The New York herald., 1863-07-08

Il
away and curiosity oot satisfied Another fow
| u,s,s. shen ~ = lt,ss~.s--t,sr,~
| and upon The horizon couli be seeL an enormous
column of earth, dust, timhers and preScsios lifted
into the air at atrde II at loast eighty feet cds
entire OF the fort was dsemboded ald scat ereed
Particles over Tho acc. Tho right and
LETT fades wee also nuch damaged, bat fortunately
enough Of tom remained % AFFORD excellent protection
IHr as8au4r AND BoMBtRnNlsT.
No soonss had the explosion taken place than
the two 1etacbnenis acting the forlorn Esae
iaic tho fort md sap, as already mentioned
brisk muske,ry lire at commenced be.
tween tho two parties, with abou; equal oGect upon
ethei side. NO had these detaehmcnts become
well engaged than TIE rest Of legecNs brigade oped
them and entered lNto the struggle. The regimo
relieving each other at Intervals the grew
severe both sides, seermined upon holding own
were doins their best. volley aftor volley fred,
though wtn lass than would be supposed The
Forty af Illinois charged Immediately up 70 the CROFT Of
tho parapet aud hes suffered its heaviest Icutonan,
Colonel nelancthoa Smith hit In the
hsnd by three buckshot, and. though still
alive, Is ss said by the surgeons hs skul b.s been
penetrated and there be hopes Of has recovery
Col Smith yeung and has figured prominently
all actions with h regiment, from Fort Donelson to tho
assault Of 10 day He has been repeatedly compmentod
by his supeors In rauk for under ro great
tact in tho disposition of troops The officers OF the army
here exhibit great interest Ia the ndition OF Col
Smith ann hope he may yet be preserved to the
corps He Is receiving every attention within
the power Of the surgeons 10 his lie.
At the time the Lieutenant Colonel shot he stood
upon the parapet OF the fort, calling his
follow and when struck fen amongst his men who were
scrambling IN the sides 4 the answer his cals
| a lsY goaar!s after The w?uncing q Colonel smith
MAJOR Fisk OF the fsgmeEt TELL dead, having been
sho, through she heart. The adjutant also recevcda
| dangerous wound in the wrist.
Notwithstanding the or these distinguished officers
tho OF che regiment stuck to the and he the
ground agans. strong bosy Of the ey thrown ag inst
| them.
| OUR FLAG Goss up
After q severe contest o. half an hour, with VARYING
results the flag Of the Fort yitb appeared upon the
| init Of the work. The position gained. Cheer ates
cheer through the upros of the
test assuring the troops everywhere along the line thai
the Forty fifth still Itself. The Colonel (Matby)
now left alone in command Of the regiment, and
himself badly bruised by lying splinter. The regiment
had also suffered severely the ne and the troops
| worn out BY excessive heat ane hard lighting.
RrLrEf sEsr FORWARD.
Relief was necessary. Accordingly the Thirty FIRST III
ordescd up aud tho Forty fifth drawn of-thM
six O'Clock p. NJ. After this the Kept up
brisky steadily for several hours until dusk
the firing li.ed and the took respite. While the
Forty Nth hoty engaged in the fort tho Twenty
third Indiana followed its first detachment into tho sap,
from which place they TO hold the robes at bay
during the contest for tho fort The rebels fought despe
ratcy well this point tho other but the character
Of tho engagement different the troops firing
other breastworks Of EARTH This regiment displayed
great gallantry and did excellent service its way. In
than regiment could either place s the
tme accordingly regiments we're relieved BY regi
ments rapidly the necessities Of tho occasion d.
mandcd.
| aExRRAI IEceRrr.
During the hottest the action General Leggett n
the fort IN the midst Of bis troops sharing their dan.
scrs and partaking Of their glory. While here .
shell from one Of the cnemys guns exploded
| In timber lying tho puapot, distributing
splnters in all directions, Of which struck Gene.
raj the breast. knocking him over. Though some.
what bruised and stunned, he recovered hinse,
and taking chair sat In Of the trenches the
\ fort whore he could be seen by his men.
| PARTICIPATION or THE OTHER ooRrs.
Tho explosion of tho mine the signal tho opsa.
ing Of the artillery Of the entire line. General John Z.
Smith commanding the left division corps, opened
! 0rst and his discharges repeated along the lon
through tho Thirteenth corps and alef divsion until
thundef. Sherman tho right. also opened his srtil.
lery about the same time and occupied the cnemy's
tention along his 'front.' Captain X. H. 0fey OF tho Thr
tcenth United States Infantry, In comusnd the siege
guns Of this corps, handled his batteries with telling
effect. svcry shell struck ths parapet snd bounding
over, exploded In the midst Of the cnemys foross
beyond. Tne scene ~ this time was one
Of the utmost sublimity. Tho roar OF artillery,
rattle Of snail arms the cheers OF the mon flashes of
L of
the held tho bursting Of She'll the fierce whistle OF soa
shot, the deep boom Of the mossrs the the
ships Of war, and added TO all this tho vigorous replies
Of the eneay. up din wht bcggars all descrip&ou
The peculiar confguraon OF tina heid Afforded oppoS
tup,ty tc witness almost every battery every rie pA
within seeing distance. and due to all the troops 70
I say that evtry ono did his duty.
roxrRs.
After the possession of tho fort was no longer IN doubt
the pioneer corps under Captain HckeaIoOper mounted
the work th their shoves and throwing up carn
vigorously order TO secure space for artillery most
fortunate peculiarly 10 the explosion the
which the mrth thrown out The appearance OF
pace that Of funnel, with heavy sides runnsg up
10 the very crest OF the pasapct aordns admirable pro-
lection not only for troops poncors but turned
| out ready made fortIacatou In the rough, which,
with slight application Of tho shovel and pick WIN be
I ready 10 receive the guns 70 be used hero.
Up this time the pioneers have made great progress
aud sti al work battery may be expected bore
aI,tle tme two howit,ers Of Captain sparstross CON
man. being already IN NE trenches awaiting the compo.
| tion Of the for,.. - ~s,,.
nArrns - rHxf SOW s1AxD as. \
There s little nrirs now sols on. There Ii no doubt
concerning ability to hold the position. Tho enemy
viii undoubtedly mako every effort 10 regain the place
sas evening, but there h no possibility Of the
frccess Of his cndoayors. We so sirongshsosd
that would bc impossible under ordinary circumstances
N drive out Fresh troops moving up TO occu.
~ and bold hs position against every contingency.
Mrseuous ~ II mag seem amid al tho hcry ordeal o
faaru "a ~...-a