Sunbury American. [volume] (Sunbury, Pa.) 1848-1879, 1863-10-10
SATURDAY MORNING, OCTOBER 3, 1863.
OLD SERIES, VOL. "a, NO. 9.

now complete, and even the cXertons oi
| General Rosecrans and his Staff, who. with
| rawn swords. attempted to restore order
| were of no avail. Streams of dcmoralzcd
uncomfortable men. fleeing towards the rear
were all that remained of large portion oi
! the army.
| After that fatal break our line of l,a.tl,
was not again reformed during the day
| The army was, in fact cut an two. mcCoOk
with Davis, Sheridan and Wilder, being
thrown of TO the right; Crittendrn, except
one brigade of Woods, being broken in
pieces. and Thomas. with his indnmita,lr
! corps. and Johnson's division of McCooll's
remaining alone upon the left. Thomas
! Divisions NcgIey's, Brnnnan's and Baird's
had been frarfuly shaken and much scat
tered Ivy the fight over the log works and
! Reynolds was the only one that retired in
| tOlerallc order. Retreat was now the only
| resort left, and the whole dSOrgani2cd mass
of our troops fell back over the road to
! Rossvilic. Crowds OF stra%glcrS, in mob
! like disorder. Rinde good speed toward
/ Chattanooga. with the exception Of Sheridan,
! Davis and Wilder. who, cut off from the
centre, still struggled as best they could.
! On the right the divisions of Baird,
! Reynolds. Nrglry and Brannun. and llarkcr's
| Brigade of Woods Division. alone retained
cOhesivonrss. and took II position along the
| base of Missionary Mountains where the
! Rp,svillc road dchauchcs from them. for
another fight. The line was formed 80 that
| the left rested upon the Lafayette road, and
| the right at the rap represented an arc of u
circle, and Il southeast hil about its centre
| formed the key 10 the position. Between
> and 3 o'clock the enemy appeared on the
/ Lafayette road. and moving 10y the lett
! flank, soon formed Tor another attack.
! At first they directed heavy fire of
muskctry and artillery upon our position,
rs though meaning to disprit its defenders
] before coming to an assault but the 10000
or 10000 men that confronted them felt
that the fate OF the Army oi'the Cumberland,
and. in great measure. that OF the Union,
dcpcndc,; upon the rcpulsr of the enemy,
and when the Rebel lines finally came re
pcatcdly Ia The attack, they advanced but
to rccoil with severe loss Our troops we're
formed in two lines upon the crest. and
firing one after the other they kept up an
unlrOkcn fUSiladc with telling effect. The
enemy. consisting of Polks Corps. were not
only rrpc!lcd, but thrown into suciI di>u, de
that Turchins brigade and other portions of
the line followed, and took several hundred
prisoners. Toward sunset the enemy were
driven back To the position they took when
filing out of the Lafayette road, and aban-
duncd the contest.
When Thomas Division were most sorclV
pressed during the afternoon, and il looked
M one time as though they would again
have To suCcumb to superior numbers. they
were gladdcncd and encouraged 10y the
advent on the right. nt Mitchcl's and " hiia.
kcr'o llrigadc's of the Reserve Corr ;, under
the command OF General Gordon Granger,
himself With this ACCESSION of strength.
our ability to maintain our position was no
longer doubted. Soon after General Gran
ger had reported to General Thomas. his
two hrigadcs were sent out on the road.
under command of General Stcadman. to
rctakc an ammunition train that had taien
into the hands OF the enemy. They camc
upon ii larlp Rebel force and, after severe
conflict, drove them away.
While General Thomas was max ing his
gallant fight, Sheridan and Davis had
managed, after being much cut up, to work
their way To the lio>Svile Road with the
remnants of their divisions, and fallen hack
in the direction of Chattanooga. At night
General Thomas fell back to Rossvllc, four
miles from Chattanooga, after bringing
away all the wounded, transportation and
othr: material within reach.
Il drawn battle that of Sunday resulted in
disastrous defeat. The failure of the first
day WAS partly due to the greater numerical
strength of the enemy, and partly tn the
dc!iclCut formation of our lime of battle.
That of the second is jusvy ascribed to
improper tactics ON the battle field, and
Above all 10 the absence of command. The
inspiring example Nct and influence exercised
hy the Commander Chief at Stone River
were wanting, he having been compelled To
leave the field and return to Chattanooga
before the action was over.
The early disapp, aruLcc of two corps
commanders from the field also made IL
dcmoraliling impression The loyal people
certainly have cause for sulfcongmi uiation
thai the Army of the Cumberland was not
completely destroyed and owe profound
gratitude to General Thomas and those
under him who saved it. Our LOSSES are
great. That in killed. wounded and missing
will probably reach ten thousand. OF ar
ti'lCry We are less some fifty pieces, mostly
lost ON Sunday. OF wagons, loaded with
ammunition and supplies, amhulances &c,
We have also lost great number. They
were abandoned in the retreat on sunday.
General Rosecrans and his lieutcnants
were husily engaged ON Monday in strength
ening their position 10y field works. and
recognizing their commands While the
army itself may he considered safe enough,
it is mosl certain that il the enemy have
the advantage at greater numbers, Ranking
movements will compel Ro>ccrans tn retreat
ucros, the Tennessee in case rcinlorcements
should not promptly reach him.