The Burlington weekly hawk-eye. [volume] (Burlington [Iowa]) 1860-1876, 1863-01-17

Battle Of Murffeesbofo'.
We published two or three days since
graphic description of the fighting before Hur.
fseesboro'. That, account ended with Wednes-.
day night, the slst ult. : The following, which
IL from the same writer, correspondent of the
Cincinnati Gazette, describes the contest Of the
succeeding two days, the 1st and I'd instants,
ending with the fnal and complete success of
Rosecrans and the retreat of the rebels.
FIELD sEroRE MuR1RErsBoao',l
January .. 4
In my last letter left the contending hosts
reposing on their arms after the great struggle
OF Wednesday, Dec. Slst. There was but little
alarm after the battle, and comparatively little
uneasiness each army thinking, doubtless, that
its opponent was too much exhausted 70 care
about renewing the strife. -!2h
There were places that night, indeed, where
sleep came not to steep the senses in gentle for
retfuness. The poor soldier, whom the bullets
Of the enemy had not yet reached, could gather
few leaves or sticks or cornstalks tor bed,
clasp his faithful rife in bis arms, and with his
blanket around him, If he were 90 fortunate as
to possess one, could sleep soundiy, notwith-1
standing the bitter cold He could build no
fres, for that would reveal our position to the
enemy; but 90 fatigued was he, that he could
still slumber, although his frame shivered invol-
unfairly in the wintry night atmosphere. Era
But the mangled hero lying on the field or in
the hospital knew no repose. Agony repeiled
oblivion: and to those who felt themselves
MANNED. crippled for life, the keen, mental an
Ruish must have been even more intolerable than
physical pain And there we're the faithful
surgeons, too, who knew no rest from their
dreadful labors, and toiled on ell through, the
long weary night. 7sg q sna.7stsyaf st5
On Thusrdsy morning the sun rose in . sky
without clouds; but along the eastern horizon
was broad zone of mist and fog, seen through
which the great luminary looked red and bloody,
Is if in sympathy with the horrors OF the baetle
field. a'. a0t 'txa mass .isf f.7,i
1t was just 8 o'clock when the roar of cannon
recommended with q terrible significance un.
known few DAYS before. A skirmish had be-
gun between the pickets in front of Paimer's
lines and those of the enemy. Our batteries
Immediately commenced Smelling the woods
from which the rebel FIRE proceeded. Two dozen
pieces OF the enemy's artillery opened in reply,
having by this time accurately obtained the range
of the elevated ground between the pike and
railroad, upon which SO many of our troops were
msssed, their guns we're worked with greater eff
feet than ever before. ssh Ts1s,s za-s ~
Every form of shell, schrspnel, round shot,
spherical case and oblong shot, we're hurled in
most unpleasant profusion over the field. Our
infantry unable to take any part in this terrible
duel, lay close upon the ground, the fiery mis-
siles continually whizzing and bursting over
their heads and tearing up the earth amongst
them and around them. 1t wss wonderful that
90 few were injured BY this iron tempest; yet
there was scarcely a regiment all along the rear
and centre that did not have one, at least, Of
its members killed or wounded. The 9Th Indiana
battery, Lieut.. Estepp commanding, was moved
nearest the rebel lines and did great service in
finally silencing the enemy's guns. When the
firing ceased, however, several of its brave men
were wounded, one.third Of the horses we're dis.
abled, and some of the pieces were drawn off
to the rear by hand. In all, we lost about 100
men; but We had the satisfaction of hearing
from rebel prisoners, who we're taken the next
day, statement that the fire from our batteries
ment that their artillery was. decidedly inferior
to our own. But, after all this success of ours,
it is useless to deny that general gloom and
dependency was beginning to spread in the
army, among both officers and men.
The defeat Of McCook had changed our line
of battle upon the right. The scattered bat.
taIions of johnson and Davis, as we'll as the
somewhat less fatally broken regiments Of Gen.
Sheridan, we're re collected as we'll as possible,
aud ranged in line Of battle, no longer at right
angles with the turnpike, and sweeping round
towards the town; but almost parallel with the
pike, and thrown back in the direction of Stew.
arts creek. Our center and left had also been
somewhat withdrawn, to accord with this new
of xho ,srhA I'D > II A.
ny that we had every where been pushed back
The army was weakened ~ its long list of cas-
ualtes, by over four thousand captured, and by
more than that many stragglsrs who had shame
fully deserted their comrades in the hour OF
their necessity, and skulked away from the field.
The men tried to flatter themselves with tales oil
the arrival of reinforcements; but alas the
better informed all knew that the last available
division was even nov on the field, and that all
the fresh men who could possibly be brought up
would, as far as numbers are concerned, amount
to IneIe handful. In point of fact, the rein
forcements received during the day consisted Of
only two brigades, Walkers, of Fry's division,
and Stark weather's Of Roussesu's I knew that
the latter, at least, could be depended upon as
against twice their number but what after all,
early in the morning, to annoy the right wing,
the mpudent cavalry charge away round to our
left the evening before, the heavy cannonade on
the center at eight O'clock the continual reports
that were brought in of rebel raids between
Aurfreesboro' and Nashville, and the capture OF
our wagon trains in that direction, the occasion.
81 booming of cannon away of to the rear, the
whzzing Of bullets over the 6eld from almost
every point of the compass-sll these things
tended to produces sinking Of hearts amongst
the soldiers, consequent upon tina general i'm
PRESTON they created that We were surrounded
on all sides, by an army vastly superior in mum.
bsrs, that our supplies, even now, grown very
scanty, would soon cease altogether, and that
starvation, rout, ruin and retreat were actually
staring US in the face .'.' s9'9
When this fierce cannonade took place in the
morning, it is useless to deny that a feeling OF
b. CONSERVATION and dismsy took possession of
many who were unused to fear and the opiaS
ion begun to gain ground that Gen. yRosecrans
had given up the contest, and was drawing in
his lines preparatory to falling back on Nash.
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