Daily Ohio statesman. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1855-1870, 1863-04-08

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left Of Sedgwick, Thus atlAekl,e az. .,,.,, A.,
ward their lefs center. CraWfcsd,s ana 90, ~ II
Nick's lines, however, Welded 10 a dsst,rcs;ss.
fire of masses of the enemy In the wooSa. rrd
suffering greatly Generals Sedgwiok ana
Crawford being among the Wounded1. thelr
troops fell back In disorder. They uevertbeIeaa I
rallied In the Woods. The enemy,s Advance,
was, however, entirely checked BY the destruc.
ave ire oil. our artillery. franklin. who had
been directed the day before to join the main
army With two divisions, arFived on the feld
from Brownsville about an hour after, and
Smith's division replaced Sedgwiok's and
CraEioFd's line. Advancing steadily, II swept
over the ground Just lost, but now permanently
retaken. The divisions OF French and Richard
son maintained With considerable loss the ex-
posed positions which they had co gallsuily
gained, among the wounded being General
hicnardson, r"sl|eIF oc' e
the condition OF thinEs on the right toward o
the middle OF the afternoon, notwithstanding
tho success wrested from the enemy BY the
stubnorn bravery Oh the troops, was at this time
uapromising. Sumnere' hooker's and Mans
field's' corps had lost heavily iseyeral general
ohcers having been carried from the field.g2 L.
was a. one tne eompslleu 70 oraW Two brigades
from rofter5 corps pst'he tesefve) 70 strengthen
| -.
division oil regulars VINO mad been engaged 10
sppporhng anting 'ne uay we batteries inIthe
center ana ealngie prIgaue oI morreiis divisions
BEFORE lieit toe Ilgn. 20 return 10 tne center,
necame ssusheu sls, sue hne "ouid De held
Mltnous tnesetwo prlEauesI ana eountefmanded
1ne oraer, Wniou vas 10 course oi execnhon'--
ihe enect oil bntnslue movement on the enc
my'e rlgnt was 70 pfeynnL tne inrtner masslng
OF thelr troops on theH ieit, anu we neid what
we had gained -.
burnslae's corps, consisting oil Wilcox's,
Sturgise ana houhAhs DIVISIONS, and Cox's
kanaWba DIVISION, was intrusted with the diff
cult task oil carrying tne pfidge across the An
tetam, near RoniDaok Q farmI aud assaultng
the enemy's right tne order having been COM
municsted 10 MIN o. ten O'CLOCK M.
The valley Of the antietam' Of and near the
bridge, is narrow, Wltn nigh banks On the right
of the stream the bank Is wooded, and COM
mauds the approached both to the bridge and
the ford. Ihe steep slopes OF the bank were
lined with ride pits and breastworks Of rails and
stones. These, together With the woods, were
filled with the enemy's infantry, while their
batteries completely commanded and enfladed
the bridge and ford and their approaches.
The advance OF the troops brought on an OBJ.
stinste and ssnguinsry contest, and from the
great natusal advantages OF the position, IL was
right bank were carried. AT about three o.
clock P. NJ. the corps again advanced, and With
success, the right driving the enemy before 1t
and pushing on nearly to ShaFpsbuIg, while the
left, afser o hard encounter, also compelled the
enemy to retire before ito Tee enemy here,
however, were speedily reinforced, and with
Overwhelming masses. New batteries OF their
artillery also were brought up and opened. Il
became evident that our force was not sufficient
to enable the advance to reach the town, and
the order Was given to retire to the cover Of
the hill, which was taken ttom tue enemy ear
lier in the afternoon. This movement was ef-
fected without confusion, anu the posltlon
maintained until the enemy retreated Gen.
eral Burnside bad sent to me tor reinforcements
late in the afternoon, but the condition Of
things on the right was not such as to enable
me to afiord them.
| Daring the whole day our artillery was every.
where prsYesy ana ably handled. Indeed,
eannot speak too nigniy Of tne einciency OF our
batteries ana Of tne gress service tney render
eq' on more snan one occasion, Wnen our IN
fsntry was oroken, tney coVefea us re-iofma-
tion and drove BACK the enemy" Sos l.
Inc cavalry nag hstie nelai iof operations
during the engagement ont was employed 10
supporting 'ne morse artiiiefy batteries in the
center, ana IN orivlng up eIraggiers, while
aWaiung opportunities iof otnef service .i'
| lpe eigns corps, unuef MAJOR Myer, render
ed curing tne opersuons AZ Annetam, as at
Sousn mouhtain' and curing tne Wnoie move
ments Oh the army, emciens ana valuable SER
wee. inoeea oY iGs services mere, az on other
neos elsewhere, tnis corps mas gaiianuy earn
cd its utie 10 an independent ana permanent
ofganiHsuou.
Inc dunes deVoiVlng upon my stan during
tne aeuou weis most importans' eno tne per-
iormances OF tnem aDle ana untiring. Az
later oay propose 10 orine 70 tne notice OF the
departments tneir inaivionsi services.
Witn tne aay CLOSED this memorable battle,
10 which, perhsps' nearly tWo hundred thousand
men were ior fourteen houra engaged IN COM
bat. we naa attacked tne enemy In position,
driven Them from their line on one Hank, and
4 secured iooting Witnin IL on the other. un-
ger the depression OF previous reyerses se had
u achieved victory over an adversary invested
u Win tne prestge OF iofmer successes and in.
Hated WIN recent triumph Vlr iorces slept
tnat nignt conquerors on neia won Dy their
Vaior, ana covered Win the dead ana wounded
OF the enemy.
fhe hignt, however, presented serious ques.
aons; morning brought witn IL grave responsi-
nliIt'es. 10 renew tne attaok again on the
loln, Vr 70 ueIer s' WIN tne cnance ef the
enemys reufemens after aay OF suspense,
were eee questions before me. sAlcareiul and
anxious survey OF tne 'conuition Oh my com
manu- anu my kno"ieugeoi tue elemy'e force