The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1886-05-10
the distance the rumbling sound of Hunters ar

the distance the rumbling sound of Hunters ar
tiilery wheels.
Evans finds himself bordering the meaning
of those long lines of dust away to his left; and
then, like fash, it bursts upon him that all this
military hubbub in his front and far away to his
] right is but feint that the real danger Is
somehow connected with that mysterious, far
away rumble and those lines of yellow dust;
that the main attack is to be on the unprepared
| left and rear of the rebel position. No sooner
| has the rebel brigader commander thus OWNED
| the Union plan of attack than he prepares, with
| the limited force at his command, to thwart 1T.
Burnside and he are about equi distant, by this
| time, from the intersection of the Sudley road,
running south. with the Warrenton pike, run
| ming west. Much depends upon which of them
shall be the first to reach it; and the Instructive
| intuitive knowledge of this spurs Evans to his
utmost energy. He leaves four OF his fifteen
| companies, and Rogerss section OF the Loudon
| artilery-which has come up from Cooks
1 brigade at the ford below-to defend the ap-
proaches to the stone bridge from the east
side of Bull Run, and, with the other eleven
| companies and Latham's half battery he hurries
| westward along the Warrenton pike toward the
| Sudley road crossing to resist the impending
] Union attack.
"It is now 1890 o'clock, and as he hurries
| along with anxious eyes scanning the woods at
| the north he suddenly catches the glitter of
Burnsides bayonets coming down through them.
east of the Sudley road, in column of regiments
! quarters, Evans pushes forward, and, gaining
! Buck Ridge, TO the north of the northern loop or
Young's branch, forms his line of battle upon
! that elevation-which somewhat compensates
| him for the inferiority of his numbers-nearly
| at right angles to the Bull RuE line; rapidly
| puts his artillery in position; the rebel guns
| open on Burnside's advance-ther hoarse roar
| soon supplemented by the rattle of rebel mus
kerry and the answering roar and rattle OF the
Union onset and the battle Of Bull Run has
commenced!
THE battle, as we have seen has opened AS
Burnsides brigade appears the slope to the
north of Buck Ridge Tor hll) it is received by
| rapid well sustained and uncomfortable but not
very destructive fire from Evans's artillery, and
as the Union regiments press forward, in col
umn. full of mpulsive ardor, the enemy well
comes the head of the column with hot mus
kerry fire. delivered from the crest of the eleva-
ton behind which the rebel infantry lie fiat upon
| the ground. This defense by Evans's demi-
brigade still continues although half an hour or
| more has elapsed. Burnside mas not yet been
| able to disodgo the enemy from the position.
| Emboldened to temerity by this fact, Major
| Wheat's Louisiana battalion advances through
the woods in front upon Burnside. but is hurled
back by CALLING fire which throws it into dis
order and flight.
1--WE must be blind if we cannot perceive that
thus far the outlook, from the Union point of
view despite the numberless mistakes of detail,
and some, perhaps, more general in their char
acter. is very good. The boys in blue are ire
| sistibly advancing, driving the rebel gray back
and back, without let hindrance. over the
Buck Hill ridge over Young's creek back to and
even over the Warrentow1 pike. Time, to be
sure. is flying valuable time; but the enemy is
also retiring. There is some slight confusion in
in parts of our own ranks; but there is much
more in his. At present we have decidedly the
best of it. McDowells plan has been thus far
successful viii that success continued We
shall see.
1T is about this time that the chief rebel gen
erals find their position so desperate to neces-
state extraordinary measures and personal ex-
posture on their part. Now it is that jackson
earns the famous sobriquet which sticks to him
till be dies Now 1t is that Johnston and Beaure
guard, accompanied by their STATS ride back
ward and forward along the rebel ranks, rallylng
and encouraging them. Now 1t is that. Lee, and
Barlow and Hampton being wounded, and the
Northumberland of the Hampton Legion
killed. Beauregard leads gallant charge of that
legion in person. And now it is that Johnston,
himself finding all the field officers of the Fourth
Alabama disabled. impressively and calamity
charges to the front with the colors of that reci
ment at his side! These conspicuous examples
of bravery inspire the rebel troops with fresh
courage at this admittedly critical moment.
1T is after 2 o'clock P. NJ. when Towards
brigade of Heintzelman's division reaches the
battlefield, almost broken down with exhaustion.
By order of Heintzleman it has moved at double
quick for a mile of the way, and under the broil-
ing heat it can do SO no longer. The last two
miles of the weary tramp. while the head of the
brigade moved at quick time, the rear. having
lost distance, moved, much of the time, at
double quick. AS consequence, many OF
Towards men drop out and absolutely faint
from exhaustion. AS Towards brigade ap-
proaches the field, besides the ambulances and
filters conveying TO the rear the wounded and
dying, crowds of retreating straggers meet and
tell it to hurry along; that the enemy has been
driven back mile, but, as it marches along its
regiments do not feel encouraged by the disor-
ganization so prevalent and the fact that as they
come into action the thunders of the rebel army
do not seem to meet an adequate voluminous re-
Spouse from the Union side seems to them
portent of evil Weary and tagged out they
are permitted to rest for awhile under cover
'"There is a lull in the battle The terrible
heat is exhaustiug the combatants on both sides.
Griffin and Ricketts, have wrought such havoc
with their guns that nothing remains to be fred
at Victory seems most surely to be
Away down at his headquarters at the Lewis
House the rebel General Johnstons stands watch
ing the progress of the battle it goes against
him. Nervously he chances every now and then
over his left shoulder as If expecting something.
An officer is galloping toward him from Manas-
sas He comes from the Offices OF Beauregard's
adjutant general at that point. He rides up and
salutes. General says he, breathessly, "a
United States army has reached the line of the
Manassas Gap railroad and is now but three or
four miles from our left flank! Johnston clinches
his teeth nervously. Thick beads of perspira-
ton start from his forehead. He believes it is
Pattersons army that has followed upon his
heels from before Winchester faster than has
been anticipated, and, as he thinks of Kirby
Smith, who should long since have arrived with
Elzey's brigade-all of his own Army of the
Shenandoah that has not yet followed him to
Manassas-the exclamation involuntarily bursts
from his lips:
80, for four regiments!
"'The prayer of the wicked availeth not It's
said; yet never was the prayer of the righteous
more quickly answered than is that of the rebel
genera-in chief! Johnston himself, abiding to
this exigent moment afterwards, remarks in his
report: The expected reinforcements appeared
soon after Instead of Pattersons Union army
it is Kirby Smith, coming up. with Elzey's bri-
gade from Winchester!
''But during the victorious lull something is
happening on our side that is of very serious mo-
ment. Let us see what it is The batteries of
Griffin and Ricketts, at the Dogan House, having
nothing to fire at, as we have seen, are resting,