The Portland daily press., 1865-04-28
Letter from thu Front,
In THE FIELD, NEAR BuRKsvILLEs; Va,
April 20, 1902.

IA
- n the oath and one Division of the 25th
Cops left the works In front OF Richmond
and proceeded to Hatcher's Run, which place
was reached on the 10Th, and the men allowed
TO rest for the night, when on the morning of
the 3Oth the three Divisions sailed forth to
the field of battle to open the campaign. At
the same time Gen. Sheridan with his cavalry,
supported by the 9Th and part of the I'd Corps,
struck out on the left of our lines for the
Souihside Railroad. Nothing transpired dur
ing the day worthy OF note except discovering
the nature Of approaches to the enemy's
lines. CIV AN L
Ga the morning OF the 3lst the great cam
pagu was opened by Generals Sheridan and
Ord. While Sheridan pushed to the Southside
Railroad, the oath and 25th corps made dem
onstration upon the enemy's lines at Hatcher's
Run. e.te~es $500
Every movement of our forces seemed and
has since proved in our favor, for the very
reason that General Grant was the immediate
commander Of all the armies that caused the
surrender of Lee and his army. -o
Heavy firing on the extreme left indicated
that Sheridan was after the "Johnnies," while
our troops in front of Petersburg kept up
steady fire upon the enemy, to keep them
from reinforcing the enemy in front Of Sheri-
dan.
On the morningo of April LIST, at $50 O'Clock,
the enemy in turn made dash upon our
skirmish and picket lines, commanded by 1t
Col. Hill of the 18th Maine, with view of
getting through for the purpose Of getting in
Sheridan's rear; but their object proved disas-
trous to them. The 18th Maine being in line
OF battle, but owing to the morning being gift
ed with heavy fog, the enemy was not dis
covered until upon both TANKS of the. 18th,
who were obliged to fall back, losing few
men that fell into the hands of the enemy
The rebels then commenced their work with
hideous yells, when the 18th forming la Line
of battle, made their charge upon both tanks
of the rebels, capturing sixty-fivs prisoners
and putting the rest to flight. Had the dark
ness cleared away before the charge, nearly
their entire force, including their colors,
would have been captured.
| After this skirmish, preparations along the
entire line were made for an attack upon the
enemy early on the morning OF the I'd. Ac-
cordingly the 9th, 9th, oath and 25th corps
made the assault at daybreak, when the enemy
fled to his main line around Petersburg. The
battle nowraged with great fury. Forsoard,
was the battle-cry of our brave men.
About P. M. our forces reached forts Grigg
and Baldwin, where the slaughter on both
sides became frightful. Around Fort Grieg
Col. Dandy led his brigade,-st the rebels
cried victory or death, the latter being their
| portion, for our men mounted the parspets and
commenced the destruction Of life. At the
same time from Fort Baldwin the shells few
with deadly effect among our men, still they
kept on, fearless of death or the huge mis-
siles that caused only the brave to fall. After
killing eighty-four Of the rebel garrison, the
remainder threw down their arms and cried
for quarter, when the fight ceased. Col Hill
with his regiment, at the head of the I'd Di-
vision, carried Fort Baldwin by gallant
charge of bayonets, capturing a number Of
| prisoners and four pieces of artillery, after
which the battle closed for the day, GROWING
the Union army with victory.
On the morning OF the Sd came the glorious
news OF the evacuatio: Of Richmond and Pc
tersburg, and the retreat of Lee toward Lynch
burg. Cheer after cheer filed the air from
our noble army, when at daybreak our forces
started in pursuit, knowing that with General
Grant at the head of our column we were sure
To accomplish all ra4uirad by that great chief
During the Sd, 4th and 9th, our army was
on the march, meeting with no opposition
whatever; passed Nottoway Court House at
5 P. NJ. on the 9Th, reaching Burkesville, the
| junction of the Southside and Danville Rail-
road at II P. NJ, and camped for the night.
On the morning Of the 9th, at 1890 O'Clock,
the army was again on the march, meeting the
enemy at Phillips house, near Rice's Station
on the Southside Railroad AZ
In the afternoon OF the same day, Col. Hill
was instructed to take his regiment and con-
meet with Sheridan's forces, who had met and
captured great many guns, wagons and
prisoners from the enemy. This daring and
dangerous duty was, accomplished by Col. 81.
without the loss Of man, and called forth
the highest praise OF all his superior officers.
The regiment, gaining valuable information,
joined the main column at Phillips house, and
camped for the night.
On the morning Of the 7th the enemy, who
made stand near Rice's, Station, were dis.
persed and put to flight by our forces, and
from that date till Lee surrendered, constant
skirmishing was kept up between the oppos-
ng armies. esq
Reaching the Nottoway River, over which
the Southside Railroad run, was the railroad
bridge, commonly called by the secesh sshigh.
bridge" This was partly destroyed by the
rebels after they crossed, but was saved by
our soldiers, who arrived In time to extinguish
the fire that threatened the whole work. The
enemy also attempted TO destroy the main
bridge over the same river, but our sharp
shooters made them omit this work. Moth
ing, however, could check the advance of our
army, and we reached Farmville about P.
NJ, and camped till the 9Th. At this point
Col. Hill with his regiment proceeded to the
Appomattox river to ascertain whether the
enemy mad destroyed the bridge over which
Lee and his followers had crossed. Upon ar
rivalit was found that the entire bridge had
been consumed by fire, and here the 18th camp
ed for the night.
On the morning of the 9Th the line of march
was again taken up, and the troops kept in
motion till 70 o'clock midnight. During the
day Gen. Lee sent in Gag Of truce, asking
under what terms Grant would accept his sur
render. This trick, SO often played by the
rebels to detain our march, was not recogniz
ed by Gen. Grant, but our army was ordered
foryard in quick time to press the enemy as
much as possible Had Grant needed their
intention. this nresent daY would. in all prob