Sunbury American. [volume] (Sunbury, Pa.) 1848-1879, 1865-04-01

tastes of poetic frenzy. lon, hi'een, Pe.
haps twenty minutes elapsed while 'hls
terrible artillery fire shook the earth without
onnarent cause. An attacking column, over
wbe,mino in numbers terrible in its intcnsi-
tv, picked men from four of the finest dlvl-
| siors in the Rebel army, rushed on Fort
| Stca6man. Picture Think of it Through
| the darkness, over the slightly swelling
| Ground, rushing on without pause or thought.
! Hitherto our artillery had been firing wild |
at nothing IN particular, firing principally |
because the Rebels were.
But now Captain Stone, in Battery e, !
caught glimpse, in the dim morning light, |
of large mass of troops in front OF Sleau-
man, grey or blue, he could not tell, put SO
many blue had no business there, and the
situation flashed upon him. 1t was an as
sault, and he trained his guns on the NOV
mo mass. At the same, or about the same
moment, McGilvery, No. 8, Hascali, OF NO.
10 and Steadman itself, made the same dis
covery, and followed the example OF No. y.
It was a terrible fire, but that Rebel column,
with a valor worthy Of a better cause,
: moved through it unlinchingly. Up to the
fort. up to No. 12, on it came, over the outer
works of both, met every instant by stub
horn resistance and sudden death, yet press
ing on into the fort, through the traverse of
Steadman, the fight was kept up foot by
| ltnl, luCu iN luSl, IINSly mon hSAO' nv
First Connecticut and Fourteenth New York
Heavy Artillery stood to the work like he
S roes, in close quarters, using the butts of
O. their muskets us clubs. 1t is well there was
none OF Gods holy light as yet, or these
men would have skunk appalled, from the
/ murderous horror of their work. Three
+ Quarters of an hour and numbers decide the
4 fate Of Stcalman. Killed wounded or pri-
- soners, the gallant garrison has given up
the ghost, and Gordon stands upon its
bloody rampant conqueror.
Six o'clock and daylight found Gordon
thus He had full possession of Steaoman
and No. 12. lis troops, an army in num-
q bers, had been inspiratad by tie event of
o the morning, and he next attempted to
i sweep down on No. 0, bat lie soon found
d that his difficulties bad but begun. Death
'e was all round his troops
q Cannon to right of them, cannon to left OF
l. them,
Is Nollied and thundercd."
It From both flanks, from the knobs in FROM
of Stcadman, where Iidbail had posted
- Jones, Mcclellan and Rogers, death came
~ on in hurling showers. Such artillery fire
g probably the world never saw before.
te The ground between Steadman and the
r original Rebel line was so swept by No.
!, and Hascall that no living thing, now that
- daylight had come, could venture there
le Thus Gordons retreat was cut off. The in
D. stant he took the fort, before daylight, hi
had managed to hurry three or four hun
"a dred of his prisoners of, and these were al
=. he saved of the other hundreds he captured
W All this time brains were at work direct
OF ing muscle. Long ago General Parke hat
I'll arrived on the field, and assuming direction
if began his work.
. In November, 1868, I saw that same man
AZ Parke, bring order out of chaos il one sin
5h gle night, at Knoxville, Tennessee. lie die
tn great work again to-day He had able sub
he oIdinates. Wilcox and Hartranlt to da
20 stood the test of the furnace seven time
" heated. While Gordon hugged the bomb
NC proofs oe SteadMan, dispositions were mad
fy to dislodge him in turn. The two brigade
10 of Hartranft, the first under Col. c. ". De
ven, Two hundreth Pennsy ylvania, and tn
second under Colonel Jared Mathews, Two
, hundred and fifth Pennsylvania, formed il
front, Wilcox's Second Brigade, under Col
Ely, Eighth Michigan, on the right, and III
i !! third, under Col! Robinson, Third Maryland
after the capture of Brcvet Diigadier-Gene
al Mclaughlin, on the left. In this orde
the four brigadcs fought their way up t
N the fort.
Seven to eight was i counterpart Of tn
hour from FIVE to six. Steadman was agai
Is. the scene of wild, desperate hand-to- han,
fighting. Up to the fort again, into it agaiI
,d through its traverses again our four brigade
pushed on with a valor that rivallGd bu
could not surpass that Of the Rebels. Ho,
they fought leggars language Determine
To to win back Steadman, the Ninth Corp
iul Brigades walked unappallcd through til
he rain of bullets that swept the open plain
er- At last the Rebels yielded. Sneaking o
lie. 10y a ravine that runs laterally from tn
ri,r1,t Of Stpnlp,n, m bn AnN
on of them regained the cover of Spring Hi
Most oc them never did. Eighteen hundre
Ter in all were captured. The fort itself an
ice the ground in front of it was covered wit
their dead and wounded. At fifteen mil
utes past eight o'clock Fort Steadman W,
- rewon the fight was over, the valOr an
ar: fOrtitude of the Ninth Corps made manile
'ol- to all the world. Not gun was remove
or spiked no vestige of Rebel occupanC
mn. save the stilcd and writhing masses Of gre
- Gordon left the Field just before. l
left it very much unlike conqueror NJ
iancying the fire that swept the. plain, |
MS sent his horse oil by an orderly, and toloN
Ia ing the example of the illustrious Pickwic
or. at the sham-fight, by himself, on foot, dow
IN. the ravine spoken Of he did not run by al
nst means, but as described 10y Major Miller, {
Ike eyewitness, he trOtted away.
,ck General IIartranit shonc through the ranl
of war to-day like the plume of Henry
of Navarro. The charge of his division
his headed and with him, breast to breast, we
bjs Major Shorkley of his staff, and CAPITA
ent Bracket, of General WIlcoX's stntf.
to A flag of truce was sent in immediate
ad after the battle by General Gordon, Gskii
,eir permission to bury his dead. Ills rcque
ica. was granted, and under its cover the Reb
dead were removed from sight.
The great feat of the day was undouLte
on ly that of Major Miller, First Pennsylvan
am Artillery, acting on the staff Of General III
ons ball. Captured in the early part of the e
the gagement, he was put under guard N Fo
Steadman, and by a good use of the pow
cry of speech persuaded his guard not only n
nj. to lake him to the rear but TO come with hi
in into our lines. Starting out as we swept
the four or five men at his Eees, tine nu
Lv Der voluntarily increased until he march
he into our lines with over hundred Rel
,Lt- followers.
FROM THE CONEEDEhsACX.