The weekly pioneer and Democrat. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. Territory) 1855-1865, 1865-04-14
SAINT PAUL. FRIDAY. APRIL Il 1856!



---- - - - -. - .-n- - IL IL.
aanl THE CAPTIVE AND FLYING REBELS. .xg5
Acting with his usual decision, Sheridan
placed bis captives in care of provost guard,
and sent them at once to the rear. Those
which escaped, he ordered the fiery Custer to
pursue with brand and vengeance; and they
were pressed far into the desolate forest, spent
and hungry. many falling by the way of
wounds or exhaustion, many pressed down by
hocf or sabre stroke, and many picked up ID
bonds. We captured In all fully six thousand
prisoners. General Sheridan estimated them
modestly at five thousand, but the provost
marshal assured me that he had line four
abrest . full mile long. entirely bear him
out, having ridden for forty minutes in o d.
rectisn opposite to that they were taking, and
growing weary at last Of counting or seeing
all Virginians, and seemed to take their cap
ture not unkindly. They wore the gray and
not very attractive uniform of the confederacy,
but looked to be warm and fat, and passing
along In the night under the fir-trees conveyed
amost romantic idea of grief and tribulatiou.
They were put In q huge pen midway between
Big and Little Five Forks for the night, the
Officers sharing the same fate as the soldiers,
nom whom, indeed, they were undistinguish-
abba. Ye-
Thus ended the splendid victory of Five
Forks, the least bloody to us, but the most sue
cessful, proporti0nate to numbers engaged
that has been fought during the war. One
man ont of every three took a prisoner. We
captured four cannon, an ambulance train and
twenty-eight flags. General Longstreet it is
thought, commanded. Neither he nor Picket,
nor Bushrod johnson, division commanders,
were taken 1; they were wise enough to see that
the day was lost, and initiated Bonaparte after
Waterloo. .....
SUMMARY OF THE BATTLE OF FIVE FORKS,
attribute this victory almost entirely to
Sheridan; it was won BY strategy and persist.
stand fire the day before. The happy distribu.
ton Of duties between cavalry and infantry ex-
cited fine rivalry, and the consciousness Of
Sheridans guidance. Has any battle SO sue.
cessful ever been fought in Virginia or, in.
deed, in the East ? I think not. It has open
ed to us the enemy's flank, 80 that we can
sweep down upon the Appomattox and inside
Of his breastworks, enabling us to shorten our
lines of intrenchments one-half, if not more,
and putting out of Lees service $1,000 of his
choicest troops. And all this Gen. Sheridan
tells me, has cost him personally no more than
900 men, and the service no more than 1900.
Compare this with Chanc ellorsyille, Williams
nufg, the wilderness. Bull Bun, and what
shall we say? The enemy must hare, lost in
this fight 5000 killed and wounded.
SCENE AT GRAvELLY RUN CHURCH.
The scene at Gravelly Run meeting house at
and 10 o'clock on Saturday night, is one of
the solemn contrasts of the war, and hope,
the last of them. A little frame church, plant,
ed among the pines, and painted white, with
cool, green window shutters, holds at its foot
gallery for the negroes, and at the head q
vanished pulpit. l found its pews moved to
the green plain over the threshold, and on its
bare floors the screaming wounded. Blood
ran in little rills across the planks. and, human
feet treading in them, had made indelible
prints in every direction; the pulpit lamps
were doing duty, not to shed holy light upon
holy pages, but to show the pale and dusty
faces of the beseeching, and as they moved in
and out, the grOans and curses of the suffering
replace the gush OF peaceful hymns and the
deep responses to the preachers prayers. Fed
eral and confederate lay together, the bitter
ness of noon assuaged in the common trbula-
dripping stretchers, to place in its golgotha,
new recruits for death and sorrow.
SCENE AT sHERIDAN's B1voUAC.
A mile past the church. going away from
headquarters all the time, lies Five Forks, the
object and name of the battle. A large open
field of perhaps thirty acres intcrposes between
the church and the commencement of the rebel
works. Their left is only some rails and logs
to mask marksmen, but the work proper is q
very long stretch of all obst-uctions Of mans
height in relief.
The White Oak road runs directly in front of
these intrenchments, and was, at the time I
passed, the general highway, for infantry re.
turning from the field and cavalry men concen.
trating at Gen. Sheridans bivouac. Riding
mile l came upon the Five Forks proper, and
just to the left, at the foot of some pines, the
k4l
Sheridan sat BY some faggots, examining
Typographical map of the country he had so
well traversed possibly with view to design
further aggressive movements in the morning
He is opposite me now as pen these para
graphs by the imperfect blaze of his bivouac
fire. He is good humored and talkative, like
all men conscious of having achieved great
work, and has been good enough to sketch for
me the plan of the days operations, from which
have compiled much of the statement above.
Close by lies Custer, trying to sleep, his long
yellow hair covering his face; and Gen. Griffin.
now commanding the Fifth corps, goes here
and there issuing orders, while aids and order
lies ride in and out, bearing further fresh mes !.
sages OF deeds consummated or proposed.
We shall have hot night no doubt, for
away of to the right continue volleys of mus
kerry and discharges of artillery, intermixed
with what seems to be thunderbolts of our men.
of-war at anchor in the Appomatox and James
If such can be heard at this great distance
which tell US that the lines are in motion.
Possibly the rebels, to relieve their disasters in
this quarter, have made sally from their
works, with the intent to charge our united
line and carry it by assault. Rash, deluded
men! If this be- their attempt But the chances
are that Grant, hearing of Sheridans famous
success, has given tonight the long expected
order for our massed columns to clear their
intrenchments and make desperate strike for
fetersourg. Whatever ensue, great events
are now transpiring. But none that are to
come can exceed In splendor and success this
battle of Five Forks, of which ! have been
telling you.
"A correspondent just arrived from
Richmond states that Judge Campbell ten.
dered his services to President Lincoln tc
visit JEFF Davis and urge him to peace
Mr.. Lincoln in reply said that he wouli