, 1864-08-16
ER011 THE ARMY OF THE
POTOMAC.
Ehe Great Slaughter Before Peters,
burg. =


Editorial Costcepondence.1
AENr or The PtToxAc, IN FRONT or PerEus-I
nuEo, August 8, 1854.
The IeRccrs Of the tribune need scarcely
be told why the writer IL here A brother
over whom he has watched from childhood,
AID who in manhood, for the last sixteen
years has been to him all that most init
mate friend and brother could be, was In
stant)y killed In the terrible slaughter before
Petersburg, Va, en- Saturday, July 30th, and
the last sad duties to those we love have
brought us here, as + st as steam could do 1t.
Since arriving, we hare conyersed with:
ecores Of officers in regard to the fearful
struggle, In which 80 many brave hearts gave
their life blood to save the nation from tho
fell grasp Of traitors, and though, as might
be, expected, they gaze different facts, as
viewed from their various stand points. all
sgrte substantially In the main circuustan-
ccs, which ne proceed to narrate. The min
Ing Of the fort b. Col. Pleasauts AMI his
other points are already well understood by
our rsadess, and pastlcula IT description may.
therefore be here omitted. It may be neces:
eary, however, to sketch briefly the plan Of
ATTACK.
On the blowing up ofthe rebel fort, which
did Eot occur till about o'c1ock-haying
been delayed considerably BY the dampness
Of the fuse, the first division Of the 9th corps
under command Of Gen. Ledlie, was ordered
the advance to move Immediately npon
and through the breach to Cemetery Hill, a
position which commands Petersburg and
the entire lines of the enemy, and there
intrench and hold 1t till supports came up
Other br1gades were to file to the right and
left Of tie exploded fort, and drivethe enemy
ts,F In - ny.pfn n$&.,
BIZ, take the forts adjacent to the one that
had been blown up. Other supports, the 5th
and 18th corps, were Immediately to follow,
and the moet entire confidence was felt In
the trinmphant success OF the enterprise
The plan had the entire approval Of General
Grant, and as all subsequent events proved,
it.ought to have given Us Petersburg and the
route and destruction Of the rebel army be-
fore it. An hour, certainly two hours, after
the explosion Of the mine, all this could have
been, and ought to have been. accomplished.
THE FIGHT, AND TEE RESULT.
Some time, some cay half an hour after the
explosion, the I'd brigade of the 1st division,
commanded by Colonel Marshall, West
Pointer, and Captain in the regular army,
advanced to the exploded fort, and, instead
ted E. Il tse CT eeat4 @ fe9ged By tae
This vas the beginning of the fatal blum
dcrs OF the day. The Origades which wera
to follow waited, and Eept waiting, for
the ADVANCE to get out Of rhsr way. and,
whcn finally ordered up, were mpeded and
who ought to have been on Cemetery Hill
Thus brigade after brigade we're ordered up.
the whole gorge was piled aud packed
full Of men, the firing from the rebel batter.
les and 1ile-plts becoming perfectly murder
oua, when, about 0 o'clock, after all hope Of
saving the day was utterly lost, the negro
1rNR ox1A ~.
were ordertd to the charge. Without one
moments 1inchirg they rushed into the
seething crater Of destruction, to be m9wed
down By hundreds and By thousands by the
grape and canister from the double enflad-
Ing fire Ct the rebel batteries. The bravery
shown by the officers OF the negro troops dur
ing their charge was truly sublime. We heard
IL more than q score Of the severcst battles
Of the war, declare that they never "a Y such
unhinchitg hero1sm. WaTing their swords
and cheering their men, they were every
Fhere in the 'front.' calling on their brave
boys to follow, and follow they did till nearly
all their officers were stricken down BY rebel
BULLETS. Thus after the day had been lost By
brigade cent forward, to do what the most
stupid military man ought to have known
was an imI disability, till a thousand
brave men .ay piled ID hor1id death, and
some three thousand OF mort were wsithiug
With ehastly wounds
Now all this horrid waste of life, sfckening
1t is to say 1t, WAS caused By the stupid,
wicked laundering OF some one. It com
menced with the delay in making the first
charge after the fort was blown up, and Was
rendered certain when the advance halted ut
the crater instead OF charging directly to the
top Of Cemt tery Hill When the mine blew
up ps, the rebels sl aed from the adjoining forts.
| piecious moment which should have
been seized oy the supports following the
advance charging upon the hill Even
single company Or two might
lors tedious hours Of the delay, the rebels
| guns with awful effect upon our columns ii
and abont the crater. Prisoners taken frou
rebel regiments said they were "doubl;
| quicked'' four miles and were there In tims
to take part In the thickest ofthe fight. Rebe
troops Eerc hurried in from the right ant
left, 20 that rebel desarter who WAS then Ii
| the trenches nile to the left OF the fort a.
sured ue, that there were in front OF our liu.l
| only sirgle row OF men, standing Il fe fee
apart Had the rebel works ut ten O'Clock
bten attacked there, nothing would have pre-
vented our forces from marching directly
into Petersburg.
THE BLAME.
| = ccurt martial is now in session to tlnt
out II possible who Is resi- onsible for the tear
ful slauehte OF 80 mshY Of our braye, notl
hearted patriots. That the b1undering Wa.
stupid and awful VIC bslieTe Is the unani
nous verdict.
Wherever it lies let the court determine; bu
We heard very little confidence cxpresset
in the army that 1t will amount to much. 81
many Influences It was said would be brouEh
to bear to conceal the truth that they woul,
be very likely to succeed. B.