Buchanan County bulletin and guardian. (Independence, Iowa) 1866-1869, 1867-02-26

tachments along front oc but little less than
a mile IN extent, mach 10 the disgust Of
Gen. Sheridan, who realized the situation
more clearly than McCooA. The enemy har-
ing broken our line with unexpected ease.
At once ayailed himself % The ADVANTAGE hy
farming IN overwhelming force upon the i've
detached brigades. Their isolation from
each other enabled the enemy to attack and
overcome them in detail. McCook only now
compyeheadiag the situation, made frantic
effort to concentrates, bat ii was too late. and
one brigade a.ler another was hurled back,
although each fought desperately. until she
last was reached on the extreme right. This
brigade. (Bradley's) although reduced by
previous engagements to force of only
about thousand men, had the pluck Of ten
thousand. and met the onset OF the enemy's
twenty five thousand 1.-THE force hurled against
it, with counter attack Of such ferceness
that two Of the rebel lines were broken 10
flinders, and il was only when the third, fourth
and 9Th lines were thrown in, that our sin
Gle line was forced TO retire. In this terrible
Conflict Of only about quarter 81 an hour,
some OF our regiments lost half their num.
bers in killed and wounded. II was during
this fierce contest that Rasecrans. who. quick.
y oomprehending the peril, had FASTENED 10
the sishD MUCK lion Of affairs,
arrived upon the ground. Pushing quickly
10 the front where ihs bullets were flying
tlickest, he cheerei ou-our boys and inspir-
81 their confidence BY his coolaess and self.
possession. Ii was at this very tine. when
be was exposing himself to the fercess storm
Of the rebel FIRE, that he was afterwards re-
ported by his enemies to be in Chattanooga.
in beassly state Of insoxica;ion. 1t is dit.
iicult to conceive ofanything more hagran,ly
outrageous than that refinement Of calamny
which would dishonor the nohlest manifesto
tioas al military heroism and personal brave
~ BY tales Of drunken neglect Of duty. Con-
scious that our little force must soon be
overcome by the sheer power Of numbers,
Rosecrans FASTENED away towards the left of
our line, held 50 firmly BY Thomas: but he
found the enemy in possession OF the more
direct paths, and was compelled TO make an
immense desonr in order to avoid capture.
He was firmly convinced tha, the army would
be forced 10 retire; but with confidence in
his ability 10 hold Chattanooga, the great OBJ
iecsiye point of the campaign. and with
equal confidence in the ability Of Thomas to
withdraw his command with the least posi-.
BE loss. he went directly TO Chattanooga and
commenced preparations for defence.
Meantime the little brigade on the right,
oatslanked and overwhelmed with numbers.
was forced 10 retire-not in wild flight, httiy
pursued ly foe flushed with victory, but
slllenly. fighting from tree to tree nd log to
leg. No pursuit was attempted by the enc.
my, and our forces were soon reoYganized,
under the sAillful direction Of Sheridan, who
in the hour Of disaster evinced all that cool
less and sagacity which had dis;ins uishei /
a4tA ~ kAS 4asGss VI SUCCESS. 10 S1e9iiaG Il
alone Rosecraus was indebted for the safe
withdrawal Of the right. McCook. after hav.
ing taken from Sheridan the command Of
his division and much to the latter's disgust
caused il to be thrown into action, one bri. 1
gade at time, thus 70 be defeated in de, |
tail, suddenly abandoned il without, an effort |
10 collect aud reoryanize it. and hastily fed |
TO Chattanooga, leaving Sheridan to perform |
the duties which he himself was incapable
Of comprehealins. Fortunately Tor the coun-
try, this was Accook's last performance in
connection With the Army Of the Gambler
land. He had hung upon i. ike an incubus.
ard be went from il unhonored and nnsung.
He will ever be held By The soldiers
of that army, in bitter memory. as the
evil spin, Of their beloved commander, Rose
Grams.
i was boldly declared BY the very men
who took upon themselves the ruin Of Rose,
Grams reputation, that our right disvraceful>
" fled the field. aud was 50 utterly democrats
lied, that i could not Be rallied 4 bolder
falsehooi could not have been uttered. Ey-
cry brigade Of SheEsdan's division fought no.
bly,, and Tie last engaged, heroically, losing
more men IN killed and wounded than any
other Of the whole army. More than this,
the greater portion Of the survivors Of every
regiment Of Ills command were soon gather
ed under their respective regimental colors
By Sheridan himself and marched back in
perfect order Il Rossyille. and thence 10
Thomas front, really to reinforce that CON-
mander, il necessary. These facts are al
ready ignored upon the pages Of history,
Greeley Conflict exaggeratingthe disas>
ter to our right. After our right had been
/ forced TO retire, the enemy returned to the
attack Of Thomas, who, as we have seen, had
now under bis command about rwo-thirds Of
the whole army. With this force he with,
stood assault after assault, retiring now and
again advancing, but ever clinging to bis 20.
siiioas with a tenaeity deserving the highes,
! praise. Still, notwithstanding all his skill
and the anaaunted bravery Of his troops, he
must have been forced from the field through
the numerical superiority Of the enemy, had
not Granger arrived upon the field with two
fresh brigades Of the reserve corps. Crowd.
ing in with fierce impetuosi,y these two bri.
eades brought the enemy so efectually 10
his senses, that be suddenly ceased from the
contest and our forces were Withdrawn to
Rossville anmolested and without pursuit.
Thus, notwithstanding the great odds oil
numbers against him; notwithstanding the
unwarrantsble mistake Of Wood in opening
our lines 70 the enemy, and the imbeciity oil
Mecook in allowing portion Of his com.
mand to be slaughtered in detail, Rosecrani
could claim, SO far as the two days opera
lions were concerned, drawn battle. Tn
wiling to risk another battle on the same
ground, lie withdrew the army to Rossvile