Orleans independent standard. [volume] (Irasburgh, Vt.) 1856-1871, 1862-05-23
Battle of williamsburg.
NORTHERN vALoR SEVERELY TRIED AND
NOT FOUND WANTING.

The following graphic description o
this important trial of strength betweeI
Southern desperation and Northern BRAY
cry, we copy from the 7Tibune's letter
Between seven and eight o'clock
Hooker gave through the pouring
rain the order to drive in the enemy
pickets. The battle began.
The enemy weio NV -. s-aat force
Our utmost numbers wers were 5000
All of these were exhausted with
twelve miles march through the mos
atrocious mud roads that can disgrac
barbarism even of slave state-with
twenty-four hours rain from which the.
had no sheler-with a want of food 70
which official negligence cannot justly b.
imputed. But they went to work with I
characteristic Northern resoluteness, anC
sent the rebel pickets in flying. But re
Inducements from Williamsburgh began
to come in immediately y-the Oldest and
best troops in the rebel army-most oi
them of the Bull Run and Manassas ex-
perience. At nine the enemy grew
thicker and more aggressive. Hookers S
second and third brigades went in, and
were soon followed by Emory's cavalry
and Benson's battery.
The fight now became furious. The
great preponderance of the rebels, with
their carefully cultivated contempt of the
courage of Northern men, impelled them
upon our regiments with audacity and
the characteristic rage of their civiliza-
ton. The steadiness and pluck of the
Northerners were what was expected OF
disciplined American troops. Our mus
kerry fire was terrible. Rapid, in time,
and with deliberate aim at the breast, ii
moved the enemy in great swaths. The
oldest Mexican war soldiers on the field
noted its rapid and solid character, and
said they had never seen it equaled. 1t,
however, began to exhaust the cartridge
boxes. Soon the equilibrium of the
fight was lost, and the result to Heinzle-
mans experienced eye, when he arrived
on the field at half past twelve, wore a
doubtful look. He instantly sent to
Kearney for reinforcements-then hur-
ried an orderly to Gen. Sumner to rep
resent the instant necessity of his rein
forcing him with more troops, or by di-
version to be made by an attack on his
part on the enemy's center. To Kear-
ney, in his rear, full eight miles off, he
sent staff officer after staff officer, &c hur-
ry him to extraordinary efforts to come
up.
For a whole hour at time he was left
entirely alone on the field. His impa-
tience, like Napoleon's for the head of
Grouchy's column at Waterloo, was so
intense that in five minutes after the re-
turn of his messengers he repeatedly sent
them back with new entreaties 70 Kear
ney to move quickly to save the unequal
fight. They did not come, for the rain
had utterly ruined the swamp road
The danger grew fast, and began to cul-
inmate at half past one o'clock, when
the enemy made a determined charge
with the bayonet on Hooker's left with a
column of 6000 fresh troops just up from
Williamsburgh. They, of course, push
ed our few exhausted men back, and cap
tured six of our feldpeces, three of
which they finally succeeded in carrying |
of. The nature of the ground was such
covered with thick woods and brush
that we could not use our artillery with
good effect; but its fire compelled the
shouting captors to abandon three Of
their prizes. The loss of these guns was
purely the result of the killing of their
officers, and cannoniers, and drivers, and
horses in numbers sufficient TO disorgan,
ize the sections, and more especially of
the exhaustion of the supply of ammu-
milton by the supporting infantry regi-
ments behind them.
Here now commenced the develop
ment of the fight. Volleys of ball car
tridges cannot long be resisted by the
bravest of the brave holding in their
hands only empty gunbarrelS. Pressed
harder and closer by the new troops that
Johnston had got up from Williamsburg,
the 9TH and 9Th New Jersey gave ground,
and soon fell into disorder. 1t was not
strange, for, with their cartridge boxes
empty, the men felt themselves to be un-
armed. Capt. Chauncey McKeever
threw himself in their way and endeav.
ored TO rally them, without effect. His
resolution was promptly taken. He took
a squadron of Col. Averill's Sd Penn
sylvania cavalry, deployed them in the
woods on each side of the road and or
dered them to fire upon the stragglers
and force them back ipto the fight until