Staunton spectator and vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1896-1916, 1902-07-18
den by the woods from all the COnfed-
crates except BrYant's battery.

: fully located the Confederate position
and had grown too serious to be main
2 tanned without bringing on pitched
battle. So his line was withdrawn a
short distance. Bryan's guns in full
view of the hostile battery, threw up
lntrenchments. unmolested except by
invisible sharpshOoters.
In the meantime Crook had marched
three or four mi es around towards the
Confederate left, but had concluded
that it was impracticable to turn 1t.
Towards noon, as he was returning.
several regiments of Averell S cavalry
were sent to reconnoiter in the same
direction. This cavalry claimed To
have encountered a strong force of
Confederate cavalry. before which it
retired. The artillery fire directed on
Bryan's guns had forced concealed
line of Confederate infantry lying on
the hill behind the battery to move
over the hill; but neither the battery
nor this infantry saw or suspected any
thing Of the attempts to turn the left
flank. About the time Crook was get
ting back to the Salem road, the usual
reaction set in: considerable Confed
crate force made sally, and began in
turn to drive Sullivan. The Federal
guns at once opened on them, and
Bryan opened on the Federal guns.
The latter then turned upon Bryan,
and when they began to get the worst
of it, they were reinforced till there
we're eight or ten guns against Bryan's
four, and violent artillery duel en-
sued, which lasted more than an hour
and ended by the Federal guns with.
drawing.
One of the four guns kept stripping
| its shells, and staff officer came out
| and ordered it to cease firing, so that
in this duel really only three guns took
part, and yet they disabled four Fed
eral guns, breaking three wheels and
carrying off one trail handspike, while
on their side not a man, horse, or gun
received scratch. The cause OF this
remarkable fact would require much
space to explain. 1t is discussed in the
Journal of the United States Artillery, |
No. 9. p. 572, where the number of Fed
eral pieces in the first duel is erroneous
ly stated to have been four
These details seem to give too much !
prominence to one battery, but they |
we're selected because of greater famil- |
iarity with them. The battery First |!
Kentucky that had had three wheels |
and trail handsplke shot away by |
Bryan, had two wheels broken and an |
axle shattered by the guns at the re-
doubt, so that it had to use five of its |
six extra wheels.
The sallying force, after driving Sui |
livan back till Crook came to his aid,
retired to the intrenchments. Crook
pressed SO hard after them that even
Early speaks of the movement as an
ATTACK, " just as Hunter calls the sally
a determined attack but neither
Hunter nor Early mentions any attack
made by himself. : In fact, neither
made real attack intended to bring
on battle. The result of the counter
movement Of Crook is we'll narrated by
Colonel j. M. Campbell, commanding
the third brigade who concludes his
account with the statement that his
brigade having pressed close upon the
works, was met with such a storm of
grape and canister" from Lurty,
Chapman and Lowry that it was COM
PEELED to fell back. A careful perusal
of all the Federal reports will show
that the Confederate artillery played
very important part in the whole en-
gagement; and on the day after. the
accuracy and general efficiency of the
artillery were the talk of the army.
Duffie made his attack as ordered,
and like everybody else, imagined he
was greatly outnumbered, and like
everybody else, met with hot artIl-
lery fire, He kept up distant fight,
the whole day, and used up all his
ammunition
When the Federal guns withdrew
and the lull came about 2 p. NJ,
Bryans guns commenced Shelling
everything in sight, till an officer came
and made them stop. There was then
occasional skirmishing along the line
with slow, but almost continual firing
On the right till dark.
Late in the afternoon the rest of
Early infantry arrived, but still none
of his artillery. 1t is said that they
doublequicked through Lynchburg,
cheered by the people. 1t is to be hop
ed that this is mistake. Surely Cen
eral Early had orders awaiting them
at the station, and his friends must
be 10th to believe that he would allow
such a comedy to be acted. There was
no occasion for dOublequicklng, and
if there had been. the men, after run
ming with arms and accoutrements
from the station to the top of College
Hill on hot day, would have been
utterly untitled for action. At any
rate, they came too late for battle
on that day, and the opportunity to
destroy Hunter was gone, While
Hunter was anxiously waiting for
night SO as to steal away, Early was
making dispositions for battle on the
next day. Some time after mid night
1t was discovered that Hunter was
moving, and at daylight it was found
that he was in full retreat.
The losses were very light on both
sides. There are no Confederate re-
Continued on Fourth PaQe.)