The Lancaster gazette. [volume] (Lancaster, Ohio) 1863-1886, 1864-01-07
Army Correspondence.
Letter from Captain stinohcomb.

Letter from. Captain stInehcOmb.
IIDoRs 18TH O.V ] Mission RIDGE. TT
Braggs late Hdq'rs, Dec II, 'G3. (
Yesterday visited the battlefield
OF Chicamauga along with a detail
from some four regiments of our brig
adc. j thought | had seen the eviden-
ces of hard fighting at Mill Springs,
Shiloh and Stone River, but the field of
Chicamauga has so many more marks
and evedience, that it surprised all who
saw it. In front Of Baird's, Reynolds.
and Johnsons Division, were ] to tell
you the truth, you would say surely
did not see correctly.
When we got to where our division
fought on Saturday and found every
tree and bush in front Of our lines
marked with bullets, many of them
with fifty bullets in one tree, we all
thought it hard fighting, but when we
moved to our left on Sunday, and saw
as many as one hundred in at least
half Of the trees and one-third shot off
with cannon balls, all were astonishcd.
But shall describe the appearance of
the field in front of the line for q mile
where Baird, Johnson and Reynolds
Divisions fought. The rebels charged
the breast number of times
during the day, and every place where
the rebel columns were hurled against
our men, were such traces of desperate
fighting as the world has never seen,
and probably never will again. Shall
| say 500 or 1000 bullets in almost
every tree of any size in a space
from the ground to little higher than
Il mans head? ] don't give you any
conception of the true condition.
Trees two feet over are absolutely
shot into fine splintcrs-that in the
side facing our brcastworks were ac-
tually hit so often that their whole
sides arc in slivers and splinters. 1t
must have been a continual stream Of
lead. There are five or six of such
places, and each one as wide as from
the Court House to Hon. Il. Ewing's
and as the rebels came up in columns
their loss must have been fearful
Again on the hill where the promiscu,
GUS mass was fighting in the afternoon
of Sunday, of which | wrote you about
some time since, are the same cvi-
dcnces. l......
The rebel graves show from five tC
one of ours. To be sure, ou1
wen were not all buried, though ]
have no doubt the rebel General in.
tended they should be, but portion Of
: their details were evidently worse than
heathens. | saw nine of our gallant
boys remains bleaching in the sun
; untouched, except where some ragged
william had taken off their shoes, shirt
or their pants. 1t may be said thcst
men were oyerlookcd-not so, fol
rebels were buried within three feet o
} some of them. We found the bones o
two of our men that they had place.
: rails on them and burned them. Som,
places they buried them from eigh
teen inches to two feet deep; but as
L, general thing, their heads and fee
$ were left uncovered.
> Major General Sherman has just re
= turned from Knoxville. Major Giesy
/ isall OK, as well as Captain Wise
man; but many of General Sherman
Il men arc barefoot and have marched
= = miles in the cold and mudIi in that con
: diton. Tho Generals command hav
n had hard campaign. They starte,
t from Vicksburg in September last an,
G marched thence to this place on force
! marches thence to Knoxville, an
. now have returned here. Sherman j
Q one of the ablest Generals in the army
5, The rebels admit he entirely deceive
}! them near Tuscumbia, Alabama. II
u threw one Division across the Tennes
n see to encounter the enemy there an
d mako them believe he was going