The new South. [volume] (Port Royal, S.C.) 1862-1867, 1863-07-18

came ten-fold more furious than before.
Sickles fell severely wounded in the leg, and
his corps was literally cut to pieces. The second
Corps was thrown in the breach fromthe right and
the Fifth from the left. The Second suffered Sc
verely. Hancock received painful flesh wound
in the thigh, but refused to be led from the field
while the engagement continued. Here, loo, Gen.
Gibbon was wounded in the shoulder The terri
BILE charge and fierce battle ragged with unabated
fury. The Fifth Corps, including the Regulars
and the pennsylvania Reserves, struggled IN the
hercuean labor with the determination OF men
born to conquer in battle The aid of the 18th
Corps, from the extreme right, was called for, and
division was ordered up, and about the same
time Sedgwick came up with the 9th Corps, AFTER
march of 36 consecutive hours. The men were
footsore, many without shoes, hungry and weary,
ready to drop on the road from exhaustion. But
the situation was imminent, and The soldiers dis
cerned at glance the magnitude of the danger.
When the order to charge was given, forgetting
their WEAKNESS they rushed on the enemy like an
avalanche, Therebel column staggered and reeled,
and then fell back in confusion leaving their dead
living against and across each other in this Held OF
slaughter. The sun went down, and as the western
hills ecipsed his rays the battle carnage ceased on
the left The failure to tun our left inspired Gen.
Lee with desperate determination to gather up
his broken columns and hurl them on our right, IN
order to gain the valley roads. The attack on Sit
cum was furious even to madness. The lst and
9th Corps came up promptly to the support OF the
18th Corps From dark until 81 O'Clock the battle
ragged with unabated fury The lines moved to
and fro, each in turn advancing and falling back
At this hour on the night the enemy made his
final charge on the left of the right wing, held by
Gen. Geary's division. He was repulsed with ter
rible slaughter. and refused to renew the attack.
At 10 O'Clock the battle ceased, and during the
night all was quiet.
During the night, Gen. Meade made suitable
preparations to dislodge the rebel Gen. Ewell from
the position taken from Gen. Slocum in Wednes-
DAVIS battle The men knew well the work that
lay before them on the ensuing day, and cheered
each other for the coming strife. AT four CLOCK
on Friday morning the battle opened with ter
rife fire from Gen. Slocum's men on EwelPs posi-
ton. The rebels responded witha furious charge.
For six hours they hurled their solid masses
against our lines with a contempt Of death
worthy nobler cause. The National troops stood
like wall of fire, whose flaming ton ues enwrap-
ped in death whatever came near, whose founda-
tion were firm as the primal rock on which it rest
ed. About ten O'Clock the battle sAckeHed, and
the rebels began to retire to their original position.
The lull continued until two clock, when Gen>
Lee opened line of artillery FIRE from l59 guns,
which were concentrated directly against Cemetery
Hill, and the position held by the Second and First
Corps. The fire was returned, and for three
hours was maintained with great energy. The
sight and sound were awfully sublime. The hills
trembled beneath the percussion The sound
filed the heavens, and nature, as it were, stood
still to contemplate the scene. Horses were shot
down by scores, gun-carriages were demolished,
pieces dismounted, caissons exploded, whole bat
teries were swept away and cannoniers and officers
killed and wounded in numbers almost Incredible.
No less than fifteen caissons were exploded on the
heights and two regular batteries on the right of
the cemetery were completely demolished. The
silent abode of the dead was made the theatre OF
deadly conflict. TombStones and beautiful monu-
ments were demolished. Great holes were tora in
the earth by the explosion of shells and the sur,
face checkered with burrows. About tour O'Clock
the rebel artillery fire ceased, and dense column
Of infantry, under Gen. Arn,istead, emerged from
the centre, evidently with aview of penetrating an
open space between the First and Second Corps,
that had been left vacant during the fierce cannon
L. - .@k,,s rndnr