, 1863-09-30
THE BATTLE OF CHICKA-
MAUGA.
Interesting Statement from Col.
WiIdei.
Terrible Slaughter Of Longstreet's
Rebels.
FORMER REPORTS EXAGGERATED.


From the Indianapolis Journal, osth.1
On Saturday, Col. John T. Wilder, Of this
State, commander Of the celebrated mounted
infantry brigade Of the army Of the Cumber.
land, and one Of the most prominent and sue
ceaeful Of the subordinate officers In the late
on his way home to recruit his health aud
strength, from prostrating illness which
would have sent him to the rear long ago, If
the prospect Of battle had not been Strong
er than the disease, and kept hin up. He
left Chattanooga last Wednesday morning,
news of the battles on the ChIckamau-
60 than the public has seen. He says that the
report Of the n. 7. Hera1ds correspondent,
telegraphed from Cincinnati, is incorrect and
exaggerated first, because the correspond
ent did not know what disposition had been
made Of portions Of the two corps which he
repo1ts defeated ana scattered; and second,
because he left the field on Sunday evening,
and could not possibly have learned the full
result Of the light. Col. WIlder's positIon
WAS such us to enable him to know not only
s.,n The noye%ents aas Of the troops preceding TIE
the very last news that could be gathered
there. In Saturdays fight, be Was On the
left, or left center. That night the greater
portions Of McCook's and Crittenden's
corps moved past him to strengthen
Thomas, on the extreme left, leaving him on
Inc tAL1ellt IJEut. BttWeeu tQB OE1EaQ6 aQu
Thomas, in the center, instead Of two corps,
as represented by the Herald writer, thera
were but two divisions, Sheridan's and JEFF.
C. Davis Of these corps. Here the line was
necessarily very weak, and the rebels falling
in the desperate attack upon Thomas, and ID
u fierce but not persistent dash upon the
right, took. the opportunity Of some move
They massed a column si1 or eight deep
against our thin line and broke through It,
scattering the divisions more by main
streDgth and pressure than by their fire, into
the hills and ho]1oWs and woods Of Mission
Ridge behind them, where the nature OF the
ground made it difficult to keep them togeth.
er or rally them. This was the only real re-
yerse Of the day. It embraced but two dlyis-
Ions, as already stated, and Of these Sheridan
and Davis, who. Wilder says, did al1 that hu-
man daring and GOODNESS could, rallied con-
siderable number, and returned to the fight.
Not many we're killed or captured, as the reb-
els were prevented from using their advan-
them by Wilder's seven shooting rifles and
artillery as they passed him in pursuit. He
eayB they did not 70 half mile beyond his
line, mud soon fell back. After this he held
his ground five hours without mo1estatIon.
How Thomas held the left, OF rather the
main main l% b%od{ & Of The atnY is & known to eveIy;;
and beaten back. In the center they broke
up tHo divisions, but with less fatal
result than might have been expected. This
is the sum Of the matter. On Sunday night
Wilder distributed bis brigade 30 as to protect
the roads from the right to Chattanooga, and
on Monday Joined the main body in good or
der and good spirits, entirely unconscious Of
any defeat. Thomas came IN on Monday at
his own pleasure, with more than two.thirds
Of the whole army, and any thing but q defeat
to report, as the most dispiritlng accounts
~ 4$v 1Nt1 IL L
Of the centre, TN We chose to leave 1t, as
Rosecrans would have done before the fight,
if the rebels had let him. They fought to
break him up before he could get back TO the
imp1egnable position ut Chattanooga, and
only eucceeded In breaking up two divisions.
As Wilder came In he gathered up and
brought with him q very large amount Of
stores and uaterlal, supposed BY those in
Chattanooga, and # conrea by the Herald
i writer, to have been lc!%. anDDgthtse were
two guns, one hund,e': ambIIances, sixty
beef cattle, and Large Lumber Of amn,uni-
zion wagons and calssons. Similar recoyeries
were doubtless made By other portions Of the
to publish bis description Of the fight, and
| knew nothing Of this rather important Taria-
tion Of tie state Of facts behind him. Our
| lots In prfeonefs In both days, the Colonel
faxa will not exceed tEelty dTe hundred In
caraipg the wounded. In artillery 1t will be
recovered and brought In Of which he could
know nothing when he gave his estimate to
the correspondent. We captured about Z, 900
p1isoIers, Of whom Wilder brought ], $50
With him to Stevenson. The distance of the
battle field from Chattanooga has not been
| fully understood, and the supposition that
RoEec1ans WAS driven back twenty or thirty
miles, has added gloomy thade even to the
| most cheering aspect..of the fight; but the
| distance was small, our extreme right, which
was far1hest aWay on Sunday, being less than
twelve miles Of, and the left, after falling
back to Mission Ridge, being hardly more
On Monday, immediately after the return
from the field, Wilder was cent of up the
Tennessee to guard fords and passes for Burn
sides benefit, md took with him dispatches
from Roaecrans With full news Of the "sitaa
cred, as the courier taking them got back JUS
us Wilder started home. This assures tht
country that Burnside will not be caught IN
prepared. When the courier reached him h
was moving towards Chattanooga, at wha
Point or with what strength it would proba
that by this time he is past all danger Of be
ing Intercepted by the rebels, and has forc'
enough to make good al1 Rosecrans has lost
ard something over. At Stevenson Wilde
heard rumor that Grierson's cavalry from
the Mississippi we're within ten miles. an'
! t1aL 1IelInuAh " uolH CoIps HA5 "4t44u ~
days. march, coming up from Decatur, Ala
bama, but the rumoTs were undoubtedI
false, as G1ierson was in Springfield, H., o
Friday, ard Sherman c0uld not have got
the point stated, from the Big Black, In th
time that has elapsed since the battle, aud II
know that he had not started before.
Among the Incidents of the battle OF Sat1l
day, Col. Wilder described the fearful slaugt
ter Of LoDgstreet's men at the time they wer
driven back by our left wing. This celebra
ed corps, as desperate soldiers az ever nvet
attacking two divisions, Van Cleye's and Dt
gfb', to the right and a little in front Of Wllt
| er, separated them, and pushed on throug
seip, nstead of sefflf 1 Civilized inrrsh-and co.
cTols email deid, behind which, in the boz
dering woods, Wilder lay, and through whic
ran ditch five or six feet deep, to carry o
As the rebels entered this field, In heav
masses fully exposed, the mounted infantry
with their seren-shooting rifles, kept up
continuous blast Of fire upon then
while LILLY, with his Indiana Batter.
from bis ten-ponnder rifles, at less than thre
hundred yards. The effect was awful. Ever
shot SCENE d to tell. The head Of the column
: as it WAS puehcd on by those behind, appeal
ed to melt away or sink into the earth, 10
I though continually moving 1t got no nearel
i broke at Inst and fell back IN great diso'
der. 1t was ra11itd and came on again, an
with desperate resolution pushed throug
the so1id fire to the ditch. Here all w1
could Get It took shelter. Instantly Lill
whir1ed two Of bis guns and poured rigf
down the whole length Of the ditch his horr
.. BILE double cannister. Hardly u man got OF
Of it alive. "At this poirt,'' said Wilde
! (who has been seasoned to slaughter by bein
two hundred times under fire, "ft actual
l seemed pity to Kill men SO. They fell ]
t heaps, and had 1t In my heart to order tt
! firing to cease to end the awful sight" Bt
I the meIciless seven shooters and canfst'
) would not stop, and again the boosted flow.
l Of Lees army was crushed into dfsorderl
= mob and driven of, When the firing cease
9 one conld have walked for two hundred yart