The Burlington weekly hawk-eye. [volume] (Burlington [Iowa]) 1860-1876, 1863-01-17

ton Of the instant renewarof the battle. Only
once did the repeated and dropping discharges
Of musketry swell into roar and that wss
between one aud two o'clock, when the snemy,s-
pickets advanced UPON the right, and opened
up a brisk fire on Johnson's and Davis men,
The latter, however, anxious for any opportu-
nifty to retrieve the reputation lost the dsy he.
fore, returned with interest the saucy salute
OF the rebels, and sent them back into the
cedar thlckets, minus q score or two of their
number. -. -,
Late in the afternoon . body Of rebel cavalry
appeared on the summit Of the slope, in the
neighborhood of the brick house which was
burned on Monday. It was q sight worth wit
Messing when Loomis turned couple Of his
famous . PARROTS in that direction and
threw some shells at the mounted rascals. =
Had the Colonel carried them all the way in
his hands and dropped them down, he could
not apparently have deposited them more &C.
curate!y in the exact spot he wanted them,
than his long range cannon did. Their course
through the air, and their fall in the midst of
the rebel squadrons, resembled nothing so
much IS the fight Of birds, trained to wing
their way in special direction, and light
upon particular spot. The stampede and
dispersion Of the rebels consequent upon this
splendid artillery practice was witnessed with
great satisfaction BY group Of officers, and
Ten. Palmer highly complimented the Colonel
and the battery on the spot. .,
The events of the day were now over, and
the army Except the wounded) passed as I'M
comfortable and cherries night IS that
which preceded it. ,.,.r,l.-,.
20 tt HuRFREIsBoRo', January 4.
= AT precisely the same hour on Friday morn
ing, Is on the day before, the thunder of artillery
called all the troops to arms. This time it was
the rebel batteries that commenced the fight !;
but our artillerists were not slow in replying to
them, and for about twenty minutes the country
for miles around resounded with q continual
roar Then the firing ceased, as if BY mutual
consent, and both parties hauled off to repair
damages; although during the progress of the
affair! a rebel gun was dismounted, and The bat
terry to which it belonged silenced.
The army felt in somewhat better spirits this
morning, as it was evident from the events of
the last twenty -four hours that the rebel leaders
| were exceedingly difideut about renewing the
battle, even with the advantage of the twenty Elk
guns which they captured from us on Wednes-
day. The news had also spread through the
| camp of Van Cleve's division having been sent
across the river the evening before, and this con-
WINGED the men that they were not 60 completely
surrounded US they had imagined. =.
There was three things, however, which still
depressed their epirits-the actual scarcity of
food, the prospect that communication with
Nashville would be cut off entirely, and lie
which the rebels taken prisoners began to cir
culate, by instruction from their leaders, namely:
that Bragg had received large reinforcements
from Richmond. Notwithstanding these draw
backs, the tone of the army rose every hour as
the men marked the disinclination of the rebels
to renew the struggle, and comprehended how
| completely the master mind Of Rosecrans held
all his forces under control. Re.awakened con.
fidence begat fresh courage, and felt sure that
any engagement with the foe that day would re-
suit in signal triumph for our arms.
Hour after hour the enemy kept feeling round
our lines, as if he we're trying to discover q weak
and unsupported place, upon which he might fall
and break through. Much apprehension was
felt lest he should again assail the right, and
gain, what had so long seemed to be one Of his
objects, possession of the Aurfreesboro' road in
our rear. Those, however, who knew the situa.
ton Of Van Cleve's division upon the other side
Of the river, felt certain that when the rebel as
sault did come, it would fall upon the extreme
left. r.e9 -, yEg gs
| 1t was about four o'clock, when a fierce can
nouade. which had been going on for some time
upon the left, Was succeeded by deafening
| crash of musketry; and the whole army at once
| comprehended that the battle was renew ed in
earnest. taa r
| The ground on the west side of the river is
much more irregular than that on the east. To.
ward the rear moderate high bluff rises from
the river. The level ground above was the scene
of tie rebel cavalry charge on Wednesday,
Going toward the town you ascend q wooded
bill, and find upon the other side patch Of low
cleared ground. You cross this, and come to a
part of the stream where the bank is eight or
ten feet high. A narrow strip of ground upon
which there are trees, but no underbrush, inter.
venes between the river and q rail fence. Upon
the other1 side of the latter is wood in it's
natural state; and for the distance of half a
mile, going from the river, you seem to b. gen.
tly ascending a low wooded hill. A deep rsvine
runs down the side of it, in a direction nearly
parallel with the course of the river. When the
summit Of the rise is reached, there are couple
of level cornfields, and then another strip of
dense woods, Immediately behind which lies
Murfreesboro'. It was in the corn fields last
named, and in the woods behind them, that Van
I Cleves division, now commanded by Col. Beat.
ty, of the 10th Ohio, was posted on Thursday
eveniDg-two of the brigades mostly in the open
space. while the third vas in more covered
position, and was protected by some slight for
ti6cations of dirt and logs. .ats5E ssl
The enemy, pursuing hisusual tactics massed
three of his divisions, RAINS Anderson's and
Breckenridge, the whole under command OF
the latter, and hurled them against Van Cleye.
He evidently intended to crush the latter at a
blow, but probably had no further designs, at
this time, than the destruction of this division,
| and the occupation of the ground on which il
had been stationed. 1t. does not seem probable
that the rebels intended to begin . general bat.
tie at that late hour ed yseI .vzasss. ,o-7 ~
laeVan Cleve's men did not yield at once to the
rebel onset They struggled for a time with
great bravery against tremendous odds, but at
length, being literally overwhelmed by, superior
numbers, two of the brigades were broken to
pieces The other continued for some minutes
longer to maintain its ground, until the prospect
| of being completely surrounded threw it into q
panic. Then it broke, mingled With the others,
and the whole were pushed back in great dis
| o,do, ood nth ofopf1;n0 rop;d;tv into o,d