Daily tobacco leaf-chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1890-1895, 1890-03-18

the season for the spring campaign was at
hand it was known that Union armies in the
rear and ON the tanks of Lee would soon
close these avenues, and then the chief forces
of the Confederacy would be surrounded.
There had not been a sortie during the siege
of Petersburg The Union lines had closed
in upon the enemy's works with steady prog
ress and the last ditch" seemed to have been
reached and the baftied Confederate army
settled in it to die ingloriously.
Although it was believed at Union head
quarters that Lee would make an effort to
join his forces with Gen. Joseph e. John
ston's at some point south of Petersburg, the
probability of his doing So by breaking Grants
hold ON the Petersburg lines seems not to have
been taken into account Sheridan, who was
marching from the Shenandoah Valley to Pc
tersburg, was close to the Appomattox on the
oath of March, and Gen. Grant issued an order
for movement by the left flank around Lees
right, with view to placing a barrier be-
tween him and Johnston The campaign was
to begin on the 18th. Sheridan's cavalry col
umn was to lead, and the Second, Fifth aud
Sixth corps, already on tue left, would fol-
low. On the night OF the oath Gen. Meade
commanding the Army OF the Potomac under
at City Point, where also President Lincoln
was staying on a visit with the purpose of re-
viewing the army At headquarters every
where, preparations were going on for the
movement of the Goth, and the troops, except
ing the pickets and trench guards, were rest
ing quietly in their camps. A couple of hours
before daylight Gen. Parke was aroused by
the noise of battle on his front, and after
tl,ut bo loI
broken through he teegraphed to Gen Meade,
at the headquarters of the Army of the Poto-
mac, the facts He received the reply that
Meade was at City Point ana that he (Parke),
being senior, was III command Of the army.
On attempting to telegraph to City Point he
found that the lines had been cut By the enemy
and communication was broken Gordon's
blow had been delivered with surprising
swiftness and success in the midst of heavy
morning fog that aided his men III the initial
stroke.
"Of course :" says Gen Gordon, sit was a
most desperate and almost hopeless under
taking, and could be justified only by our
desperate and hopeless condition if we re-
manned idle We all recognized it as the
forlornest of forlorn hopes. Let me particular
ize IA little more The distractions in front
moved silently, so as not to attract the atten
ton Of the Federal picllets. Grants OBJ
structions had to he removed from the front
Of Fort Stednan. These [cheveaHx de frisel
were OF sharpened rails elevated to about
breast high, the other end buried deeply in
the ground, the rails resting on horizontal
pole and wrapped with telegraph wire. They
could not be mounted nor pushed aside, but
had to be cut away with axes. This had to
be done Immediately in front of the guns of
Fort Stedman These guns at night were
doubly charged with canister, as 1 learned
from Federal prisoners The rush across the
intervening space between the lines had to be
made So silently and SO swiftly as to take the
forts before the gunners could fire The
reserves had to be beaten or passed, and the
rear line of forts taken before daylight. All
this had to be accomplished before my main
forces could be moved across and placed in
position to move on Grants flank, or rather
left wing. George l.. Kilmer.