, 1864-01-22
FROM EAST TENNESSEE,


Especial Correspondence Of the chIcago Tribune
y =. S1l,Aw1EnRT P1Aiss,
1G miles northeast Of KNOXVILLE. Tenn,
December 81, 1864 =
rejoined the G5th on the It'll Of October.
afteF very tatigning journey over the noun
fains. The regiment was then at Concord.
where it rc1aained until the a9th, when We
received marching orders for Knoxville. We
reached that place the SAINT afternoon, and
on Inc 5lst crossed the Holston River, by
means Of pontoon bridge, and took position
On commanding hill Then / was firm In
Tie belief that We would 60 into winter ouar-
ters, and went to work chopping trees for
the purpose Of building a log house, but athc
best laid schemes Of mice and men eanr aft
a'sle," Tor had Just got the wills finished.
ahd about to commence roofing, when the
"long roll' WAS beaten, tents were strucE
and the regiment formed into unc, Ind
only time to take last, long and regrctfu1
HOOK at my handiwork, before the bug1e
sounded, and the brigade was on the move,
lie cause Of the alarm WIS owing to our
1ofccs at the front haTing been compelled to
retreat before superior numbers of the
| enemy.
Lie brigade Vas placed in ambush, and
section Of artillery moved to u commanding
emancncc, Tor the purpose of covering the re-
treat Of our forces. Companies E and HI
belong to Co. H, were sent with the artillery
nneed be. I was In command OF Co. q. md
had Just given the men orders to load at
will, when our forces were seen to emer1a
from the woods In double quick time under
FeIy heavy fire. As soon as they got clear of |
the woods, they formed in line of battle IN
Ck&6fG6 Hhnnf nfn. hall 1f1oF
was stationed, and awaited the coming Of |
the grey back' gentry. They had moi to |
wait long, for the rebels, under cover Of the !
Eoods, opened upon them with tremen-
oons etnnd s4es }he f o. mnsks Our brave fellows
turned It. ~'s'' '%4'4 ~
Thus It continued for few minutes, when
our cavalry, to draw the rebels out of the
Mooas, made felnt move Of retreating. The
movement a9 acted Ike . charm, for tho chlv-
capture number Of prisoners. Their tnteu-
tlon was folled, however, In manner they
least expected, for NE waited until they cot
some distance from the woods, and t6en
The first shen burst right in Their midst WITH
deadly eject, Tor could see quite number |
OF 11derlees horses, running loose immediate-
y a1teE We then opened on them with six
Euns, and 1t amused me to see them make for
the woods. Quite number took refuge in
an old barn, but we sent she'll through the
ROOF, and they speedily betook themselves to
their heels. {
The 65th was assigned to the front that
n1ght; It was cold and drizzly. and we were {
without tents, blankets, overcoats, or fires !
we remained In this position from Sabbath | I
nntu thursday, when ne moved into the for c
tlteations, Fort Stanley, which VIC occupied, {
Is Is bunt 1pon one Of the highest hills around
Knoxville, and commando the whole city,
The night Of the day We moved there wis
clear moonlight, and will never forget the !
beauty Of the scene that Knoxville presented. ,,
The city lay Us it were at our feet, and !.
within and around, the suburbs were dotted .
with thoueands Of camp fires. 4 brass band !
disconrsed some fine music The stiffness Of
death prevailed while some patriotic afrs q
Eere played, and the last time was sHomc, q
sweet Home" How many sweet remem.
were waited to the ears of the soldier as be c
walked his beat, or lay wounded aud dying
10 the hospital, far AWAY from his home an1 Q
those be loved, There had been heavy skir- y
m,shing aali ~ INT day, and many. poor fellow
ID sitting on the parapet Of the fort till near =
Il O'Clock, when I was suddenly aroused II
rom my rererie by the boom of a cannon,
knew from the sound that it was blank Y
not, and wondered what It could mean. I Il
Is the sound died away mucic was heard to
'tr1ke up. The tune this time was slow and =
'olcmn. It was 'Dead March," for they I
8efe constgnlng all that remained Of the y
1raye General Sanders to the silent tomb. q
de was mortaly wounded while leading his u
men IN charge aguinst the enemy the day u
'efore. Sanders was blississippiau bY o.
,itth, and had two brothers with Gen. Long 2
tTeet, while he nobly espoused the Union Z
a1se, ia which be SO bravely fell p
On the 9th November, our pIckets re- y
'orted that the enemy had thrown pontoon =
cross the river, siI miles below Knoxville .!
nd were crossing in large force. Orr bri. sc
ade was moved out In that direction to pre-
ent them from taking position. Next day q
ne enemy attempted with three brigades to y
faVe In our line Of pfcEets, when fight en- g
oed. we had not more than 500 men en- 10
aged. Companies C and Il were sent to the OF
IT to prevent them from tlanking us. We az az
ad to cross rarfne, when VIC were exposed N
very heavy fire, but We succeeded In va
rose1ng the opposite hill much better than "
r When we got to tho top Of the: 50
u, We found. the woods full of io an
:bcls, and they were yelling like Ut
nee, and gare them a volley or two III
at it was no use. consulted for q moment
itb Lieut.. Young, and concluded to make a
aarEe, md succeeded in driving them ont
ID did not stop until We came within ranae an
I the encmy's guns at the other end Of tie be
oods- He only lost a few men, while the / fat
a 3emy suffered severely. escaped unhurt NJ
nue. had many narrow escapes. We wcra rel
raefcd TO fall in the men and retire. as It was i
o. qcslfed to bring on general enlargement. rai
nlle u assembling my men, a bullet Whizzed Of
ast ny car and killed the man standinr nt cal
, SIDE foor fellow he neyer 1-ra,1r 1S9tnt | 80