The weekly pioneer and Democrat. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. Territory) 1855-1865, 1862-07-18
An Affecting Review of the
Late Battles,
Correspondence Of the Cincinnati Commercial.
JAMES RIVER, VIRGINIA,
Ink, Lat LEGO

JAMES RIVER, VIRGINIA,
Tuesday Evening, July lst, 1862.
Oh friends, could you realize the afflic-
tiops of the past FIVE days, you could almost
shed tears of blood. Said noble and gall
liant soldier, whose vieage was wan, whose
voice was tremulous with inexpressible
emotion, whose beard was matted with bis
own precious blood-the crimson drops
were trickling from his wound even then
"Oh my friend, it is horrible! horrible !!
to see this proud army so wretchedly pressed
upon every side, destruction threatening
wherever we turn scarce hope of extri.
cation save that which is born OF despair. 1t
is horrible "-and the devoted soldier who
had faced the foe all day and far into the
night which had passed, turned into the
forest to hide bis manly grief. Had you
seen bis worn and haggard warriors
plunged YEARLY on the soil around him,
begrimed with smoke, and some of them
stained with blood, and had you known
that an hour later those brave men al
ready exhausted ard stifened with long
fighting and weary marching, would be
summoned again to deadly combat, you,
too, would have echoed my noble friend.
With all bis WEAKNESS and all bis deep
distress of mind, bis sword was fash
ing defiance again at the breast of the
foe before the sun rode highest in the
empyrean. Oh, the gloomy countenances
and anxious hearts of those dark days
Would to God such days had passed away
forever. Oh my countrymen, you cannot
comprehend the tolls and trials of your de-
voted soldiers during those days of MURDER
ously unequal combat-conflict not simply
with superior masses of disciplined sodiery
but contention against insiduous thirst,
craving appetite, enteebiing heat, overpow-
ering fatigue-and efter fighting and
marching and privations by day, and suffer
ing by night, ard fighting by days succeed
ing nights OF fighting and harrassing vigils,
against fresh forces hurled upon them in
overp0wering masses, till exhausted nature
almost sunk beneath such fearful vista
lions, to be pressed to the imminent verge
of despair, was almost too much for human
nature to endure. Oh, what glorious spi~
rit of devotion to country that inspires men
to conquer such distress! l tell you, peo-
pie, the soldiers of your army have won title
to Immortality. Whatever fate betide
them, their chiidren's children may proudly
boast, "Cur fathers were OI the Army Of
the Potomac"
The soil of Virginia is COW sacred. 1t
is bathed with the reddest blood of this
broad land. Every rood of it, from Upper
Chickabominy TO the base Of Malvern Hill,
is crimsoned with the blood Of your brave
brethren. The dark torests--ftting canno.
py for such wo!rl sacrfce-echo with the
walls OF wounded and dying men, There is
bloody corpse in every copse and mangled
soldiers in every thicket OF that ensanguined
field. Side by side they lie and die--triendly
with the misguided foe whom they so lately
fought. God only Knows how many of the
weary ones, plunged headlopg into the shade
Of those gloomy pines tor brief respite
from the pressure of wars iron heel, who
lie there now to sleep the sleep that knows
20 waking But while write these lines
the foe presses hard. Our soldiers turn their
breasts to the steel. Their backs are upon
the river. Oh God shall they not st0ld
where they now fight sternly aud so well.
There is record of sorrow-it Is SOFT
ened, too, by great pride,--to be made how
your brethren watched and pressed the ene-
my for months and how their leader begged
and was not releved-tor power to con-
quer how day after day they fought and
hled-can you forget Fair Oaks and the
weeks Of watching and fighting in view of
the spires of Richmond ?--how they fought
and conquered on Wednesday last how
they foug and won on Thursday bow
they resisted ard beat back the grert surg
ing tide of the foe en- Friday, but at least,
after deeds of hercism they were compelled
to yield to overwhelming power; and how
on Saturday, Sunday, Monday, and Tues
day they marched and suffered, ana
fought, as if every soldier had the soul of
hero in bis frame, until at last when
natures energies almost exhaust cOunseled
with their fears they still stood staggering
but unconquerab!e, and net the summons to
fight as if it were privilege to be enjoyed
These were scenes to move the strongest
heart. But oh how cruel, friends, that such
brave souls should be pressed almost to the
very brink of ruin. They stood up still
With want pressing them, with fatigue
crushing them, and Of every summOE3 tc
the field they followed the old flag with
cheers, like the songs Of God. There was
N.CFaI LeFOisU Olspiayeu Dy tIOse worn
men that will make our his,ory's pages shine
with splendid lustre.
Correspondence OF the Cincinnati COMMERCIAL.
HOME, Saturday. July 5, 1862.
In the record OF my last seven days with
the army OF the Potomac some interesting
facts were necessarily omitted, and come
were not presented with sufficient distipc-
tiveness, shall mingle them together with
some additional particulars end opinions,
which hope will erabie readers to under
stand the situation more perfectly.
The enemy must have been morally salts
fed of the real condition of things, but from
the fact that they did lot pursue their de-
structive enterprise to the dreadful climax
justifes the inference low that they were
too cruelty punished to avail! themselves OF
advantages in their favor which were the
fruits of their own vehement energy. As ii
seems that they gave our desperate army
more than days respite, it must rejoice
all patriotic hearts to know that they tailed
to avail themselves of their golden opportu.
nifty, and that it will return no more forever