The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1863-06-25
PACIFIC
Commercial Advertiser.
The Great Battle on Sunday. Nav 3.
before Fredericksburg.

1t was very evident at daylight this morning
that the day would bring forth a terrific battle.
We knew that the enemy had been reinforcing
has line all night, az the expense, undoubtedly,
of the strength of his force on our lett. His
intention was, evidently, to fight for the posses
sion Of the plank road, which it was perfectly
apparent he must have. as that portion Of 1t
which We then held was subject to the enemy's
assaults in front and ON both TANKS. But the
possession of this road was not obtained by the
enemy save at our own time, at his seyerest cost,
and after one Of the most desperate. tenacious
and bloody conflicts, for it, snort duration, Of the
whole war. At five O'Clock AN. the rebels could
be plainly seen up the plank road, about Il mile
and a half from the Chancellor House which
General Hooker still retained as his Headquarters,
though u shell had gone through il the evening
before, and another had cut down a tree directly
in front Of it. Our line of battle was formed
with General Berry's gallant division on the right,
General Birney next on the left, General Whip
pie and General Williams supporting. At half
past five AN. the advance became engaged In the
ravine, just beyond the ridge where Captain
Best's guns had made their terrific onslaught the
night before, and where they still frOwned upon
the enemy and threatened his destruction.
The rattle of m%usketry soon became u long
continued crash, and in Il few moments, as bat
talon after battalion became engaged, the roar
surpassed all conception, and indicated 5hdt the
light would be one of the most terrible nature.
General Berry's division, which had checked the
ShcuhJ > dINdHCc tue Hl1nL DcIDrc, engaged MIN
again, and if it were possible for them to add
fresh laurels to their fame, then they did it thrice
over again. The enemy advanced his infantry in
overwhelming numbers, and seemed determined
to crush our forces. But the brave men Of Sickles
and SlOcum, who fought their columns with des-
perate gallantry, held the rebels in check, and
inflicted dreadful slaughter among them. Gen.
frenchs division was sent in on the right flank
OF our line at about seven An, and in a short
time a horde Of ragged, streaming rebels running
Ia-En rIa- ~ H. H. II. --.. 4 II I
enemy's line had been crushed. At eight O'Clock
a. ". Gen. French sent his compliments to Gen.
Hooker, with the information that he had charg-
cd the enemy and was driving him before him.
Sickles maintained the attack upon his line
with great endurance. The enemy seemed deter
mined to crush him with the immensely of his
forces, and as subsequently shown from the state
Inents OF prisoners five whole divisions of the
rebel army were precipitated upon this portion
Of the line, for from this five divisions we took
during the day an aggregate of over two thou
sand prisoners.
The exploits Of our gallant troops in those dark,
gloomy woods, may never be brought TO
light; but they would fill a hundred volumes. 1t
vas a deliberate, desperate, hand-tn-hand conflict,
md the carnage was perfectly frightful. Cool
'ficers say that the dead and wounded of the
ne1ny covered the ground in heaps, and that the
ebels seemed utterly regardless of their lives,
nd literally threw themselves upon the muzzles
I our guns. Many desperate charges were made
"a M tiC ~ ~ uIsS ny DUTY DIVISION.
lofts brigade made fifteen distinct charges, and
aptured seven stands Of colors. the Seventh New
ersey, Colonel Francine, alone capturing four
tands of colors and five hundred prisoners.
General COuch's Second Army Corps, though {
in part present, did excellent work. Ii was {
ieneral French who charged and drove the enemy
the flank, and it was the indOmitable Hancock '
Tho calamity went to the relief of the hard a
ressed Sickles. @
The engagement lasted without the slightest !
lfprmTSSIDn from nj " tn S.11 ,rIa, Z
was n temporary cessation on our part, Y
by getting out of ammunition. We v
ED our position for nearly an hour with t
lie bayOnet, and then, being re-supplied, an l
der was given to fall back to the vicinity of the
House, which we did in good order. [
ere the contest was maintained for an hour or s
ore, not 50 severely rs before, but with great ha-
&c to the enemy and much loss to ourselves. t
The vicinity of the Chancellor House was now o
e theater of the fight, and my visits to that e
Ot became less frequent. General Hooker t
his headquarters there until ten An, s
hen the house was set on fire by the enemy's v
ellis, and is now in ruins. Charlottesville is
longer in existence, having persisted with the t
lines, but charlottesville is in history, never c
be effaced. Our new line was now so far e- i
blished rs to render it safe t. withdraw all our h
on that front, which was accordingly done, t
ID at 1870 An. the musketry firing ceased. IL
The engagement had lasted SIX hours. but had d
en- the most terrific of the war. Our artillery D
u literally SldugHIcTct Jue enemy, ana many OF 81
e companies had lost heavily in men themselves. b
It the guns We're all saved. The enemy was II
w no longer in our rear, but had been showed "
directly in our front, and is now directly d
tween US and our forces in fredericksburg and Il
were again in IN intrenched and fOrmidably L
titled position. The enemy has gained some p
ound, it IS true, but at the sacrifice of the IN
of his force, five of his seven divisions hav- fl.
: been cut to pieces in the effort, and over
300 of them having fallen into our hands. Ir
Dur right wing, under Generals REYNOLDS and -
.ade, was not engaged, save the division of VI
neral Humphreys, which went into the woods "
the enemy's left flank, and fought v~aliantly
der their brilliant leader, until their ammuni- .
n was exhausted. ct
During the afternoon the enemy made T.,
eral attempts to force our lines, particularly l
the apex of our position, near the Chancellor ",
use, but Captain Weed had massed a large IL
unity of artillery in such a position as 20 re- vi
Sc with great loss everything placed within its /"
ge. The enemy tried several batteries and Is
iments at that point ut different times during Is
afternoon, and they were literally destroyed ~
the fire of our terrible guns. Nothing can 81
within their range. I'D
,AIRLY AEOUsED.-For the first time since the I'm
elli0u broke out, the Government and its COM an
ldIng Generals appear TO have walked up TO the In
ortance OF Destroying the railroad communication str
ne rebels Heavy detachments of cavalry have de,
] sent South At different points along the line, hi.
] the Mississippi to the Rappahanuock, AMI en-;
ing from the imperfect reports We obtain of their