Charles City intelligencer. [volume] (Charles City, Floyd County, Iowa) 1864-1866, 1864-06-02
Gbe 6gntelligtnter.
Hancock's Splendid Charge,


Mr.. VIM. Swinton, correspondent o
the New York Times, writing unde
date Of the 18th instant. gives the fol
lowing vivid account of Hancock
late charge upon tho enemy's works
i Ihave just returned from the scsn,
OF Gen. Hancock's brilliant victory o
Thursday morning. At the point al
which his assault was made, the reb
el bresstworks formed an angle OF
salient. aud his men advanced silent
y and. without firing a shot, entered
the works at the salient and swept up
the inside Of the right, making the
bplendid haul of prisoners already
known to you. Unfortunately. the
! supporting line cheered when nearing
the works. otherwise we would. the
prisoners say, have captured both Ew'
oil and Lee. ,.... ....-
The assault was made between four
aud Eve o'clock, in the gray Of the
morning. Barlow's division, which
had the advance, Milks' brigade lead.
ing, went up in column by battalion
double on the centre, Birncy's divis.
ion in two lines of battle, and the d.
vision of Gibbon and Mott, in the Sec
oud line, supporting. The storrning
column rushed over the cnemy's
breastworks, which were exceedingly
strong, with ditch in front, and drove
the enemy back for mile. Here the
enemy rallied, and Hancock at six
A. N. returned and formed his line of
battle in the encmy'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 Sixth Corps Wright) which
had been on the right Of the Second
withdrew behind their skirmish line
and united with Hancock's right, and
afterward two divisions Of Warren's
were brought over. e.@m
The history Of the day after six
o'clock in the morning is all summed
up in Eve successive and fierce as.
seults which Lee made to take the
lost position. At first Ewell's corps
alone confronted Hancock, but during
the day Hill and Longstrcet were
drawn over from the rebel left, and the
army Of Lee flung itself in five despe-
rate efforts to rccapture the breast
works. But it was all in vain, as cve-
~ assault met a bloody repulss. So
terrific was the death-grapple, howev-
er, Thea at different times Of the day
she rebel colors were planted on the
one side Of the works and ours on the
other, the men fighting across the
psrapet. Nothing during the war has
equalled the savage desperation of
this struggle, which continued for
fourteen hours, and the scene Of the
conflict from which have just come,
presents spectacle Of horror that cur
dies tho blood of the boldest. The an.
gle of tho works at which Hancock
entered, and for the possession of
which the savage fight of the day was
made, 10 q perfect Golgotha. 10
this angle Of death the dead and
wounded rebels lie. this morning. lit
orally in piles--men in the agonies Of
dssth grooming beneath the dead bod
lee OF their comrades. On an area of
. few acres in the rear Of their po-
sition lie not less than "A thousand reb-
Ell corpses, many literally torn TO
shreds 10y hundreds Of balls. and sew.
eral with hayonet thrusts through and
through their bodies, pierced on the
very. margins Of the, parapct which
they were determined to rctake or
perish in the attempt. The one excla.
nation of every man who looks on
the spectacle is, God forbid that !
should ever gaze upon such q sight
again" -@1@l +i.'.. .
Hancock's movement is regarded
here a. the most brilliantly conceived
and executed tactical operation OF the
war, and has added TO the splendid
fame he won in the three days's fight
in the Wilderness. After the turning
movement Of the morning the Sixth
Corps and two divisions Of the Soc
end should be included in the history
Of the day. They share the honors o.
the glorious but bloody field Of Spot
sylvania. Our loss Of yesterday must
reach ten thousand. "fftt ava