The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1863-06-27

we are peTHitteu W copy tue loIlOwlH
= from letter of the Surgeon of the "glor
! GUS old Eleventh Illinois to fellow SO
dier. 1t was dated, Rear Of Vicksbur
7 June 7th:
In my last from Haines' Bluff. spoil,
Of the horrid din of war. This was at tn
distance Of 5 to 10 miles Since that tim
: | have Leen in the midst of the figh
passing many an hour in half erect pos
!, ton, fearing that the top of my hea,
would be blown off If dared to straightei
myself out On Sunday arrived at tn
headquarters of our regiment 1t Col
Coats commanding Foun the regimen
all huddled up in holes in side hill, lik
badgers. On the hill just opposite wer
the rebels-each watching..the other, and
woe to the man that dare TO show himsel
on either side This is the position 0
both armies. On the top of every hill i.
our possession we have erected batteries o
from to guns each, protected from the
enemy by Notifications in front
Nc hare e',t.re command Of erery g.0, thei
have in our neigh borhood, and they d,
not use single cannon against Us in the
rear
Our mortar boats, six in number liz
| about two miles in front Of the city. VI
and across the river; our Cunboats are
below the town.
| The rebels use only the river batteries
against US, and every hillside all over the
city. or Immediately opposite in the rear,
I Is filled with sharp.shooters to break our
charges. We have made three charges on
their breastworks, and three times have
| been repulsed. 1t was In one (the 2dl oil
! these charges that Col. Nevius was killed
Just as he raised himself up on the top OF
! the hill he was struck in the forehead
and killed instantly. The force of the
enemy in the city is supposed TO be about
| 2O,OUv. In one week, that is, by the 18th
OF this month, if not sooner, the city Will
/ be ours
! From sunrise TO sunset, and from sunset
10 sunrise, there is one constant and con.
tinued cannonade going on and this is
also accompanied with the constant fire
of musketry and rifles You have some
idea of it from your recollcctions Of Shiloh,
but here it is worse if anything, and the
devoted city, with its inhabitants, is fast
being destroyed, and still the rebels refuse
To surrender a great mauv women an
children refused TO leave the city when
Grant offered them the privilege, and now
they cant get away. and the destruction of
many has tak-r place. Many women and
children have been wo,uded and ma med
and are now l!vIu. in holes in the ground
the only refuge from our shot and shell
The view by night : grand ana sublime.
We are about miles from the mortar
boats, which are Immcd atey i'll front of
the city. At this distance. we first see the
flash of the moitcrs like lightning in the
evening sky, then comes the distant boom
ing OF the explosion from the Inortars,
rurtbling and reverberating up and down
the river, like the thuuders of tornado
th ell we SEE rising up immediately before
what seems TO be a small shooting star
This goes up for q distanc. Of at least on-
mile and half, and seems 10 poise itself
c:er The doomed city, when it commences
IT'S descent Sometimes II reaches the
ground before its explosion. bLt often it
exp.odes in the air. wildly lighting Up
the whole scenery around scattering its
'...'' H'ri tIie usatis of thu ..f.~si
Although We aic accustomed 10 Inc noise
and no not esen n,tic 5 it in theidaytlme
Yet 1t becomes 30 loud in the night, as to
keep us awake often all night.
have lust seen Major Waddeil, who is
officer of the day. and is just from our
front One of our men Yesterday took n
peep just Tor d moment over the hIli, and
got ball between his eyes, which killed
him instantly. have on several occasions,
suffered my curiosity TO take me 10 the
same place, and have as often had II .eadeu
messenger OF death fit 10y my head -
Since then | have been entirely satisfied
with the range OF vision up to the sky and
my rear. The rebels are starving Ill NIcks
burg Maj Waddell this morning saw a
rebel major who had just deserted from
the city, and who stated that last night
they eat up the last morsel OF meat, and
now have nothing but corn, which they
parch and eat. He SAYS that most of tn e
women and children are collected together
under the bluff near large church, and
are there less exposed than in any other
place in the city. lie told Waddell that
he saw them Just before he lett, and they
were the most pitiable looking objects his
eyes ever rested upon. They would fall
upon their knees to every officer that
came amongst them, supplcating him in
the most piteous manner 10 surrender the
city and save them from destruction.
The leaders have but one hope left them,
and that they will cling TO as long as posi-
ble and that is, relief IN the rear. But
this also will fail them as we this morning
learned that 20 600 Of our men are in hot
pursuit Of Johnston who was approaching
to the relief Of Ficksburg. He is getting
away from Grant as fast as his Legs can
carry him
.ien. Grant SAID yesterday evening that
! in three days his boats would land at the
wharf in Nicksburg-God grant that II
may be so-Our men have no tents. but
live in holes Gug in the side Of the hills
, which are very high and very steep, and
~, IL I. tl,n l1Al Ii rL-a
terraced gardens. Every nest in the hills
has a thatched covering of cane in from,
of it the ground is covered with the
green tops OF the cane, and tie men live
a good deal like ground hogs. The whole
country hereabouts is very dry and dusty
and of course our camps abound in dirt
ticks, lice, fieas, musquetoes, lizards, ano
last, Jut not least. SNAKES.
Our hospital has about 90 sick anC
wounded in it, which number is being ad
ded to daily; and then every few days
some are sent off to the hospital boats a
the river. This campaign has been th'
most arduous we have yet had. The
rebs in Nicksburg have several times at
tempted to cut their way out, but have a
often been driven back so you see if the.
won't let us in We won't let them out. +
few days since an armistice Of hours wa
made. and the men from both armies me
ridway, and had a jolly time OF IT. an,
everai brothers met each other from ooti
sides. When the six hours EXPIRED, the.
matted with tears and resumed the otfen
. sive.
Geh Ransom is well, and bears his hon
ors very mildly, so does Capt. c. Z. Dickey
of his staff Our regiment, Clth) and ii
fact the whole army, are iii an excel!en
: state O: health. The same number O
men at home would present an equa
nnmber of cases of disease. Our regimen
. has lost only ten killed and twenty wound
; ed in all the battles since they crossed til
river.
DIR. Mills, our Medical Director, told m
tho total number of cases of wOunde,