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BATTLE NEAR RICHMOND, KENTUCKY.

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was again restored to a region which had been desolated by all the horrors of the most inhuman and savage warfare.

On the 30th of August, 1862, a desperate conflict took place at Rodgersville, six miles from Richmond, Kentucky, between the Federal and Rebel forces, which resulted in a complete and disgraceful overthrow to the champions of the Union. The Federal troops consisted of the ninetyfifth Ohio, the twelfth, sixteenth, sixty-sixth, sixty-ninth, and seventy-first Indiana, the eighteenth Kentucky, together with two regiments of cavalry, under Colonel Metcalf, and nine field-pieces. These troops amounted to about eight thousand men, and were commanded by General M. D. Manson. The Rebel forces numbered fifteen thousand, and were under the orders of General Kirby Smith. On the day preceding the battle, the Union pickets were driven in from Big Hill, ten miles south of Richmond. General Manson then attacked the Rebels, with a portion of his men, and gained a decided advantage. After this skirmish, he moved his troops to Rodgersville and halted for the night, waiting for the approach of the enemy. When the next day dawned, the pickets of the Rebels were encountered. The line of battle was soon formed, and after some partial and preliminary operations, the engagement became general between all the forces. At first the fortune of the day seemed in favor of the Federals. The sixty-ninth Indiana, commanded by Colonel Korf, being ordered to support the troops on the left, who were heavily pressed, executed the movement with great gallantry. They assailed the enemy with spirit, and drove them back. But all their heroism was vain. The immense superiority in numbers which the enemy possessed, compelled the sixtyninth to give way. The panic now spread from regiment to regiment. Lieutenant-Colonel Topping was killed. Major Conkling also fell. The fire and fury of the Rebels became resistless, and a general rout ensued. The chase was continued two miles and a-half. General Manson then succeeded in reforming his men in line of battle, and renewed the engagement. His artillery was posted on his right and left wings, and his troops fought with some steadiness, though with much irregularity and confusion. This circumstance resulted from the fact that they were nearly all raw recruits, who had scarcely borne arms a month. They soon became panicstricken, again broke, and fled in the utmost disorder toward Richmond. Before reaching that town, they were met by Major-General Nelson, who was approaching from Lexington. He endeavored to stem the ignominious tide; succeeded, with the assistance of the officers, in again rallying the fugitives; and for the third time they were placed in line of battle. But it was now ascertained that the ammunition of the artillery was exhausted. During the flight, the immense number of stragglers, deserters, and captives, had reduced the Federal force to about three thousand men. These were now very nearly surrounded by the enemy. They again fled in greater disorder than before. It was necessary for them to cut their

way through a portion of the Rebel host, to escape capture. In effecting this operation, General Nelson was wounded by a musket-ball in the thigh; though he afterward succeeded in reaching Lexington. The enemy pursued the Federals into Richmond, expelled them thence, and took possession of the place before night. The broken remains of the Union force continued their flight beyond the reach of the enemy. Their loss was heavy. Their killed, wounded, and missing amounted to one third of their entire body. This defeat was one of the most overwhelming and unfortunate which had afflicted the Federal cause during the progress of the war. It was a fitting continuation of the disgraceful retreat of the troops commanded by General DeCourcy, from Tazewell to Cumberland gap, on the preceding 9th of August, where the bravery of the men was rendered wholly unavailable through the apparent incompetence of the commanding officer.

The remarkable success which the arms of the Confederates had recently obtained, and the vigor with which they were able to repel the most determined efforts of the Federal Government to crush and conquer them, inspired them with confidence and increased their audacity. The result was that they now conceived the resolution no longer to act on the defen sive, but to become themselves the invaders of the loyal territory. The Rebel leaders confidently expected to find sympathy and co-operation in Maryland. They imagined that a powerful disunion sentiment lay slumbering within the breasts of a large proportion of the population of that State, which only required the presence of Confederate armies in their midst, to evoke into active and resistless operation. Accordingly, that portion of their troops which had engaged Pope at Manassas, commenced to move from their position in the vicinity of Fairfax Court House, and approached the Potomac on the 5th of September. Proceeding through Leesburg they crossed at the ferries of Edwards, Conrad, Nolen, and Smith, which are situated about forty miles above Washington. In their progress they destroyed the bridge over the Monocacy. On the morning of the 6th, their advance under General Hill, reached Frederick, and took possession of the town. They also held Point of Rocks and Poolesville. The advance of the invading force was commanded by General Jackson. Such property of the Federal Government as fell into their hands, they retained or destroyed. The property of individuals, they protected in accordance with the promise contained in the proclamation which General Lee addressed to the inhabitants of Maryland, when he entered the State. In that proclamation, being dated at Frederick, September 8th, 1862, he endeavored to convince the people of Maryland that they had suffered innumerable wrongs at the hands of the Federal Government; and he tendered his services and those of his troops to assist them in recovering their inalienable rights as freemen, of which they had been ignominiously deprived. But the inhabitants of Maryland were not aware of the fact