The Confederate union. (Milledgeville, Ga.) 1862-1865, June 14, 1864, Image 1

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x THE VOLUME XXXV.] MI|.LED«EVILLE, GEORGIA, Tl'ESP AT, JUNE 14, 1861. MMBEIi 4. ltOQllHTON, Jt'ISBET, BARNES & MOORE Publishers and Proprietors. S.X. BOIT.IITOT, ^ Edilor*. joh.ii. xisbet. a g\)t <£anfcbcratt ©won 4th. A few of bis brigades remained be-commanding this movement on Johnson's hind for a day guarding some of the fords flank, soon afterwards threw the- whole across the ltapidan. Johnston’s division, i weight of his dense column upon those having the advance, followed the tnrnpike; ] stout souls; but, though threatening to en- -prcssii-g 8 r> obstinately upon its front failed t« break its heroic constancy. Thick and fast ir* men crej.t't.' the rear, bleeding, oi dropping in the rauks dead —hut etil it gave no signs of yielding. One-half of its number of the morning had been and encamped for the night within three; velope it on the left, failed to force back j placed hors da comhat. The weight of the 1 miles of a stieam flowing northwardly— the men who had learned heroic constancy | Wilderness Run. Rhodes, next in the or- from Jackson. Sorely pressed, however, der of march, lay in his rear along the j Pegram’s Virginians and Hay’s Louisian- , ashed Weekly, in Milletlgcrille, Ga., j same route; and Early who had moved j ians deployed rapidly on their left. Cltarg- " T Ianc<vk and Wilkinson Sts., ! from Ewell’s left at Summerville Ford, i ing immediately upon the Federal right, encamped for the night a little behind a ; those fresh troops drove it hack. • The fu- place called Locust Grove. The Second j rious onslaught of Hay’s men did not ex- Corps had thus reached, on the night of< pend itself until they had forced the ene the 4th, a position from which it stood rea dy to strike on the following morning the flank of Grant’s column of advance. Corner of Hat (opposite Court House.) At $10 a year in Advance. WIR NEW TERMS. On an.l after March 2d, 1864, the Terns ot Sub- soriptimi to the Confederate Union, are Ten Dol r.a as, inraribly in advance. All indebtedness for subscription to this paper, previous to June 1st, 1863, is at tlie rate of Threj Dollars per year. inense masses hurled against it having excited in Lieut. General hill some fears for its solidity, or- J ders were sent to Wilcox to come up with his di vision from Ewell’s right, at the double quick.— That gallant officer arrived at four o’clock, while the roar-of the rifles in front, accompanied by the ihundersof four or five guns on the plank road, declared the combat to be one of extraordinary "fierceness. Johnston moved with his division at Wilcox, guided by the heaviness of the fire, my to retreat in confusion for nearly a P^ced his leading brigade in rear of Heth’s centre, -, t j o n . ai * z** 7 and deployed to the right and to the left ot the mile. Jn advance of all otheison that face j road. The conflict soon afterwards deep of the att; ck, those splendid troops—the j «ning in that direction, he next formed his second j into column; and, delighted at ihe complete sue- j time appeared to he, the second day of t heroes, yon will recollect, of Winchester—I brigade, as it arrived upon the field, oni the left ! cess of their chieftain’s strategy, moved forward j battle of the Wilderness terminated a nnaronl^'riifli' l'?*"’ th « b « tt 1 es« ti k in t ° a lullotj be | oved General-in-chief had gone to his appaient exhaustion on hnih sides. Ihe'brigades | ... . of G. T Anderson, of W 0 ff,rd and of Mahoue, P ro P er P osl . t,on ln . f . be rear - Yielding to wer , in the meantime, directed against the ene- their touching solicitude, and thus teinii- my’s left flank. nating one of the most remarkable inci- Having termed perpendicularly to his line. 'flier 1 in tlie war Gen Lee retired- and struck it suddenly at about a mile south of the i.-V, Tf ’ ,1 1 fu • plank road, and giving it no time to fall into po- : "’ell did Gl egg S gallant fe.Jows fulfill the nition in their iront, drove it nearly up to that promise with which they urged his witb- highway ni a confused mass. Ihe enemy carry- , draws], by rushing forward, through a ing with him the debus of this route, retreated to . ci n , :*i e i- l .'it the breastworks he had thrown n P near the line 0 f j ! en T est , bullets, with a fury which noth- planking, along which be had advanced from Gei ! withstand. All the ground that manna ford. had been lost was recovered, the enemy The flanking force having thns done their work | driven, routed, into his entrenchments, th. Ite.. Advanced threaten The Confederate line of battle on the left of their ll) o v 7 60 as *° * i0m tmn closely in, ana position, on learning of tho enemy’s rout, broke ! thus, almost hopeless as its fortunes at one lie ADVERTISING. TRANSIENT.—Two Dollars per square of ten lines for each insertion. _ Tributes of respect. Resolutions by Societies, (Obit uaried exceeding six lines.) Nominations for office. Communications or Editorial notices for individual benefit, charged as transient advertising. Legal Advertising. Sheriff’s sales, per levy of ten lines, or less, $5 00 “ Mortgag* fi fa sales, per square, 10 00 Tax Collector’s Sales, per square, 5 00 Citations for Letters of Administration, 5 00 .*« “ “ Guardianship^ 5 00 L , i e T-, ,i. „„ ,i w . .-cl, liavimr lf.fr „earlv tbi’r.l tl.oh I flank; but had no sooner drawn it up in line of j amidst shouts of triumph. Longstreet rode m the bead of Ewell s Corps on theoth.— having elt nearly one-third ot their num-, batt)e than it became exposed to ^sketry-sn I with his staff to take his place at the head of the Having thrown skirmishers out into the , ue* oil tlie field, fell back witii^ 1 egram s j completely in reverse as to have wounded some of j advance; and was received as he passed alorjr the woods on either side of the turnpike, he j gallant fellow’s to the general line of bat- “ discovered those of the enemy, at about tie. 6ix o’clock in the morning. The musket- j The enemy rouied with great slaughter ry on each side deepening, he pressed for- j from all points of his advance, Ewell pro- j ward with Gen. J. M. Jones’ brigade to ; ceeded to select ground for the morrow’s to the rear, and swinging round his left, he ! Jenkins, spurring to his.side, grasped bis hand in found himself confronted by a Federal line ol bat- ; a glow of pleasure; and the whole soene was one tie. i of universal rejoicing. Reasoning from the crushing weight of the Their faces glowing, tin ir horses prancing, the j mnsketry in Ileth’s front, Wilcox d>-ew up auoth- : cavalcade surrouuding the Lieutenaut. General g a i n a hill in his front; and having after a, battle. Assisted by General Smith, of the j er of his Lrigades in that officer’s rear, on the , had, however, not passed more than a Imndred ! brief stru^cle. drived itack a heavy line of: engineers, he reviewed his position; and j L ig , Al ...... .. . unci ouuggic, u.nui irciv.rv . j fire ex ten d 1 ng, s u bseq uen t ly, in that direction, he sharpshooters from that position, proceed- ; proceeded at once to cover his fro’it-tovith - - * • ed to form bis troops in at ray of battle. The thicket on all sides of the two ar was sobered into profound regret. One of the 1 ,1,s * ro iWW'ltli J placed his last brigade for the protection of that, brigades of the flanking force, heated with the a line ol field wet ks atul ail abattis of felled 1 flank, in extension of Heth’s array on the extreme j work of destruction that they had executed so trees. Skirmishing continued murderous- j fight- Two of Wilcox’s brigades lay thus in re-1 splendidly, mistook the glad group of horsemen giments from ”Iy outside the lines- hut the battle of the serve rt,ar °/ 'be centre, while another occupied j’that came prancing along the plnnk road, for a ;*ar- ’ each of the two flanks of the liiie of battle. The *” nf 11 —— J . .1—. mies excluded the use of artillery save on ly for the width of the turnpike. Jones ; 5th of May, on Lee s left appeared to have * terribl.eness of the Federal musketry at this mo brigade had been formed but a moment a- been lost and won. Immediately before ' im-ut was such that, having torn a section of the , |lf cress that road when the enemy advanced the clo^e of the evening, the skirmishers of; tru "k utterly to shred, it actually cut down a etters of application for dism n. j j n w hat of order is practicable in a tangled General Regram, on Johnston’s left, came j OHk tree Lavin S a ^ ian * ett ’ r (>f eighteen round the Soul hem Cross of the right wing in bljody triumph. The Gth of May opened on Ewell’s front with Rhodes’ division on the light of the tnrnpike, Johnson’s on the other side of that road, and Early still further to tlie left. In the morning a column of attack came up in front of Pegram’s brigade, and of part of Johnson’s division; and attemp ting to force its way, pressed that pait of the line heavily. Reinforced by a few re- Gordon’s brigade, tbe Gon- Appl’n for leave to sell land and negroes, Notics to Debtors and Creditors. Hales ot land or negroes, per square, “ perishable property. 10 days, per sq. Estrav Notices, 30 days, Foreclosure of Mortgage, per square, 8 00 f» 00 8 00 2 00 5 00 2 00 forest. He appioached with a heavy line running in; and soon afteiwaids his shatp The losses in Ileth’s division had become so of skirmishers, followed by a solid column ' shooters sptanghack from their rifle-pits extending across the Confederate front, in his immediate front. A column three four lines deep. Stewart’s and Stafford's ! lines deep moved upon him from the depths brigades proceeded to form rapidly on of the forest, and, firing heavily as they Jones’ left. To guard against the danger i came cn, pressed towards his works furi- of an overlapping bredth of attack, the ottsly. Hisstaunch V irginians, however, brigade of Gen. Walker, which, having ! met the attack resolutely: and, covered Sale*of Land and Negroes, by Administrators, Ex- nursed the genius of Jackson, is known as partially by their works, burled volley ai- on^he^st^iiesday'i'n'the monlh^b&tw^Tn^rii^honre “Stonewall,” formed at some distance , ter volley in withering blasts, breast high, of 10 iiitin forenoon and three in the afternoon, at the from Stafford’s left flank, covering it by a into its soiled ranks Court house in the county in which the property is f*i ont LEGAL ADVERTISEMENTS. heavy that Wilcox's brigade in reservo were mov- fedcrateSj with unflinching solidity, hurl ed the onslaught back, margled and bleed ing. Again, however, and yet again, the obstinate masses reuewed tbeir ad vance, until the line of their movement, strewed thickly with evidence of the ter- rois iu their way, they finally shrank that had proved sodis- astrous. The battle on the left appeared after situated. . , ... Notice of these sales must be given ;n a public ga- ze tte 40 days previous to the day of sale. Notices for the sale of personal property must he given in like manner 10 days previous to sale day. Notices to the debtors and creditors of an estate must also he punished 40 days. that application will be mane to the Court ot Ordinary for leave to sell Land or Negroes, must be published for two months. . . Citations for letters of Administration Guardianship, Ac , must be published 30 days—for dismission from Administration, monthly fix months—for dismission trom Guardianship, 40 dnrs , . Rules for foreclosure of .Mortgage must be published monthly for four months—{or establishing lost papers, for the'full space nf'hrre mnnfh*— forcompellingtitJes from Executors or administrators, where bond has been •riven by the deceased the til'll space of three nionllis. ’ publications wjll always be continued accordu g to tkese, the legal requirements, unless otherwise ordered. at right angles to that officer’s line, i terrible fire, the assaila In this position the division ot Gen. Ed- j fled Ihe .Moloch of the Noitli had, . placed them in the position assigned them in the ward Johnston, of Ewell’s corps, stood on ; however, not yet been sated. In five lines i array of battle. The murderous conflict raged iu the morning of the 5th to receive the ene- ' a column renewed the attack after night- i rierce monotony until night closed over the Gon- mv’s onslaught fall; but did so without other result than ‘ u 'J' 3rate !“«» iu the position it had originally Johnston’s skirmishers were driven in. , t increase ternbly the hundreds 01 men , from the Gth corps, the 2d and the 5th corps , anti Those of the enemy took position»in the that dead or dying outside the Confederate ; this fact points to the supposition that the gallant advancing column The Fifth Corps of works, Ijv weltering in their gore. Peg-j ^visions of Heth and Wilcox actually held at •Be Federal army, accompanied by two ; r.m-wlm he’d, in h-eveim, lined which |Jft ^^“*«• pieces of artillery, that came thundering a gallant member of his family declared j Ileth’s division was ordered, during the night along the turnpike, assailed the Confede- • he thicker than, water—iell in this last | of the 5th, to go to the rear asareserve. Lane’s, rate lines at the intersection of that road, attack severely wounded. A dashing ofli- I Scales’, McGowan’s and Thomas’ brigades—con- Receiving as it advanced a terrible fusi j cer, this accident is deepely regretted by j ° f General Wiluox - occrt * to add is not 1 : ty of the flying foe. It poured into them at short range a deadly fire ! Poor Jenkins fell instantly ; from his horse, with a bullet in bis pulsoless brain! An enthusiastic son of South Carolina, be was beloved by his troops for his tine qualities, as a man and an officer. Longstreet received a ball that entered his throat and passed out thro’ his right shoulder. Bleeding like an ox, he was ed. at about halt-past five, to the front. McGow- j helped from his horse so prostrated that fears j f r0ln an encounter* ao’s South Carolinians thus brought into action, | were entertained of his immediate death. Major! their gallant chief, impatient of delay. leaped his j Walton, a gallant Mississippian on his staff, threw- j horse over a rank that had lain down to let his • open bis vest and shirt collar, and found great re- men pass. Spurring forward, waving sword as j lief in discovering iLat he was mistaken in sup- ! tlie repulse of the moraine, to hang fire he went, he was followed by his brigade, with a I posing that the hall had cut the caroled artery. | Direct advance bo sternly repelled, the Placed on a litter, the wounded General was re- ' j . • t . i 1 moved from the field; but feeble though he was enemy determined to make a movement from loss of blood, did not fail to lift his hat fiom i on Ewell’s flank. Wilcox’s division bav- time to time as he passed down the column, in ac knowledgment ot itscheeis of applause and sym pathy. The column of advance deployed into line — Some of Fields’ and McLaws’ men had already encountered and driven back the enemy on the left of the plank road, when Anderson’s division of Hill's corps, was ordered to their support The brigade of Alabamians has illuiriiuate-l tlie name cheer ; and, plunging immediately into the depths of the conflict, diuvc back the enemy by his im petuous dash, for several hundred yards Wilcox, _ seeing the Federal lines on each side of the Slaughtered by this -breadth of that charge of the fiery South Caro- lontc nanc.,1 rno | u ,t l liniaus atood firm, became apprehensive for their tarns oaiiseu, reeteu, I safety ; and, ordering them at once to fallback, been withdrawn the day bcJoie for the support of Hetli, tlie two wings of Leo’s anny continued still unconnected; anil through the space thus open, Burnside moved a force at about two o’clock, with a view of crushing our line from light to left. Ewell, who is gifted with the in- of Wilcox; having come up, first in the older of j sticlsol a military genius, stood, however, march, was placed rapidly by its chief. General prepared at all points. As the flanking Perrin, in the position of Law s brigade.of hields j f orce 0 f the enemy came up, moving per- division, its right resting on the plank toad. It f , . ,,, , , ,. r „ , °, r had hardly taken its place, when the enemy, who 1 P c,, dieuJat y ^ to Rhodes line ot battle, a had been previously’ driven back in fine style by ' battalion of sharps lade without any sign of wavetiug, the rear ranks pressing forward those of the his brigade, but I sttpposei Yidettes were sent out. but ven- am liapp} to amt is not j tnred only a short distance from tbe line of battle, to involve any danger to his life. | i'he two armies lay, indeed so close to each other Law’, came up again, and, uuder a terrible fire from Perrin’s rifles, retreated with precipitation. Renewing his advance, he once more emerged from tbe forest, hut contented himself with quick and wild firing, as he lay down a; a distance ot a hundred and fifty yaids from the from ot the Con front, the attacking masses deli\ered from The repulse which lie guided as he fell, | throughout the night as to be within easy ear-shot, federate line. The Federal officers were heard at 'ire upon closed the work of war for the day on the i A * reamon -he Ct n it with lett; and witnessed tlie Confederates still j botll tliat meil e ;t g to en- » n possession of their improved position their canteens from it v velope it on its right, they succeeded after i and advanced lines, flushed with undoubt- j some from the other. ( a brief struggle, in forcing back part of the ; ed victory. j ulcTiiie^nTiat «•' a t brigade that had been formed across the j , Hi!1 was ordered to inarch on the 4th from Lee's j j- f) ’ a forest of rifles a fast and furious fi Johnston’s line. Closing in upon great spirit in front and threatening to en- fofF When a subscriber finds a cross mark on hi« paper he will know that his subscription has expired, or is about to expire, and must be renew ed if he wishes the paper continued. We do not send receipts to new subscri hers. If they receive the paper they may know _ that we have received the money. turnpike—that of Gen. J. M. Jones. Two ZW Subscribers wishing their papers changed of his regiments—the 2 J st Virginia com- from one post-office to another must state the name of the post-office Ircm which they wish it changed. I<*ivc Dollar Rill*. A« no one will take Confederate Fives of the old issue from us, we are compelled, in self defense, to announce that we will only receive them at a discount of 33 1 3. — Interesting reading matter will be found on the 4th page. entreating, shaming were of no avail in ar resting their disordered flight, as he saw left Audeisou's hind for tho time to guard some fords in its frout, Heth, followed by Wilcox, moved tastwardly, er- two catl- med pursuing the line of the plank way. The ring of small arms on tho right announced , . - , - p ,i I i° *h 0 course of the morning of the 5th, a small his men rushing from the held m hopeless I cavalry affair Ijear ther route % f Hill . s (;olumn ._ confusion lie fell from tlie saddle a bleed- j The march still, however, continued, until it en- ing corpse. Captain Early, of his staff, countered, at 11 o’clock, some dismounted cav- un willing to desert him. had but a few mo- airy; hut after a moment s pause, brushing those p . , iiii-i i „ from its way, still went forward. At one o clock merits previously wheeled lus horse from j musketry waa agaiu heard iu front . aIld thotJgh its retreat; hut only to share with his gal- at first thought to indicate the presence of merely lant chief while in the act, the same red a party of horse, proved, after skirinisibing, to b H -| have come from a large body of infantry. Kirt- c ’ . , p , . ... • ,1 „ laud’s brigade.’ of Heth-’s division deployed im- Stewart moved from his position in the med j a te|y on bo t b 8 j de s of the plank road ; and line of battle to close the g a P l e ^ tl |e Whole column proceeded to form in line of the brigade of Jones. As the Federal j battle on irs flanks; while the sharpshooters of masses poured through, his men rushed i bo . th armies kept up in front a desultory and some- driving them lie Confederate left constituted water ; and was so near _.ther side going out to fill of their improved position |. their canteen-, from it v.-ere very offer captured by Colonel Baldwin of the 1st ent, more thirsty than pru- ay a tenant of the Libby 'division having been lefc be- i P nson , Longstreet s corps, it will be recollected, lay,; on the 3rd, thirteen miles southwest of the posi tion oil the Rapidau. Ordered forward by Gen. Lee, it marched from the neighborhood of Gor- donsville on tho morning of the. 4th. On the night 1 of the 5th, it halted within twelve miles of the field of the battle of that day. Intending to fol low a road known as the Catharpen, with a view to a movement upon the rear of the enemy’s left that moment urging their men to rise and charge. Their left pressed up to within a distance of sev enty-five yards, hut the deadly minnic cutting their close front into shreds, they fled, after a strug gle of ten minutes, iu utter confusion ITin<*. P , , ■ , i , ° i ihuteuicumznjiioi. until a iigiiL uaui ing away knapsacks, cartridge boxes, muskets] , , . . , ° and blankets, the attacking party seemed stricken defeated by an amusing boldness, a repe- writh terror, as well it might have been, in a field rpsliooters from Rantseur’s brigade of Noi tli Carolinians,following their bold commander. Major Osborne, had the audacity to charge a w hole division of the Federal army. A whole division of tbe Federal army advancing on that handful of men, fled before Osborne’s fellows at the top of their speed, leaving behind it in its flight all its knapsacks, and as many as fif teen hundred ot its muskets. Burnside’s movement against Ewell’s right flank, thus where its dead lay so thickly—sometimes one upon auother—as to have traced out distinctly the line’of the array in which they stood at the mo ment of their death. The struggle equally sanguinary with that on the left of the plank road raged at tbe same time on its right. In the meantime, however, a force bad been sent out with the design of turning the enemy’s flank on that side. The movement was, w hat languid tire. [Correspondence of the London Herald.] battle of the wilderness. Field of the Battle of the Ny, 1 |No. 43’J May 18. 1864. j Tlie works occupied by Lee s army on forward with a cheer and, urivmg iueui . jhh’s advance followed, it wiil be recollected, the Raoidan extended on the right three hack by the impetus of his charge, captur- the piank road, while Ewell’s pursued the turu miles below Raccoon ford. Ewell’s corps ed their guns. and Hill’s lay behind those defences, and j Almost simultaneously with the first stretched out on each side of Orange signs of weakness in Jones’ line Daniel’s Court House, along a line of twenty miles. | brigade of North Carolians and Gordon s Longstree* having returned some time ago ; brigade of Georgians, both of Rhodes from Eastern Tennessee, occupied the Division, were placed rapidly in line upon country around G' rdonsville, thirteen j the right. Ordcied immediately after miles south we6t ot the position on the ! by Gen. Ewell to charge, Gordon, holding Rapidan. Such has been the disposition comimyid of the movement, rushed through of tbe army of Northern Virginia during j the enemy’s first lines and captured as he the latter part of April. went forward a W’hole regiment, men offi- Grant having declined to assail Lee’s | cers and colors. Driving onward furious- l¥ont, determined to turn it by by amove- | ly lie struck hack the Federal front in con- ment on that officer’s right. He marched eastwardly from his cantonments in tlie country of Culpeper; and, having reached that/iver seven miles lower down, at Ger- j flank, it became necessary, under the rapid devel- however, found, after a long march, tc be imprae- opment of Grant’s masses of attack, to call it to ticable. Triumphant on botfi sides of the plank the support of the front. Its intrepid cldef, in- way, Lee decided on an attack in front. Perrin formed after midnight of the danger of Hill’s haviifg just moved by the left flank sufficiently corps, was ordered to move up the plank-road, far to admit those troops between his right and with the view of meeting the renewal of the j the plank road, Benning’s brigade, of Fields di shock of the 5th upon the right. Breaking up visiou, and Kershaw’s, of McLaws’ division, his bivouac. Longstreet commenced his march ! formed upon his right. Their line extended from about two o’clock in the morning to the field of the road-way was at right angles. Perrin and battle. Laws drawn up in array of battle parallel with Gen. Lee, concluding reasonably that a feint the road, lay, at the moment of the advance, upon the left would occupy sufficient time to de- transversely in the rear of Perrin’s left. Right lay the attack upon the right until the arrival and deployment of Longstreet’s men, regarded the 8 tate ot things, on tlie dawn of the 6tli, without alarm. Wilcox had, however, looked anxiously and left of the plank road the Confederates began to move forward. Kershaw, Benning and Perrin, finding the enemy, pushed onward, treely swing ing around their left somewhat adventurously into fusion upon its supports; and scattering | both like leaves before a storm, forced them | off the field in utter tout for a mile and a half. His front thus cleared, Gordon Ford, and also seven miles still j found the enemy’s lines firm on both of his lower down, at Elj’s Ford, crossed ihe Rapidan. The campaign in Northern Vir ginia, fraught as it is with the fate of the Confederate States and of the United States, took thus its initial form on the 3d of May. From Orange Court House—two throughout the night for the coming of the divis- the unknown depths of the forest through which ions of Anderson and Field ; and, disappointed in they moved. - the delay of their arrival, began at daybreak to j fl meantime Federal skirmishers spring cover.lns front by an abattis of felled trees. The from tree to tree as t]ley came 011 witll a ^ ” men employed for that purpose were immediately fire , drove in tLose of p erri n and Law. Followed fired upon by the enemy’s skirmishers ; and, in ; in hot haste by a blue line of battle, the whole the next moment, rushed to their nfles, before the , presse d back the brigades of those officers with advance ot an attack in heavy column. The bed- 1 grea t spirit towards the plank road. Alarmed erals had spent the night m securing good posi- by the firing going on during that moment in the lions for then’ onslaught of the morning; and, rear 0 f his left, Perrin sent his Adjutant, Capt. coming now in great force from points threaten- Wynne, to communicate oti the subject with Gen. ing Heth’s and Wilcox’s envelopment, forced tho — - — gallant divisions of those officers to waver —^ pike. Parallel lines in their general dilection, these movements stood at the time of the deploy ment of Kirtland’s brigade, from three to four miles apart. Tlie country intervening and round about for several miles is known as ihe “Wilder- 'ness;’’ aud having very few - ‘clearings,” consists almost wholly ot forest of dense undergrowth The enemy apparently bewildered by the charac ter of the sitq of the approaching conflict, sent out scouts and skirmishers, iu every direction from his front. Eight or ten of ttiese having strayed in between tho coPnin of Hill and that of Ewell, came into an open field iu which they' might have shot, as he sat with General Hill and otner officers on the ground, that idol of the army, Gen. Lee. Those adventurous blue-coats, finding themselves in front of the two brigades of Wil cox's division, made a rapid retreat, ignorant, most happily, that a very precious lite lay for a moment at the mercy of thrir rifles. „ u-n in. r i The interpolation of those skirmishers between rushed back to report to Gen. Hill. The Federal- nij o „„ « his two columns, suggested to General Lee the J ' sla pressed forward so vigorously hat he had but , (j ap t Wy nne led oil two regiments from tl necessity of opening communications with Ewell. | arr 1 ''*,. a fjb«Upomt when be looked back to ue poM . d flank : and had placed them in positi tit ion of suck au enterprise was prevented by an immediate junction with the line of battle that had just been restored on the right wing. The extreme left was held by the Geor gians of Gen. Gordon. Our line at that part of the field extended beyond the ene my’s right for the width of a brigade front. Gordon, anxious to employ this advan tage, urged that he be allowed to U6e it for a movement against the Federal flank.— Ewell and Early yielding to his repeated representations, finally gave him the order to move. Tbe sun was, however, at that instant, about to set; and but a limited tune remained, therefore, for the execu tion of an enterprise so important. But Gordon’s men moved briskly out of their works; and, forming alright angles to their previous position, moved forward in line of battle, supported by R. D. John ston’s brigade of North Carolinians. In complete surprise they struck the enemy’s flank; and crushing his array as they swept forward majestically,.- drove everything before tjgfBm like chaff before the wind’— Brigade after brigade fled from the Federal works, and, attempting, one after another, to wheel around into line in order to check • • T l • • . . 11* IICLLOOlir VI tiUEIIIUi; LA*!!! UI Ullicai IlfllN Willi . til* i • 3 ‘ , . . . 1 ... wings. Dr tdtng Ins men into two bodies Captain Hotchkiss, of the Engineers of the 2d j •"» disoraered ranks siting already withui tbe advance, was borne back under the Harris. That gallant fellow seeing that no time j the rapidity of Gordon’s movement before shattered in strength by the terrible struggle of gippiM^ou tli’e'face of the advancing*attack and J seething mass that struggled down upon the day before, and having already maintained a succee ded in driving,it back handsomely for a ll > 111 Utter rout. resistance tor three quarters of an hour against j 8u {fjcieut distance to give protection to the rear j Gordon swept all before him for a dis- numbers absolutely crushing, they finally gave ot Kershaw and Benning. Perriu—on ihe extreme j tanee along the enemy’s line of two miles, way. Continuing at hrst a desultory fare as they l e ft be it recollected— stood still, exposed to itu ! 'r> f orPS t tbrona-li which he advanced was retreated, the right win^. south of the plank-road, | danger. As the whole breadth of the line] A ne tot est through which headvancea was broke into disorder and finally fled in confusion from tlic plank-way retired, he endeavored at the J s0 “ ens ? wlth undergrowth, that by the before the enemy s overwhelming columns. same time to swing Lack his exposed wing, but 1 setting in of nightfall he had become sepe- Wilcox, seeing his lines shattered^hopelessly, 1 found it suddenly enfilated by the fire of the ene-) rated from his supports. Regram’s brig* my s skirmishers. His position ln‘c«mo critical. ; af ] e paused, however after nightfall, upon his left. He paused, before be had com- the ex position lie formed them at right angles to the line j Corps, having come up immediately afterwards, of his original advance; and sending them i indicated the route lor that purpose, and Wilcox's both forward back to back the masses on ! d,vi 1 i ’ n io "’ “ ovi . u « «“J>^mgly to theffelt-having ' captured two hundred of the enemy on the way —effected, after a march of h mile and a quarter his right and on his left in flank. Rress- ing on them so energetically as to have prevented their formation across either of roads—the turnpike and the plank road—I movement, he swept them in disorder run on a line somew hat north of east to FicdericksLurg. general parallel. ^r of earth; its course, butes in and out on the south side of the generally staright line, known as ihe turn pike. A plank way runs from Culpeper Court House to Germanna Fotd. Extend- tog southeastw'ardly, it crostcs the turn- I-'ke; and after a rout of four or five miles '“I'M that, terminates on the Orange R 6:l Vrcdricksburg plankroad. Besides tsiain lines several others traverse \Vri!t lry aroui *d the battle field ot ‘ I the —6ome pursuing a course par- a ® with these, some crossing them more °r less tra, IS ve rE ,.i y . 'tan*, s columns advanced from the ifapidan on the 34 0 f May. That which ed fr0m Kl} Ford followed au ear- q 1 heading to the junction of the p au d Fredricksburg plank road J n %‘ rom Culpeper Court House, by ay Ol Gci’ftjanna Ford; while the othw > mm moved down the latter route to the not ® J' 011 .* 1 ’ J T W junction once gained, only had the position of Lee ou the apidau been turned, but several roads ^ Richmond would have been lain open. well s Corps having been encamped l -ee a right, moved eastward}^ on the —.-l juuctiou with Gordon’s brigade, on Ewell’s extreme right. The line of battle, thus complet ed, extended from the right of the plank road „ ... - „ . ~ ... p i through, a succession of open fields and dense Confederate trout «oi a width or , forest to the left of the turnpike. It presented a I front of six miles; aud, with Flat Creek In Its rear, . - , .. , , , _ , . moment of Gordon’s brilliant occupied a very irregular plan along the broken ] tba* l b e ra P J 4 movement and heavy fare of the en- luoiucuL ui .juiuuu o i - • - --** - 1 - - * 1 emy s advance would prevent the deployment of .. the approaching columns in line. Kershaw’s own very irregular, vi- ] Gcneial Stafford. A deadly conflict on j j a y along the whole face of the Confederate ar- These two routes arc in The plank road consists from the a mile. At the m the rear just as Davis’ fine brigade of’Mississip-I plcted a movement that if nndertakenear- °^. ^ °f 9 e ?’ ^ ee ' Die head j p i a n 8 came sweeping up to complete, by counec- Her iu the day, would have completely of McLaws fane division ot Longstreet s corps I titlg wit fa Harris' right, the protection of the I at j aao / 1 G„hr Th« immediately, under the commaud ot | wb ,,j e transveise front, Harris and Davis having came up Brig. Geu Kershaw, and so out-spoken was the augury of victory in its flashing eyes that its ap- pearauce bound up at ouce the wouQded spirits of Heth and Wilcox as they writhed in the presence of Gen. Lee under a reverse which that officer declared during the day had illumiuated their previous struggle with unflinebiug constancy. Apprehension waa for a moment, eutertainccl, of one track ol worn /anting, and nno.h- j cl,arge tbe enemy attacked, tbe brigade of| that part of the field raged for sometime doubtfully. The marksmanship ofStaff ord’s Louisianians, howevor, shot truly to the buckles of the Federal belts; and 6trewed the field with dead and agony.— Reeling under its deliberate fire dthe ene my finally fled, marking his route with his killed and wounded, and adding to h ; s ray is so impenetrable as to have excluded the use of artillery by the enemy, save only for the breadth of those openings where it is penetrated on tlie left by the old turnpike, and on the right by the plank road. ’The attack on Ewell having been repulse J, musketry began at half-past two to deepen iu volume in front of Hill- Large columns of the enemy, enveloped in clouds of the dust, were seen at that time moving up from the rear in the brigade of Soutli Carolinians and Humphrey's brigade pf Mississippians having the advance of Lougstreet’s corps, had the honor to be the first to form Drawing up across the plank road—thus covering the trains, tlie artillery, and the shatter ed retreat of Heth and Wilcox—they at mice checked the enemy's advance, in the teeth of a tire, in which they stood firm, as though it were a storm of mere hail. Their resistance, it was, •however, feared at the time, could not he main tained formany minutes. Their front swept by a tempest of bullets, they were threatened, on their Drisoners In his reDulse however, the ! intersection of the plank road from Germatia Ford right ffank. with envelopment. T heir heroic tirm prisoners. In hu repulse, uowcver, ine , witb tbat from Qr f Court ii on se, opening as n . e “ triumphed, however; for the .ing of heir Confederates have to mourn the loss of, ;t would a favorab j e hue for Federal advance nfles lmd - ^ffore long, whirred tts death rattle in Brigadier General Stafford. He fell mor-: southwardly, was shown by the enemy’s move- »o many a Federal heart, that the assadantei began, tally wounded. He had been a planter] meuts to be about to become the subject of a after a while, to recoil. Other brigades having, of Louisiana; but having gone through j bloody encouuter. , p -i i ; vr I heth s skirmishers were driven in aoout three most of the battles in Northern > M g- B a » | o’clock. They were followed closely by a heavy had become an excellent officer; and was ; column, that appeared to move forward spiritedly, not more beloved by his men for his gen*; Firing with great rapidity , as it advanced, its rices, than he was adnrired by them far £ forest like tho joar of mighty waters. Resolute defence on the one hand, mid on the other an at- tack that sought to force its way rather by con- staut pressure than by dashing enterprise, the struggle in Hill’s front continued for two or three- hours, unbroken in its terrible monotony by even any disturbance of tbe rapid regularity with which it added to its masses of grim death or ol mortal agony. Heth’s division bore, at first, tbe whole brunt ot tbe Federal onslaught, The heavy columns his daring. Soon after the onslaught upon the Con federate front, the Gtli Corps of the Fede ral army advanced upon its left flank. Coming up at right angles to the line of movement of the 5th Corps, its skirmishers were encountered by those thrown out in anticipation of attack iu that direction from the Stonewall Brigade. Sedgwick, iu the meantime, begun to drop into line on the right, the enemy was soon afterwards checked at all points; and the tide of battle commenced, af ter a short time, to roll slowly back. McLaws’ division once in line, under Kershaw, Fields’ men formed on it as they came up. An derson’s splendid fellows, left by General Hill to guard fords iu the rear of the march from the Rapidan, soon came in a rush. Commanded by General Mahone, they deployed immediately iu array of battle. Breadth and weight thus given to Lee’s front, the lortuues ol the day quickly turned. The Confederate line moved majestical ly forward, and, in the teeth of a bloody and stub born resistance, mowing down the enemy’s rafaks with its terrific musketry as with the sword of tbe destroying augel, drove him back for nearly a mile. Confederate loss in that service number ed, in killed and wounded, but twenty- seven. To the enemy the results involv ed terrible slaughter Four hundred Fed eralists were buried next day in the ground over which that admirable movement had been made. Tho field for two miles in extent was strewed with trophies flung wildly away— knapsacks, blankets, cartouche boxes, cooking utensils, and even large supplies of abandoned rations. Tbe rout was one of iodiscribable panic. The woods in front were alive with masses of men strug gling to escape with life. The Gth corps of the army of the Potomac was so com pletely broken up, that, unable to restore its spirit, Gordon bivouacked for the night in its immediate front, iu undisturbed re pose. A brilliant stroke thns closed on Ewell’s front tbe second day of the bat tle of the Wilderness in a crowning tri- tbus savefl, by a timely ntoveuieot, the three brig ades ou the left, the artillery trains, &e., on that highway, and the Hue of the plank road. The enemy foiled in his desigu, fell back after a brief eucount.r, from their front. The symmetry of the Confederate line was restored, subsequently in the day, by tbe disposition of Hill’s whole corps on Longstiwt’s Tight. The forward movement progressed on the right of the plank road while events were thus threaten- ing it on the left. Longstreet’s men on that part of the field ^noved forward, went on for some dis tance without finding the enemy until (J. T. An derson’s Brigade of Georgians coming on, an ar ray of battle iu Federal blue rushed at it with such impetuosity as totfave become almost imme diately master of the field-wciks. The single line of this attack was. • however, too weak to hold what it had so handsomely won ; and having been, as is too often the case in those apparently ill-ad vised charges of the Confederates, unsupported, was compelled, by the concentration of a crush ing force ia its front to retire. The work of war on the right was done. So alarming had beeu the aspect of the field at one time that, fearing for the con stancy of his troops, General Lee had, as ! nmph. Fields’ division came under fire, placed! Victory smiled during the night of the himself at the head < f Gregg’s brigade of Texans. Ordering them, in that devotion which constitutes the great charm of his 6th of May on the warriors that lay sleep ing, Horn right to left, behind Lee’s works. The losses of tbe Confederates in killed. character, to follow him in a charge upon j wounded and missing do not exceed, for the triumphant line that came sweeping | tbe two days, six thousand. The-results down upon him over tbe debris of Heth’s j to the enemy in some parts of the field, aud Wilcox's divisions. Longstteet prates- j cannot be described by any word loss for- ted against such an «xposnre of a life so , cible than massacre Eleven hundred and. valuable. A gritn and ragged soldier of: twenty-five Federal dead were buried ia the line raised his voice in determined re-! front of that part of Ewell’s line lying t<» monstrance; and was immediately followed by tbe rank and file of the whole brigade in positive refusal to advance until their the left of the turnpike. Five hundred more weroburied ou the right of that road, aud, iu addition to about a hundred ofiis