Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1864-08-04


/ gether by the men when they had last halted,
| furnished but little protection from the piri
less showers of bullets flung from the muskets
of the enemy; but, in spite of rebel daring
energy and hate, Williams would not Weld a
foot Of ground
The wave Of rebel assault rolled from left
to right, finally involving nearly our whole
! line from Newton On the left to Col Arson
! McCooks brigade on the right.
| Colonel Bradley's brigade of Newton's d.
/ sion Ito the command of which he succeeded
! after the death Of the noble Harker,) was
/ formed in columns of regiments along the
road ieadi g from Buckhead to Atlanta; when
the hight commenced. Immediately after the
/ rebel assault began upon Newton's front the
/ oath Ohio and the AID Illinois were sent to
support Colonel Blake, while the 9th Illinois
was dispatched to the assistance of General
klmball. The remainder of the brigade was
at first also intended to go to the support of
Blake; but its destination was changed and
/ 1t was formed in order of battle along the
Atlanta road, where it assisted in repellng
and capturing column of the enemy which
had forced Its way past Blake's left flank and
/ actually gained our rear.
Inls incident deserves to be further MOTTO
ed. SO intense was the interest amongst our
men to repel the rebels in their immediate
front, that they did not perceive small col
umn had passed around entirely to the left of
Blake, and penetrated the right of that long
line OF skirmishers which Ihaye described as
alone holding the huge gap between Newton
ana Wood, until they heard the noise of con-
/ hlct Immediately In their rear. The rebels
had reached the Buckhead and Atlanta road.
But there was one man near by who saw these
rebels and marked them as doomed. Gen.
] IL r
! hight IN the rear Of Newton The moment
he perceived the body of rebels have men
toned, he hastily got together force con-
slsting OF the pioneers Of Kimball's brigade,
some of the struggling skirmishers who had
hed before the first rebel onset, and couple
OF pieces of artillery. Taking immediate
personal command of this novel battalion, he
assalled the astonished rebels, and killed and
captured the whole body. He may perform
great achievements in the future as he has
IN the past, but venture to predict that he
will think as often of this little affair as of
any military event of his life.
The 57th Indiana and Tooth Illinois, of
! Col. Blakes brigade, which were advanced in
the first place as skirmishers, were separated
tor some time from the remainder of the bri-
| gade by the rebel column above mentioned
The right of Colonel Blake's brigade rested
on the Atlanta road, the left of General Kim
ball 5 upon The same. Four guns of Good
speeds Ohio battery, under command Of
! Lieutenant Scovill, were placed upon the At
lanta road, just in rear of these two brigades,
and during the whole time the fight lasted did
terrible execution upon the enemy. Once
the rebels came up raVine just to the left
OF the road, in close column, with Brigadier-
| General Stephens at their head. determined
| If possible, to capture these four pieces; but
Kimbalps left regiment 74th Illinois, on the
right of the road, and Blake's right regiment,
the SSth Illinois, on the left of the road,
poured into the column SO terrible direct
and cross fire, that it reeled, staggered and
broke in confusion, leaving it's leader dead
upon the field
The brigade which formed the left of Gen
| Wards division is commanded by Col. Jas
Wood of the l36th New York. But two of
its regiments were in the front line when the
conflict commenced, the 26th Wisconsin and
goth Connecticut. The 55th Ohio afterward
took part in the fighting, as did the 73d.
which relieved the 36th Wisconsin, and the
136th New York, which relieved the Goth
Connecticut. The troops Immediately oppos-
ed to Col. Wood were a.Mississippi brigade
under command of " Brigadier- General
| Featherstone, who was killed early in the
fight, Col. Wood did all that was required
of him, as might be expected from so excel
| lent commander
! The center of Gen. Wards division was
held by Col. Coburns brigade. Coburn is the
faithful and intelligent Colonel of the SD
Indiana. The 22d Wisconsin, Lieutenant
| Colonel Bloodgood was deployed as skirmish-
ers in front of this brigade, in the beginning
of the fight, and commended there long time
with obstinacy and skill. 1t was part of Col.
| (ohurp'S hriu I,bic in no IL she al
along the front of Wards division, exchang-
ed places with a part of the rebel line, and
wheeled about TO renew the fight with them.
The next brigade, going toward the left,
was Gen. Wards, lat present commanded by
| Col Harrison, of the 10th Indiana) 1t did
| its full share of this glorious days work.
| When the great charge of the rebels and
counter-charge by our men were made, the
l29th Illinois engaged the enemy in a hand
to-hand conflict in which officers as well as
men mingled Unfortunately. Lieut. Col
Flynn and rebel Colonel, each with a gun
in his hands, fought each other for a consid-
cradle time, each lodging round bush re-
| peatedly, so as to give or avoid a shot
Gen. Williams division gloriously distin-
| guished itself. knipe's brigade, composed
| exclusively of Eastern troops, contended in
patriotic and glorious rivalry with Col Rob-
ipson's, which are nearly all Western while
Gen. I. II. Ruger's, formerly Colonel of the
Sd wisconsin, made up from both sections
die. its duty as well.
Col Arson G. McCook, of the I'd Ohio,
earned place among the best and bravest
OF those who that day beat back the legions
of treason and anarchy. His brigade con-
sisting of old regiments, each of which has a
| historical name, was, until recently, under
command of Brig. Gen. Carin. The latter
being on leave of absence, Col. McCook as
sumed command by right of seniority. On
him was devolved the duty of clipping the
left wing of the rebel host which bounced
upon US He was on the extreme left of
Palmers corps, and his was the left brigade
Of Gen. Johnsons division. 1t was formed
into two lines, the first commanded by Col
Taylor, of the 18th Kentucky ; the second by
Col Hobart, 21st Wisconsin. The brigade
advanced to the top of the ridge in front, to
keep in line with Gen. Hooker, and had time
to throw up some slight works before it was
assailed. This remark applies to the first
line only-the second had no works.
The lO4th Illinois, on the left of the first
line, was somewhat in advance Of the other
regiments, in consequence of the peculiar
nature of the ground; and was therefore the
first struck, when the rebels came laundering
upon US. A brave stand was made, and ther
the right of the regiment began to crumble
away Col. McCook, while feeling deeply the
heavy responsibility resting upon his should
ers, remained cool and self-possessed as &
: veteran. He knew how terrible the result
might be if this portion of our line was bro
f ken. Yet the rebel legions had advanced
entirely up to our rude works, and rebe
color bearer stuck his detested flag into one
of the logs composing them. He almost