Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1863-01-08
ROSECRANS' VICTORY.
Detailed Account of tho Fighting.
Special dispatch to the Cincinnati Gazette.


NASHVILLE, via Bowling Green, Jan. A.
On Thursday morning the sun rose through
a mass of thick mist and fog, and Just as liz
made his appearance, the pickets of the enc
my opened a brisk fire upon Palmer's divis
ion which constituted the right wing of Gen
Crttenden's command. A few of our mer
were wounded, and our pickets manifested
some disposition to give way Two batteries
however, moved up to their support, and the
cannonade was so brisk that the whole of our
forces rushed to arms, expecting an immedi.
ate renewal of the battle on grand scale
but the rebels did not seem disposed to make
the fight general; they brought out battery
or two, which attempted to reply to ours, but
which were silenced completely in five or six
minutes from the time when they commenced
to fire.
Their pickets were also driven back anG
several prisoners taken, and the sounds Of
battle, except the occasional dropping of mus
kerry, again ceased. Capt. Bradley's bate
ry, sixth Indiana, and the eighth Indiana bat
terry, commanded by Lieut.. Estepp, were
mainly instrumental in repulsing this attack.
From this time until half-past one in the af-
ternoon, there was no fighting, with the ex-
ception Of occasional skirmishes with the pick
cts AT the time last mentioned, an attack
lie
Cooks command had been mustered together
after the repulse of Wednesday. His men,
anxious to redeem their character, lay close
behind some temporary breastworks of stone
and logs until the rebels were within a few
hundred yards of them. Then they opened
and the butternuts retired in confusion to the
cedar thickets, in which they had been con-
cealed all the morning of Thursday, leaving a
number OF their dead and wounded in an in
tervening field.
On the center of our left, where part of
Gen. Sherldans division IN Was posted brisk
near night, when the rebels, becoming bold,
once more advanced i'll considerable force
into an open field. This time our men no
longer remained behind our breastworks, but
charged upon the enemy, and put them to a
disgraceful flight, single company of the
9th Illinois capturing $50 prisoners. A num-
Der of shells from some of our batteries quiz
eted the rebels for the remainder of the eve
ming. The fighting on Thursday was at no
time on Il large scale, amounting really to lit
tie more than heavy diminishing. Both arm
les seemed inclined to rest after the dreadful
contest Of the day before. The weather was
cold and clear a part of the day, but during
the night there was an ugly, drizzling rain,
from which our soldiers, without shelter OF
any kind suffered severely.
FRIDAYS OPERATIONS.
There was nothing of importance occurring
Thursday night-scarcely shot from either
side was heard on Friday morning untilnear-
ly nine o'clock. Then a terrible cannonading
commenced and ragged for half an hour all
along the center of our line. The enemy IS
shot and she'll flew thick and fast up the rail-
road and turnpike, and all over the open
ground occupied.by the center of our army.
One of our batteries was moved to the
front, and had more than half the horses
killed and disabled by the rebel fire; but 1t
soon became evident that the enemy's artillery
was inferior to our own, and after LOOMS had
knocked to pieces a rebel battery of large
brass guns, which were situated near the
turnpike, directly in front of Murfreesboro,
the others hastily drew off, and there was
again q lull in the storm. Our loss in this ar
tilery duel was about 100 killed and wounded
From the reports of rebel prisoners, am led
to believe that the enemy's loss was very
considerable There was nothing more than
heavy skirmishing from this until four o'clock
2. NJ.
SATURDAYS ENGAGEMENT.
BOWLING GREEN, KY, Jan. Al returned
last night to Nashville from the battle field al
Murfreesboro, and, after tedious ride on the
cars, during which was engaged in writing
out these dispatches, arrived late this eve
ming at this place. 1 say left the field, but
not, thank God, until l was able to report q
glorious success for the arms of the Union
The operations up to one o'clock yesterday
had been conducted on a scale of almost I'M
paralleled grandeur, almost equaling the sub
FINEST military occurrences duringthe days o.
Napoleon. The battle of Wednesday display
ed in most striking manner the valor of oul
troops, the earnestness of our officers, and the
genious of Gen. Rosecrans; but the result
on the whole, seemed 10 be against us, ant
there was a general feeling of dependency
throughout our army.
On Thursday there was but little DISPOSE
ton manifested on either side to renew the
battle, and this feeling continued until aftel
the cannonade of Friday morning, the result
of which did much to encourage and inspire
our soldiers and make them ready for thu
great event that took place in the afternoon o
| that day. Gen. Van Cleve's division, belong
| ing to Gen. Crittenden's corps, had beer
! thrown across Stone river on Thursday, il
| anticipation of an assault upon our left, sim
liar to that upon the right on Wednesday, o
! for purpose which perhaps it is not now pru
! dent to intimate. 1t was posted upon Low
eminence, almost overlooking Murfreesboro
| and in this situation formed, as indeed it hal
done before, the extreme left wing of GU
army. 1t was about four o'clock in the eve
ming, when no one anticipated a renewal O
| the battle, that the rebels advanced in over
whelming force, under the command 0
breckenridge, who seems to have been al
day in charge of the right wing of their army
and threw themselves with terrible i'm
petuosity upon Gen. Van Cleve's division
This portion of our forces was in comman
nt Df a., neI,
cleve having been wounded on Wednesday
The assault of the enemy was speedily an
nounced to the rest of the army by terribl
war of artillery and deafening rattle of mus
kerry. Everybody rushed instantly to arms
and all seemed anxious to engage the enem
at once. For half an hour the gallant me-