The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1880-02-26
ANTIETAM.
The Late Gen. j. b Hoods Description of
that Battle.

The Late Gen. J.R. Hoods Description Of
that Battle.
From advance sheets of Gen. Hoods
forthcoming buok, advance and Re-
treat" which Gen. Beauregard is about
to, publish at New Orleans for the benefit
ofEthe.dead .soldier'schildreE, we extract
this description of the battle of Antie-
tam; in which Gen. Hood, although un-
der / arrest; on account of dispute be-
tween himself and Gen. Evans (who will
be remembered as being in command at
Balls Bluff when Baker fell was ordered
by Gen. Lee to take an important COM
Rland: '.ti''
ysOn the 18th of September intelligence
was received of McC Clellan's advance from
the direction of Federal City toward
South Mountain, and on the morning of
the 14th I marched with Longstreets
corps to Boonsboro' Gap, a narrow wind
ing pass through which runs the
turnpike from Hagerstown to Federal
City. I was still under arrest, with or
ders to move in rear of my two brigades.
The division reached the foot of South
Mountain about $3.50 p. M, from which
point could be seen the shells of the enc
my, as they passed over the rugged peaks
in front, aud burst upon the slope in our
proximity. could hear the men, as
they filed mp the ascent, cry out along
the line, "Give rs Hoodl" but did not
comprehend the meaning of this appeal
till I arrived with the rear of the column
at the base of the ridge, where I found
Gen. Lee standing by the fence, very
near the pike, in company with his chief
ofstaff, Col. Chiffon. The latter accosted
me, bearing q message from the General,
that he desired to speak to me. / dis.
mounted, and soon stood in his presence,
when he said: General, here ! am,
just upon the eve of entering into battle,
and with one of my best officers under
arrest. Ifyou will merely say that you
regret this occurrence, I will release you
and restore you to the command of your
division" / replied: IL am unable TO
do so, since cannot admit or see the
justness of Gen. Evans' demand for the
a1nbnlahces 'mymen have captured. Had
] been ordered to turn them over for the
general use of the army, I would cheer
fully have acquiesced. BE again urged
me TO make some declaration expressive
Of regret. I answered that I could not
consistently do so, Then in voice be-
traying the feeling which warmed the
heart of this noble and great warrior, he
saids Swell; i will suspend your arrest
till ilf-theimpending battle is decided"
quickly remounted, galloped to the
front of my column, and, with kind
welcome from my troops, reported for
duty to Gen. Longstreet, who by this
time had reached the summit of the
mountsin. He Immediately instructed
me to file to the left, in the wake of
Evans brigade, and to take position with
my right near. the pike. The advance of
McClellan's long lines could be seen
moving up the slope in our front; evil
IDENTIFY with the purpose to dislodge our
forces posted on the sharp ridge overlook
ing the valley below. Before long Major
Fairfax, of Longstreet's staff, came to me
in haste; with orders to move to the right
Of the. pike, as our troops on that part of
the field had been driven back. He ac-
companied me to the pike, and here
turned his horse to leave, when / natu-
rally asked him if he would not guide
me. He replied: "No, I can only, go
to- The Fight" Meantime Major Frobel's
batteries had come forward into position
on top Of the ridge; they opened fire and
performed excellent service in checking
the enemy. The wood and undergrowth
were dense, and nothing but pig-path
seemed to lead in the direction in which
was ordered. Nevertheless, ] conducted
my troops obliquely by the right flank,
and while advanced Icould hear the
shouts ofithe Federals as they swept
down the mountain upon our side. l
then borestill more obliquely to the right,
with yiewsto get as far as possible to-,
ward the left flank of the enemy before
we came in contact. We marched on
through the wood as rapidly as the OBJ
stacles in our passage would admit. Each
step forward brought nearer and nearer
to US the heavy Federal lines, as they ad-
vanced, cheering over their success and
the possession of our dead and wounded.
Finally, gave instructions to Gen. Law
and Col. Wofford, directing the two bri-
gades to order their. men to fix bayonets,
and when the enemy came to within
seventy five or hundred yards, ordered
the men to front and charge. They
obeyed promptly, with a genuine Confed-
crate yell, and the Federals were driven
back pell NELL, over and beyond the noun
tain, at much quicker pace than they
had descended. Night closed in with not
only our dead and wounded, together
with those of. enr adversary in our pos
session, but with the mountain, on the
right within our lines. 70
After the correction of my alignment /
rode, at about 10 p. M, back to the Gap,
where found Gen. D. Ell. Hill and other
officers on the gallery of a tavern, near
the pike, evidently discussing the out
lock. ASH approached, 1 inquired in an
ordinary tone of voice as to the condition
of affairs on our left, and to my surprise
was met with a mysterious "Pshe-Pshe !"
a voice added in IN audible whisper, "The
enemy is Just there in the corn field; he
has forced us back" I thereupon sug-
gested that we repair without delay to
Gen. Lees headquarters, and report the
situation. Accordingly, we rode down
to the foot of. the mountain, where we
found Gen. Lee in council with Gen.
Loagstreet. After long debate, it was
decided to retire and fall back toward
Sharpsburg.
The morning of the 18th our forces
were again in motion in the direction of
the Antietam. The cavalry and my two
brigades, in additionto Major, tro6ers
artillery, formed the rear guard. to hold
our opponents in check, while the army
:.arched quietly to its destination. My
troops, at this period, were sorely in need
of shoes, clothing and food. We had no
meat issued to US for several days, and
little or no bread; the men had been
forced to subsist principally on green
corn and green apples. Nevertheless,
they were in high spirits and defiant as
we contended with the advanced guard OF
McClellan the 18th and forenoon of the