The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1864-04-09

glory, and deserves promotion to . Briga-
disrship. All our officers fought we'll
Maj GIBSON fought with his usual distin.
guished GOODNESS, calmness and bravery
| and Col. CUNNINGHAM with undaunted
daring and heroic courage.
On Saturday evening after the fight. the
Rsbels who had not then left the vicinity,
formed line Of battle at q respectful
distance, from the Fort, and sent in q
flag of truce, demanding a surrender, and
stating that If the Fort was not surrsn.
dered by o'clock P NJ they would des-
troy the town. They received the re.
spouse, that if they wanted the Fort to
| take it. Our men in the Fort made dsm.
STATIONS to draw them out, but they
kept their distance" and left without
destroying the town. 1t was evidently .
ruse 10 keep our men at the Fort, and
prevent pursuit, until they could get of
a. far as possible with their plumber and
wounded
Our casualties were IA killed and A
wounded. am happy to say that Col.
Hicks, Maj. GIBSON, Col CUNNINGHAM, and
officers generally, came of entirely I'm,
hurt. We should have lost scarcely q
man. bnt for tho rebel sharp-shooters,
who got into the upper part of the houses
in the vicinity Of the forts and shot At
our men in it. Col Hicks had these
houses promptly burnt, TO prevent recur.
rsnse of the like again. As the Rebels
carried off their dead and wounded, it is
IMPOSSIBLE to form a correct estimate Of
their loss, but it must have been great
as our artillery moved them down as they
came, making wide lanes through their
ranks, which were speedily closed I'D
again. Thirty dead were counted in on
heap, and 10 in another; They must have
lost at least 800 killed. in the attack on
the Fort, and 100 in houses and BY. the
explosion Of shells, 400 in all and anon g
them several officers. The Rebel Gen'l.
formerly Col ALBERT p THOMPSON, once
prominent lawyer Of this place and Dis
trIct Attorney, was killed by SHE'LL Ia
leading a charge on the Fort, when within
some 10 yards Of il; the shell appearing
to have struck him in front, and bursting
as it struck, tore him literally to pieces,
managing his body so that they could not
carry 1t OH 1t is singular coincidence,
that he joined the Rebel army here, at the
breaking out of the Rebellion, was pro-
NOTED until he reached the rank Of Brig
adler General, received a severe wound at
the attack on Baton Rouge, La, from
which he recovered; and at last met his
tragical end here, where ne started in his
military career! Many of the Rebel dead
were found in the houses burnt where
they wero killed from the Fort an the
guntoats. As many as Is bodies were
counted in one house Their wounded
must have reached at least 1000; aud some
accounts say, 1900 or 1900 | understand
that Forrest said he had been deceived by
RI - e IL.
Fort and the number Of the garrison; and
that his men had been in fifty battles be-
fore, but that this was the most terrible
repulse with which hs had ever met
The effects of the bombardment Of the
city have beer. terrible Upwards of q
100 houses must have been burnt All the
lower part Of Front Row including Head
Quarters building was burnt, except few
houses; and nearly all the buildings for
some distance around the Fort. All that
part Of the city next the river shows the
marks Of shot and shell the Rebel sharp
shooters taking shelter in those On Front
Row, and firing from them on the gun
toc's or. o. which they were shslled BY
them. Two or three she'll and shot went
into and through the Provost Marshals
office and shell burs. in it. but without
doing material damage. The new and
large Quartermaster. building on Broad>
Fay and the railroad depot and cars were
burnt by the Rebels, and a good dea!
OF track torn up. Hospital II was burnt;
and the gas works near the Fort, from a
misunderstanding of the order of Col
HICKS; so that Paducah Is le!: 10 !srkae:;
IS well as in ruins"
On Monday last the Rebs,. sea: flag
OF truce, accompanied by 80 men, from
Mayhsld, Ky, some 80 miles distant, de-
handing surrender: and stating that
Forrest had - 900 men there. Col HICKS
replied he did not care if he had loo, 900,
he should not surrender it, but hold the
place 20 the last There is no surrender
in HIM. He i q stranger to the word-i,
has no place in his voeabulariy.-somso OF
our citizens tear return of the Rebels.
and another attack but think they have
had sufficient experience to satisfy them
a, least FOR the present Though Forrest
has carried off good deal Ct piusder, the
raid has cost him dearly. Gae of the most
Notifying things about it to him, must
be the idea Of having been whipped in
part by 'Hcfsse7 soldiers; whom he came
here to take and execute, with their off,
GERS. There is an evident change in the
tone Of the Rebal sympathissrs here. since
his disastrous defeat They have felt the
effects Of his raid to their sorrow some
having los, their houses, homes and all:
as the Rebels plundsred friends As we'll a.
foes. Many more Of the Rebels would
have been killed but for the women and
children running acrsss the streets.
Howard.
A cenhasration N Boston on Tuesday