Ashtabula weekly telegraph. [volume] (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1853-1873, 1862-04-12

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rear guard, with seven miles interposed be-.
tween u ana the mnin body, while the bag
gage Valh OF the whole army was under its
convoy ana protection. Eight hundred
Union soldiers, encnmbered with that train
were besct and repeatedly surrounded by
four thousand rebels, half of them cavalry.
and all animated by The consciousness that
to crush this handful would insure the de.
feat of the Union main body, aud perhaps
its capture or entire destruction.
That rebel column OF course fought des.
peratcly, for the prize in view was a great
one, aud the disparity Of Numbers plain to
the most faint-hearted Of the assailants-
They did not succeed, because that extern.
porzed UuiOn rear-guard was composed Of
heroes, and their leader and chief was FAM
Siegel Had he alone been absent, il is
probable that all would have been lost
But he-an honored soldier of freedom in
his native Germany, was one Of the first to
volunteer for The defense of the national
cause, sgnalzing himself in the hard fought
battles of Carthage aud of Wilson's Greek
last summer, and in nearly every other
! combat OF any Importance which has taken
place in MiSsouri-knew full.well that his
Sommand must not be lost though two.
thirds Of those composing it should fall in
its bloody track, and be left to the scalping
knife OF the merclless savage; and he fought
aud marched through that dreadful day,
always in the fore front Of danger, and
conspicuous mark for the bullets of he en-.
rmy, yet seeming to bear charmed life; ;
Tor, when at length his little band sadly
diminished since morning, but in perfect or.
der, aud with all the wagons but Que still
under its protection, met the detachment
sent to its relief by Gen. Curtis and was as
>ured of its safety by the cheers of that de-
tachment and the disappearance of the
butficd rebels, Siegel was still unharmed and
ready to bear heros part in the fierce and
fearful combat of the two succeeding days.
which finally resulted in the utter rout of
the COniedcra,es, who admit loss in killed
and wounded Of 1000, while their actual
loss was double that number. Thus closed
the greatest passage of arms ever witnessed
on this continent, wherein 20, 600 rebels and
5000 affiliated savagcs were fairly whipped
on their own ground by 10000 Unionsls
not surprised nor panic stricken, nor defeat
ed 10y any brilliant muneuver, but out-worn
ny persistent hhrd lighting, and compelled
to fly from field on which one.tenth of ei.
ther army lay stretched in their gore. and
on which they had felt so certain of victory
that they had placed themselves between
our forces and their homes, 50 MS to make
sure Of capturing every Unionist that they
should not succeed in killing On that
bloody field, Gen. Davis, Col. Osterhaus,
and Lieut. Col. Hendricks of Iudiana-who
was killed-and many others, won uufading
renown, but the ablest and most effec tive OF
our heroes was General Franz Siegel.
Let us never doubt henceforth that tn,
nation is to be saved. God has blessed i
with thousands of brave soldiers who vii
joyfully die that it may live; and some @
the nobleSt among them are natives of dis
tant lands whose experience of despotisn
made them sure that Liberty is worth an
coSt--cven hat Of blood. Others may de
voutedy believe that inspiring truth-tbey
knOlO it.