The daily Evansville journal. (Evansville, Ind.) 1862-1863, 1863-01-26
A Racy Army Letter,
MAGGIE.

We have been kindly permitted to read
a long letter, received by our friend
Hornbrook from an officer of the 3Sth
Illinois Regiment, giving some vivid pic
lures of the great battle at Murfreesboro,
and to extract from it some of the juicy
passages. After commonplace exordi
UNI, the writer says:
"Well Phil, we have had what l call
pretty lively time down here. = We
right smart spf rifff 99e8 81 s would call
great many men got hurt, some of them
severely, but, thank God, | am not one of
them x On the morn
ing after Christmas, before the bad white
whisky had got fairly out of ones eyes
and head we were ordered to charge
across an open corn field 800 yards in
the face of eight cannon, playing piping
hot tunes, the mud about half leg deep.
We did the job, capturing two pieces,
but at considerable cost
| was twice knocked down; once BY
! the conclusion of a she'll anu onUe 10y u
dead soldier. He was dead when he hit
me, for cannon ball had passed through
his right breast. How the ID it missed
me | don't know, and didn't attempt to
stop it to enquire.
The next day we had it all day through
the rain and captured the balance of the
battery ( 18th Georgia. and some sixty
prisoners. This was at Triune.
On Sunday we got ready for Murfres-
boro, and started on Monday.
On Tuesday we commenced advanc-
ing on the enemy. About 4 o'clock our
skirmishers became somewhat excited
and shot at some rebels, the excitement
extending, soon the whole regiment was
shooting, and presently we were ordered
to charge, and at it we men,, drove the
rebels back and captured their battery,
but were unable to hold it or carry it off
the field, all the horses being killed We
were then ordered back, and thus closed
Tuesday work
On Wednesday morning just at day
light, the enemy surprised and captured
Gen. johnson entire division, nearly
Our plan of battle was merely to hold
the right in position while Thomas and
Crittenden on the left should fall on the
enemys right and get in their flank
But during the night Bragg massed his
whole army on our right, and after he
had taken Johnson'S artillery and many
Of has men without firing shot, he had
flank movement on Davis disvision.
The correspondent of the Cincinnati
Commercial, says the right did not come
up to the standard in this fight. He
may take it for consolation, that great
men will differ; while tell him plainly,
thin no 1o1aasl I Least L. e is talking Of some
Gen. Sheridan is a brave, gallant and
good soldier, and did perfectly right in
Withdrawing his division before they be-
came exposed to a cross fire Davis
division never allowed the enemy in front
to gain foot upon them, but repulsed
them the second and third time, and
could have held them back all the time,
had we not been exposed to cross fire
on our right, caused by Johnson's neglect
or incapacity.
Davis division never retreated till
ordered to, and our dead and wounded
will testify to what we were exposed.
The enemy came down on us
three or four regiments deep.
How in the world any of us got away
is mystery. But a kind Providence,
a good cedar tree, good pair of legs
and an excellent disposition to use them,
In our first retreat we got out of order.
In vain have explored the pages of my
tactics for the movement, and all l can
find of it is in "the step" y
know mine was too fast for any time,
and verify believe that is all that saved
me, and | am here tonight to write this
gem of literature-and what an excel
lent patron of lager beer and Switzer
cake it has snatched as brand from the
fire! (tFI
Some suppose Longstreet
has reinforced Bragg, and they now in ]
tend to come back on us. For my part,
l wish they would leave-go away and
behave themselves, and save us the trou-
BILE OF whipping them again. They well
know that they and we cannot agree, and
why don't they leave at once?
Well, we whipped them here once, and
can do 1t again; but for my part, hope