Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1890-05-15
THE NORTHWEST
The Battles OF spottsylvania and
Cold Harbor.

Gen. Grant having determined
move to turn Lees right flank, tn
9Th corps was ordered to move at mid
night on the 9TH of May to Spottsylva
MIA Court House; the night was dark
the roads narrow with woods on eth
@ er side, the enemy's cavalry Occupie
the roads in advance, making progres
very slow; Gen. Wilson with his divis
ion ofcavalry was upon the ground q
daylight on the sth, and driving off tn
rebel forces under Gen. Wickham hell
the town for two hours when he wa
attacked by Anderson and Rode's divis
ions and compelled.to withdraw. Sew
eraI encounters between the 9th corp
and the enemy under Gen. Eerly oil
the Sth. Early in the morning Of tn,
9th, Gen. Burnside with the 9th army
corps arrived from Aldrichs' on tn,
Orange and Fredericksburg road, Gen
o. B. Wilcox's division was moved
across the Ny river at the Gates House
on the road from Spottsylvania tc
Fredericksburg, encountering Hamp'
tons cavalry, supported by brigade
of Longstreet's corps and a stubborn
fight was made to drive our division
back over the Ny river, but we held
the crossing and advanced to within
II miles of the Court House. Our
loss was heavy, among the dead
was a brother of the writer; the other
corps now came up, the second under
Hancock, the sixth under Sedgwick,
who was killed soon after the arrival OF
his corps at Spottsylvania. The fight
ing on the 10th was general and on the
18th it was desperate, all corps were
engaged, but the charge of Hancocks'
second corps on the silent or bloody
angle, 1 think has no equal in the
American army's history. Hancock
moved his corps soon after dark over a
narrow difficult road in heavy rain to
the Brown house and formed for attack.
About twelve hundred yards from the
enemy's works Barlow's division was
formed in two lines, each regiment in
close column of attack. Birney's di-
vision formed in two deployed lines
on Barlow's right, Motifs division
formed in Birney's rear and Gibbons
division in reserve, at 4:35 o'clock a. m.
Gen. Hancock gave the order to ad-
vance. The troops in column and in
line kept even pace, and when about
half way up, and in the open ground of
Landorn burst into cheer, pressing
forward through heavy musketry fire
passing through the abatis and over the
intrenchments, capturing, Gen. Han
cock says, 1000 prisoners of Ewell's
corps, twenty pieces of artillery, with
their caissions, horses, etc., several
thousand stand of small arms and up
ward of thirty battle flags; Maj. Gen.
Edward Johnson, and Brig. G. H.
Steuart, were among the prisoners.
Gen. Hancock says the loss of the
enemy in killed and wounded was un-
usually .great-the most of the dead
having been killed with the bayonet.
Gen. Burnside with the 9th corps ad |
van ced at the same time against the
enemy's works, held by Hill's corps and |
about s a. M, carried the works, cap
turing some prisoners and several guns.
Reforming his men, Hill drove Poter's
division out of the works; Gen. Critten-
den and Gen. Potter's divisions were
ordered 70 rward to repeated attacks,
which resulted in severe loss, but did
not succeed in driving the enemy from
his main line. Gen. N. B. Wilcox's
division holding the extreme left f |
the whole army, was ordered to attack,
q Silent held by Heath's division; the
attack was made in gallant manner
but was repulsed with great loss. Gen.
Wright with 9th corps also as
saulted the enemies works but was re-
pulsed with severe loss, being amoung
the wounded himself. Fighting con-
tinued at intervals around Spottsylva-
MIA until the 10th. The loss at
Spottsylvania Court House amounted
to nearly 10000 and the loss since cross
ing the Rappahanock river amounts to
81, ,335-(see report of Gen. Humph-
reys.) The next stand was at Cold Har-
Dor, June 1st, End and 3rd, the assault
Of June 3rd stands out in history as the
6 .eatest blunder of a butcher on record.
Here Grant hurles his corps on works
that could not be taken and suffered a
loss of14 120; Lees loss was about 5000
men. Moving again to the left Grant
crosses the James river below City
Point, and on the 10th of June as
saulted the works around Petersburg,
and on the 10th, 18th and 18th, he suffer-
cred a loss upwards of 10, $3.50 men. Now
let us see what the loss was from May
9th until June 18th, or 3e days. Will
derness and Spottsylvania, 1885;
Cold Harbor, 14,129; June 10th and
18th, Petersburg, l0,5S9. Total num-
ber killed, 62,O50. This does not in
clude the loss of Gen. Butler which
amounted to about 5000 men. neither