The daily Evansville journal., 1862-12-18
NUMBER 66.

were ilsiue 10 complete tne bridges, butN
each time the party was repulsed with
severe loss. On the occasion of one es-
say, Capt Brainard of the 50th New
York Volunteer Engineers, went out ont
the bridge with eleven men. Five i'm
mediately fell by the balls of the rebel
sharpshooters, Captain Perkins led
another party, and was shot through tho I
neck, and the Sixty-sixth and ,Fifty-sev-
enth New York Regiments, which were
supporting the Fiftieth aud Fifteenth
New York Volunteer Engineers-Gen.
Woodburys brigade-suffered severely.
1t was a hopeless task, and we made lit
Z tie or no progress The rebel sharp
shooters, posted in the cellars of the
houses of the front street, not fiftv wards
from the river, behind stone walls and in
rife pits, were able to pick, off with
damnable accuracy any party of engin-
GERS venturing on their halfcompleted
bridges. o. .srs'. ...-.r
The case was perfectly clear. Moth
ing can be done till they are dislodged
from their lurking places There is bur
one way of doing this effectually-shell
the town. Alto o'clock Gen. BURNSIDE,
gives the order, Concentrate the fire
OF all your guns on the city and batter it
down. You may believe they we're not
10th to obey. The artillery of the right
eight batteries--was commanded by
Col Hays; Col. Tompl1ins, right center
eleven batteries; Col. Tyler left GEN.
ter-seven batteries; Capt DeRussy, left
--nine batteries. In few moments
these thirty-fve batteries, forming ato-
tai of one hundred and seventy-nine
guns ranging from ten-pounder Parrotts
to four and half inch siege guns, posted
along the convex of the arc of the circle,
formed by the bend of the river and land
opposite fredericksburg, opened on the
doomed city. The effect was, of course.
terrific, and, regarded merely as phen-
omenon, was among the most awfully
grand conceivable. Perhaps what will
give you the iyeliest idea ofits effect is
a succession, absolutely without inter-
mission, of the very loudest thunder
peals. 1T lasted thus for upward of an
hour, fifty rounds being fred from each
gun, and know not how many tons of
iron were thrown into the town.
The congregated Generals were trans
fixed. Mingled satisfaction and awe
was upon every face. But what was
tantalizing was, that, though great deal
could be heard, nothing could be seen,
the city being still enyeloped- in fog and
mist. Only dense pillar of smoke,
defining itself Oh the background Of tho
fog, indicated where the town had been
fred by our shells Another and anoth-
er column showed itself, and we present.
ly saw shat at least dozen houses must
ION fire. 7a
erlckSJuriss 49, A. --------l-:., --lziIx1
mendous though this firing had been,
and terrific as its effects obviously were
OH the town, it had not accomplished the
object intended 1t was found by our
gunners almost impossible to obtain
sufficient depression Of their pieces to
she'll the front part of the city, and the
rebel sharpshooters were still compara-
lively safe behind the thick stone walls
OF the houses. .-t.. .-.-
During the tlickest of the lombard
ment fresh attempt had been made TO
complete the bridge. 1t failed and evi-
dently nothing could be done till party
could be thrown over to clean out the
rebels and cover the bridge head For
this mission General Burnside called fo-
volunteers, and Colonel Hall, of Fort
Sumter fame, Immediately responded
that he had brigade that would do the
business Accordingly, the Seventh
Michigan and Nineteenth Massachusetts,
two small regiments, numbering in all
about four hundred men, were selected
for the purpose.
The plan was that they should take
the pontoon boats of the first bridge, of
which there were ten lying on the bank
of the river, waiting to be added to the
halffuished bridge, cross over in them,
and landing, drive out the rebels.
Nothing could be more admirable or
more gallant than the execution of this
daring feat Rushing down the steep
banks of the river, the party found tenn
porary shelter behind the pontoon boats
lying scattered on the bank, and behind
the piles of planking destined for the
covering Of the bridge, behind rocks, &c.
In this situation they acted some fifteen
or twenty minutes as sharpshooters, they
and the rebels observing each other. In
the meantime new and vigorous artillery
firing was commenced on our part, and
lust as soon as this was fairly developed,
the 7th Michigan rose from their crouch
ing places, rushed for the pontoon boots,
and pushing them into the water, rapidly
filled them with twenty-five or thirty
each. ai vn VI aw
The first boat pushes off Now, ifev-
er, is the rebels opportunity. Crack!
Crack Cracki from fifty lurking places,
go rebel rifles at the gallant fellows,
who. STOPPING low in the boat, seek TO
avoid the fire The murderous work was
well done. Justify, however, pull the
oarsmen, and presently, having passed
the middle of the stream, the boat and
its gallant freight come under cover of
the opposite bluffs.
Another and another boat follows.
Now is their opportunity. Nothing could
be more amusing, in its way, than the
result Instantly they see a new turn of
affairs The rebels pop up by the hum
dred like so many rats, from every cell
lar, riae-pit aud stone wall, and seamper
off up the streets of the town. With all
their feetness, however, many of them
were much too slow With incredible
rapdity the Michigan and Massachusetts
bows sweep up the hill, making rush for
the l1rking-pIaces occupied by the rebels,
and gaining them, each man capturing
his two or three prisoners Thepontoon
boats on their return trip took over more