Charles City Republican intelligencer. [volume] (Charles City, Iowa) 1861-1864, 1863-05-21


wards, would have found the enemy
there to dispute our passage, which
such is the character of the crossing
could easily have been done. Fol
once we have stolen march on, the
rebels, thanks to a General who knows
how to keep his own counsel. They
came too late, the Rubicon was passed,
and henceforth they would have to
| fight us in place Of our choosing.
i The next morning the advance, led
by Gen. Sykes in person, had sligh,
brush with the enemy, and captured
some prisoners. Our division ther
turned to the left and marched to Uni
ted States Ford, expecting to find a
force of rebels there, but we were dis
appointed and returned TO the main
road leading fredericksburg, camp
ing that night near Charlottesville.
Three or four Corps had now come mp
and General Hooker issued an order
congratulating US on tho great sue.
cess Of our movement, which elected
warm applause from the meh.
On Friday, about noon, we moved
out on the fredericksburg pike, Gen.
Sykes Division leading, and discover
ed the enemy about two miles out.
They began sheIIing Us lively az we
came down the road so forming in
line Of battle. We advanced rapidly on
their batteries till nearly up with them.
and then slowly retired, to draw them
on. 1t had the desired effect. As
Gen. Hancock's division, which was
now in front. slowly retired, the reb-
els. with shout and yell, rushed at the
rear Of his column, expecting to COB
bic up a number of prisoners. But
the Sd Brigade lay concealed. in their
way, aud a. they came up gave them
such succession of volleys that they
skedaddled fright smart"
Late in the day they attacked Gen.
Hooker's Headquarters. near the CEN
tire of the lines, in heavy columns. as
ia their favorite way. and were repuls-
ed by the artillery With heavy loss;
the grape and canister moving them
down like swaths of grain. After
this demonstration the fgllting lulIed
till next day. ..t.. -.
During the night we changed our
lines and took up a strong position !;
our right resting on the Rapidan and
our left on the Rappahannock, with
q. S. Ford in rear Of us. On Satur-
day occurred the only disaster. The
llth Corps, Sigel's command, held the
plank road to Gordonsville, and the
right of our position. They were sur
prised by the enemy late in the after
noon while cooking their suppers,
with no pickets out, and their guns
in stack. They fed ignominiously,
almost without firing gun +; losing
us valuable position, some artillery,
a number of prisoners, and giving the
rebels access to the only road upon
which their supplies could be brought.
Many and deep were the curses lavish
ed upon the d-d Dutchmen, though
have no doubt it was the officers who
were to blame.
On Sunday morning the rebels /.
flushed with their success of the pre-
vious evening, attacked our left cen.
tire with furious energy for about
eight hours. They failed to make
any impression on our lines and were
repulsed with terrible slaughter.
One Division had been thrown out
on the right and centre when the llth
Corps broke and did not participate in
the severe fighting Of the day, but the
noise and crash Of the battle was very
plain. The successive volleys sound
ed as though but few rods from us
and were said by some soldiers, who
had been III all the seven days fight
ing near Richmond, to exceed anything
they had ever heard in severity and
duration.
Monday and Tuesday passed with
out much fighting, each army watch
\ ing the other and fortifying its posi-
ton. On Tuesday night and
Wednesday morning. for some to me
unaccountablc reason. we evacuated
our position and returned to our old
camps, marching twenty-five miles
through mud over shoe top every step
of the way, for it had rained, ~ itonly
can rain in Virginia, all Tuesday af'
ternoon and night, and in fact only
cleared up last night.
What we have made by the move
ment do not know, being in igno
rance of concurrent events upon
which the solution of the question dc
pends. 1t may have been that Sedge'
wick was endangered by superior
force and we fell back to support him,
if so | suppose our forward movement
has failed for the present, but ! hope
soon TO record that we are again
moving upon the enemy. The NOR
ale of the army is still good. They
feel that they have not been beatel
and are equal to the task Of crushing
this rebellion, if anything like fai