Spirit of Jefferson. [volume] (Charles Town, Va. [W. Va.]) 1844-1948, 1873-12-16
POETIC GAL.
HOPES SONG.
MiscELLAnEous.
THE DAY AFTER CORINFH.
fFrom the Courier-Journal.i

Coripth, and our dead comrades that we
had left behind US were lying unburied on the
trodden turf, while many others, wounded
! and mangled, were groaning their pains and
lives away beneath the scrubby oak or in the
rough hospitals of the Federal surgeons
The dull booming of cannon in front of us
answered the echoing artillery that was roar>
ing in our rear. Ii seemed os if the gods
and the fates. We're against US. The incessant
rain poured down in dismal torrents; we had
large baggage train to protect and a de-
feated and dispirited army, weary. hungry
and decimated, to do itw with, while the bridge
across the Hatchie, over which we were try
to retreat, was held by an overwhelming force
under Hurlburt, and still our brave men
moved sturdily on through the unending mud,
| determined that the fats and bottoms which
bordered that quiet river should be the scene
OF an encounter as desperate as that witnessed
by the slopes around Corinth the day before.
| About noon October 5, 1862 we passed
our wagons corralsd at the the foot of high
hill. over which the enemy's shells were COM
ing fast and furious, and our quartermasters,
commissaries, and teamsters were in conse>
| qnence in an advanced state OF decentralization
Indeed, things did begin to look rather serious.
for we had every reason to believe that we
were completely surrounded, and all retreat
cut off, and for the first time our troops ex-
| hibited some nervousness.
at double quick we rushed over the bald
brow of the hill into deep ravine, where
we found Gen. Price, who was heartily
laughed at by the men for an involuntary
dodge of big. whistling schrapne that came
! spinning overhead, and struck with a loud
explosion, into tie side of the hill. We soon
reached our position on the grassy side of
eantle declivity, with broad. open bottom
field in front bordered in the far distance by
the meandering stream, among trees on the
farther shore of which we could discern the
| cleaning of steel and brass and the futteripgs
OF Yankee banners and over oil hung like
some dewy cloud, a white canopy of sulphur>
gus smoke, which arose and drifted slowly
away from the fire of dozen guns that they
KEEP. industriously playing on US.
On our right. and just within the range of
vision, the cloud gathered dunnest over the
bridge, where, three hours before, Moore's
and Phifer's brlgades had separately effected
crossing, were attacked by overwhelming
numbers, cut off from the bridge, hemmed
in, quite number killed and wounded, and
the rest utterly dispersed and driven into the
river. But little while were we allowed to
gaze breathlessly on the weird beauties of this
strange landscape when we we're forced to the
rear, ordered to swing around and charge upon
the noisy batteries that protected the fatal
bridge. Our alignment being complete, in
another moment we would have been at them
and the cloud would have rested on the
bloodicst charge OF the war. for our men were
desperate and determined, and theirs. in
larger force, were flushed with recent victory
But we were saved by the hot haste Of a
| jaunty aid. who came rushing frantically from
the jannty Van Dorm with orders to move by
the left flank, which meant, as heard one of
the men explain, 'git out o thar tail end first /"
Hardly were stretched out on the road
when the firing opened iercely in front of us.
which was just before our rear, aud thus we
could hear, sure enough, the Federal guns on
! every side; We were completely surrounded I;
| our retreat was sta, ped, cur rear was blocked
up. and it appeared as if the stars of Van
| Dorm and Price were tn go down in blood and
the flags of their ar'uies tn be fnrled in the
forks of the fEatchie and the Tuscumbia.-
| But the end was not yet. We were saved by
brilliant maneuver of Gen. Bowen, who
commanded the rear guard Gn the direction
OF Corinth) and was contesting step by step
| the advance of Rosecranz's victorious troops.
Under the brow of a gentle hin the Missou-
rians lay prone upon the ground, like We'll
lington's guards at Waterloo, while half. a
mile behind them the artillery and horses
were stationed. The skirmishers, far ahead
| fell slowly back, stepping over the concealed
line of infantry, while the enemy pushed
rapidly on to charge the batteries When
our men, hitherto unsuspected, arose as one
man and flashed the volleyipg Ere in their very
faces, there was for an instant dreadful
| pause, then shout, fierce charge, a clash
ing of bayonets and sabers, and our road for
retreat. was open, no more to be closed, for
that portion of our pursuers retired to their
shattered breastworks at Corinth.
All the long night our staggering lines
| pushed on as fast as we could. crossing in the
darkness, by the light of blazing fambeaux.
! the stream that had so nearly been fatal to ms.
and still hurried on to the intersection of the
! Ripley and Corinth roads, where we expected
I to meet another opposing army, but were for.
/ tunate enough to reach it first. There was
no time, however, for any rest, for flying
columns had been sent from every direction
to centre upon US, if they could obstruct our
retreat. They were unable to DO 30. and af-
ter most wearisome march, we, for the first
time since We moved against Corinth, wen.
into camp at Ripley On the morning of the 9th
= Two Milesians were standing at the
. Fsirmont Water Works, in Philadelphia,
watching the big wheels splashing the water
IN every direction, when one of them re-
marked: "Mike isn't this a square coun-
thry, where they have to grind their water
before they can use it 2"
= An old lady. recently visiting prison
asked one of the attendants why the prisoners
received such coarse food. He told her it
| was to keep their blood from becoming inn
! pure. And when asked what they would do
if their blood was impure, he dryly responded,
Break ont !"