Year: 1862

until, one after another, they were borne
from the field dead or wounded.


The Loss Of 4rtiAery.


Colonel Bailey, Chief of ARTILLERY, was
shot early in the afternoon, the bali strik
ing him in the head and causing his death
after short period of insensibility Mai.
Van Vaultenburg, the second in command
of the First New York Artillery, was Kill
led, Adjutant William Ramsay wounded,
while every battery but one lost its quota
of men, and some of them lost nearly all
their horses. Bates Battery of Napoleon
guns-l2-pOund brass pieces-which was
to the front, thus deprived of locomotion
and stuck fast in the mud, was left behind
in the retirement of our troops, but not un-
til General Naglee had taken it upon him
self to see that several of the pieces were
spiked In addition to this, one 3-inch
Parrot gun of Battery Fl was disabled by
a shot, and fell into the hands of the enc
my. The Pennsy ylvania Reserve Battery,
of Couch's Division, also lost one of their
guns-these eight pieces Of ordnance consti-
tuting our entire loss, so far as | could learn.
We can better afford to spare the pieces
than we can afford to have the Rebels prof
it by their gain. They show every indi-
cation of being much in want of artillery.
and the need is evidently stimulating their
efforts to profit by the chances of war to
possess themselves of our guns.


Gen. Summers AdUance.


Meanwhile Gen. Sumner had succeeded
in bringing his troops across the Chickahom-
iny, and was advancing on the right to
maintain our position there where less
ground had been lost. After several DAYS
of labor, Gen. Sumner had thrown two
bridges across the creek between Bottoms
Bridge and New Bridge, where local re-
ports held it to be impossible to find any
foundation for piles to support the super
structures. One Of these bridges was some
two miles above Bottoms Bridge, and the
other mile further up the stream. The
lower Of these was carried away during the
heavy storm of Friday night, and Gen.
Sumner was obliged to depend upon sim
gle shaky structure for the passage of his
troops, who nearly all, however, succeeded
in crossing that night, the head of the col
umn reaching the Nine mile road, along
which the Rebels were pressing our troops,
at about 7 o'clock, holding the enemy in
check for the night, preventing them from
following up in that direction the advan-
tage they had gained during the day.


IHe Fight on Sanday


Flushed with ter seeming victory of
Saturday the Rebels awoke with confidence
on Sunday to follow up their movements,
sure of driving US this time to the Chick
ahominy and beyond. But they had made
the unfortunate mistake of estimating the
strength of our reserves by the weakness
of our advance. Most bitterly did they pay
for their mistake. Pressing eagerly for
ward with confidence of victory, they we're
met by the trained troops of Heintzelman
and Sumner, whose unyielding columns
checked their fierce assault, turning the
tide OF battle everywhere against them, and
forcing them at the point Of the 6ayonet on
t0icdrd Richmond 1t was their turn now
to break and run, and their losses of the
Sabbath left them little cause for rejoicing
over the trifing gain of Saturday. Ter
rible also to them were the frequent char
ges OF our solid columns, pressing them back
step by step, to the last point of endurance,
.chen they broke and run, ingloriously leav-
ing behind them many of their men and Of
hcers, as well as privates, prisoners in our
hands. The number of these it is not yet
possible to ascertain, several days neces-
sarliy elapsing after every engagement be-
fore full inventory can be taken.