The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1882-02-09

When the 800 Confederates with empty gur
swarmed into the big fort they divided int
squads to secure all points at once. The scol
OF sentnels stood still in most cases, and wit
sort OF dumb establishment permitted then
selves to be captured and disarmed On
sentinel when attacked cried out:
Corporal of the guard-post No 7r'
He had just been disarmed when the corpo
raj came out of the guard house and inquired
What's the row at post7?"
"Nothing-only the rebs have got For
Steadman p called one of the Confederates.
A DESPERATE MAN
In only one instance did the Confederate
encounter any serious resistance from singh
individual. This was in capturing one of tn
thanking works. A Federal sergeant attempt
ed to rally squad of men to resist, and whe1
they would not follow him lie attacked whole
company of Contederates single-handed Men
who gathered around him and sought to dis
arm and capture him say that he fought like
tiger. He was an old hand with the bayonet
and for fully five minutes he held the crowd a
bay, breaking the sword Of a lieutenant ant
disarming several soldiers. They did not wish
to kill him. but he refused dozen calls to sur
render. When the bayonet on his musket was
broken he raised the weapon over his head
and smashed three or four men to the ground
never uttering a word or shout, fighting as
if he alone could save the fort He was finally
shot through the leg and brought to the
ground, and for all that is known to the con.
trary he may be living to-day.
THE FALSE GUIDES.
Daylight was just breaking when Gordon
received word from one of the three commands
which had pushed on that it had lost its guide
and could not find the fort it was to capture
Within ten minutes word was received from
the second that its guide was bewildered, and
from the third that its guide had deliberately
slipped away. Thus 1t was when day broke
that not one of them had fulfilled its mission
| Some few minor works had been assaulted
and captured, but none of the works COM
handing Steadman had been disturbed. By
this time the alarm had spread for miles, and
there was no longer any hopes of carrying
out the original plan. Gordon at once hur-
ried his prisoners across into the Confederate
works. and then disposed OF his troops to hold
! the fort.
TERRIBLE DUEL.
As soon as it was light enough to see, the
Federal artillerists trained their guns to clear
Fort Steadman and flanking works of Con.
| federates. At the same time the Confederates
trained their big guns to reply and for an
hour terrible artillery duel was maintained
without moments intermission. Every
house in Petersburg Jared and trembled I'M
der the conclusions. Some of the great shells
passing back and forth made excavations in
the ground deep enough and broad enough to
bury span of horses When the proper
range had been obtained by the Federals such
rain of round shot, grape and shell was
showered upon Steadman that its guns were
| silenced and its men driven to cover In one
instance Federal shell killed thirteen Con-
| federates. In another, seven. In another, five
were killed and six wounded. A round shot
| sight in the embankment All the men at one
gun, save one who had knelt down to remove
| pebble from his shoe, were swept away by a
discharge of grape-shot.
ASSAULTS AND REFUSES
The Confederates still hung to the fort
through all the murderous fire, and when the
Federal Infantry moved up to assault they re-
ceived such fire of musEetry that they were
obliged to fall back. Three separate assaults
were made and repulsed, but now Meade was
prepared to hHrl third of his army against
| the fort .
| RETRIBUTION.
When the Federals blew up the fort on the
ground now occupied by the Crater, they were
checked and held there. When the Confeder-
ates captured Steadman by a surprise fully as
great, they were checked and held there Be
tween the Crater and the Federal lines was an
open space swept by Confederate musketry
Between Steadman and the Confederate lines
was an open space swept by Federal musketry
When the Federals had recaptured the flank
| ing works the Confederates must await cap
ture in the fort itself or retreat across the open
space.
| ACCEPTING THE ALTERNATIVE.
Hundreds of the men accepted the alterna
tive, and made the rush over the cleared space
From the fort to the creek there is a gradua
slope, so that the retreat was all down hill
Men rushed singly and IN squads, but however
they went death was near them. A Conteder
ate who started alone had not gone forty fee
before he was hit by seven bullet, as was after
wards determined by count. Gen. Corridor
was struck once and had his clothing pierced
by four other bullets. Out of squads of twenty
who would start together, only three or foul
would reach the creek. For an hour or two
these retreats continued, piling the space will
dead and weakening the Confederate force il
the fort until it was finally carried by rusl
of the Federals. The number of Confederate
captured was about equal to the number o
Federals taken prisoners at daylight.
HORRIBLE SIGHTS.
When the Federals re-entered Fort Stead
man their eyes encountered horrible sights OF
every hand. Nearly all the Confederates VIII,
fell were killed by missiles from cannon. ant
were therefore terribly mutilated. Some o
those struck by the solid shots were reduced
TO shapeless mass of bloody pulp, and thos
hit by the fragments of shells were horribl.
manged. A Confederate who waited till thu
last and was taken prisoner, gave me many o
the minor details. He estimated that, during
the hottest of the fire, as many as forty heavy
shot and shell fell into the fort each minute TO-
at least half an hour. At times the air wa
so full of smoke and dirt that one could no
see ten feet One of the Confederates met hi
death in most singular manner. A soldie
had his gun taking aim," when a solid sho
struck it out of his hands, whirled it through
the air a hundred feet or more, and drove thu
bayonet on the mnsket through the body 0
another man-in fact, pinned him to the earth
sTAKED AND LOST.
Lee had staked all on the play and lost
That night his force was weaker by Thousand
mon IF he had WOn-That then ? If h0 haf