Year: 1861

AYES


The Position OF THE TROoPs-WILsoN's De-


FENsEs.


By the dispatch received from New Orleans
via Norfolk and Baltimore, 1t appears that a
body OF rebels-number unknown-seIected
from several Mississippi, Louisiana, and Ala
bama regiments, made an attack upon Colonel
wilson's ZOuaves, stationed on Santa Rosa
Island.


The position of the camp of the regiment
was peculiarly exposed TO the enemy. 1t lay
on level plateau, aud every tent was in plain
sight OF the rebel forces across the river. The
commander of Fort Pickens, Colonel Brown.
ordered the regiment to pitch their tents there,
but did not supply them with artillery or throw
up batteries or intrenchments to cover them
Col Wilson, therefore, with the civil engineers,
attached to his regiment proceeded to con-
struct system of intrenchments and places of
shelter for his force The difficulties in the
way OF this undertaking were many, and of
the most serious kind Tho road to the fort
was almost impossible with swamps and heavy
chapperal, alternated with sand hill. This
was remedled first, for the position was to the
tort precisely that of an outlying picket, and
in case of the landing Of an attacking party all
the course left open for them to pursue was to
skirmish away to the fort. The road, where it
crossed sWamps, was filled in with brushwood
covered with sand, the sand hills were dug
through, the intervals were filed in, and
wherever embankments were thrown up they
were disguised and masked by the bushes
which they had to cut and dig out. They thus
secured a covered way to within twenty rods
OF the fort, and the innumerable twistings and
winding OF the road afforded secure positions
from which their skirmishers could annoy and
retard the advance of the enemy in case they
should make an attack. Attention was next
turned to the securing of places of shelter for
the men In case bOmbardment of the camp
should occur. This work was done in the
night by the light of the stars slone so that
the rebels could have no idea Of the location of
these places of refuge. In building these, ad-
vantage vas taken of the " lay of the Land :"
which is ribbed and corrugated with sand hills
that sometimes rise abruptly to the height Of
twenty or thirty feet from the level Behind
and into these they dug and threw up shelter
sufhelent to cover 900 men. The approach to
these shelters was protected by an embank-
ment seven feet high and four feet wide on the
top, while advantage was taken of every angle
or elevated spot, to repel force attemptin to
march upon them. This was the place for the
sharpshooters to work. 1t was stated that a
force marching down upon the regiment would
md that while sOads leading them nowhere
would lead them astray, the very sand hills
behind which they expected to advance in
satety were but the hiding places from which
a murderous fire would decimate their ranks


The work was completed in two weeks, and
with the expectation that every minute the
rebels would open their fire upon the work
men.


The rebels confess that the Zouayes fought
6raVeiy, and they acknowledge loss of forty
killed and about eighty wounded. They also
state that they committed great slaughter
among the Zouayes; but, as they give no ap-
proxiInate number of the supposed killed and
wounded, some doubts of that part of the ac-
count may be allowed, after a consideration of
the above description of their position and de-
fences They state that they spiked the guns
belonging to the regiment, but we have yet TO
learn that the Zouaves had been supplied with
artillery. At the date Of our last advices they
had not been so supplied


The rebels do not mention anything about
the troops In the fort supporting the voIun-
teers, either by firing their mounted artillery
or advancing their infantry. This certainly
appears very extraordinary but doubtless,
when we receive the Union statement of the
engagement, We shall have a different account
OF the affair. The rebel surprise must have
been very sudden, and they must also have as
suddenly vacated their newly acquired ground,
else the fort would have assisted in the engage
ment, if only for self-protection. The island
is certainly forty miles long; but Wilson's
troops were, as before stated, located near the
regulars.