Marshall County Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1856-1878, 1864-05-19
WHOLE NO. 393.

and had met in each m lre than he cou,d over
come, and we ;sked assevcs what next. All his
movements were silent and invisible. and un-
known until he developed them IN the eveLt We
cau deliver blows ever In the direction whence
blows are dealt ,s-not against m enemy ad
vancing in bold sight, but against one Who has
m mysteriously gath, red and poised himself for o
deadly spring.
But the suspense is not long. Both combatants
too eager to comp. the issue for either to de-
lay another and sti III another encounter. Shots be-
gin tc ring along the six miles Of front.
AT ii O'Clock the enemy press close upon War
rem and Ssdgwick and train number Of guns ex-
actly upon the laiter's headquarters. A man and
three horses killed within twcuty feet Of the
General, and in the very center OF his grouped
staff. Finding the enemy disposed TO renew the
engagement of the early morning. Sedgwick .e-
cepts the challenge, and advances his whole iipe
The men 60 in With more dash and hold ON more
sturdily than in the morning. Ewell is driven
back to his second line, where his guns are in DO
silion. and there makes a stand.
AT this juncture, Warren, who connects with
Sedgwick's left is cxtremnly anxious 10 20 in
with all his might. but the enemy's position 10 his
front seems to be formidable.
see a troop Of horsemen riding rapidly up 10
the perious edge Of battle. and recogniz. Warren
and his white horse. as Jchu was recognized by the
Prophet Of old. for they came furiousy. With
him are Gems. Griffin and Hunt, and officers Of
Gems. Grants and Meade's staffs.
Hating at the first line, they dsmount and walk
more than halfa mile in front of the men. who arc
fat upon their breasts, and firing rapidly. We
hold the woods on our side Of an open space. per.
haps onefourth Of mile across and the rebels lay
along the trend Of { woods upon the other side
Their ingenchments plainly visible, and the
op.n mouths OF their ari lery peer over.
No; it will not do to charge acr>ss. Il were
stark madness. The sharpshoo,ers may continue
10 reply to this but no man shall start across the
plain and live. Warren had perhaps hoped that
his own judgment wou be overrnled by the off,
GERS with him, but all declare that no advance can
be made here. But more to the left, where w ads
WORTH and Robinson divisions of Warren's corp
lay up Hancock, the prospects, better, and there
an assault is ordered.
Ii is noon, and Sedgwick's second fight Is over.
and he again rests on the line OF his last nights
bvouac. Wadsworth advances and Ends the ene-
my-A. P. Hills corps-strong ard prepared
The divisions on his right and left become en-
gagged with him. and the work iswarm. Here, as
elsewhere. the contest is in a tangled jungle, and
the soldiers push aside the bushes and find mortal
enemies bursting through the adjoining growth Of
bushes and face to face with them.
Half or three -ourths of an hour Of alternating
success and repulsc, and Gen. w adsworth orders =
charge To- recover his comm md from u slight wa
vering. He is cheered loudly BY his men. who
loved the gray haired chieftain One horse is shot
under him. lie mounts n second and spurs to the
| front, hat in hand. and should have won then,
but his men saw him fall. He was shot through
the head, and killed instantly, and his body fell in
to the hands ofthe enemy.
His command fell back to their original position
with comparative order. Wadsworth's death il .
heavy loss-scarcely an officer in the army but
could have been better spared. and none would
have been more deeply regretted. Yesterday and
to-day he had displayed such marked ability and
gallantry as to compel his recognition on II hands
as able soldier, who, that he is gone, can
hardly be replaced. He wass true man, beloved,
a high-toncd gentleman, to be respected. un-
shrinking patriot to be emulated. an accomplished
soldier. dead on the field ofhonor, to be morrned.
But the battle edoes not pause for hero slain--
From noon until o'clock. number Of sharp
saults at various points were made and nvariably
rcpulsed, whether made by us or by the enemy
Each of these affairs material for q long let
ter, but find 1t simply impossible at this time to
ascertain and write correctly the facts indetail.
Prisoners came In at the rate OF 100 an hour
| The day excessively hot, and the men were
much exhausted. We had neither gained nor loss
ground, but had continued this thing long enough.
| and we hoped to finally wear them out. At half
past o'clock, Hancock was prepared for Q grand
movement Of our entire left. He did not make is.
for the enemy anticipated him, and he had 70 repel
perhaps the most wicked assault thus far encounter.
| perhuman momentum.
The first few minutes we were staggered. Strag.
glcrs for the first time in all this fighting streamed
to the rear in large numbers, choking the roads
and causing panic by their st, mpede and incoh.-
rent tales Of frightful disaster. Ii was even re-
ported at general headquarters that the enemy had
burst entirely through, and supports were hurried
up. Grant and Meade seated their backs against
the same tree, quietly listened to the officer who
brought the report, and consulted moment n low
tones. TIE orders for sending reinforcemsnts we're
given, and for little time not word was spoken
IN the group Of more than twenty officers. They
but looked into each Others faces.
| At length Grant says. with laconic emphasis. "T
don't believe it," He was right. Long before that
Hancock had recovered from the first shock. held
his own awhile, and now was gaining ground. In
forty minutes from the attack, the enemy was
completely beaten back, with trer endous slaugh-
ter, and the loss OF some hundr eds Of prisoners.
| 1t was now nearly sunset. From one end Of the
line to the other not shot could be heard. The
days work seemed over. Our line Of is-nisht
would be that of last night. The augures were
good. In two days fighting We had lost heavily,
but not more than the enemy. Onr assaults hat
been futile, but the enemy's had been equally 90;
and 1t is BY these massed assaults that he has ever
achieved victories.
The inference was clear that VIC had overmatch-
ed him fighting at his bex and strongest game.
Men separated in the heat Of the day, nov chAnc-
ing to meet congratulated each other. The rebels
can't endure another such day, and We can, Was
the expressed conviction on all hands, and this
statement epitomizes the situation at sunset.
The sun went down red. The smoke Of the bat
tie Of more than two hundred thousand men de-
stroying each other with villainous saltpetrc
through all tie long hours Of long day. filed the
vales and rested upon the hills OF al this wilder
ness, hung in lurid haze all aroung the horizon.
and Quilt dense canopy overhead, beneath which
this grasd army Of Freedom was preparing 70 ssss
against the morrow. Gems Grant and Meade had
retired to their tents. Quiet regneds but during
the reign ofquiet the enemy was forging thunder
bolt
Darkness and smoke we're mingling in grim twi-
| light, and fast deepening into thick gloom, when
VIC were startled out of rcpose back into fierce ex.
element. The forged thanderbolt was sped and
by master. A wild rebel yell away to the right.
We knew they had massed and were charging
We waited for the volley with which We knew
Scdgwick would meet the onset. We thought Il
but night attack to ascertain If we had changed
our position. We we're misfaken-it was more
They meant to break through, and they did. On
ISedgwick's extreme right lay the 2nd Brigade Sd
Division Of his corps. under Gen. Seymour, who
had been assigned to il but two days before.
The brigade is aew to the 9Th Corps. and IL
known as the Milroy brigade; connecting on shs
lcft Of Seymour by Shalers and then Nellie brig
adcs the latter being brigade ofGctty's division
that had not been sent TO Hancock. These troops
were at work cntrenching when fallen upen. The
enemy came down ike 4 torrent, rolling and dssA
- = E~scc ard AoodinO 4