The Nashville daily union. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1862-1866, 1864-05-25
From Gen. Buffers Army.
The Furious Fighting on the 18Th.



BERMUDA HUNDRED, May Il. 1864.
The hardest fighting of the campaign
on the South side of the James River
occurred yesterday. In the early morn
ing, under cover Of a fog so dense as to
limit vision to the distance of few
yards, the enemy fell upon the right Of
our line of battle with the force of an
avalanche, completely crushing it back
ward, and turning our flank, as two
days before we hsd turned theirs
Their advantage, however, was but tenn
porary, for our veterans quickly recov-
cred from the sudden shock, and drove
their assailants back beyond the line of
the attack The fighting, thus uncere-
'moniously inaugurated, continued with
more or less briskness throughout the
day, and the losses on both sides were
severe. The impression Is, however,
that the rebels in this respect were the
greater sufferers, but our loss is esti-
mated at not less than fifteen hundred
to two thousand in killed, wounded and
missing The days operations resulted
in our entire army being ordered to re-
turn from its advanced position, within
ten miles of Richmond, to the line of
defense known as Bermuda Hundred,
between the James and Appomattox
rivers. Here the troops were securely
encamped before 10 o'clock last night,
having buried their dead, and brought
from the battlefield in perfect order
their wounded and all their supplies.
The five days campaign which has
been thus unexpectedly closed, can in
no wise be designated a defeat Gen.
Butler has accomplished all and more
than all that he intended. When, on
Thursday morning last, the army left its
intrenchments, and faced towards Rich
mond its object, primarily, was to en-
gage the attention of the strong rebel
force garrisoning the outer defenees of
the city, and thus permit Gen. Kautz
with his cavalry to emerge from our
lines, with the object of pushing forward
TO the Danvilleand Richmond railroad.
This road being cut, every line OF travel
radiating from Richmond by which Lee
could receive supplies for his army
would be closed. To accomplish an
end of such advantage to Grant as the
GRIPPING OF his antagonist in this re-
tsttN' Vel buAitL touhluGfGu II ROQlQ
be cheaply gained, comparatively speak
ing even by the sacrifice of his entire
command; and there are few men in
the army here whose patriotic spirit is
not strong enough to make them will
ingly leap into the yawning chasm of
personal destruction to save the State
but happily no such sacrifice was de-
handed
Kautz has been heard from. The
damage he set out 10 do has been fully
inflicted, and by our stubborn lighting
OF the enemy in our front, a force which
we have reason 10 believe is greatly su-
perior 10 our own, has been kept con
5 autly busy south Of Richmond instead
OF passing northward 10 reinforce the
exhausted and demoralized hordes OBJ
posed to Grant
With these preliminary remarks, LEI
me as fully as / can, before the closing 4
Of the msil, which leaves camp this I
morning, give some account of the bat (
Ne, as Tar as Il came under my personal /
observation, with such details as 1 was
enabled to gather from those who par-
ueipated- It may well be supposed that
the troops We're greatly fathtued after
the four days hard fighting prior to YES