Pomeroy weekly telegraph. [volume] (Pomeroy, Meigs County, Ohio) 1860-1866, 1862-02-28

first Illinois, then fled In Il few min
utes Col. Wallace's brigade the Eleventh,
/ Tive ntieth, Forty fifth and Forty eighth
Illinois Regiments, came up and took
the places of the first, but although
they fought manfully, they were finally
obliged to retire before overwhelming
numbers, and yield the ground to the
enemy, together with six pieces of ar
tillery belonging to Schwartz's and
McAllister's batteries, which they had
been unable to remove. In another part
of the field, however, portion Of the
enemy in attempting to pursue our men,
came sudde1l ly upon the Forty eighth
and Fifty eighth Ohio, and First Ne
braska Regiments, who were supporting
Taylor's Chicago battery, and after a
sharp fight were driven back to their in
trenchmeuts.
Our prospects now seemed gloomy
enough. We had been severely re-
pulsed. We had lost six valuable
pieces of artillery; four Colonels had
been severely wounded, three Lieut.
Colonels killed, and several more woun-
ded, a great number of company officers
killed or wounded, and several regi-
ments apparently almost annihilated.-
| The gun-boats on whose assistance de-
pendence had been placed, had so far as
we could judge effected very little
The resistance of the enemy had appar-
emily lost none of its strength; indeed,
they seemed to be growing bolder-
| What was to be done?
General Grant saw the emergency and
fastened to meet it. General Smith,
who commanded the left wing of the
army, was directed to make strong as
sault upon the enemy's lines at some
point opposite his division and carry
their works at all hazards. Never was
such an order given to IA man better fit
ted to carry it out. Gen. Smith imme-
diately directed Col Cooke to lead his
brigade, the Seventh, Fiftieth and Fifty
second Illinois, with the Twelfth Iowa
and Thirteenth Missouri regiments
against certain point OF the rebel works
and as soon as the attention of the en-
envy Was fully directed to that point, he
himself, led Colonel Lauman's brigade,
consisting of the Second, Seventh, and
Fourteenth Iowa and Twenty fifth and
Fifty sixth Indiana Regiments full
against the point he had chosen as the
one to be taken. 1t was sight worth
| half life time to see this thorough
soldier, fully alive to the exigencies of
his situation, leading his gallant regi-
ments to the charge. Bareheaded,
waving his hat in the air, he rode before
them and cheered them On. Not shot
was fred after they had arrived within
charging distance. The bayonet must
do the work. Without a pause they
pressed on right up the hill in the face
of that fearful hailstorm of lead and iron,
forced back the rebels from their strong
defenses and entered the works at the
point Of the bayonet. The Second Iowa
Regiment was the first to mount the
works.
As soon as this point had been ac
complished, word was sent to Gen.
McClernand, at the other extremity Of
the line, that our troops had occupied
the enemy's works. The fact was i'm
mediately announced to the troops, and
fresh attack ordered on the position
we had that morning lost. In another
hour we had not only recovered the
whole ground previously lost, but had
advanced to the very verge of the enc
my's lines on that side; aud here the
troops rested for the night. Before
morning came, the request of Gen. Buck
ner for an opportunity to arrange terms
of capitulation was received, and when
morning came, the rising sun displayed
the white flag, the token of surrender
floating where erst the rebel "stars and
bars had been displayed. Of the fort
itself aud what we found there, must
speak in another letter.
TELEMAQUE.