The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1884-08-07


order, and ready to advance by q parallel
route.
OPENING THE BATTLE.
At given signal Morgan's and Smiths
batteries, posted on the line of the first bayou,
opened simultaneously, working as rapidly as
possible to keep down the cnemy's fire; at the
same moment the two assaulting brigades
started forward, each crossing on its narrow
bridge, under the muzzles of the Union guns,
and advancing across the slashed timber. The
enemy opened fire instantly and swept the
whole valley with shells, shrapnel, canister,
and musketry. Marching in close order the
men climbed logs and tore through treetops,
pushing forward as best they might The front
regiments encountered the most difficulties
and three times during the passage of the 80
rods of fallen timber the AID and 54th had to
lie down and wait for the leading regiments to
get forward. Meanwhile the three leading
regiments having executed the flank march
along the bayou and crossed TO the solid ground
beyond, they deployed in column of divisions
and marched rapidly up the slope. The AID
followed closely, but before it had advanced so
yards beyond the bridge the leading regiments
began to melt away under the constantly in
creasing and deadly fire. The proposed point
of attack upon the bluff proved to be the in
terror of an arc or semi-circle, SO that as the
storming brigade advanced it found itself in
the center of a conyerging fire,
A FLAMING HELL
of shot she'll shrapnel, canister and mimic
balls, the column raked from batteries and
riie-pits in front, the divisions enfladed from
either side by cannon posted at each extremity
of the crescent.
Bravely and determinedly the little column
pushed forward, closing up the gaps torn in its
divisions by the steady and deadly fire OF an
enemy now within easy range and perfectly
protected. When within a few yards of the
trenches at the foot of the hill, the 10th Ohio,
which had lost nearly all its officers, including
its commander Lieut.. Col. Kershner, and had
been riddled until its ranks had nearly half
melted away, broke and fell back against the
22d KY. In a moment the utter hopeless
ness of the assault, which had been apparent
from the first, and the consciousness that they
were dying in vain, overcame even the much
admired discipline of that veteran brigade, and
the leading regiments were thrown into some
confusion. The order was then given to retire,
y though not shot had been fired by the adj
vancing column.
The fire which it had faced had been so ter
rible that it could not stop to fight at such fear
full odds. As the broken divisions turned to
retreat, the rebels poured out from their
trenches and gathered in such Of the Federals
as had gone too near to escape. The rest, leav-
! ing behind the dead and wounded, retired
down the slope and recrossed the causeway,
/ the AID covering the retreat III good order On
the left Blairs brigade had gone through a
! similar experience, with the exception that it
had found even worse crossing than De
! Courcy's men, and had been longer delayed in
| getting over the second bayou. Gen. Blair at
| tempted to cross the slough ON horseback, but
| his horse was mired, and the General, drawing
his pistol from his holster, leaped off and foun-
| dered through the mud and water with his
| men. Like De Courcy's, Blair's advance had
nearly reached the enemy's line, but it was
| one man against three, and both were obliged
| TO retire.
In his /" Memoirs" Gen Sherman attributes
| the repulse to "the failure of Morgan to sup
port Blairs attack with De Courcy" The fact
was, that both brigades were pushing to the
same point, De Courcy slightly in advance,
and both retreated at the same time. The
| statement that De Courcy's men could not be
moved forward" is answered by the fact that
numbers of the 10Th Ohio fell within 60 yards
Of the rife-pits, and, more than this, Blair lost
| in the assault sos men, while De Courcy, with
inferior numbers engaged, lost $50.
The discounted brigades returned to their
position in the woods, and for the remainder OF
| the day the fighting was confined to the artil-
| lery. X was disastrous and hopeless repuise,
as we ali knew, and the night, which set in
| with heavy and continuous rain, was one OF
gloom, discomfort and Encouragement. All
| night long heavy gun on the nights flashed
out at regular intervals, sending a shell over
| into our camp. The night was spent in won
dering where the next shell would strike
| Morning finally came. and before midday a
flag of truce was sent by Capt. Lyon, of Gen
Morgan's staff, to ask suspension of hostilities
until we might gather the wounded and bury
! the dead who had fallen the day before The
flag was fired upon, the truce failed and such
of the wounded as were still alive were left out
in another night of storm and cold. This was
| the Both of December. During the day the
artillery had kept up its usual steady fire, but
with trifing effect. Some of Fosters guns
which had got the range with great accuracy
exploded two caissons in the earthworks on
the hill, and in one of these explosions son Of
the Governor of Mississippi, an aid to Gen
Pemberton, was killed. The rain continued
through the night of the Both, and the low
narshy ground upon which Gen. Sherman'i
army lay became miry swamp. On the 31st
the troops continued to fortify against an at
tack from the front, and at noon another flag
of truce was sent out. BY this time Gen. Penn.
berton had arrived and the flag was respected
truce OF three hours was granted, road was
quickly cut forward to the bayou, the ambu.
lances were sent forward with strong details oil
men, and came back in long trains laden with
dead. Many of the poor fellows bore evidence
OF having been wounded in the assault and
subsequently, shot and bayoneted by the van.
dals who came out of the enemy's trenches tc
As hours of thirst, hunger and cold, exposed on
that bloody field, two wounded men remained
alive, though both subsequently died. The
dead We're laid in a long line in cottonfeld
near the scene of our first days fight, and
buried without dirge or ceremony. The writer
assisted in the burial of these brave men who
had fallen in heroic but vain and fruitless
attempt to accomplish an impossibility. We
gave them as decent burial as the sad circum
stances admitted of.
The enemy was still reinforcing and seemed
about to assume the offensive The front line
of Federal piclsets was doubled and all the
troops slept on their arms. The rain had ceased
and the air had become bitterly cold 1t wa.
the last night of 1862. Chilled and cherries
without fire, and still harrassed by that all
night gun, the troops lay down in the freezinf
mud and thought of the New-Year's Eve in
their Northern homes
THE RETREAT.
At 10 o'clock staff officer came along tn,
line and whispered a hurried order to the com
manders of brigades. Other aids were SEN
with mysterious messages to Colonies and artil
lery Captains. The gunners were reused Ut
and set to work muffiing the wheels of gun
carriages with wisps Of hay; then the horse.
were brought quietly up from the rear, where
they had been kept since the evening of tn,
2Sth, and in doubled teams IL horses to q gun
: dragged the cannon out of the miry swamp
The infantry was stirred up, and without
word audibly spoken the regiments following
the artillery, filed out of the wood and took The
road past Johnson's house back to the Yazoo By
daybreak the whole army was re-embarked OIL
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