The daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1863-1864, 1864-05-20

Mr.. -, SIR BY this time you Will
have heard of our late fight and defeat. i
wrote to you of a reconnaissance by "a part
Of our battery, and Of their finding the leb-
els; also of force going out to meet them;
On the evening of the l4th we beard
brisk cannonading towards New Market.-
That night we got orders to march," At 9
o'clock, A. NJ, we were up, and started at .
IN. when near Mt. Jackson we couio
see the smoke of the artillery; waited about
half an hour. and got orders 10 go to the
front The enemy was pushing Sigel hard.
We started, and trotted about hive miles ;
came to the place of iunerest, and got Into
position. Our lines, we're giving way; we
awaited the rebels approach; for a few mo
ments all firing ceased; then We heard a
loud shout, and we knew they were Coming;
soon they made their appearance in long,
black lines, We opened at good range, but
on they came, as if Oh dress parade; shell
and canist ter flew through them, but on they
came, and now came the tug They were in
line with column on their right flank ;
they were now two hundred yards from US.
In front of our battery was a ravine, dis
lance about sixty wards They occupied
this, and opened on our company with small
arms. Our line was formed is follows
Our battery on the extreme right; Swans
battery on our left = the infantry in column
of division on their left This was the
centre of attraction. ?, On cur right was a
bluff of about one hundred feet-at the
foot of this the river. ,0n the edge Of this
bluff was lotof pines I This the rebels
filled with rihemen, and We soon felt them
| Lieut.. Chalfant went and asked the Gen. to
| send u, few, Infantry to drive them OUT,
and he sent about twenty men They be-
gan skirmishing; the woods were not ten
feet from our right, and right center AS
soon as the rebels got TO the raVine in our
front, we opened on them with canister, and
they on. US with mnsketry.g ] cannot de
scribe to you the scene, but it vas awful;
ten pieces pouring canister into them at
one hunQi ID and fifty yards, and not mo-
wing them. at last they wavered, our boys
cheered and gave them double cdargrs, but
they soon rallied, and re occupied their old
place. Our lnfantry raised up, and The
command was ''charge." They moved for
ward, but slowly-not like men who SO tor
Wet or death; they arrived at the top OF
the hill; in their front up raises two brig
AIDES, fires; our lines give. way, for want OF
support. The First Virginia is the only
regiment that charged; they alone conld dc
nothing but fall, which many Of them did
! Their loss is heavy; some of their best men
bave fallen AlIsthis time We were giving
them canister Our Infantry then broke
and ran; this exposed us, we were ordered
to timber to the rear, but before we conld
do 50 the rebel line in front of us raised
and killed two horses. in one Of our pieces
they come forward on a charge
Before we could get new horses they were
too close, and we were compelled 10 light
EN- and leave il. We halted and tried to
come into Battery to check them, but hao
no support, and they were not one hundred
yards from u.s. We then started, and down
went three horses in our other piece. On
| they came, and this had to be abandoned
and down went thee men who belonged tt
it: Geo. Bottles, a man from the Bllmon
Mills, shot through the left breast; Dan
Morrison, shot through the body; hotl
supposed to be dead, the former we left or
the field, and the latter we brought to Mt
Jackson. VIM. johnson fell here, and wa:
run over with gun, but the ground was
soft and be was not badly hurt. lie wa,
! put ON thu gun and b ought off; hn Wa
shot III the loot and is doing well
About one hundred yards from where VIZ
left our last gun, jos. Gorrell's gun got
stuck in the mud Sgel, Cariin. Richards
Gorrcll, Wilson, and Ii. Bellvile tried tc
get it out, but the horses were shot as .fas
as they were put in. The General iolc
tLem to leave it and go, which they did.