Cleveland morning leader. [volume] (Cleveland [Ohio]) 1854-1865, 1862-05-12
rHE p1rrLE or wILLIAalsBURe.

Sun Hun AVe1ged---HOW Gen. HeintEel-
rrnz FouRhI---A Splendid Description Of a
Terrible Bartle.
In all the chronicles Of the battles of mod
ern times, there viii hardly be found a more
graphic and thrilling account than that
which We publish below, Of the Lattle Of
Williamsburg, by correspondent of the 4.
Y. Tribune. As specimen Of war lltera-
ture, 1t is unsurpassed. The battle field is
before us in ell Its terrible carnage;
The second line of rebel defense5 above
Yorktown consisted of thirteen formidable
earth forts, within sure artillery touch Of esch
other. One of them, Fort MsgrudeF, was Of
great strength. Most of thess forts were in
front of HeiutEelman, and on his left. With
the exception of EmorY's cavalry and Of
Benson's Battery, the command Of Heintzel-
msn iormed-bear with the repititon, for
the sake of the clesrness of statement-the
extreme lett. There was no infantry what
ever beyond him. Fuu tWo-ttifds of the
Southern army engaged in this important
action, were therefore massed against Gen.
HeiniEelman.
Between seven and eight o'clock Hooker
gave through the doWR-p0uring rain the Or
der 70 drive in the ensDys Piekets. The
battle began.
The enemy were not In great force. Our
utmost numbers were 5000. All Of these
were exhausted with twelve miles march
through the most atrocious mud-roads that
can disgrace the barbsrism even Of Slave
State-with 6 twenty four hours rain from
which they had no shelter--Witb want OF
food for which official negligence cannot
Justly be imputed. But they went to work
with Characteristic Northern resoluteness,
and sent the rebel pickets in flying. But
re-inforcements from Williamsburg began to
come in Immediately Oldest and best
troops In tie rebel army.-most of them Of
the Bull Run end Manassas experience. Al
nine o'clock, the enemy grew thicker and
more aggressive. Hooker's second and third
briRades went In, and we're soon followed By
Emery's cavalry and Benson's battery. The
6eht now became furious. The great pre-
ponderance of the rebels, with their care
fully cultivated contempt of the courage Of
Northern men, impelled them upon eur reg
imens with aadacity and the characteristic
rage of their civilization. The stesdines5
and pluck Of the NOrtherners were what
was expected Of disciplined American troops.
Our musketFy fire was terrible. Rapid,
IN time, and with deliberate aim at the
breast, It moved the enemy In great sWaths.
The oldest Mexican WsF soldiers on the
Held noted its rapid and sOlid character,
and said thst they had never seen 1t equal
led. 1t, however, began to exhaust the
cartridge boxes. Soon the equilibrium Of
the fight vas lost, and the result, to Heint-
Eleman's experienced eye, when he arrived
on the field ct IL, wore q doubtful look
BE instantly sent TO Ks0rney for reinforce
ments-then hurried an orderly 10 General
Sumner to represent the instant necessity
Of his reinforcing him with more troops,
OF By q diversion 70 be made By en- sttaok
on his part on the eRemy's center. To
Kearney, in his rear, full eight miles Of,
he sent stat officer after STAFF ofhor, to
hurry him 70 extraordinary efforts to come
up. For whole hour ct . time, he was
LEFT sntirely alone on The field. His impa-
tienCs, like Napoleon's for the head Of
Grouehy's column ct Waterloo, was 80 In.
tense. that IN Eve minutes after the return
Of his messengers, he repeatedly sent them
back with new entreaties to KearDey to
move quickly, 10 save the unequal 6ght.
They did not come, for the rain had utterly
ruined the swamp road The danger grew
fast, and began 70 oulminate at II O'Clock,
when the enemy made determined charge
With the bsyonet on Hooksr's left with q
column Of 5000 fresh trooPs just mp from
Williamsburg. They, Of course, pushed
our few and exhausted men back, and cap
tuFed six Of cur hsld-pieoes, 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 full effect; but
its 6re compelled the shouting eaptors to
abandon three Of their priEss. The loss Of
these guns was purely the resultof the kill
ing of their officers and oaDnoniers and
drivers and horses in numbers sufficient to
disorganiEe the sections and more sapeoi-
ally Of the exhaustion Of the supply Of am-
munition BY the supporting Infantry regi-
ments behind them here now commenced
the development OF the crisis Of the fight.
Volleys Of ball cartridges cannot long
be resisted By the bFAvest Of the brave
holding in their hands only empty gun bar
rsls Pressed harder and closer by the
rev troops that Johnston had got up from
WflllamSburg, the 7th and eth New Jsrssy
TsqimSns gave ground, and fell into
disorder. ItWas not StrAnge-ioT, their cart.