The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1904-01-10
we're dlsmounted ana the gunners took

| Shelter III the DOUp-pTOVI' 50 N. FfF. i's
When the cannonading ceased, the IN.
fontry advanced In beautiful order until
the, got iii range Of our rif.,s, when we
pclted them right merrily. and so effec-
lively that thavS retired out Of range
but soon their lines were reformed, ahd q
thcn$ttheyl rart1B&in a. rum. fhLheir patt4e
lines were three fourths OF a mile long.
but before gcttlns to the fort they we're
solid MASSES 0f men.
.{s SAVAGE WORK.
In these chlrges there was no shooting
but by us, and We did CRUEL and savage
work, with them. When they got In twen-
ty.five or thirty yards Of the fort they
were safe. fors we could not see them
again until they appeared upon the para :
pet y
Those that first reached the fort were
ceEtent to lie Quietly in ths ditch. wnlc,
was atlout fourteen feet wide and about
eirht feet deep. and about eleven feet
To Tie; top OF the para pet. !.
When OenerniS G,ibbon sn " that the fort
wna' ifofi ;cat,tur Il lie started his second
ccl,tnirf of Il thousand or fifteen hundred
men. ana we gave them the same warm
Welcome that we gave the first ana
nitro Of 1t.
As soon rs this column reached shelter
and recovered breath they ATTEMPTED to
climb over the parapet, but no sooner
war u head seen than It, was withdrawn
with a mimic ball, In it. When It was
realized that nothing moro could be e1-
pccted from tho men in the trenches
around tho fort, then the third and
stronger column started. and We hnd
harder work to keep Thorn, OUT When
! these several charges were made the
troops An thesrear chcered most Justify.
There were six OF thcss assuming COL CO..
| umns. and they followed each other
about every thirty minutes. and each
| successive one was harder to drive or
tho parnr,t, and when the fort was
! finally captured the parapet was COW
ercd with dead men In blue.
! WALKING ON JIEADs.
am satisfied that the last assaulting
column walked OH the heads OF the other
columns. who were packed in the ditch
lil.r sardines in a box. for they made no
halt at ALL but rushed right on over
! tie parapet into tho fort.
| BEFORE the last assault was made the
battle flags of the enemy were almost q
| sold line OF bunting around the fort.
| The noise outside was fearful. frightful
AMI indescriba BILE, the curses and groan-
ing Of frenzied men could be heard over
| and above ths din OF our musEetry.
Savage men. ravenous beasts
We felt that there was no hope for us
urless we could keep them at bay. We
were pTcpStIL5u iOEg LIlo WoiSA, hhu VA
pected no quarter.
Many Of our captors were under the
Influence OF whlskey and all were ex-
aspera ted that we should have made such
stubborn fight. entailing on them q
bloody massacre, when resistance was
| useless and vain. s5
So the cry was to kill, and but for
their Officers, who. with cooked pistols.
made the men desist, all OF us would
hn
Jam of men IN the fort gave us some
protection, for 1t was impossible almost
to shoot a Confederate without hitting
Federal. We lost about forty men kill
sc in the fort after fts capture. and
fully that many Federals were killed by
their own men.
II was ten minutes before the shooting
could be suppressed.
THE LOSS.
l have been often asked how many men
We had In the fort, and what was our
loss, and what was that of the enemy.
I am sure that We did not have ex-
ceeLing two hundred men in both regi-
n,ents II all the twenty companies In
the fort were equally rs strong as Com
panies G. and x. which together had nine
teen men and which think were fair
averages, there were $50 men. Including
officers, In the fort. We lost in tho
two regiments about forty men, nearly
all OF them killed after the capture OF
tho fort.
The records show that the whole OF
Gibbons Corps and two divisions OF an
other corps were In the fight OF Fort
Gregg. tgeg s tt, 29@
The dead of the enemy lay literally In
| heaps much thicker than they were Ia
| front of the stone fence at FrederickH-
! burg, or In the angle at srotsylvan'a
| Courthouse. think am conservative
In saying that General Gibb'on lost 200
men killed outright around F'c:t Gregg.
Captain A. x. Jones, of Port Gibson,
/ Miss. In the New Orleans Plcayune.