St. Cloud Democrat. [volume] (Saint Cloud, Stearns County, Minn.) 1858-1866, 1862-02-06
All Honor to Our Able Second.

All Honor to Our Able Second.
; W. are rejoiced to find in tho last Gin
cinnati Commercial, in an editorial re-
viewing the action Of the 10th, and award
Ing, to the several regiments that particle
pated, their just need Of praise, the fol-
lowing: unqualified >commendation Of our
regiment, and testimony to facts which
eminently distinguish it. ~:-
We give nearly the whole Of the Com
n.erciars article, for it is very compact
and no doubt altogether accurate account
of the battle. One of the editors of the
Commercial, we believe, was with Gen.
Thomas army and therefore writes unler-
standingly:
f"For come time the fighting was close
and desperate. Just before the 10th In
diana was supported the vehemeuce of
the coptest was most remarkable: The
rebels were pressing on with much reso-
tuition; fierce aud confident, thinking they
had "a inferior force before them. They
were not in fair battle order, but swarm
ed in the woods like Indians, though keep
ing in line and ~hooping like savages.-
The 10th Indiana stood their ground, ana
though in some confusion, their faces were
all toward the enemy, and the crash Of RI
fles was incessant, while the smoke formed
q heavy sulphur fog, The Indianians and
Mississiopians were for time within
twenty yards of each other, and there was
no sign of flinching On either side.
The great success Of the battle aoos ,chep
the Fad ~lMinnesota and the Oh Ohio, ap-
peared IN good order s,oeeping through
The field. The End Minnesota, from, its
pdsit;oa 81 the column scqs closest to the
centre or the fight and the Aeavtes: Of tie
encmys fire. They ,cero the first troops
that used TIE bayoaet, and the style u,
,chich they .cent s,ato the fight Is the theme
of enthusiastic comment throughout the
army. The 9th Ohio, were next to the
Minnesota in getting into the fight. They
were not behind the Minnesota men, but
on their right apd had a little farther to
march as they wheeled into the field
They came up IN better order than the
Minnesota or any other regiment had
done, They: were as exactly in line when
they made the grand decisive rush with
the .bayonet, as if upon holiday parade,
and moved like invincible veterans
Their gallant Col. "Bob" MeCook, gallop-
ed about through the vhistling rifle balls,
and directed his men not only with per-
feet disregard of PERSONAL exposure but
with very good judgment. When the 9th
Ohio made their bayonet charge tho reb-
els were behind fence which was built
upon a row Of logs and made fair breast
work. The rebels stood Until the "bully
Dutchman" overthrow the rails with thei,
bayonets. Then they fled the German
regiment after them At high rate of
speed.
The severity Of the fighting may be
rcckoned from the fact that in places the
underbrush, with which the woods were
filled, was cut down by the storm of balls
There were thickets in which not stick
could be discovered that was not shattered
by baik. =
After the rebel attack was repulsed,
they soon lost I'll organization, and fled
through the woods helter SHELTER. Our
troops pursued with overwhelming ener.
gy, literally crushing tho underground
under their headlong columns. The reb.
els were apparently utterly pan;c-stricken
upon returning to their Entertainments.
They were intent only upon getting away,
and their flight was more astonishing and
appalling in its abandon, than the famous
advance from Bull Run upon Washington.
The official statement made by General
Thomas, that. one hundred and fourteen
rebels has been buried, up to q certain
hour, has led the public, prone to expect
exaggeratioa, to believe that the ii cure
represented the extent Of the loss of the
enemy in killed. We are, however, as
sured from resources that we believe en-.
tirely reliable, that. not less than three
hundred rebels were left dead, on the
ground. The official report Of. General
Schoepf's Brigade Surgeon states that one
hundred and ninety deak rebels were bur
led on Monday, A gentleman Of the city
writes that two hundred and eighty three
dead bodies Of rebels we're found: Auoth.
er who was on the ground, informs US that
he counted eiyhty,6ye dead rebels in the
old 6eld, and that they were lying thick
in the underbrnsh in every direction. We
are convinced that the rebel loss in killed
was very nearly; if not altogether three
hundred. Various statements are made
nf the number Of horses and mules taken.
The evidence is that At least fifteen hun
dred fell into Dur hands. ~ Il -
H---1>