The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1866-11-14

nnavoidably, and the separate commands
lntermixed and thrown into confusion, still
continued, under a terrible fire of musketry
and canister, to hold on to the hill sides,
in immediate proximity to the ground oc-
cupied by the Federal battery; and when
at last the long expected and long delayed
supporting force came up, the men who
had been first at the enemy's guns in the
morning were again the first to re-occnpy
the ground upon which the battery still
stood. Under and around the cannon the
ground was thickly strewn with the killed
and wounded, Federal and Confederate;
among the latter were men from every reg
iment and battalion of the brigade that
had participated in the engagement on
this part of the field, viz: the Sixth,
Eighth, Ninth, and Wheat's battalion.
1t is proper here to advert, en- PEASANT, to
a statement which appeared shortly after
the battle of Port Republic in Lynch
burg paper, which is entirely inaccurate in
regard to the most important fact connect
ed with the history of the battle. Accord
ing to the statement in the Lynchburg pa
per, which has been incorporated into more
than one work, purporting to be history
of Stonewall Jackson's Valley campaign of
1862, the battery On the enemy's left was
taken by the Seventh Louisiana, supported
by the Sixth, Eighth, Ninth, and Wheat's
battalion. The truth-to the knowledge
of every officer and man OF the brigade who
participated in the engagements, that
the Seventh regiment was not present with
the brigade, and took no part in the move
ment against the enemy's left, which re-
suited in the capture of the battery. That
gallant, higl-spirited, and splendid regi-
ment, which in the field of Port Republic,
as on every one on which it ever went into
action, covered itself with honor and glory
was detached from the brigade at its first
arrival on the field and fought, not on our
right, but in the open fields in the centre,
where though it displayed most heroic
and desperate courage and tenacity rarely
equalled, and never surpassed it, mot only
did not succeed in dislodging the enemy
and capturing his guns, but was with the
rest of the Confederate. troops in that part
of the field, checked and repulsed by a
heavy force after sustaining frightful loss
in killed and wounded among whom were
its brave, dashing Col. Harry 7. Hays-soi
distinguished afterwards as commander of
Hays brigade-seyerely and it's Lieut.
Col. Charles de Choiseul, MORALLY wound
ed, after displaying unusual and distin-
guished valor.
So true is it, that, despite all the GOODNESS
and gallantry exhibited in this part of the
field, we We're badly worsted in the fight |
on our centre and left, that General Taylor,
on the right, actually received orders from |
General jackson to fall back, as the Con-
federates had been repulsed in the other
parts of the field. Fortunately, however,
this order which was despatched before
the capture OF the Federal battery against
which the movement on our right was di.
rected, was only received a moment after
the taking OF that battery, whereby the
whole fate of the battle was changed, and
enabled the Confederates at length to
wrench victory from the very jaws of de-
featl f.iF "a
Any faltering or delay in the movement
against this key-point Of the enemy's line,
he might have been enabled to
protract the fight even for short time
longer, would have been fatal to the Con-
federate arms that day. Never in the his
tory of warfare has the value of seconds oil
time been more pointedly illustrated; for
not only had our gallant troops, who
fought with such desperate courage and
tenacity on the plain between the hills and
the river, been overpowered, cut to pieces
and repulsed, by the troops in their front,
but very shortly after the battle had been
retrieved by the success on our right, and
the enemy beaten and driven from the
field, Fremont's army, with which jackson
had fought the day before at Cross Keys,
made its appearance on the opposite bank
Of the river, and swept with their guns the
field upon which the battle of Port Repub-
lie had already been fought and won.
But it was too late. General Shields
force had already been routed, and the on
y effect of the fire now was to harass and
annoy those whose duty it was to bury the
lead and care and provide rthe wounded
II both armies. Our cavalry and light
which came forward shortly af-
Ter the enemy had been driven away from
Slarke's U. s. battery the last time, pressed
forward vigorously in the pursuit, scatter
ng the Federals before them like chaff
before the wind, taking MANY prisoners,
md rescuing a number of Confederates
who had fallen into the hands of the enc
ny. Among these were Capt. Lee Crandall,
# the Eighth Louisiana, who was wounded
,rior to his capture. He and some fifteen
n twenty men of the Eighth regiment,
IlOng with others from the sixth, seventh :
md ninth, had been captured by the Ohio ::
'rigade supporting Clarke's u. S. battery,
With whom they had been engaged in the ,
morning.. +
Towards nightfall the army drew offinto :
'rown's gap, in the Blue Ridge mountains.
n the course of few weeks Jackson had
net and whipped four Federal armies, !
hose of Generals Milroy, Banks and Ere
,ont and Shields. The Valley campaign I
f 1862 was over A@ .eE n
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