Gallipolis journal. [volume] (Gallipolis, Ohio) 1837-1919, 1863-10-15

4
r come Of our own line, the rebels st
4, rushed to the attack, apd for an bo,
y scarcely man moved from Stead IN
> fright to the point Of the hill on Il
II left, except to load and FIRE. Occasion
ally fragments of; regiments came ri
y and joining the line along the from
}. continued the work Of death. Smith
: Battery Ploughed through their lin.
II With canister, and still their ranks close
e up, and faced US. ~
Il AT one time two Federal regiment
9 bali complete. came up in two line
moved rapidly to the log heap befor
the eth Ohio. aud the six lines lsy dow
together, and poured their combine
e fire for half an hour into their wsyel
! irg. yet still persistent ranks.
t And then came q time that none wi
ever forget who moved on the hill tbs
! night. From every point Of the lin
came up the cry Give us ammunition,
: and not box could be obtained. Tn,
tire was slackening fearfully. Men fel
instinctively for their bsyouets and pu
them on, and the command ran aIonI
the line to hold their position with tht
bsyonet. Then a single wagon load cl
cartridges arrived, and in FIVE minute,
the bill smoked again, and rang with
the iifes' deadly crack-the aIready =
contracting lines Of the rebels fell bacE
again. and the fierce tide OF battle rolled
strongly down those slopes, already
slippery with blood, and mown smooth
by every form Of shot. Still the rebel
fire did not slacken, and rank after rank
of fresh troops came bravely on. Their
army seemed dying there.
Again the cry was for ammunition,
and again bayonets went on. By the
exertion of officers end men a few
rounds were obtained from the boxes Of
the dead and wounded, and the fire
continued. Oh! how the prayer for
night, or ammunition or help, trembled
on every lip, yet fear did not prompt it,
for not until our last resource, the
bayonet, had failed, was the foe to set
his foot on soil stepped in our comrades
blOOd-that determination was written
on every brow, and Gen. Branuan, with
Col. Vandevere, who had all the while
displayed unparalleled coolness and
bravery. quietly tod their men to give
the rebels cold steel.
Cartridges were received in sufficient
numbers to give the line three rounds
per man, and the firing was ordered to
cease. 1t was just dark, and with the
slackening OF our FIRE that Of the rebel
line nearly ceased, and that little band
OF heroes were masters OF the position,
and felt themselves saved. But the
rebels had vet one other game to play
before they were compelled to retire.
Gen. Granger had Withdrawn his line
on our right from the summit of the
ridge, and to this position rebel regi-
ment crept stealthily, and by represent
ing themselves as Union soldiers,
pounced upon and captured company
posted there, and took position within
seventy yards Of the 35th Ohio. This
regiment having but three rounds, an
other with sixty was placed in front of
it, and still another, which was sup
piled in front of that. Another rebel
regiment appearing in the twilight d.
reetly on the flank Of these, the 35th
was so wheeled as to face both. The
in front being only fragments,
and not connected with the division,
grew uneasy, or rather their officers
the men never finched--snd
without orders TO the rear,
The Colonel commanding one of them,
asserting at the top of his voice, that
the rebels were only fifty yards away,
and unless all fell back we would be
captured. The men Of the 35tb, with
the utmost scorn, cried out in body:
You don't command us, SIR" And
instead Of retiring, they crept to the
front.
Here an officer rode up and inquired,
Whose troops are these?" "35th
Ohio," was the answer. At this mo-
nent he wheeled suddenly, his uniform
betrayed him, and a volley from the
regiment riddled him and his horse,
and sent all, but three companies of
his command drawn up at close range,
in confusion down the hill. These
poured well directed fire
into our lines, killing and wounding
several, and disappeared. Their last
effort has been made, and failed, and
our little band, less than two thousand
strong, held position that tusnty thou
sand rebels had assailed continuously
for FIVE hours.
The officer shot in front of the 35th,
was the rebel Gen. Gregg.
1t must have been with pride that
Gen. Thomas stood on that hillside a
and to the left of him lay
bis entire corps. Negley excepted. with
Johnson and Palmer also, all on tbe1
line of the mornings fight. the rebels
everywhere repulsed, the road open to
the rear, the object OF the rebels foiled,
and victory virtually with bis corps.
The entire line was thus held till Z
o'clock, when the whole army moved
back in good order, without firing a
shot. and canped at Rossville for the
night.
A REPEsTAEr REBEL.--Henry W.
Of Alabama, long a member
Of Congress, was one Of the inaugura-