Daily Ohio statesman. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1855-1870, 1862-06-06
G)eObio 9tatesnram
THE GREAT BATTLE NEAR RICu.
8f -1u.agd % mONDl ~ -
sucoess Of the maIloon Obaervn,lons.
lcOrrespondence of the New York Herald
WHITK HouiE Va Ina q 1860


lCorreSpondence OF the New York Herald
MD WHITE HoUiE, Va, June 2, 1862.
The events Of the past two DAYS have been of
such asauRuinary nature that my heart sickens
TO review them. The attack on Saturday was
made by the enemy on our left wing and center.
Il was sudden and overwhelming In nunibors.--
The object of the enemy was to turn our left
hank. The fighting continued during the day
and our troops were forced behind the original
line OF defence. Up to Saturday night the battle
was In favor Of the rebels. On Sunday the
battle was opened by our left wing and center
column, the latter under Gen. Heintzlemau. His
orders were from General Mcclellan to recover
tho lost ground, at Whatever cost OF life, even If
every man perished. The courageous fighting
Of our troops on Sunday, when il shall have been
detailed, will show that the order OF the com
manding general Was carried out to the letter
Up to this writing our loss In killed and wound
ed Will not fall short Of from three to four
thousand men. Among these we have large
number " officers killed. The FIRE of our ar.
tillery was terrific in the extreme. At every
discharge Of piece "streets were made in their
ranks" The bravery Of our troops, with few
exceptions, was unsurpassed. One brigade of
Casey's division WAS an exception. During the
fight on Saturday they became demoralIzed, and
retreated. The second brigade of General
kearney's division was placed under command
Of the senior Colonel, ]. II. H. Ward, of the
Thirty eighth New York, and under that officer
did prodigies Of yalor.
The railroad from this point to the battle
field was actively employed all day Yesterday
bringing down the wounded. Seven hundred
and fifty were placed on board the steamer Com
modore and sent 10 Fortress Monroe; four hun
dred aud fifty were sent on the Knickerbocker
TO the same place, and three hundred and fifty
on the Elm City to Norfolk.
The whole Of the Eighth Alabama regiment
was captured by our troops.
You are aware that, through the conduct of
General Casey's division, we were terribly cut
up and lost considerable ground. The next day
General Mcclellan determined, as have be.
fore stated, to regain it and establish hiseupre-
macy in that quarter. After making all the
necessary precautionary movements, and taking
the proper steps to move forward, he sent up
balloon TO the distance Of two thousand feet,
where it was kept, and q regular telegraphio
communication established from that elevated
point Of view direct to the Commanding Gener-
al. As soon as the telegraphers were ready they
minutely described the location and number Of
the enemy's troops. And as they advanced
for they were again coming forward TO charge
upon what they supposed our demoralized troops
the operators gave the General their force
and the direction in which they were advanc.
ing, and he promptly ordered his troops to the
proper place, when the enemy were met, and Of
course repuleed. % ~ H. ~
The rebels, finding thst wherever they went
they were met by overwhelming numbers, or at
points where they little supposed they could be
nuUnvod hv tRnnnu ha halIno. nC
was pointed to BY the enemy, and shortly after
ward they trained q rife gun at the daring
erial general, and after repeated firing they
succeeded in exploding shells near the balloon;
In fact, 80 near that IL was deemed imprudent
| 10 remain up any longer In that precise loca-
tlOn, and, accordingly, the balloon was lowered
to the ground, 70 be shifted to another position.
| Not many minutes elapsed before il was again
sent aloft, and In q position not easily reached
By the enefny's missiIes. ''-'-'' q : 'i-l- q
The communication, thus more securely
established, was again opened, and with the
same success, the aFonsuts reporting large
bodies of troopsin the rear Of Richmond march
ing up to the scene Of deadly strife. The
telegraphers saw brigade after brigade marched
up from the rebel stronghold, and as rapidly as
they advanced into action they we're met in
style wholly incomprehensible by the rebels
To them IL seemed aB If their boasted "God
Of battle" had deserted them, and they only
advanced to furnish food for the Yankees
deadly rifle balls Not road was advanced
upon nor broad field troddeh upon by rebel
lious body of people, but they were confronted
BY our people. After worrying them some
time the gallant Heintzelman. charged upon
them with the trusty bayonet, and drove them
back to their citadel frightened, aud suffering
heavy loss In men, The sight must have
been, from their @Fial lockout, one of grandeur
not often witnessed BY us groundlings, so good
was the standpoint from which the ieIegHaEhets
saw all and directedall, that In many instances
with the aid Of very powerful glasses, the
number OF the regiment could readily be dis
covered and had the operators personally
known or bssa able to recognize the faces Of
persons commanding, they would have been
able to have given General Mcclellan the
names Of the rebel generals In the Aeld.c Q
II thisis not fighting battle by lightning, then
pray tell me what 1t isl If only one thing Ia
accomplished, it will be to impress upon the
rebel eoldiery that the skill Of our generals il
unapproachable, or lead them to think that our
army far outnumbers theirs. Every ones at,
tentlon could not have failed to have been at.
tracted to tho balloon In the air; and If the
rebels had only the ingenuity to construct bal.
loon we might DC enabled soon to hear of q
fight two thousand feet above the surface of the
ground. The attempt of the rebels at York.
town to use balloon proved a failure, and |
think they have given il up. ..,....
The Telegraph corps are an arm of the ser,
vice Of the greatest Importance, and the least
thought Of. al5.,a ~ N .''.'''-
The rebel soldiers were told before they start,
ed on Saturday morning "the Yankees have a
years provisions on the Pamunkey river, and
they will be ours in thirty: hours" and to
this grocery store the rebel generals led on the
half famished men. Il was, indeed, either
"blood or bread'-mostly blood-from the
meagre account can get hold Of.
/ Two regiments Of General Meagher's Irish
brigade were In the action, the Sixty ninth, Co
lionel Nugent, and the Eighty eighth, Colonel
Baker, and they behaved splendidly in the bayo
net charge made by General Richardson's d.
vision, to which they were attached. MsjoI
General Mcclellan personally thanked thes,
reg lments for their gallant conduct in the fielt
on that occasion. Their loss in killed aut
wounded has not yet reached ne, but we learr
that Lieutenants King and O'Connor, of tn,
Eighty eighth, we're both wounded.