Daily Ohio statesman. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1855-1870, 1864-08-18
QD5lo Statesrlan.
PRINTED AND pUBLIsHEo BY
The Ohio Statesman Company.
THURSDAY MORNING, : AUGUST Is
SHERMAN'S ARMY.
STRETCHING OUR LINE.
REACHING FOR THE MACON RAILROAD
THE ENEmY,s FLANK TURNED.
Correspondence Cincinnati Commerciall
RIGHT WING.

/ correspondence cincinnati C0mmerclal.J
RIGHT WING.
UToY CREEK, August 10.
Whatever else may he done or left undOne
by the remainder of the army, that alone
which transpircs in the right wing is of in
tercst to-day. This is the vital aud all i'm
portant point. and with this "whip LASH
as the boys call this wing, from its frequent
transfers right and left, we shall in the end,
scourge the rebels out of Atlanta. Not by
any more hard fighting. probably-of which
the rebels have learned the futility-shall
this end be accomplished, but by the iney-
table eanking and threatening to cut the
railroad by which they live.
All along the center and left there is mo-
nOtony and expectation, and the most absurd
rumOrs about our victories and advances.
So far are they removed from us that only
the heaviest canDonading reaches them,
while the musketry is lost in the woods.
and they know little Of the state of affairs
ION the right" save by the grapevine. They
have long since found the tremendous rebel
pits and bristling abatis in their front too
strong to be assaled, and they are COM
PEELED to content themselves entirely with
keeping up n show of fight before them.
while the right creeps steadily through the
wOOdsand reaches for the railroad. Their
wrath, and they respond by pitching score
or so of siXty-fOur Founders, camp ket-
ties" as nearly as they can into the place
whence their tormentors come; and it must
be owned these huge shriekers have rath-
er demoralizing effect on our men. Then,
too an occasional sortie Is made, when our
boys rush ont with fearful yell and scare
the rebel skirmishers pell-mell into their
works, where they generally stay till hight,
and then creep ont a little w9ys, to be
bounded in as before. The works have. in
many places. been advanced so close to-
gether that skirmishers could not live be-
tween them in any event. and so they will
probably remain till the business is ended
by decisive operations in these quarters.
TOO MUCH LENGTH.
At last we have found the end of the en-
emy's line. and have proceeded to point
beyond which he does not dare to stretch
his regiments to oppose us, and the happy
consequences begin to be evident in his
gradual falling back. The extent to which
we overlap them. strange as it may seem,
was just the half of one brigade. Whether
they had any more men whom they could
have added on the end of the column, / do
not know; but this much / do know, that
we had only brigades
left in reserve, and after the employment of
these we would have been at our wits end,
in the prosecution of the thanking schemes.
But this superiority was enough for all
practical purposes, limited as it was, and
August the 23d Corps began to advance
with little difficulty. The bloody and I'M
successful assault of the previous day, had
demonstrated afresh the eXpensiveness of
direct assault and so, on the morning of the
9TH, General Hascall's division pushed bold
ly out little further to the right, and be-
gan to swing around upon the rebels, to-
ward north and south line. They, evil
IDENTIFY, believed us to be in heavy force
from the au,lacity of the advance, and the
the thick woods, by screening the thin line
while it gave free vent to the superflu)us
noise and rattle of muskets, served in the
place of many regiment. The division
held the extreme right, as on the day before
and was about three miles north of East
Point, the junction of the West Point and
Macon railroads. and mile from the
south branch of Utoy Creek. Overlapping
the rebels. as have said. by just about the
half of brigade, they advanced the right
wing boldly through the woods threaten-
ing the rebel flank, and the latter fell back
at once with little show of opposition
Falling back on the wing, they must also
draw back the center, and thus our advance
was secured with very small loss. The 2l
Division soon passed the works from which
they had been obliged to retreat the night
before; and soon, also, the 81 Division was
in motion, and moved through the works
where they had been so bloodly repulSed
the day before, and recovered and buried
their dead left on the field. If it should be
asked why this same movement was not at
tempted the day before, this Is the reason
They were thenin Ignorance OF the strength
OF the rebels, and especially the exact pOint
to which their line extended. beyond which
they could accomplish flank. Besides, it
was near night, and it was rather hazardous
to detach body of men so boldly to the
right so late In the day and with so short
time to throw up fol titications for protec-
ton. On the It'll there was the whole day
before them in which to retrieve disaster and
repair mistakes.
The loss was small, as might have been
expected; so small as to be scarcely worth
the naming. The line was completely
Strengthened out, so that the 23d corps
formed prolongation of the line of the |
l4th, both running north and south. The |
ID division of the 23d was still more swung
around. so that its direction was a little
southeast and its extreme right was retir- |
ed, close along the north bank of the south |
branch of UtOy creek. The extreme right |
flank had advanced during the day fully |
two miles and half, though, by swinging.
it had not accomplished but small part of
this distance toward the railroad. About
one hundred and seventy-tve prisoners
were captured by the 23d corps during the
day, by a rapid advance upon their skir-
mish line. 5s- r;'tr
AUGUST S.-The movements of the tlay
were summed up in the occupation by Col.
brigade of the south bank of
Utoy. The passage was effected with little
difficulty, and the brigade, forming on the.
iouth bank, began to advance through a
i,orn-feld, when they encountered two
rebel lines of battle and retired to their
works, though the rebels were little dispos-
ed to fight, and withdrew without offering
battle. Several bridges were constructed
lcross the creek to facilitate retreat, If it
hould be necessary, though more labor
vas expended upon the works IN front. =.
!. 1t was here that the 50th Ohio lost its
.allant and honored leader, Lieut.. Col. Geo.
s.s Elstner. He was bravely leading his
egiment, on foot through the corn-Reld,
when he was singled out probably, by a 4
ebel sharpshooter, and fell pierced by a, 4
i,ullet directly through the head. In losing
i'm the 50th suffered a loss which Is truly
lrreparable. Coming up from the rank of
a.. 1,,r sat,d =