Mineral Point weekly tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1859-1868, 1863-07-29
Letter From Capt. Otis.

tysDurg, ana particularly or the part Ia
ken by the Iron Brigade in that conflict;
Head ouarters I'd Wise Wisconsin W, Volunteers
July 9Th, 1868.
DEAR FATHER Il presume you are
anxiously looking for letter from me and
wondering why ] have so long remained
quiet; and doubt not, the stirring events
of the last few days have caused a greater
anxiety, 10 know whether am still among
the survivors of the great battles of the
/ lst ID and Sd of July
Our march through Virginia aud Mary
+ land into Pennsylvania was very rapid.
During that march we were continually
\ IN receipt of kilograms setting forth the
/ sad havoc made by the Rebel amy thro
the different counties, and of here and
there an accession to their numbers, be-
sides we were constantly reminded of the
threats of Lees army TO whip the militia
and If necessary the army of the Potomac
\ Not until the 2Sth or 29th ult., did we
I hear of the exact whereabouts Of the inya-
ders, aud then we were full of misgivings
almost fearing an encounter, lest they
outnumbered US, two to one On the 29th
our Corps (the lst) reached within six
miles OF Gettys sburg, where we encamped
for the night The next morning (the
lst inst the ''iong roll was beaten and
the lst army Corps advanced TO Gettys-
burg We had scarcely reached the city
when the artillery opened, and upon an
open field could be seen a line Of rebel
skIrmis shers advancing Our Reg. was on
the right of the Brigade and right of the
Division. We had scarcely reached the
battery and IN supporting distance when
we Ieceived an order to advance In line of
hattie and engage the enemy. No sooner
did the Col give the command forward
into line, than the right started off at
double quick, climbing a fence, and into
the woods, where halting, fixed bayonets
loaded and again on the double quick
advanced within range. From the time
we struck the fence, until we had halted,
the rebels poured an incessant fire into
our ranks. 4 : soon as the boys had got
fairly at work the rebels wayered and
finally turned their backs and run-our
Reg in full pursuit. The Reg't in this
short engagement captured over a hun
dred and fifty prisoners among whom was
Brig Gen Archer Soon after we were
Joined by the Brigade and fell back across
Marsh Creek, where we remained, with
part Of the lIth corps attached to our line,
until about-one o clock when the rebels
advanced upon lis. Here we fought for
more than an hour, until the left of our
line had given away and we observed that
the rebels were marching heavy columns
oi troops upon both our hanks-then we
give way, but in good style, c0ntes ing as
best we could every inch of the ground
-Four different times we urged the mass of
human beings to rally around our colors
and with our little band charge upon the
advancing columns OF the enemy. Our
reg had lost heavy, and 1t seemed as If
but a handful of men were left. Col
Fairchild. and 1t Col Stevens were both
wounded We reached the battery and
then fought as long as we had ammuni-
ton and until we were ordered to tie
rear OF the city MAJ. Mansfield had been
wounded by the battery and the command
of the Reg. fell upon me Geo. Legate
had fallen upon the field aud a. it were
lav between the two fires Columns Of
the enemy were moving upon all sides of
us and j. seemed rs if we We're bound to
be captured In fact | look upon the
scene, thought of Bull Run and wondered
if such was to be the fate Of this army
always | imagined defeat as its portion
in every strife, it matterinG not how hard
the troops fought, or how great was the
energy displayed You may well ina CINE
the feelings of the Badger bows, to be
obliged to leave upon the field their dead
and wounded comrades But such = the
misiortunes attending battles, as wei as
mis- isfOrtuues of a soldier This Is the third
or fourth time we have had to leave our
dead and wounded 10 the mercy of our
unfeeling foe, and | venture that very.
rerU many Of the wounded have died In
consequence, and for want of a little hu-
manity on the part of the Southern Ghiv-
airy
The two corps (the lst and 1lth) reach
ed the east side of the village, formed in
line Of battle and threw up breast works.
for better defence During the fight of
this dav, our troops fought force twice
( their number, and had that portion of
the llth corps stood as they should,
+ think the result could have been diA.rent
at least our loss could have been less and
I all could have retired in good order. As
/ II was the two corps were routed in per
/ feet disorder The loss on both sides was
! heavv-the enemy captured many priso-
ncrs. among whom was LIT VIM Noble
! privates, John Glanville, Thomas Pascoe,
/ Mark W. Terrill Ellis c Taylor of nv
/ Company Serg Joseph .. Williams,
I priyates NJ A Haese and David w Maf
! fett. were killed A list Of wounded |
/ have sent to Mr. Bliss The loss to my
+ company was p killed wounded and miss
/ ing-ro the Regt, $50 out of go that
went into the fight We are very small
+ as Regiment
/ On Thursday the rebels attacked the
LETT of our line and were repulsed each
time with great loss In the evening they
attacked the right Of our line and were
repulsed On the Sd they renewed the
attack, and we're driven on both ianks-
IN fact they were perfectly routed and
4 forced TO seek shelter in the woods west
| Of the town of Gettysburg, giving up our
wounded. the city and delivering upwards
of ten thousand prisoners, 20 stands of
4 colors, and arms of all kinds in abundance
! Hundreds of their force delivered them~
selves up throwing down their arms and
raising the white flag The slaughter on
both tianks was immense, and believe
the whipping given to Lee on the ID and
Sd was so thorough, that he Will be una
bic to recover from it very soon If has
whole army Is not destroyed this time.
very much mistake the lay of the ground
and the disposition of our troops In
numbers we are all right, and for the
quality of fighting material, the world is
our judge.
L might write you page after page OF
instances during these three DAYS, bui