The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1863-12-04
prssC..C Gordon co. GA Nov.

| and Ulght II upon us; so, with moHthttt of halt
| cooked beet, I saddle my horse for the wear
! march before us.
E.ssCs, Gordon CO., Ca, Nov. IS.
| Returning 10 the n.rraiIye Of events alluded T.
| above. | would take the reader with ple TO III
close OF the battle of Missionary Ridge, which Wa
fnught on Wedst s,iay the 25lh inat. Gen. Hardee
| who commanded the right wing, had Tepulse
| every attack Of the enemy, had inflicted heav
| loss upon ni.l and he and his men were congran,
iaing themselves UGoD their complete and briIlan
victory. when Gsni H. who had paased IN his Iefi
| tth- centre of the arny,) discovered tSat Rey
nods's brigade, of i;ndman's division, commando
by GenI Patton Anderson, had given way and thu
allowed the enemy 10 get a foothold upon th
mountaiH. Having defeated the foe In his Mont h
mne dIateiy ordered his left to form into line atroS
or al right angles to the ridge, and to dfive the IN
tnIders from his flank. This order, Ike All other
that he had given, was carried ont To the letter hj
hi. brave command, thus repnising the enemy h
from, on his left flank. Had the same skill and N
ergy been displayed at other points on the line fur
thef 10 the ief. the t0nieSeratrs wonid not hav,
been driven ffon Missionary hdss. Reynolds
brigade Is composed of the 54th and 6jd Virgins
regiment, nd the osh and o;lth ~ Z. troops, WHO
have always !oar well heretofore
And here let ,ae adt, nj The, risk of becoming tc
dinu., that Stev"Tsons division, composed who'll,
of svickst,Ifg tpoOps,' behaved witt! UnSp,passpt ID
gaaniiy. These troops are TeBnesseeans, Ala
bamans, and Georgians. Gen. Cummings GeoT
gia brigade never fought so well The fact here
slated should silence forever thOH1|ieSs
tongues that have been ridiculing and BiiigHng
the heroes vino fought NJ Nicksbure.
After night set in the whole army was Withdrawn
to the east side of the Chckamauga, the trains
having preceded 1t the night before. The roads
were in "A bad condition. and there were hut three
bridges which The troops could retire. Ent
the enemy wa. too badly crippled 10 make pursuit.,
only 4 small detachment of cavalry followed on
The road TO Birds Mills. Al Chickamauga Station
ra,i0ns of hard bread and bacon were served OUT
to the men Ilom the depot and the trains sent for
ward Some of the stores were shipped off by the
railroad; the remainder was destroyed. The army
was puI in motion by two O'Clock at night on the
road To RingaGla, end Gen. Bragg and Gen. ilar-
dee left at dayight neIt morning The road was
had IL conld be, and but fur Tie :i!rGal. light
afforded by the moon on that and the preceding
night The army could not have effected its es-
cape
Ihurstay, Nor. 26th.-Ater n fatikuing march
the army with Its long trains arrived At RingeoId
during the afternoon and night. The enemy has;
thrown forward a mixed column of mounted in e
fantry artillery, and cavalry, which was harassing
our rear guard, under command CT Gen. Gist, con
siderably. Al time Gen. Bragg ordered the
wagons towards The rear 10 be moved ont OF the
road and parked with view, Ii Is said, OF having
them burnt rather than let them fall into the hands
OF our enemies. Cen Gist was repeatedly pressed
back against the wagons, bu, lie managed finally
with the aid of his brave command, (Naiker's d
visinn,) 10 save them all. At one time the enemy
got in between him aud the main column, but h.:
took 4 nei.hborhoOd road and thus escaped de
struclion. Unfortunately Fergusons battery o!
four guns belonging to Walkers division, was cap
iured. The horses were in very bad cond ton and
unable to keep up with the column, and hence THE
DISASTER. The greater part OF the men and horses
escaped You will be astonished To hear that the
horses in the artillery service-the most important
IN the whole army--are the most neglected-a a act.
hnwever, which quartefnasters, and even arti.
teTlsis, seem incapable OF cumprehendng. The
loss Of the battery occurred soon after DARK and not
far from Ringsoih. The trains were brought out
iliree miles this side Rngeod and the eaIns fed
while the army occupied the pass just outside The
town. Three companies of the 10Th South caro-
lima, acting az Il special guard 10 Frrghson's bat
terry, wei- dispersed and many OF the men taken
prisoners.
Norem.sr o7-The trains were now put In front
and ilret Ted TO take "A Ietl-haHd road to Dalton,
passing near CatOOsa Springs. They moved at
midnight, the troops al daylight, following the di
rection of the railroad by Tunnel Hill, 80 as To
cover the trains. Roads very bad for some miles;
the teams OvrrWorked, and suffering Tor forage and
rest saw mule lie down when the harness
was removed and go sOurdty to sleep in two
minutes infant, and that while hundreds of
wagons and thousands of men were marching by
within a few PAGES of where IL rested.
Clrburne was entrusted with the command OF
the rear guard 10 day, Walkers division having
been relieved. The Federal pursuing column,
numbering IL is estimated, abont ,OU5 men OF all
arms, assaulted him before he reached Tunnel
ttll This column consisted of picked troops,
who moved rapidly and fought galianily; but Gle
burne succeeded Ia restraining them whenever he
encountered them. But they were becoming quite
troublesome; 81 he ambuscaded them by conceal
ing his forces Including his artillery, until the
enemy got within a few PAGES OF kis guns, when
they poured grape aud canister into Them with the
most destructive effect. The road was filled with
their dead and wounded. Our infantry nspTuhg
forward from their covert on either side OF the
road aud literally moved them down by their we'll
directed shot. The enemy tied In confusion, ieav-
ing $50 prisoners and three flags the latter taken
hy The RrtIeTissl la our hands, and from .OU0 10
\ tod nd wounded I'm the road. The kPue =
rails kept at a respectful distance from Pat Gle
hurne after that, and were nVe hours marching one
mile on our track,
A prlsoner taken near Ringgold, reports that Os-
tertaus, OF Sherman's corps, is In command OF
the pursuing column. He says that Osterhau5
crossed the Chickamauga oh hastily constructed
bridge. and that Grant was building wide, sup
stantia, military bridge at Red lioiis" lord, ny
which 10 cross over his whole army, and that h~
intended 10 make clean sweep OF tlir Cohi"df-
rates. This last achievement the beaten nero ol
Shiloh will find more difficult than he imagines
The trains reached Dalton IN the afternoon, ana
vyare marked and the teams fed. The hoops ar
ttyed soon thereafter and went into camps IL
was Just AT this point when my irnga' h'ehi was
being prepared, aud the first paragraph OF TINS
rambling letter was being tntited, that an order
came for The trains To move on 10 Resaca. The
roads 10 Ibis place pretty good though almost
iu,pass able in places. Several wagons were lns'
and good many nudes killed on the way, moi bt
the enemy, hui by the great holes or suiphs ana
ouaomirts in the road. l saw no pioneer corps
with the trains, the teainsters were ieIt to taht
care of the wagons as best they could. am se,
certain that II would not be an eventual btnrht u
we should some day lose a train; perhaps the ao
tnorties WDnld then see the necessity, recognized
in all other countries, of organizing an fmciehl
corps of engineers, including pioneers, bridge anu
boat builders, &c.
II commenced 10 rain at IL O'Clock, and by day
1, was pouring down In torrents. The roads al
ready heavy enough, now b ecame tndiscnbabIy
bad. 4, was horrid night But poor woman,
the mother of ten chLifea, her husband and Oldest
son in the army gave shelter AT O'Clock, II fire
IN DIV myself by, and bed to rest upon, not for
oetfins a bundle of fodder for my horse dozen
otbers attracted by the cheering light seen through
her win dow, applied for admittance, and room wa.
Cound far ali in that humble cabin God bless thai
uooa woman and shield her husband and son from
.ba dano.rs of the battle field. The light In hef
,i,dnw was NOT hid under bushel. Alas! how
he moor do shame US by their charities.
IRIS now three O'Clock, and the army mas ho'
vel come up. The rain will probably stop Tue puI
AM, of the enemy, at least for the present. aaiess
his well organized pioneer corps enable MN %
keen II up. Our future line VIII prooah'y fes' "p"'
the Coosa and It's Eastern tribuiarhs. ..,,
Hut ia conclusion. The battle oi Mlss'onai,
nit.e was a great misfortune, not on account
,h s1oss oT me1 which was Uncomfortable, nor ths
~ - ~ ,s,rIto,v which is far more serious, ou
oI, account Of the loss OF the moras slfeng''
ana r1nGAence OF the srmy and the country
Ietus MOI. then, add 10 our ca'aMy oy p.kM'
min. . war nf abuse and condemnation a&aihst tis'
.hist Of thA beaten army OF the head Oh tne "vs
ernment Let u rather stflve 10 !ea"ma.. s'''
hopes of the people and the army, Dnng .'', 49,.
All onr strength. and pray that Heaven VIII yet S.'
-" he t;aai Siciorv, In few days shall prrpaI'