, 1864-03-02

A4saueet auA'oAotS!T supported 0Y EfueFa
Kings brigade. Other portions oE Geuera
/ Johnson's, Davis and Birds divisions, fol
lowed. It WIS gallant array, and there NC
aEp1rit of bnoyant enthusiasm amongst tn
troope, ss thev talked Of their close proximit
to the enemy, and wondered If there would b
battle.
VIE AGAIN REAon TUNNEL HILL. 4:
The rebels did not seem inclined to disput
the ground oycr which We had marched tn
previous oays and there was rery few shot
hted oy either side: At III i. m, VIC wer
Hill 4 ' ADAnsoA'e ''e'n''S 81 1unns
MARCH TOWARD TIE EnEAiY,
It was halfpast twelve before we wer
ready to move forward, and then our cavalr,
marched in column along the road, into thi
open ground, directly toward the poIn
whence the rebel artillery. had been fired tb
day before Myself and Lieutenant Shaw
were riding near the ran Of the force, ami
,sssss were srematking upon the great edvantag'
the enemy, provided they opened upon vi
with their cannon. They would be enabled
to assail Us with q raking fire, which coult
scarcely fall to do US much damage.
RERELs OPEN FIRE,
On the slope Of tho ridge, and near the road
Which, running over it leads on to Dalton, il
white frame house, Behind this the rebelf
had. during the night concealed battcry
s1d just as our cavalry column had Ill passed
into the open ground, they ran their cannon
ont from behind the house, and blazed away
at Us with . vigor aud q Will The first shell
fell into soft ground, dozen feet from where
IWas at the moment. Either it was fuse
shell aEd burst when in near proximity to
the earth, or 1t Was percussion, and the
ground was not soft enough to prevent its
Threw lie dfrt, with numerous fragments Of
itself, in every direction around it. "A liberal
sprinkling Of the former suff1ced for my
share.
EFFECT or SHELL. ,
The dirt and mud had scarce ceased to fall,
When a second shell struck the ground,
about twenty feet beyond the first Burst
ing, one-haf Of It few into atoms, slightly
,Nsunding several persons. The other half
in one solid mass, struck very young man,
q member Of the 2Sth Kentucky, Bquarely ii
tho stomach, tearing out his bowels. His
horse, also wounded, dashed away toward
the rear. a hundred yards from tho epot
where the shell exploded, the haplesa rider
fell Off stone dead. a few feet further, and
his horse also lay stretched npon the earth.
ORDER TO sERK SHELTER
I did not note the effect. Of any other indf.
vtd1nl shell, for as word rms given to the
horEemen to seek shelter, was not slow In
terly movement soon found myself beneath
The friendly shelter Of some woods upon our
right. Our cavalry stood firm until tie order
to retire Was given. Then they left in good
earnest; go that when I turned and looked
ont, from the woods where I had taken
refuge, upon the open ground, not man
was to be seen. Yes, there was one man.
As soon as Colonel Harrison had given orders
to his men to retire, he himself descended
from his horse, and stood there in full view
Of the enemy until the storm was over,
f.. MARROW ESCAPE or GEN. WH1pPLE.
For full fifteen minutes the rebels kept ND
q furious fire, throwing their missiles clear
buck to John Smiths house, and even dis
tuIbing, for moment, the equanimity of
cur infantry. One Of the shells burst so near
Gen: Whipple, Chief Of Staff to Gen. Thorn
capped with life. Not even his clothes, how
ever, were touched.
PLAN FOR TURNING TIE REBEL POSITION.
While. Col. Hambright was putting his brig
ade Into sucll position az to threaten the
enemy's left, Gen Morgan, commanding q
brigade In Gen, Davis divisIon, had been
sent over to our left to connect with Gen.
Cruft's men, and, climbing Tunnel Hil
Ridge, where 1t Is quite low, and there was
rebel works upon their right flank.
ARTILLERY DUEL
In the meantime, two pieces of Hotchkiss'
battery opened upon the rebel battery, from
the hill upon the right Of the road. An ami
matsd duel continued for some time. The
rebels threw missiles with mnch precision.
Capt. Hotcbkiss planted his shells where
they would have been very effective, had they
not, for some unknown reason, mostly failed
to explode
Capt. Harris moved the guns Of his battery
19th Indiana, over into the fields upon the
LETT, and fired few effective shots.
TUNNEL HILL RIDGE CARRIED.
Between the two, the rebel battery had too
much pfit, and withdrew at about 35&&, D. m.,
Just as Gen. Morgan's men were seen march,
ing along the summit Of the ridge, towards
the rebel works. Seeing Themselves thus
ont By Ssn Mon qPSn ; t9etr
upon the LEFT, the rebels abandoned their po-
sltion, and fed prccipltately, without firing
gun from the time Morgan first appeared,
Thus, with but trifing loss, this strong and
important position fell into our hands.
PURSUIT or TIE REBELS.
Not a moment was lost In following up the
enemy, Gen. Morgan taking the advance, and
Col. McCook with his splendid brigade be-
longing to the same division, following close
a little before five o'clock our forces came
to an aw1n1 gorge cleft in an inaccessible and
lofty range Of mountains called Rocky Face.
On the left side Of tlis gorge ran the rail-
road on the right the common road, with q
monstrous pinc-coyered rock rising between.
Never had bcheld so formidable position
for defense; and my experience Was. in this
the army. Reaching ont into the gorge from
the perfectly Impaesable mountains on either
side, spur after spur could be seen, rising
one above the other as you looked toward
Dalton, and forming series Of Notifications
as perfect In design as the hand Of man ever
traced, while vastly superior in magnitude to
aught that he ever constructed.
A voLLEY OF MusKEynT-sUcCEss AND RE-
PULSE.
From the first Of these spurs upon the
right the enemy poured forth d ..rolley Of
musketry. Our brave boys, rushing forward,
carried the spur; but from higher one be-
yond, SIX pieces Of artillery commenced hurl-
ing death among them, and they were COM
PEELED 10 withdraw.
MOUTH OF THE GORGE HELD.
The enemy continued fierce artillery fire
until night, when Gcneral Morgnn's brigade
moving into the left of the gorge, and Col.
Daniel AcCcok's into the right, they held the
mouth Of it until morning. -.
- F1RE-aFS. WHEELER.
As rode back toward the town, the heay-
ems were lighted up with the 1urid fires Of
Cleburne,s old camp upon the east side Of
Tunnel Hll range), which our troops had set
on fire. In the toWr 7 learned th6t General
wassier himself was in command of the
rebel cavalry which had all along been oppos-
ing US.
GEN. cnuFrs AED col. LONG.
simultaneously with the advance Of the
column from Chattanooga, Gen. Crufts NOV
cd down from the vicinity Of Cleveland,
Joined afterward by Matthias: brigade Of the
18th Army Corps, commanded at present by
Col. Dickerman Of the 10Sd Illinois.
Col Long, with some 7N cavalry, preceded
Gen. Crufts. This column skirmlshed as
successfully with the enemy us the other, and
On the 23d Col. Long penetrated TO- within
four miles Of Dalton.
TIE AoRs1sa OF TIE 25ru.
Another sunny, warm, pleasant, smoky
morning daWued upon Us on the 25th, and all
portions Of our forces being prepared to act
In concert, it WAS determined to mike bold
move, which might test whether or not the
cneny's strong position on the Tunnel Hill
road could not be turned. =. ::
AA1RD CROSSES TUTSEL Hill. -.
Accordingly Gen. Baird took up the line of
march very early In the morning, and crosB-
ing Tunnel Hill, Joined Gen: Crnfts in the
valley between TINT range and Rocky Face.
1tssnG tsrse %Gs eseSS R a0f Ffs s seeas
entire force passed along tho Cleveland road
toward Dalton, the enemy opposing them
only by feeble skirmishlng, and every where
flying before them.
COL GRosE's CHARGE.
: It soon became evident, however, that they
had passed bey yond another range still further
to the east than Rocky Face, and that force
Of the enemy occupying the valley between
4hn f1Fn fDhf ansifv 7,AGR ~ n rapY nnG mi T.