The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1863-02-12
ON BOARD The SOUTHWESTERN
Jan. l4th 1868.
DEAR SISTER:

DEAR SISTER:
Since 1 wrote to you last 1 have been through an
other hlooy Battle, a~ndihave been through hard
ships sld trials that would wreck the strongest
frame of man. But | can pnt up with it because
we have had such good luck. We sailed up the
| Arkansas river about $50 miles stopped aboutive
miles below Fl. Arkansas Post, this is an old
| military post, the oldest Ft. in the United States,
having been built before the Revolutionary war.
AMI landed oar farces, Saturday morning % geo
Infantry, ! companies OF Cavalry. 10 Batteries
aud four iron>olad gun boats.
We marched slowly along until within about
a half mile of The Rebel lines, drove in their pick
et, eauG then the order came for the 5jth to deploy
q, sk;rmishers and advance. 1t was getting pref
ty dark then, so that VIC conld not see len rods.
ali that we could see to ain at was the fash
OF their guns After we had gone about fifty yards
we stopped and kept up continual ire, There
happened to be a large stump righ: before ne
when We stopped and / just dropped down behind
that, where ! was safe, and loaded and fired as
fast as I could. | can tell you, it looked pretty
10 see. the Bomb shells fly over Us and burst but
we had not been there long before they got the
range on US, with their artillery, and then boom
boom, weat the shells right amongst us. one lit
and burst right on n man. 8 hip that lay a little
way from me and tore him up dreadfully, and
then a piece struck the man lying next to me and
wounded him. Then the Col. drew us back a little
way, aud stopped freing for that night.
Sunday morning las it is a rule for the northern
army not to fight on sunday we did not make the
attack but at one o'clock the rebels began to throw
shot and shell at us, aud you know the yankees
" .l ~ - - Ia ;ko Ill.,, n.r
gun boats threw shell into the Fort from the river
and we shelled them from the land at the same time
advancing towards their breastworks and every
one that attempted to shoot would fall, we fred
at them so fast that they could not get time to
shoot. When we got within about 90 rods of the
breast works, one of our Regiments laid down and
crept along onour bellies We did not get Up to fire
but would load and then roll over on our backs
and fire. We worked it in that way a~boutlone hour,
and then the firing began to cease a little, and we
Jumped up TO see what was the matter, and to our
surprise, they had run up the white flag, to sur
render. Then our men gave three cheers, and all
was still as death, for u moment, except the
groans ofthe dying and wounded, and then we
surrounded them to see what we had got. We
marched them into the Fl, and as they went in
they piled up their arms at the door.
Well now | will tell you what we got. Nine
thousend stands of arms. most OF them the best of
Enfield rifles. Seven thousand prisoners, and as
near as | can find out, about one million bushels
of corn and meal, every horse and mule they had
all their commissary goods and wagons, cartridge
boxes, belts; any qualities of sugar, m0lasses, beef
&c, three siege guns, 1872 Founders, 20 pieces of
of flight artillery and a boat load of ammunition.
Perhaps YOU remember of reading about the reb-
els taking a boat loaded with ammunition a short
time ago, well we took all that back again and
considerable more with il.
But the Joke comes now on the rebels. The
next morning after the battle, two Regiments OF
reinforcement and the stage with four horses came
in and we took them so you can see we made a
clean sweep ofeverything. | got a nice dirk knife
and scabbard, which l am going to send home the
first chance | can get, also some ecesh letters, by
which you will see how things are gong In Texas
Monday m~0rning.-I visited the battle field be-
fore breakfast. 1 thought Vicksburg was a dread
full sight, but it was nothing like this our artille-
nv Just tore them all to peices. L will tell you a
few OF the horrible sights l saw on the field First
about their artillery, the battery on the left had
only two horses lett out of twenty-four. l saw
one cannon with six splendid gray horses hitched
to it, but they were all blowed to pieces with balls,
and the caisson that belonged 70 1t had tour dead
ores hitched TO it their horses we're nearly All
killed. Our guns re@s shot 50 thick that the rob
els we're obliged 10 leave their guns anG go to their
breastworks. Now to the men, the first was ?
man with Bis head all gone but just his face:
thought that vas dreadful but the next was Tour
lay ElQe Dy Eiue. one WIS Cut ppCu IloEl MS ip9 ~ J
bis shoulders. the next was one with both legs of
at the knees, right by his side was ore that his
hios and legs were about four feet from the rest Of
his hody, the next was one that a shell had struck
and cut orc arm off aud set FIRE to his clothes and
il burnt him al. over to a crisp, one more end !
will stop. and that was three brothers ley tgeiher, I
two OF them wer struck by our balls and tae other
seeing both mis- brothers dead he drew hls revolver
and shot himself; they lay side by side just where
thew tell. Your aifectiouate brother,
IsAAC BISHOP. Il