The Burlington weekly hawk-eye. [volume] (Burlington [Iowa]) 1860-1876, 1864-05-28

The special correspondent Of the Ne,
York Times, writing on Friday, gives th
following vivid account of Hancock
charge upon the enemy's works: ss1.
have just returned from the scene q
General Hancock's brilliant victory Q
Thursday morning. At the point at whicl
his assault was made, the rebel breast
works formed an angle or salient, and hi
men advanced silently, and, without firin,
q shot, entered the salient, and swept uj
the inside OF the right, making the splen
did ulofprisonersa already known to you
Unfortunately, tho supporting line cheeret
when nearing the works, otherwise ".
would, the prisoners say. have captured
both Ewell and Lee.
The assault was made between four and
five O'Clock, in the gray of the morning.
Barlow's division, which had the advance
Milks' brigade leading, went up in column
BY battalion double on the center, Birney'a
division in two lines Of battle, and the d.
visions of Gibbon and Mott, In the second
line, supporting. The storming column
which were exceedingly strong, with d
ditch in 'front.' and drove the enemy back
for mile. Here the enemy rallied, and,
Hancock at 6 q. M, returned and formed
his line of battle in the enemy's works.
As this was the key Of the whole position
our right was gradually refused. and the
main body OF the army massed on the left.
The 9th corps Wright which had been
on the right of the 2d, withdrew behind
their skirmish line and united with Ham
cock right, and afterward two divisions
of Warren's were brought over. The his
tory Of the day after six o'clock in the
morning, is all summed up in five success
i've and fierce assaults which Lee made to
retake the lost position. At first EwelPs
corps alone confronted Hancock, but du-
I'll he, l,,v r
drawn over from the rebel left, and the
whole army of Lee flung itself in five des-
perate efforts to recapture the breastworks.
But it was all in vain, as every assault
met bloody repulse.
So terrific was the death-grapple, how
ever, that at different times of the day the
rebel colors were planted on the one side
of the works and ours on the other, the men
fighting across the parapet. Nothing dur
ing the war has eQualed the savage despe-
ration Of this struggle, which continued
fourteen hours, and the scene of the con-
fict, from which have Just come presents
a spectacle of horror that curdlesthe blood
fthe boldest. The angle of the works at
which Hancock entered, and for the pos
session of which the savage fight Of the day
was made, is a perfect GOlgOtha. In this
els lie, this morning, literally in piles
men in the agonies of death groaning be-
meath the dead bodies Of their comrades--
On an area Of few acres in the rear Of
their position lie not less than thousand
rebel corpses, many literally torn to shreds
by hundred of balls, and several with bay
onet thrusts through and through their
bodies, pierced on the very margins or the
parapet, which they were determined to
retake or perish in the attempt. The onez
exclamation Of every man who looks on'the
spectacle is, "God forbid that should ever
gaze on such a sight again. 5ITi +
Hancock's movement is regarded here as
the most brilliantly conceived and executed
tactical operation Of the war, and has ad-
ded to the splendid fame he won in the
three days fight in the Wilderness. After
the turning movement Of the morning, the
Sixth Corps and two divisions Of the Sec
ond should be included in the history Of
the day. They sharethe honers Of the glo-
rious, but bloody field Of SpOttsylvania.-
Our loss of yesterday must reach ten thou
sand. ,aa