The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1906-06-24
.l.|E:..|ESBURG FIGHT
0R8B B |. BLUFF /
Story 81 the Stirring Events ''e,11ts;s $ot5a
IS IS a Day ii the 5..5S
Sixties. AZ
1 HAT.54A MlsslsslPPlAN. SAW W


WHAT MlsslsslPPllA!N'l. SAW 'll'l,
zone the Livcliest Little Fights.
S$ 5s5 oftthe Late Unpleasant 53
"a ness.
ABB a long time Virginia lady; friend from n
K p,ay over $lnAthe Valley off the SnenatH-S
doah-da,1ghter Of the tnrs-sen q !, m me
"A YOUR paper Of IA recent date, in Whioh a's
an Interesting account OF tn
Leesburg called by the = ~,
s. nluff which occurred Just; ninety DAY Gays
after Inc battel Of First Manassas
Ysa ! IN both these battles with my conf
Il mand, the Seventeenth mississippi s. eg
7in1ent and the extended account by COM
a8rade3 j. s. NIcNeely, OF the Nickspnre
Herald OF this engagement was read Win Will
} great interest by the writer i VII soon
u be forty five yea rs since that ilotip.o
# event In American history. and It is SIM
Il nly Swond to reflect on the amazing
NJ facultles Of the human mind. It seems
M rift YES crdnys when 6*viewed$ through Eo!le
81 ara az the telescope OF time; reverse II,
h and 1t seems an age. u, !, |, gu
Sss3E Governor a. G. Brown OF the = Digh
ssseent til mississippi l rem ember wei, ana ana
shis account Of how General gbaKef, CON- y,
Isl ;11ard Ter Of the Federals, met his 9 eau ca u
SyaiiFithe hands OF Colonel p, r.. Burt O
he Eighteenth mississippi, Is news 70
{sg:,Ss IS#had always heard that Baker was
$sfs kiIled by a Yirglnlan OF Hunton's Elghtih
Virginia Regiment. Such was the VS. y u
IVA told immediat ely ter ~ oat.le,
~, 49,, III all
ME Virginians, under Colonel lllintoll, An 1
#E SnntnIn white with his caYn Try coinpn "
n snst;ined the brunt of the battle after
gs M IA 4 been opened by CAPTAIN "A lft OF
TIC seventeenth mississippi q egimee'tn Z.
sSs And this regiment t,nyi command)f3e cams
II, at the nick Of timc bout an. noup
sssS hyS sim ii time to83f1nish the work 80
" ably begun and susta med Tor hours ~.
s&&3 these pioneers OF the batt tie: # rs, ).
It'll VII will here re1 enrse n dramatic ncluenl
r. ofathe closing scenes Of the battle. which
ass took placc between the right Of my reg
StS ifnent and that Of a. detail OF twenty -one
sg men from the Fifteenth MASSACHUSETTS,
S5 thrust out from under the bank q the
sSs river as 8skirmislers, after we had driven
49, them over the bluff--we. meaning the
gss,Yirginians and the Eighteenth Missls-
Ssippi. My regiment was simply sent IN
Il "a give a coupe de grace to tho long
stE drawn out struggle. We had been helu
q between the two ferries as reserve lot
iss either Ba rksdale's Thirteenth mississippi.
Il. a e Edwnrds's Ferry. or the Vireinlans
ssa And the Eighteenth mississippi, at liar
sS riso5n, s Landing, or Balls Bluff. The
$ derals we're corralled las we say OF
sroiln ding IN horses In Texas) on the mar
lss row ledge OF the bluff, next to the wafer
while our skirmishers We're already an
81 moving them from the bluff above. ms
squad OF twenty-one men were sent out
n find
8As II possible. sofhe way out Or thelr e.
a = HANDSOME Federal. OFFICER, "a
S'3 They were led by a large. fine looking
It'll Feder officer fully six feet In height
@ ana proportionatey built, presenting ono
Of the most magnificent figures ever
beheld In war. before or since. Ihey
II rose suddenly out of a ravine that&.le
YH at an oblque angle from the shelf below
Il and appeared before our astonished
Y visions not thirty yards away from us
as we were drawn up in solid line Tor
MI a last rush to the bluffs edge, Their
! captain was In front and the others
obliaued away from US towards the ra-
I'M vine. remember exclaiming: 'TheS arc
Y not Yankees" to save them, FOR we were
S4I standing at q ready with our volley. MY
VIC captain stepped out In front and said
ii 10 ne Federal officer: In tho name OF
We r,pd who are YOU, and what DO you
aSs3 ,neea1 ~, =. The Federals held their guns
s,$ at q trail arms, apparently hypnotized
ASS with the suddenncss OF their new ana
8sF dangerous attitude. Their captain ran NJ
b. my captain and seized him ~ ms long
s#S Mack beard, and then wo all yolleyed
HI ana thundered. and these twenty-one men
III vent down and were buried In that fatn
3iss rayine by our men afterwards, The name
ss2 ~ the captain was Shaw, and his regl
igl nlent. as stated. the Fifteenth Massn
sN5 rhusetts. FL Our lieutenant took his sWorr
from his PROSTATE form. and when ! was
at the Memphis reunion l9oi ! me
j!slSiE nv old messmate. Wes Tucker, who hrs
Ss4Srei,ed The captain with the butt of nh
q iss5!gl ,,Iy 80 close were we to each other,
S@5 'Ff i Found out by change, some time since
III N, rat Captain Life White, who was promi
rlent in that battle as you mention, wa
Vel at Leestarg, and hope we may NEE
sSS3 some sweet day, asa
NAMES OF BATTLES, .55
/ IAN The CORE spondent says II s "some
\ IN tiInes called I,eesburg," IT was The wa
II tte Gonfederates named their battles
sg al most invariably from artificial objects
8 while the Federals named the same bal
sa Ills from natural objects. Leesburg fror
f;sS the town and Balls Blum from the LAND
WI ting Sharpsburg from the town ara Ar
/ tietnm from the creek. Bull Run by tn
y Federals mot from the splendid run the
II made there, as might he supposed). bu
iiSI from the creek called q run, as Is tn
u Gus tom In Virginia, We call II Manassas
from Inc Junction, II Ia really Manass
from Jew merchant OF that name
SSS the gap IN the mountains. and the junt
ss8s ltioH was pfalled after him. as3
London county Ia called from Ioudol
I'd province In France, from whence Lior
9afs III u Lee lprogenitors OF the Lees In vi
sgyfSylnia}, came under william the Cor
& sslperors In 1855, when they crossed Il
ri, apnelB Balls Bluff from Mary Bal
nother't people. forme
proprietors. The Federal General stoI
z was II deed. as you say. 9 vt-tim Of fat