The Nashville daily union. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1862-1866, 1863-12-11

| ing. Va tnat part OF our line, cOFerlng
the Lenoir Road (our lef,f) General
Saunders, Colonel WoolfOrd, and Lieuten-
ant Colonel Bond, of the I12th Illinois,
are holding our 'front.' and doing it gal
lantly, ike soldiers of mettle, as they are.
Late in the afternoon heavy bodies Of
rebel infantry were seen depioying to-
wards our center, by the road that leads
from the Lenoir Road, at Armstrong;
house, to the northvard Of town, BY
Haxsn's hOus', and commonly called the
Hazen Road. Their purpose is apparent,
bat, As | have hinted, they will fnd their
approach thOrny one.
WEDNESDAY,, THE 18th.
Night again, and no battle t1-day.
Why the rebels have not attacked is be-
yoHd my comprehension bat | sm
thankful they did not. The work of to-
day has iBereas I'd, . hundred fold our
chances Of beating back the enemy.
Captain o. NJ. Poe, the Chief Engineer
has done the work Of his department so
ably, that he has made Knoxville, in
forty EIGHT hours, one Of the strongest
places on the continent Every knoll,
every hill, has been transformed into
formidable fOrtiflcations, bris!ling with
bayonets and guns. Even the little rivu-
lets flowing around the city, have been
kneaded into the general defense. By
damming them at the proper points, Capt
Poe has made moais neck deep of every
one of them. General, officers, soldiers
Snd people, al recognizes in Capt Poe the
educated soldier of quick perceptions
and broad intellect, who is to-day, and
here, invaluable to his country.
Thus much said 10 show that we have
make the most of precioustime it is incum-
bent on me to sketch the history Of the
day beyond the Notifications, where other
true men, in other ways we're doing SER
vice for the old flag.
In my last nights writing l left our
line Of skirmishers covering the Lenoir
or Kingston Road, two miles from the
city, the line being composed Of the 45th
Ohio, 18TH Illinois, l2sh Kentucky, and
9th Michigan.
This morning came with one Of the
densest fogs have ever seen, and as il
did not lift until nine o'clock, matters
along the front were quiet until that
hour. Then, however, skifmishing be-
gan on precisely the same ground As yes
terday, and the line was held by our
troops with steady valor never sur
passed. General Burnside had placed
the line himself on Tuesday, and asked
the boys TO stay there, aud there they
stayed. Gen. Saunders, to whose diVis-
ion they belonged, was always In the
front line, and not one of bis soldiers
would desert him. All day long the roar
of small arms was incessant, and oeca-
sionally we ,hreW shsl Is from B. bel point
the hill immediately on the right Of the
Lenoir road, aud on which is our princi
pal fort on the left. The rebels also used
artillery during the day, but without do
ing us any material damage. About
O'Clock in the afternoon the rebels chargd
our line with . large brigade, in regi-
mental front The extreme right Of our
line being very weak, was forced back by
mere weight of numbers, and this brought
on q conflict of . few minutes at close
quarters. Pistols were used by the reb-
els, and our bayonsts being fixed was all
that prevented as from being tramplsd
under foot. The officer commanding
them, mounted on powerful bay horse,
said to be General Warfeld, Of South
Carolina, rode 10 the line of the I12lh
Illinois and cried out, Surrender, you
damned Yankees Give up thai fiagr'
Major Don, of the 1l2th Illinois, was as
coolly intrepid as the rebel, and deaantly
answered, You can't have them. Shoot
him, boys shoot him u No sooner said
than done; the daring rebel fell, and not
one Of oar line butregretted that SO brave
a man should perish in so bad cause.
Our line was too weak to Withstand the
onset of so superior force, and, being at
last 50 ordered, fell back slowly and in
good order from the hill they had held
with such brilliant val0r for thirty-siX
hours. As they came out from that con-
fict, the 45th Ohio, 112th Illinois, 18th
Kentucky and 9Th Michigan, baptized in
blood and tried in 3 furnace ten times
heated, were covered with 3 glory no
time can diminish, and were hailed as
heroes, every man Of them, by the entire
army.
About the moment of this rsbel charge,
under precisely what circumstances it
seems impossible to discover, our gallant
Saunders fell, dangerously wounded, and
was borne from the fsld where be had
80 nobly Vindicated his claim TO bis
neHly-wOn star. do not often approve
Of Generals exposing themselves con-
stantly; bat, to-day, il Was Of the last
Importance 10 as that oaT line should be
held until the last possible moment, 70
give time for the completion Of cur works,
and it is the concurrent testimony of all,
that Saunders presence in the line had
powerful effect in hOldi0g il steady. II
hs dies, a. to-nighs 4 ms be eerlsnily
must, lie dies At his post, true soldier
and q gallant officer.
Summing up the general results Of the
day, our outer line has fallen back some
three hundred yards; Our loss in killed,
wounded and missing will probably reach
one hunCrsd, but if Eying reports on the
field were Iaken would largely oyeTrun
that number. The rebels have lost far
more heavily than we, and eiphsring Up
to-day's work they fad their product U,
and doubtless, by this time, consider the
taking Of Knoxville any Ihing but
joke.
TEURsDAY, THE 19TH.
Night again. and the rebels still mani
testing waolssome ct for our lines.
/ am growing dubious Is 70 che inten-
tions Of L ngstreet. II be had meant to
carry the place BY storm, his time was
Tuesday or yesterday morning. BE can
scarcely intend 70 starve as out, o. he
would not leave as the whole Of Blount
County to forage, IS hs has done By
Withdrawing bis forces from the south
side Of the river. be can hardly fear an
assault from Us, Jet il would sppear 90
from bis throwing up Fedoabts and rife
pits, as we can plainly see be is doing
/ am almost afraid TO Tisk prediction as
10 what a rebel General intends doing;
bat il looks TO me s. II be were amusing
as here while marching by on his road
70 Virginia. II this ia what be Is doing,
and be succeeds, as be inevitably will,
then be and ali the rebel powers And
press will herald bis movement as a
achievement unequsled sincs tie days Of
Xenophon. Bot il is absolutely certain,
to my mind, that when he crossed the
rigsr, LODgstreet's expectation was 10
capture this entire army, and If be don't,
"a