The National tribune., 1884-02-28
DESERTED FARM.
an Indiana Veterans Account of the Batile-The
Siege OF Suffolk.

! To the Editor NATIONAL TRIBUNE:
! saw IN THE Tribune of January 10th a
request by Comrade John T. King that some
member Of the both New York regiment would
write an account OF the :. Deserted Farm fight
4 and the siege Of Suffolk was not member of
I the l30th New York. and do not know what
4 part that regiment took in those two affairs.
4 But was with the 18TH Indiana regiment on
/ both occasions and VIII endeavor TO give the
| readers OF TIE TRIBUNE my recollection of
the part taken By that regiment in the De-
serted Farm fight
1t occurred on the Goth of-Ianuary, 1863, be-
tween a part Of Pecl's division, under COM
mand Of General Cercoran of the famous Irish
4 brigade, and Confederate force under COM
lnand Of General Roger A. Pryor.
We left our camp at Suffolk aboHt il o'clock
on the night Of January 29th, taking the
! Franklin road. The nth Pennsylvania cav
! airy, under Colonel Spears, was IN advance,
and about 3 o'clock in the morning encOun-
tered the Confederate pickets about eight miles
I from Suffolk. The 18th Indiana was at once
4 deployed rs skrmishers on each side of the
road and ordered forward. ! was on the right
! OF the road. We soon emerged from the woods
4 into an open field, across which we advanced
rapidlE-and again entered the woods without
eneoGnteling any enemy except the pickets
I posted in the road, and the cavalry drove them
/ back just beyond the field we came TO
/ cypress swamp through which we waded about
! fifty yards. III water about two feet deep. We
had scarcely gained the opposite side Of the
swamp when our cavalry charged down the
road and drove the rebels beyond the woods.
AT DouBIE-qUIcK.
We were ordered into the road and moved
I forward at donble-quiek TO the field beyond.
+ whore we fled right and took position IN a
grove Of small pine the right Of the field, as
4 support 10 the artillery, which came rapidly to
the front and Unlimkered III the edge of the field,
a battery sn each side Of the road. At the same
time regiment tile 9Th Massachusetts, be-
lieye,l took position On the left OF the artil-
leFy. while the rest of the troops were hurried
into position in the timber back of the line
thus formed The moon had gone down and
4 it was now quite dark, and as our artillery
4 opened FIRE the fash Of the guns and the long,
bright lines made by the burning fuse of the
shells as they few through The air made
grand and beautiful picture. But our Confed-
crate friends over the way soon spoiled the
beauty of this pyr8teehnie display for US by
adding to ii long, gracefully curved fire-lines
made by shells flying through the air in the
opposite direction. Their artillery was planted
at the opposite SIDE OF the fields about half
nile from as, and the crashing Of their shot
and she'll through the timber in close prox-
unity TO u. and the bursting Of shells in our
midst told US how well they had our range.
We had several men wounded az we lay fiat on
the ground. Oar shoes were full of water, and
our wet clothes freeing around our benumhed
limbs compelled Us TO get up and dance not
outstanding our dislike OF the music fur
nished. They soon, however, began 10 aim
iligheE, transferring the danger from rs TO the
troops behind Us. The cannOnaae continued
without intcrnlssion till after daylight, when
Il ceased and we were marched out of the
woods aud eaiszlv formed ii line in front Of
our artillery, for the purpose Of charging the
cnemv's battery. The 9th Massachusetts, was
1,f+
cavalry, and behind them came portion of
the Irish brigade, with their green shamrock
banners IA addition 70 the national flag and
colors The C0nfederates fired but few rounds
al Us after we began forming for the charge,
and as We moved forward they ceased firing
About midway between our artillery and
theirs We descended a short hill, and as we
assembled the opposite hill, VIC were directed
by our colonel. {. j. Dobbs 10 keep our eyes
on the rebel guns. and 10 fall as soon as we
should see the smoke from them, then rise up
and charge them az a d0uble-Guiek. When we
reached the top.9f the Hill no enemy was in
sight, and pereoiviBg that he had rcfreated
the cavalry wheeled into column, passed
around our left and gailored down the road IN
pursuit, and We halted 20 await developments.
AFTER THE STORM.
AL around where the battery had stood the
ground was stregn with fragments of ramrods
carriages, cc.-evidences Of the destrnetiveness
OF our artillery FIRE The enemy made q stand
about 2 fDile ahead. and opened lively artil-
iery ire or tie cavalry. 4 portion Of Cor
coral Brigade ETas sent forward, and the fire
was kept up FOR perhaps an hour, when all the
troops came back TO the feld, and soon after
VIC fell hack to the position we had held in
the morning. If the object OF this movement
was 70 give General Pryor the impression that
We were retreatIng and induce him 70 pursue,
il proved q failure. and ateer waiting till about
i IL
were thrown out, and we necessarily moved
slowly and, after preceding three OF four
miles. the skirnishers were called IN, and we
resumed cur march along the road. In a short
time we encountered the Confederate rear
guard, consisting Of infantry posted on each
side Of the road, behind one Of the numerous
sieaghs or cypress syamps Of that region. Com
raHy y, 18th Indiana, was in advance and
approached TO within a few rods Of the bridge
ACROSS the swamp, when they were unexpect-
ediy fired on by the Jehnnies who were con-
cealee behind the trees, aDd scarcely hundred
yards away. The bullets few thick as hail.
and il seems narvclcas that the greater part
# the company Were not killed or wounded
Blt not man was killed, aud / believe only
one WOUNDED, Lieutenant Newson, of con-
pauy X, who was with the company. reeeig-
Ing severe wound in the mouth. lively
IauskeiEv light ensued, bat the rebels soon fell
back and continued their retreat, while we
H.
where we arrived about midnight. The cas-
u9.iies IL the 18th Indiana were only nine
wounded, though We were ia advance most Of
TIE time. Some of the regiments stationed in
the woods ia the morning suffered more, as our
total loss WAS about twenty-five killed and
eighty wounded. The Confederate loss was
greater than ours, though / cannot now give it.
Statements were made in Northern papers,
sooa after, that General Pryor made an official
report u tie affair 70 his government to the
eject that he had whipped US, inflicted loss on
us, AID driven rs into our Notifications at
I Suffolk. AID that Tor this be was deprived of
lls com mission ia the Confederate army. What
arc the facts as to that matter2 l have only
attempted 70 tell what I saw and heard on this
expedition, and do not know the part taken
~ ether regiments in this fight
j. A. ABBOTT,
LEBANON, IND. Co. i, 18th Ind. Regt.
From C0mraGe Edward Smith, company /.
lst New York dragons. Gettysburg Kan, we
/ also have a brief account Of the fight. In re-
T gard TO the siege Of Suffolk, Comrade Smith
writes: about the LIST of April, 1863, the COM
mand made raid on the Backwater, and two
or three days after our return--on the lIth of
, Apnl-Longstreet appeared before Suffolk with
an army estimated at 10000 men. and now the
G wisdom OF General Peck's precautions was made
r apparent. The boys VIII all remember the big
: old signal tree that stood about two miles from