in front OF 1t,
about twelve hundred yards. In front OF
the fort was a bog, some two hundred and
fifty feet wide, and above it a large dam.
About nine A. NJ, Motifs battery open
ed fire on the rebel fort from the woods IN
front: the first was a shell and exploded
right over the fort; the rebels soon re-
turned the fire, and their first shell ex-
ploded in front of gun No. l, killing and
wouDding all the men but one, and kill
ing one horse; their position was then
changed, and the whole six guns played
upon them at distance of little over
one thousand yards between the two bat
teries. The rebels fired six guns, and
threw Hotchkiss shell from six, twelve
and twenty-four Founders, and shot from
a ten pound Parrott gun.
In about an hour we had disabled three
of their guns and they quit firing; Mott
fired for half an hour into the woods and
then quit. Not q man was to be seen IN
front OF their works, and the infantry IN
the rear of our battery gave three cheers
for the Union, that could have been heard
for miles, had not the dense woods al
around cut off the sound. We were now
victorious; we had driven them from then
battery, had silenced half their guns, and
only lost seven men.
Gen. Mcclellan rode up and congratu-
lated the men upon their artillery firing,
which had never been excelled in any
country. Our sharpshooters and pickets
were sent down both sides of the woods
and reported no rebels there. All was
quiet until about four P NJ.
THE SECOND FIGHT.
Motifs battery was now ordered up lat
four P. NJ. to the center of the field, and
within fUe thousand yards of the fort. The
woods were soon filed with gray-coated
rebels, and Mott opened with shell; they
replied with but two pieces from an up
per fort in the edge of the woods and
their shells all went over the artillery
When our artillerymen saw the fash of
their guns they fell fiat on the ground,
and when the shell exploded, at it they
went and fred canister and shell. The
color-bearer, James Miller, was mounted,
and shell exploding near him, a piece
cut his side open, and fell to the ground.
Keeping his colors up, he begged of the
men to help him upon his horse-then he
could keep the flag flying. His wound is
not fatal.
In half an hour the infantry hod disap-
peared and the guns ceased firing. 0n
artillery were now aided by Ayers and
Wheeler's batteries, who played on their
hanks. Again we had triumphed. Not
a man killed. The artillery did the work.
The rebel shot and shell ploughed up the
field in our rear, and tore through the
woods at fearful rate. One pine tree,
ten feet in diameter, was cut nearly in
two, shot going entirely through it. The
Vermont Fourth and Fifth were deployed
down on our right, through the wood; the
Third and Sixth on our left, and were
safe, at a distance of from five to eight
hundred yards from their line of earth
into the woods. No rebels were visible,
and no reply was made to US by them
Now for piece of strategy.
Companies F and D, of the Third Yer
mont, were ordered to charge bayonets on
the left, or on their right rife pits Down
out of the woods they came, marched
through the bog, some $50 or 300 feet
wide; all sank from their waists in mud
and water; but on they went.
When they reached the shore, up they
rushed to the rifle pits. A glance at the
fort showed it to be empty. A ditch at
the left was found to be full of men. 0uI
men then poured a deadly volley into
them, and all fed who could. A second
pit was found empty, and they stopped to
load.
Two more companies followed up; to
their horror they found their cartridges
were spoilt by being wet in crossing the
bog. A few had dry ones, and they di.
Vided them among one another, and
charged ON the third ditch, when all al
once, along the whole line, the rebels
swarmed out by thousands, and with a
yell hoisted the Stars and Bars. A long
haired and seedy chap eheered for JEFF.
Davis and fell backwards, shot through
and through; his rag was seen no more.
A whole platoon was marching on our
men, when Mott fired three guns into
them, which must have killed at least
fifty from one discharge. The Vermont.
ers held the second ditch, and the artill-
ery poured in the shell and canister at a
terrific rate, firing over the heads of our
troops.
But no reinforcements came, and they
commenced to fall back, irving to carry
their dead and wounded; they reached
the bog, when the rebels again filled the
dithes they had left, and commenced a
CALLING fire upon them. The water had
been let out of the upper dam, and as il
is a very low fiat it had now two feet more
in it than when they went over. A num-
ber of the wounded could not get through,
and fell exhausted to stranglein the mud;
many stuck fast and were shot through
the head, while many were killed and
wounded before they reached the shelter
of the woods.
Seven companies of the Sixth regiment
were ordered to make a dash. They
crossed partly at the dam, but before they
could get the trenches the rebels drove
them back and took several prisoners.
THRILLING ROMANCE.
In the charge of the Third Vermont,
William Scott, of Company K, received
six bullets in his body. This is the same
soldier who was sentenced to be shot for
sleeping on his post, but pardoned by
President Lincoln. He was mortally
wounded, and as his life blood ebbed
away, he raised to heaven, amid the din
of war, the cries of the dying, and the
shouts of the enemy, prayer for the
President, and as he died he remarked to
his comrade, that he had shown he was
no coward and not afraid to die. He was
inferred, in the presence of his regiment,
in little grove, about two miles to the
rear of the rebel fort. In digging his
grave a skull and bones were found, and
metal buttons, showing that the identi-
cal spot had been used in the Revolu-
tionary war for our fathers who fell in the
same cause. The Chaplain narrated the
circumstances to the boys who stood
around with uncovered heads. He pray
ed for the President, and paid the most
glowing tribute to his noble heart that we