Litchfield enquirer., 1868-11-12
Adrsh. Hosford Burnhdna. yqes.

At five o'clock,-or 1t might lave bee somewhat later.-the three battaions wer i. moved just in front of the curytd breast work, where they remained .fT two o , three minutes, still closed-in mas Knar sacks were left behind tho lSsastworks Pine wonls- ,ather few taa pine trees 44oG numerous enough to hide gur---.r
 ments-extended about ten foas to tn , front, and then cnn'~ "" open neld. Co
 and Els to follow at intervals of one hun
 dred paces, placed himself ia front, an.
 gave the command, Forward Guid
 Center Kaych! !'' The firs5 battalion
 with the colors in the center, moved di
 rectiy forward through the scattering
 woods, crossed the open field at doubl
 quick, and entered another pi,e wood o younger and thicker growth, wiere 1t came
 upon the first line of rebel rife pits. whicl
 Was abandoned at it's approaeh. Passing this line, the Battalion moved on over slop
 ping ground, until it reached small, oper hollow, acathin tttee'a or tUenty yaads of M enemy's main line of breasmo5ks There had been thick growth Of pine sprouts and sapllngs on this ground,~ btlt the rebels had cut them, probably that very day, anc had arranged them so as b form a very eff fective abattis, ,-thereby enabling them tc see our movements. Up te this point there had been no firing sufficient to confuse ol check the battalion but here the rebel musketry opened. The commander of the rebel battalion directly in our front, who ever he was, had his men under excellent control, and his fire was leld until our line had reached the abattis, and then system atically delivered-frst by his rear rank, and then by his front rank. A sheet oi flame, sudden as lightning, red as blood, and so near that it seemed to singe the mems faces, burst along the rebel breast work; and the ground and trees close be- hind our line were ploughed and riddled with thousand balls that just missed the heads of the men. The battalion dropped fiat on the ground, and the second volley, like the first, nearly all went over. Several men were struck. but not large number. 1t IS more than probable that if there had been no other than this front fire, the reb el breastworks would have been ours, not wlthstanding the pine boughs But at that mnraent. leug line of rebels on our road, having nothing Tn rneIr 'Ig01rt -to ena gage their attention,* and having unob- structed range upon the battalion, opened . fire which no human yalor could with stand, and which no pen can adequately describe. The appended list of casualties tells the story. It was the work of almost a single minute. The air was filled with sulphurous smoke, and the shrieks and howls of more than two hundred and fifty mangled men rose above the yells of tri umphant rebels and the roar of their mus ketry. ABOUT Face! shouted Col. Kel- logg,-but it was his last command. He had already been struck in the arm, and the words had scarcely passed his lips when another shot pierced his head and he fell dead upon the interladng pine boughs. Wild and blind with wounds, bruises. noise. smoke, and conflicting orders, the men staggered in every direoion, some of them falling upon the very tP of the rebel par pet, where they were completely riddled with bnllets,-others andering off into the woods on the rightlnd front, to find their way to death by s,rvation at Ander- sonville, or never to bd heard from again. l LIE DOWN ! said vdce that rang out above the horrible din. It was the voice of Colonel Upton, whoe large bay horse was dancing with buet in his bowels. 1 The rebels ill front no fired as fast as they could load and thse of our men who were not wounded, hting worked their way back few yards to the woods, be- gan to reply with enera But the wounds showed that nineteenth of our casualties were inflicted by that .nopposed fire on the left flank"
 WINoHEER.
 "West of the ere, the pike passed through gorge over mile long, from which the rebels had len driven by tho cavalry. The Nine enth Corps and portion of our own ha moved through 1t and formed line of Etle some distance beyond, under heava artillery fire, when our division emerged om the gorge and
 filed to the left into aavine that ran across
 the pike, where it waseld in readiness as
 reserve. This was atlt half past nine.
 The fighting now wed hotter, louder,
 nearer: neverthelessome of the men found time while themuskets were stack
 ed in this ravine toig potatoes from a neighboring field. 4length the enemy
 made vigorous chap upon the center of the front line, at the pint where the Third
 Brigade of the SeconDivision joined the left of the Nineteent Corps. The line
 broke, and retreatedl complete disorder, each broken flank dopling and croWding back on itself, and hiking for the rear.
 The enemy pushed his advantage and came rolling into thereach. 1t was the critical mome1t of tn day,-for if lie had succeeded ill sefma1ntly separating, the two parts of jhe lin. there would have been no possible escpe from utter defeat for Sheridars army At this .lunoture General Russell, whl was watching from the rise of found jtat in front of the ra- vine where his division lay, exclaimed,
 ''Look hes it is abo.t time to do some thing! Upon, bring on your brigade. The brigae was at once moved out of the ravine, pssed through narrow strip of woods, cossed the pile, halted fora mo- ment in jrder to close and dress up, com pactly, fen went at a double quick by the right fak into the gap that had been made il the first line, and made short halt, ju in the rear of piece of woods, out of hich the remnants of the Second and TIrd Divisions were still retreating, | and onhe other side of which was the ad- vanciu line of Rhodes and Gordon s rebel l Thfest of the brigade, i. e. the One Hundred l and Tlnty-first and Sixty-ffth New York, Nine- i yfiftiP Pennsylvania, and Fifth Maine, Were form ed in tree lines immediately on our lett, and ad- vanceoFhen we did. But they received a heavy fire an advanced but part of the way. Indeed, | the fir battalion of our regiment went up to the enemy breastwork alone Our right was nobody's left, al our left nobodys right.