, 1862-05-15

the Ocean," The effect was tbat of Bar
maGic- i Is in the su1alt things as well as
the great that The true commander Il known.
II the 3&h New York, Colonel j. Hobart
Wards orders to his men were not to fire
snnless they could hit"= He was through
most galling Ere he ever saw The stuff he
aud his men arc made of can be ap-
preciated from the fact that, driven back three
s-yeral times, they three times returned to
the charge. His Lieutenant Colonel, stroug,
man as lovely In his character as he il cour-
asgeouE, led forward three companies under
bis command three several times With the
bayonet- Fatal number! The brave officer
was cut down, with three balls through him.
This regiment lost 1856 men at Bull Run.
The second Michigan took into action only
Soo men, the rest being left behind, exhausted
With the quick march through the mud and
rain. Yet they lost one out Of every five en-
gagged The regiment Was In the hottest Of
the fight
By the confessions Of prisoners, 500 of Bar
rvs men {most1y Michigan) drove back, at
the point Of the bayonet, 800 rebels.
In the rifle pit IN front OF the 9th Michigan,
IS dead rebels we're found, every one killed by
the bayonet.
From the N. T. Worlds Correspondent
CONDUCT OF THE BATTLE OF WILLIAMSBURG,
The more complete are our returns from
and understanding Of the positions and for
tunes of the various corps engaged, the more
glaring is the fact that not half SO much was
accomplished By us as should have been, and
that what luck we had was owing-flrst, to the
bravery Of our troops; second, to the oppor-
on the field.
The truth might as well be told. It is law
fu1, as I believe, to narrate all facts connected
with battle fought.
Gen. Sumner shamefully mismanaged the
at1air. He must have disappointed the COM
manding General From some unaccountable
apathy he deferred ayailing himself Of the
twenty thousand troops standing in lille re-
serve. He allowed Gen. Hooker, with not
more than ten thousand effective men, to main
tain most distressing and unequal contest
against twice or three times his number from
O'Clock in the morning till the middle
of afternoon. Gen. Hookers regiments ex-
pended al their ammunition; some of them
held their positions hours after their cartridge
boxes were empty, and lost scores Of men
with no powder to injure the enemy. Hisl left
was turned; he Eas forced to partially fall
bark; he suffered terribly; and when rein
forcements at last came 1t was too late ia
make anything more than q drawn game Of
our main battle On the left wing.
On the right-though Hancock's superb
GOODNESS of movement gave rs the vict DRY for
which Hooker had been go bloodily contend
ing all day-cn the right, I say, the manage
ment was even worse. It was criminal to send
only five thousand men on flank movement
involving several miles circuit through for
ests and ravines. If the enemy had thrown
ten regiments around Hancock, as he might,
instead Of three, he would have crushed us to
powder.
If Hooker had been early and strongly sup.
ported he would have carried the intrench.
ments, and captured thousands Of prisoners
before noon Of that irving day.
So much for the chief manager. In conse.
quence Of his and other draw backs, crimina
ton and rec1imination prevailed throughout
the action, between the leaders Of the corp
d'a'7aecs who participated in its conduct.
COMPARATIVE STATEMENTS.
Conversations with many of the more intel
hgent prisoners taken by us have induced me
at least, to fully believe:
First. That the forces actually opposed te
us we're only Longstreet's and Gustavus A
Smiths divisions together numbering no.
over 10000 men-and that only portion O.
Smiths had q chance to share in the contest
Second, That the main body of the rebe
army, perhaps 5000 men, were within {
leagues distance from the field.
Third, That if the rebels, consequently
had been cognizant OF our bad management
they might have punished us severely, bu'
that,
Fourth, Their only wish was to make as
good fight as possible with their rear guard
and so fairly cover their retreat.
Finally, cur losses in the affair sun up al
unlocked for total Of near twenty-five huu
dred killed, wounded and missing. The reb
els must have lost about three thousand VI
have over 7O0 hundred prisoners, besides sol
Of their wounded, on our hands, They cap
tqred one Of our batteries and made goot
their evacuation. On the other hand we Ilay,
their formidable line OF works, siege runs
and position, and are driving them In som
confusion before Us.