Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1865-11-12

Mississippians in Fort Gregg togain tim
for their conVades.
Fort Gregg fell about seven o'clock ol
g the morning Of the second. After della
Z of two OF three hours, the Federals swep
onward in the direction of Petersburg
taking the Confederate lines en FcUcFs
, At this moment Longstreet, accOmpanie
by Benning's brigade Of Fields division
. ABOUT one hundred and seventy bayOnet
strong, met the on-pouring flood an
! checked ii long enough 10 enable fresl
troops TO hurry upin his rear, and 70 form
, a fresh line in front Of Petersburg.
simultaneously in on attempt Of Heth'
Division TO re-estahlish their lines, Gen
: a. i. Hi! who commanded the corps 4
which Heth's, Division belonged lost
life which for nearly four years he ha'
/ Gnfinchingly exposed in nearly a hun
dred Of his country's battles. About th'
same moment was dispatched the mem
/ Orabie telegram which surprised DAVIS IL
church, and announced that the LAST GA y
Of heroic resistance which had ihau'
Richmond the most notable ol belsii-
guered cities had at length arrived. Iht
delay purchased hv the obstinate defense
Of Fort Gregg, and by Lonsstreets bold
handling of Benuiug's Brigade, saved
Petersburg until the tobacco ana cotton
stored I'm that city could be burned, and
until leisurely preparation for evacuation
could be made.
1t is remarkable that no further on
sIaught was made blythe Federals through
ont tle day, or during the evening,
although the flames springingup in many
uarts Of the town must have told their
/ own tale. At nightfall on the second all
| the Confederate troops, about four thou
I sand strong, which remained under the
command Of Gen. Ewell, To the north Of
James river, fell back from their lines,
and passed through the beWildered streets
of Richmond, traversing before daybreak
the bridges over the James river, which
were so soon 10 be given to the flames.
About eight on the night of the same
second, the Confederate troops also COM
menced leaving pcteTshurg their retreat
being covered by Fields division under
Longstreet. Pursuit there was none. Il
Is probable that already Grant was bend
ing all his energies 10 get round and cut
OFF Lees retreat. The Petersburg section
of ,he Confederate troops, full of visor
and elan, crossed to the north side Of the
ApP0mattoX river on pontOon bridge
and made sixteen miles during their first
night Of retreat.
1t would be difficult 10 conceive any
thing brighter or more hopeful than the
tone Of Gen. Lees spirits on the morn
ing OF The third. % have got my army
safe out of its breastw0rks,n - he said,
and i'm order 20 follow me, my enemy
must abandon his lines, and can derive
no further benefit from his railroads or
from the James river There can be
little doubt that Lees design was to re-
eTUit his army with ratiOn- which he
hoped TO find in abundance at Amelia
Court House, and 10 fall i'm detail upon
the Federals who breaking up into
bodies Of one or two army corps, were
scattering all over the country with q
view % a vigorous pursuit. Two days
ratiOns at Amelia Court House for forty
thousand men would possibly have made
great difference in the immediate,
though, as ] believe, none in the ultimate
history Of the Continent of North
America.
There is little satisfaction in dwelling
in detail upon the five subsequent
days, for which "a parallel must be /
sought on the banks Of the BeresiHa, or |
in other similar passages of military an I
gJIish. 1t is hardly necessary 10 state /
that at Amelia Court House Lee found .
not a ration. / shall not stop now 10 dis F.
tribute blame, or TO investigate who was /.
at fault All that ! have to state il that /.
the fault was not Gen. Lees, whose or /
ders on this subject for a fortnight past I
had been urgent and precise. 1t became .
necessary for Lee TO break nearly half bis I
army up into ior3giug parties 90 get food. .
The country through which he was UaSs- I
ing was a tract Of struggling woods and .
pine baFreus, with occasional little patches
of clparings. The fora9ing parties had TO 4
20 80 far a-Held in quest Of food that they
were taken prisoners by wholesale In
the face Of such suffering aS they left be-
hind, it cannot be wondered az If some of
them coWrted capture.
Those fpr1Cers who returned to Lee
brought little or nothing with them
The ~uherinEz pf the men from the plngS
Of hunger las not been approached in the
annals of the past fifty years. /
But the suffering of the mules and horses
must have been even keencT; for the men
assuaged their cravings by plucking the
buds and tWigs of trees just shooting i'm
The early spring, whereas tho grass bad
not yet started from its winter sleep, and
food for the unhappy quadrupeds there
was none. As early as the morning Of
the fourth Lee sent Off half bis artillery
toward the railroad 30 relieve the FAM
shed horses. The artillery making slow
progress, thanks 70 the exhaustion of the
horses, was captured 10y taa tearralS on
the eighth, bat not until General Lind
say walker had buried many of his guns,
which were, 0f goIrse, subsequently eX-
humed seventy Of them &C one haul by
the Captofs.
It is easy to see that the tocomotion Of
an army in such a plight must have been
slow and slower. The retreat was con-
Quoted in DIS following fashion About
the G0uledlraIls slipped ont of
their hastv works, which they had
thrown up and held during the previous
iav. and fell back until ten or twelve
O'Clock the next morning. Then they
b,ltaH and Immediately threw up earth
works for their protection during theday
It was moi long before the wolves were
7gaiu on their heels, and from their
sartnworl,s lhe GontederateS exchanged I
a heavy fire wifh thGir f-i>lFi- thrclCh-
out the day. Delayed with thg necessity
Of guarding an ammunition train from
thitv-five RIO forty miles i'm length, en-
fce'5.ed hy hunger and SleepleSsness, the
retreating arms .2S only able 10 make
ten miles each night. The deius enabled
the agtiye Sheridan to get ahead with his
cavalry, afid ln destroy the Gepots of pro-
visions along the raiiIua.i ,tas - zen Burke
Vile and Danville. Upon the fifth many .
Of the mules and horses ceased to struggle. ]
ID lame n-,assarv i0 burn hundreds Of /
WAGONS. Al Intervals the enemy's cav /
airy dashed I'M and struck the inIermina- !
bic ammunition train here and there, 1
capturing and burning dozens upon /
dozens Of wagons. Toward evening Of /
the fifth, and an day or the sixth, hum 1
dreds of men dropped from exhaustion, /
and thousands let fall their muskets from I
inability 10 carry them any farther. {
The scenes Of the fifth, sixth, seventh I
and eighth, were Of a nature which can /
be apprehended in its vivid reality only /
bv men who are thoroughly familiar /,
with the narrowing details of war. Be /
hind. and on either flank, an ubiquitous I
and increasingly adventurous enemy /
every mud hole and every rise in the I
road choked with burning wagons-the /
air filed with the deafening reports Of I
ammunition exploding, and shells busrt- I
ing when touched uy the fames-dense ]
columns Of smoke ascending to heaven .
from the burning and exploding vehicles, I
exhausted men. worn out mules and 4
horses. living down side by sidr-gaunt 1
famine glarinn hopeles-ly from smken |
1acI--lustre eyes-dead mules, dead horses, /
dead men essTywbere-death, many |
times welcomed rs Gods blessing in dis
clisf-whO can wonder II many hearts, |
tried la tine fprv furnace Of four years
suffering and hitherto never
found wanting, should have quaiied in
the presence Of starvation, fatigue, sleep
lessii5ss. miSery-uninteTmitted for five
or six days, and eliminating in hope
lessness
Yet there was not wanting occasional
episodss which recalled something Of the
old pride Of former memories, and re-
minded men that this hunted, famished !
crowd was still the same army that had Z
won two Bull Runs, which had twice lin
pursuit of q fatal policy trOdden its |
eueuv's soil, and hEd written Errdericks- |
burg. ChancellOrsville, and a dozen other l
Glorious names upon its banners. On the /
sixth a large body Of Federal cavalry, [
having got ahead Of Lees army and oc- [
cupied Rife's station, was attacked by /
some Confederate horse under Gen. Hos l
ser. who drove them Of, capturing six |
hundred and eighty prisoners. On the I
seventh a heavy attack Was made upon |
AIahoue's division, and the proves Of
this active Confederate General, so fire.
ouautly exhibited during the war, was
20 the end, insslnuch as
Federal brigade, getting eutangled m
raViga was surrounded by Mahoue's
men. and literally disappeared. On the
evening Of the seventh, General Gregg
4