The Cass County Republican. [volume] (Dowagiac, Mich.) 18??-1880, 1863-01-29

Inc l0tH .lIllnUlS drove IL OF after
brief contest. The enemy retired t
the base of the bluff, which had ins
become visible through the woods
The main body of our troops kept ol
next Sunday morning along the cdg
of the creek, and were again met by
body of infantry concealed behind th
lcvee, and having several pieces at th
base of the bluff. Morgan L. Smill
brought forward brigade from th,
one direction, while Gen. Blair ordered
up another to sustain Col. De eCourcy il
opposition. The result was, that afte
"a terrific encounter between our field
Epieces aud those of the enemy for tw.
hours, in which the trees. and lgronnt
were cut up terribly, we lost but few
men. AT a signal the brigade of De
C"Ircy and the rest were ordered u,
To the charge. 32.it'
THE FIRST LINE EASILY TAKEN.
4 Gen. Morgan L. Smith was wounded
early in the acIien, when the comman,
dev"lved upon Gen. D.. Stuart. Gen
! Wyman, while in the act of telling hi.
men To rise aud rush forward, was
lpierced in the groin by bullet, and
died in less than two hours. These
things led to some temporary derange
ments, the brigade of DeCourcy rushed
on. The rebels fled, taking their QUITE:
! field pieces, and wheeling them up the
hill. Our men came to the bayou in
front of the first line of works, To find
them abandoned, and entered soon af-
ter without much opposition. This
gave rise to The report that we had
taken a battery from the rebels; all ot
which is untrue, as | am assured we
have neither taken nor lost single.
gun. ail s7-sH8i pa afof
The losses in Sundays action
anouuted tp nearly two hundred. The
amount of cannonadimg was extensive,
aud seemed fiji overture for the grand.
thrilling tragedy of the following da,.
Several of the regiments, learning The
ease with which we had taken The first
line of rifle PMS, expressed their cha
girn at not taking part. The next day.
however, there was fighting enough for
all who were willing.
GEN. sTEELE's ATTEMPT.
We should have stated that on SAT
nr'lay, while the troops of Gen. Morgan
were being landed between Old river
and the mouth of Chickasaw creek, 81
portion of Gen. Sie.le's forces had
been met q mile and half further up
the river, with view of penetrating to
the rear of VickSburg, aud ;f possible.
cutting off the railroad communication
with the Big Blark river. The division
of Gen. Steele, being by far the largest
nf the four, the large brigale of Gen
Blair was detached and sent to the ex
treme right, crossing the stream dag
nnally. Steele, with the balance of his
forces, landed nuder cover of gunhoats.
and had COTTON perhaps mile and a
half inland, when he found himself sur
rounded by a swamp OH the one side.
the bluffs lined with batteries i'm front.
After receiving the shells for an hour
while vainly accommodating the locality,
he sent. notice of this fact To General
Sherman, who ordered him to return to
the main body, which he did OH Mon
day morning. W e
i..f THE BATTLE ON MONDAY.
As the operations of the next day
form one of the most interesting chap
tiers in the history of the war, and NAV
ie placed among The most brilliant
achievements. we have been particular
To arrive at the facts as nearly as posi-
hlp. Having been an eye witness of
the fighting, we are prepared t" speak
with knowledge of It's intensity and
desperation.
The work assigned To this army was
to assault strong Qualifications, to storm
the height upon which the works were
placed. and io do this in the presence
of vigilant and unscrnpnl"ns foe.
We had thus far accomplished little
further than to dcscrv the cnemy's 20
sition, and contemplate the formidable
nature of his preparations. All The
fighting of the previnus day WAS a mere
infcrlude tn that which was to follow.
Could we gain the summit of the hills
after an awful slaughter. it was not nj
all certain that a furious effort would
not be made 10 drive MS ont again-in
other " ords pitched battle NIGH. have
Ia le fought after the enemy was driven
from his Stronghold nn the hill side.
THE STORM OF ARTILLERY.
On Monday ymnrning-,herefor dark |
til. yseven--at daylight the cannons
opened. Faltering, uncertain and fit
fnl nj fir>t-a mere contest between
batteries in front. Battery after bat
terry was wheeled forward with us, and |
battery after battery wheeled down bv
the enemy. The ball." as it usually |
does in seiges, opened with artillery
only. At a bend IN the Chirkasaw
creek, where it becomes mere bayou
at the font of the bluffs, we had four
thirty tnnr pounder PARROTS. Around
it, and on either wing, were howiizcrs,
rif1ed brass pieces, steel gnns-siXfv
cannon il, all. Two 81 Founders at the
top Of the ravine began To send their
shells bowling through the air. The
rapid, incessant, spiieful fire of the
guns began To assume Il personality of
vehemencc Sha and shell whistled
shrily and tnriouslv across the separat-
ing space--a thousand yards in all.
For three hours the contest was furious,
the bursting If shells being mingled IN
the confused roar of cannons.
So i AN IMPRESSIVE SCENE. #3it