The weekly pioneer and Democrat. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. Territory) 1855-1865, 1864-07-01
Interesting Review of the Cam.
paign In Virginia.

York, to Maj. A. s. Cassidy, of New York,
the Journal of Commerce extracts the following
passages:
9SD N. Y. ", 2D BRIG, Sd DIV, 2D CoRps.,
NEAR Cold HARBoR, 8 OR 10 MILES :
FROM RICHMOND, June 4, 1854.
What a month the one just past has been.
No day in the month of May, 1864. since the
4th day of the month, but there has been fight.
ing. l believe there has not been day since
the beginning in the Wilderness, but there
have been more men lost than there was at
any single battle in the Revolutionary War.
The loss of life and limb in this campaign has
been greater than will be believed till the fig
ures are officially published. Undoubtedly.
good strategy has been used, but at the points
of the line at different periods, where the
troops l am connected with have fought. /
have been unable to discover any particular
strategy but iight--just fight.
All during this awful campaign, our soldiers
and officers have needed no urging or pushing;
they have invariably advanced to the order.
and they have fought as long and as hard as
the most exacting OF the braying, stay-at-home
Nigger-heads could wish. Heretofore the reb-
els have obliged us to fight in the woods only
now do we begin to have portions of our lines
in the cleared country. Whenever the lines
are free from woods we have decided advan-
tage, which all our soldiers can see.
1uC lCUCIo uldv 6tduu us well as GQcY Ola TWO
years agO-O think they do not)-but our men
fight better than they did then. In every regi-
ment there are some men who can never be
made to fight, who always manage to make
their way to the rear when required to stand
up square in the face Of the enemy; but the
proportion of such is less than | should sup
pose it would be- and is less than it was at first.
We use breastwOrks as far as we possibly can :;
miles and miles of these EARTH rail and tree
works, average three feet high have been
buIlt by our men since we started on the CAM
paign. The rebels, acting entirely on the de-
fenslve and using these Same kind of works,
have the advantage OF theirs more than we do
OF ours, because, in assaulting them, our men
are obliged to fight mostly without any pro.
lection. The rebels will not stand when clear
ly without any protection OF either tree, bush
or earthwOrks.
The direction OF the lines is always extreme.
ly crooked, making long and short turns, and
frequently short angles. At 10 point can Won
ever see more than q few rods of the works,
nor can you judge of the direction of our lines
by knowledge of their direction at given
point. We generally have three or four lines
OF earthWOrks running parallel with each o. her
behind which our men lay secure against bull
lets and tOlerably secure against shell; the
greatest danger from these latter missiles is
still further in the rear. The modern inven.
zion of the conical ball has added greatly to the
destructibility of fire arms; the pointed bullet
passes in right line through whatever it
strikes in the body, straight through while the
old glObular bullet glanced round all hard and
unyielding substances in the body besides
this new-fashioned missile acts like u wedge
when it strikes bone, and, incredib y to one
who has not seen it, splinters and shiv-
erS the bone, sometimes eleven or twelve
inches from its course through it, 1t will
be found, think, that great many of the
wounds inflicted during this campaign have
been modified by the balls striking one or more
trees and glancing and becoming irregular in
shape before entering the flesh of our brave
men. Scarcely one that / extracted in the
Wilderness that was not battered and changed
in shape some way; some of them were quite
fattened. In these cases the wounded men
would be placed bors du combat, but the loss of
life would be lessened. and so the proportion
OF the killed to the wounded is undoubtedly
lighter all throughout these many battles in
the woods, than it would have been in an open
country. ......
Three times we have thanked the enemy,
each time to the left. The first hanking
movement was arrested on our third days
march, by the enemy closing our path ia front,
and thus the battle of the Wilderness had to be
fought, or our progress stayed this was no
choice of ours. Lee moved simultaneously
with Grant. and having the inside track, was
able to head us off and make deliberate dispo-
sition of his forces we had to fight him then
and there or retreat. .-5
Marvelouslv soon after such battle, we
marched to the left again, and Lee, apparently
anticipating such movement, had already
moved IN parallel direction and placed him
self across our course between the rivers Pc
and Ny at SpOttsylyania. The dilemma was
the same as in the first instance, series of bat
ties was fought, but the determination. the
will to conquer or die or both, on the part of
the rebels, appeared sensibly modified, though
they fought desperately enough heaven knows
Ny opinion is, the rebels intended and raade
their first fight-the battle of the Wilderness
the best efforts and their great battle. There
is no doubt they expected to beat us there:
they came very near it as it was, but our sue
cess then paved the way to Richmond, not with
flowers or velvet. but it told the story; all our
soldiers felt it. No doubt just as sensible, but
contrary effect was produced Oh the minds of
the rebel soldiery Then, again. after the bat.
tie of the Wilderness we gathered again won.
derfully quick, and, in my humble opinion,
might have crossed the Pamunkey and to the
defences of Richmond, for all Lees army could
do, but there was delay on the advanced
column of about twenty hours for some rea-
son, and when we reached one of the Anna
rivers we found our progress disputed, which
probably would not have, been by, an entire
movement ON our part; this cost us the loss of
q great many men, but we crossed. Then we
came back, and commenced another flank
movement to the left, getting over the Pamun-
key without much loss. The rebels have con-
tested every inch since we set foot on the Pen.
insula. The army is SO large. the lines are SO
long and as it were blind, that what in ordina-
nv wars would be considered a great battle.
may take place at q distant point of the line
and you scarcely know anything of it--not un-
less they use artillery, and then you can hear
it thus far artillery has been very little used,
owing to the generally wooded country we
have been Obliged to fight in. Cavalry have
done nothing except outside for the same rea-
con that precludes the artillery. The infantry
have done everything, and they have indeed
done wonders! No army in the world ever
fought better. Two years ago this march
could not have been performed against such
foe, no matter how many men We might have
had. There is universal impression now in
the ranks that we can beat the rebels every
time man for man. al. s. 6F0-L oH 9l4 i
! sHousroN OoUNTY has chosen Rev. JAS.
County Superintendent of
Common Schools