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lent effect. Their artillery did not do much injury, as Palmer had silenced eight guns with his regiments, who under cover acted as sharpshooters, and picked off the cannoneers as often as they advanced to work their pieces. No better evidence can be given of the desperate nature of the conflict between Judah's division and the enemy, than the loss in McLean's brigade, which went into the fight with one thousand three hundred and eighty-eight men, and lost five hundred and ninety-five in the short time it was engaged. General Newton's division pressed the enemy strongly, and inflicted serious injury upon him. Every man, with the exception of half a dozen stragglers, stood up to the work like veterans. A piece of a shell struck Generals Hooker and Manson, but both escaped without serious injury, General Hooker remaining on the field for some time, while General Manson is rapidly recovering from the effects of the shock. About two o'clock the firing on the centre in front of Newton subsided into a slight skirmish fire.

The division of General Cox, which finally turned up on Judah's left, fought with great pluck and obstinacy, driving the skirmishers back upon their main line and the line into their breastworks, from which they poured into his ranks an incessant fire of shell and ball; across valleys, up hills, through gorges, and ravines, they were driven, until they gained their first line of rifle-pits. Cox soon dislodged them and sent them back howling to their more formidable breastworks. At this moment Cox found that he was out of ammunition, and by some stupid blunder on the part of somebody, the trains were too far in the rear from which to replenish his cartridge-boxes. Yet he was determined not be foiled, and gathering together all his strength, he advanced his line. A cheer went up from his boys, and resounded through the hills as his serried line advanced upon the enemy's works, which they carried at the point of the bayonet in splendid style; but not without the loss of many brave men.

outside of Turchin's brigade, was light. Captain McDowell, a promising young officer of the Fifteenth Kentucky, was killed during the engagement. Captain Sheridan, of the Sixth Ohio, well-known in Cincinnati as an actor of some ability, is among the wounded, and will probably be compelled to submit to the amputation of his right arm.

The Fourth corps, under command of MajorGeneral Howard, the "one armed veteran," as he is styled in the corps, played a very conspicuous part in the tragedy of war enacted to-day. All the corps, with the exception of Beatty's fighting brigade, for which room could not be found, as the circle was gradually compressed as we advanced, was engaged and covered itself with imperishable glory. Wood's division was ordered into position on the right of General Stanley just before noon, and was soon hotly engaged with Hazen's and Willich's brigades driving the enemy. For some time a destructive infantry and artillery fire was kept up, and ere long his main line advanced in overwhelming strength upon the enemy, who fled, at his approach, to his rifle-pits, from which the energetic Wood soon dislodged him and compelled him to seek shelter under cover of their breastworks, from which he was driven later in the day. Hazen and Willich's losses were severe, but nothing in comparison with those in the Twenty-third corps, which, to-day, bore the brunt of the battle.

After three o'clock the resistance offered by the enemy on the centre, through which he had vainly striven to force a passage, grew more lax, and very little firing other than skirmishing was heard. Foiled at every point in his efforts to break our walls of iron that environed him, Johnston, early in the afternoon, commenced massing heavily on our left, where Stanley, with as brave a division as ever marched to the music of the Union, had been skirmishing and feeling the enemy while awaiting the developments of the enemy's attempt to break the centre. Generals Sherman and The heaviest fighting of the day was on the Thomas were not slow to detect the enemy's centre. Palmer's corps, on the right of New-design, and preparations to resist it were at ton's division, had heavy skirmishing along the whole line, lasting from half-past twelve until one o'clock, when Carlin's brigade, of Johnson's division, advanced down a slope of a hill, and drove the enemy into their breastworks on the south side of a hill, rising out of the valley on the south. An assault on the breastworks was not ordered. The brigade at once sought cover in a ditch, formed by a dried up stream, and until night covered them, acted as sharpshooters and did good execution in silencing batteries engaged in enfilading Judah and Newton. Mitchell's brigade, of Davis' division, got into a similar position and picked off every rebel whose head protruded above the breastworks.

Turchin's brigade, of Baird's division, joined Judah on the left of Palmer's corps and fought desperately, but were compelled to fall back with Judah's division. The loss in the corps, VOL. XI.-Doc. 4.

once commenced. Joe Hooker's gallant Potomac veterans were selected at once, and immediately retired from the line and commenced moving to the left of Stanley, whose flank was covered by McCook's cavalry, in front of which Johnston was massing his columns for the desperate effort. Hooker arrived none too soon.

At seven o'clock, when quiet reigned along the whole line, with an occasional interruption from a sharpshooter's rifle, the expected attack came. Down upon Stanley's exposed flank came the enemy in overwhelming numbers. For a few minutes the line nobly resisted the terrific shock; but as it was renewed with ten-fold fury by the enemy, who fought with a desperation equal to anything ever performed by our own soldiery, the line wavered, and the regiments on the left were giving back in confusion and disorder, when, above the roar of the artillery

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and musketry that seemed to make the old hills tremble and quake, a cheer was heard, and into the deadly breach, over the dead bodies of the fallen, came on the double-quick Robinson's brigade, who advanced to the assault with desperate determination to drive back the solid columns of the enemy, and save the army from disaster. Nobly they met the enemy, and when the shock came, reeling like drunken men, the line of the enemy was broken and sent back, smarting under the shock. The contest was of short duration, but, while it lasted, the roar of artillery and the roll of musketry told that this was one of the most critical moments of the day-a period when the heart of the listener seemed to stand still in suspense. The Fourth corps will never forget Hooker and the noble brigade which, at a moment when the fate of the army, and perhaps of the nation, hung upon a slender thread, which the enemy would have severed, came up and turned the tide of battle. A nation's thanks are due to Joe Hooker, and may it never forget Robinson's brave brigade, whose gallantry to-night is on every tongue.

In summing up the results of the day, I am pained to say that, while we have driven the enemy at every point where he presented himself in force, our losses are heavy. Probably two thousand will not cover the killed, wounded, and missing. Nearly all of the killed and wounded are in our hands, as we were not driven a foot, except in those instances already recorded. Our line on the left centre and centre has advanced over a mile from its position of the morning. We have made heavy slaughter in the enemy's ranks-whose loss must be larger than ours. We have lost but a few prisoners, and taken about two hundred, among whom is the Colonel of the Nineteenth Alabama regiment, a very intelligent officer, who estimates the rebel forces, including Polk, who is here, at fifty-five thousand. He informs me that their only loss in General officers is Brigadier-General Tucker, slightly wounded. So far, all goes well. The enemy is hemmed in between our lines and the river, which is not now fordable, and will hardly get off without giving us a general engagement. When the student of military strategy takes up a map and examines the country of this region of Georgia, he cannot but feel impressed with the masterly movements of Sherman, which have placed us in so favorable a position.

Sunday, May 15.

During last night quiet reigned along the whole line, the enemy being very quiet and rarely firing a shot. The falling of trees and the sound of axmen, however, convinced our commanders that the rebels were erecting stronger fortifications upon the innumerable hills that rise out of the valley. At half-past seven in the morning our skirmishers opened fire upon the rebel line, which was as vigorously returned upon the left and left centre. The enemy, however, did not seem disposed

to attack with their main line, after the fearful slaughter and repulse that Hooker administered to them last night. It was not until nine or ten o'clock in the morning that the Twentieth corps arrived from the right, and got into position on Stanley's left. The Twenty-third corps was immediately withdrawn from the right of the line and thrown in on the left. As our line was nearly fourteen miles long, these necessary changes occupied nearly the entire morning, so that mid-day arrived ere we were ready to make the assault on the enemy's works.

Hooker threw forward Butterfield's division against the enemy's strongest position, supported by Williams' and Geary's divisions, and the battle opened vigorously on both sides. Hooker fought for three or four hours and made steady headway, carrying line after line of rifle-pits, until Butterfield's division encountered a lunette of formidable size. Several attempts were made to carry it, and capture its four guns, which were pouring a destructive fire into our lines, but the attempt was futile, The troops fought with great desperation, but as often as they advanced upon the lunette the terrific volleys of musketry from the enemy in the fortification hurled them back in confusion. At last Butterfield charged forward and took a position under the protecting works of the fort, so close to the guns within that they could be touched by the men's hands. In the effort to gain this unexposed position, the contest was a bloody one, Geary's division supporting Butterfield. Ward's brigade, which were participating in their first battle, fought with marked determination, and contributed much to secure the position.

After vain efforts to capture the lunette, from which the enemy poured into our ranks grape, canister, and sharpnel, Hooker's forces gave up the unequal contest, and during the balance of the day lay under the breastworks protected from the enemy's fire, and picking off every rebel who showed himself above the works. Darkness found him in this position, and he at once matured plans for capturing the works by strategy, under cover of the night. The pioneers were brought up; the ends dug out of the works, and the guns drawn out by the aid of ropes, under a destructive fire from the occupants of the works, who were driven out or captured, as our troops swarmed in through the opening in overwhelming numbers. The guns were four twelve-pound brass pieces; a number of battle-flags, including those of the Thirty-eighth and Thirty-fifth Alabama, were captured, with over two hundred prisoners. Prisoners report General Walthall (rebel) killed, and General Tucker wounded.

The losses in Hooker's corps were very heavy, especially in the repeated charges upon the enemy's works. Butterfield lost about five hundred; Geary one hundred; and Williams' division about one hundred and fifty, making Hooker's loss about seven hundred and fifty in the battle of the afternoon. The Twenty-third

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