Dayton daily empire. [volume] (Dayton [Ohio]) 1850-1865, 1863-01-16

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Atm1tice 10 Bru the Dead of The Battle Of
Monday, December 29.
have already written you general run
ming account Of the battle on Monday last
The night following, the rain fell in perfect
tortents, deluging the country and rendering
sll movements simply impossible. Tuesday
was therefore spentin idleness, the troops dry
ing their saturated garments upon their'baeks
BY heat generated in climbing trees and tramp.
ing about in the deep mud. Even the I'M
fortunate wounded Of the previous day, who
had been leIi upon the field with their slain
companions we're forgotten and left TO suffer
nntold gouies, many ofthem dying from ne
glect The battlefield lay between the two
armies, and was swept by the sharpAhooters
OF both sides, so that neither could with safety
prosecute the humane work Of burying the
dead and tareing for those who still lived
Duringthe night Of Tuesday the rebels sent
flag oftrnee TO our lines, proposing an armis,
tioe for the purpose Of performing the sad rites
of burial to the fallen, which was accepted by
General Sherman, and Wednesday was oceu-
piedin this lAborl Both loyal troops and re-
bells then met on q common field, their ami
mpsites for the time forgotten or laid aside,
while the ghastly corpses were gathered up,
Isnatched from the clutches Of the swarms Of
buzzards that brooded over, the plain, and
placed in rudely and hastily,dsg graves.
Horrible Suferings of The Wounded
Many wounded were also found, in whom
a little life yet remained, but whose tortures
awakened most plteous appeals that that little
Of mortality might be eXtinguished. ltwss
a sad and heart-rending sight to see these
poor sufferers, frequently buried beneath the
slain, or held to the ground by the weight OF
the carcass of horse, in which position
they had lain through daylight and darkness,
in rain and storm, with aching wounds, gaping
and bleeding, for thirty-six long hours, calling
to the dead for water or appealing, in ago
nies Of despair, TO the storm or the silence
for relief Horrible indeed is the idea of be-
ing wounded in battle and left uncared for
through single night; but what must have
been the paroxysms of pain, the torture and suf
fering endured by those poor wounded dsoldiersr
Language has no power to describe such phys
Ical agony Death in any form would have
been most welcome relief to them. .q
Intercourse of the Soldiers
During the progress of this labor Of hu-
manity the opposing forces indulged in much
freedom OF conversation, carried on so far
as have learned, in the utmost good feeling,
and without any demonstration of bitterness
The rebels exulted in the impregnability of
their position, and avowed their determine
ton to hold it TO the last, having not the slight
est doubts of their ability to do SO. Their
real strength, they ayerred, had never yet
been shown, but that as we advanced, if in
deed we should be able to make any headway
against them, we would find increased strehgth
and greater obstacles in our way, until such
formidable defenses would be met that reg
iment would hold ten thousand assailants in
check. In fine, they were firmly convinced
that Vicksburg could never be taken either
from the front or rear According to their
assertions, Pemberton and Price, with the
bulk Of their army, had escaped from in front
oil Grant and were now at Vicksbnrg; that
their force had been swelled since our arrival
from twenty thousand TO sixty Thousand troops
that they had Il hundred and sixty guns in
position, besides light artillery that General
Lee was at Vicksburg directing operations,
though the actual command was vested in
General Pemberton. 1mla
The Ydzoo Increment Abandoned
With the abandonment of this movement
was abandoned the project of carrying the
enemys position. Sili Gen. Sherman held
his positions, occasionally skirmishing little,
but mainly busted ia arranging plan for the
withdrawal Of his army, To accomplish this
WAS no mere undertaking, and it is justice to
say that the retrograde movement from in
| front Of the enemy was most admirably exc
cuted. One of the chief difficulties TO contend
with was the embarkation of the troops so
near the enemy, It was not to be supposed
that the retreat could be made wholly unob-
served, or at most that it would escape detee-
| ton more than few hours But then the
gunboat feet was at hand to cover the en-
barkation yet these could not cover every
point Of the river so that a dash might not
te successfully made and some Of the eRoF-
nous feet of transports destroyed u ..
I5il The Withdrawal of The Troops.
Thursday night, at midnight, orders were
sent along the line for an instantaneous move
ment, to be made in the most quiet and orderly
manner Pckets we're still out and sentinels
pacsd4heir beats inlthe bright moonlight, in
front of our lines, keeping up, to the ohsery-
ant eye OF our wary enemy all the appear
ance Of determination to remain. The
troops, meanwhile, were formed in marching
order; camp equipage was packed, and every
thing placed in readiness for marching, be
fore any one was made aware Of the direc
ton they were to take Our pickets and
sentinels wtre then quietly withdrawn, and al
one O'Clock the whole army was in motion
aud at daylight were hating upon the banl
of the river
The Enbarkation. ..... ..t t...
The embarkation commenced immediately
and proceeded rapidly and in good order
with but single accident, and that Of 9
trivial character. .. .r "H