The Battle At Bull's Run

Froto the Ncjw York World. On tbe night preceding tlie battle Gon. Oiimeron visited the camp, revinwed the ïhird Tylcr Brigade, passed a few hours with Gen. McDoweil, and then left for Washington, iu spirits depressed by no premohitioa of the disaster which was to befall our arm, and tho private grief which would add a deeper sorrow to the feeliiigs whieh lio now exporionces. After uiidnight a carriego was placed at Gen. MoDowell's tent, whicli was to bcar him to tho sccno of otion. In order to be ready to move with the army, I went down to the familiar quarters of Lieut. Tompkins, whose company was attached to the Goneral's escort, and there slept an liour while our horses ate the only forage they werí to have for a day and a half. At two o'olook we were awakeued ; the army had commenced to move. Thcro was moonlight, as I have said ; and no moonlight scène ever offerocl more varying themes to the genius of a great artist. Through the hazy valleys, and ou hill ilope' miles apart, were burning the fires at which forty regiments had prepared their midnight meal. ín tho vistas opening aloug a dozen lines of view, thousands of meu were moving among the fitful beacons, horses were harnessing to artillery ; white army wagons were iu motion with the ambulances - whoso black covering, when one thought about it, seemed as appropriate as that of the coffin which accompanies a condemned man to the death beforo him. All was silent confusión, and inUrrningling of horses and mee But forty tliousand sol liers stir as quiokly as a dozen, and in fifteen minutes from the commence meut of the buslle, every regiment had taken its place, ready to fall into the división to which it was assigned. Gen. McDowell and staff went in the center of Tyler's, the central column. At 2i A. M. tho last soldier had lelt the exten ded encampuiSüts, cxeept those remaining behind on güard. Tho central line appearcd to offer the best chances for a survey of tho impendiug action, and in deiaul't of any certain pre knowledge, was accompanied by all DOn-participants whom interest or duty had dravvn to the movement of the day. In order to obtain a full review of its moonlight mareb to the most momcmlous effort of tbe campaign, I started at the extreme roar aud rapidly passed along to the van of the column. For somo time the central and right divisions were uuited, the latter forming oii' as I have explaiued, about a mile beyoud Ccntreville. So, leaving camp about a mile below tho the village, I enjoyed the first spectacle of tho day - a scène never to pass from the uieniory of thoso who saw it. Here were thousands of eomrades-iu arms going forward to lay down their lives iu a conimon cause. llore was all and more than one had read of thesolemn paraphernalia of war. These wero not tho armics of the aliens to us, but with the colors, the offieers, every regiment, wo were so familiar that those of each had for us their c-wn interest, and a different charm. - We kaew the men, their discipline, their respective héroes; what corps were most relied on ; whose voice was to be that oí' Héctor or Agamemnon in tho coming fray. How anotlier day would hange all this. How some long vaunted battallions would perhaps loso their as yet uncarned prestige, while accident or heroism should gild tho standards of many before undistinguished ! Then, as I followed along that procession of rumbling cannou carriages and caissons, standards and bannen, the gluaniing infantry, with their thousands of shilling bayonets, and the mounted offieers of every staff. what fino exeitement was addod to the occasion by the salutations aud last assurauces of the many oomradca dcarer than the rest. The spirit of the soldicry was magnificent They were all smarting ander the reproach o!' Thursday, aud longing for tho opportunity to wipe it out. There was a glowing rivalry between the men of different States. "Old Massachusetts will not bo ishamcd of us us to-night." "Wait till the ühio boys get at thom." "We'll fight for Now York to-day,"' and a hundred similar utterances were shouted from the different ranks. The ofiicers were as glad of the taskij assigned them as their men. I rodo a few momonts with Lieut. Col. Haggerty, of the SixtyNinth. He mentioned the newspaper statement that he was killed in the foruier b.ittle, and laughing, said ihat hc feit very warlike for a dcací man, aud that he was good for at least ouc battle more. - This brave officer was almost the first victim of the day, Tho cheery voice of Meaghor, lale the Irish, Lut now the American patriot, rang out more heartily than ever. Then there wero Corcoran and Burnsidc, and Keyes, and Spiedel, and many anothor skillcd and gallaut officer, all pushing forward to the first fruition of their three months' patiout. preparation. In the ranks of the Gonnccticut and othcr regimonts, wero old classmates and fellovv-tuwnsraen, with whom it was a privilege to exchange a word on this so different an occasion from any anticipatcd iu those days when all the States wero loyal, aud tho word "disnuiou" was a portion of an unknown tongue. Gen, McDowell's carriago halted at the juneturo of the two roads, a placo most favorablo to the quiek receptiou of dis patelies fram all portions of the field. - Tho column as.-signed to Ooi. Iluntcr here dividüd from the main body and went on its unkuown, perilous journey around the euomy's flank. A mile along - and by this time the white mornins twilight gave us a clearer prospect than the fading radiance which had thus far illumed the march - we could look across an opou country on the left to tho farm-house where wo kuew t ol. ltichardsou to be stationed, and to the blood-stnincd valley beyond, whose uppor reaohes wore now to be tho aronn of a larger conflict. But it was after sunrise when tho van of Gen. Tyler's column came to tho cdge of the wooded hills overlooking thoso reachea The sun had risen as splendid as tho suu of Aniterlitï. Was it an auspicious omen for us, or for the foo 't Who could forctell? The soonery was too brilliant and full of nature's own peaoo, for ono to believo in tho tumult and oarnage just at hand, or that ainong those green oak forests lurked cvory ongino of dostruotion which human contrivauco bas produoed, with hosis ot an enemy moro dangorous and subtle than the wild beasts which had here once mado their hiding plaoes. Then, too, i t was Sunday morn. ing Even in tbe wilderness the saered j day seems purer and more hushod than , any otlior. It was ours to first jar npon the stillness of tho niorning, and becloul the clearness of that sereno atmosphere : with the rude claügor of tho avantmesseiiger that heralded our challenge to a disloyal foe. TUK 1SATTLB. Fro: tha point I mention, where tho road slopes down to tho protected ravne, we canglit tho first gliinpse ot the onemy. A line of infantry wasdrawo np iigiiinst the meadow in the extreme dis tunee, resting closo upon wonda b;hind them. We could see the refleotion ot bayoneta, and their regular disposition showed them, an expeotnnt of attack. Afccr a moment's inspeotion, Gen. Tyler ordered üurlisle to advance with hls battüry to the front, and here one could not think of anything but Milton's line, " vanguard 1 to right and left n front unfo'd." The ancient order for the di-sposition of advance ranka ia still in military usage. For the second and third Tyler brigade under Schend:, were at once formeiJ in line of battle, in the woods on eilher side - the First Ohio, Second Wisconsin, Seventy-ninth, and Sixty-ninth New York Regiments, succeedingeach other on the right and the Second Ohio and Second New York being similarly placed on the left, while the artillery catne down the road bcitween. A great 32 pound rified Parrot trun - the only one of its calibro in our field service - was brought forward, made to boar on the point where we had just seen the enemy (for the bayoneta suddenly diaappeared in the woods beliind), and u phell was fired at 6:15 A. M., which borfet in the air ; but the report of the pieco awoke the country, for leagues arouud, to a sense of whut was the order of tho day. The reverberaiion TFas tromendoun, shaking thro' the hills liko the volley of a dozen plebian cannon, nnd the roar of tbe revol ving iihell indescribable. T.irougboat Itie battle that gun, whonever it was fired, seemed to hush and overpower everything. We waited a moment for an a!?avvor'nS s'1', butreceiving none, sent'the seco::! shell ata hil!-top, two miles off, where we snspeoteu ïbï a battery had boen plantod by tbo robels. The bomb burst like an echo close at the intended point, but still nu answer carne, and Gen. Tyler ordered Carliale to cease firing, and bring the rest óf his battery to the front of the woods and our column ready lor instant ac-. tion. It was now about seven o'clock. For half an hour little more was dona ; then shirrniahurt) were deployed irito tho forost on each side in order to discover the whereabouts of our neareat loes. Bofore us lay a rolling and oomparatively open country, but with several liills and groves cutting off any extended view. In the western distance on the loft we could eee the outskirts Manasas Junction. The woods at whoae edge oiir line of battlo formed, extended half around the open fieldsin a kind of semi-circle, and it was into the arms of this crescent that our skirmishers advanced. Soon we began to haar random shots exchanged in the thicket on the left, which proved an enemy in that diroction. (What can be dono against men vvho, to a!l the scienco and disci pune of Europoun warfure adel more th'in tho meannessand oowardly treaehery ol tho Indiana? We had, all tbroUgh the day, to hunt for the foe, though ho numbered his myrïada I tnen.) At the same time, a scout on thu right oaptured a negro native, whö was lud to ihu General, staking with tear and anxious to ïrtipart such infrruatioa as ho had. Through i in we learned that the rebels wero quartered among tho woods cm the right and luft, and in the grovo in tho open country ; that thev had ereutod a battery on tho diatant hill, and had kept hiin at vvork ior three di.ys assisting to feil trees, so that a clear range of' tho road we oo cupied could bo obtaincd. By Ihis timeour scouts reported tho enemy in some foroo on the left. Two or three Ohio ikirmtshera had been killed. Oarhsle's battery was sent to the front ot the woods on the right, where it could be brought to play where needed. A fovv shells were thrown into tbe opposite thicket, and tlien the Second Ohio and Setond New York murehed down to route out the enemy. In ten minutes their musketry was heard, and then a heavy conminado answered. They had without doubt, fallen upon a battery ín the bushes. For n quarter of an hour their firing continued, when thoy came out in good order, confirming our stirinises. After advancing u farloug they saw the enerny, who exchanged their fire and retirad through the forest. Suddunly from a different diroction a voiee was heard(exclaiming, " Nnw,you Yankee devils, we've got you whore we want you !" and severa! guns won; opened upon them with suuh ellect that Schenck linally ordered thern to retire, which they did in perfect order. The b.iys came out poifec-tly indignant at tlie praotiae of the rebels, and sweuring they wonld rather fight three times their forco in tho open field than encounter tho deadly niyatery of those tliickets. No soliliers are Willing to have their tighting eniirely confined to storminií infernal earthuorks at the point ot' the bayonet Every regiment, yestorday, was at times a"forlorn hope." A few dead and wounded began to ba brought in, and the battle of MaBassas had commenced. Cuiiisle's howitzera and the great rifled gun were opened in the direotion of tho battery 1 whieh answered proinptly, and a blief but terrific, cannonading en-ued. In less than half an hour the enemy's guns were silenced, two of Carlislo's howitzers udvancing through the woods to gain a oloéer position. But a fatal error was here made, as I thought, by Gon. Tyler, in not ordering in a división to drive out tho four rebel regimenta Btationed behind the battery, and to seize its eight guns. Through some inexplioable iatuity ho seomed to hssume that when a battery was silenced it was convinced, and there it remair.ed with its defenderá upbeard from and unthought of unül tho latter portion ol ■ the day when it iormed ono cause of our final defeat. It is act'ually a fopt that whileonr whole forces were pushed dong tho richt to a co-operation with Hunter's flanking colutnn, aad a dititance of two miles in advtince, this I position on thsleft, clope to the scano of iheominenoemcnt of the fjght, and just in front of all our traína and an;muniliOQ wagons- a posilion chosan by all Rpectutoi'a as tho most secure - ; was, through the day, in five minutos reaufa of a concealed lorce of infantry and u battery which had only been " s'rltmced " j'o luroe was Btationed to gaard the rear oí our left flank. It was neur thia very poiot, aud with tho assistunco of thia very infantry, that the enerny'a final charge was" made, ; whioh created euch irretnevable con I lusiun and dismay. And afier thu firflt lew houra no oíBoer cüuld be found in ' thia viciuity to pay any attention to its seourity. All had gono forward to follow tho line of the contest. Meantime, Richardson, on the extreme left eould not content himself with " maintaining his position," tbr we heard occasional discharges from two of his guns. Howover, he took no other part in the u-tion than by shelling the forcea of the enemy wbkifa were sent rapidly from hia vioinity to thu inmediato poirit of contest. From the bill oehind we could see long columns advaneing, and at first thought that they woro Irtich ardson 's men moving on Buil Kun, but soon discovercd their truo character. Indeed from every southward point the eneiny's rciiiforcemcnts began to pour in by thousands. Groatclouds of dust arose from tho distant road. A person who ascended i lofiy tree could seo the continual arrival ol the cars at the noarest poiut on the Munassas liailroad with hosts of soldiers, who tormed in solid squares and moved sw,ftly forward tojoin in the con test. The whistle of' il.o locomotivo was plainly audible to those in our advanco. It is bulieved that at kast lifty thousar.d were added during tho day to the thirty thousand rebels opposed to us at the onset. It was hard lor our no ble fellows to withstand theso ir.cessant reinforoeraonts, but BOine of onr regiments whipped soveral corps opposed to them in qutck succession, and wheüover our forcea, fresh or tired, met tho enemy in opon field they made short work of his opposi.ion, At 10 J A. M. Ho&ter was heard from on the extreme right. He had nreviously sent a courier to General McDowea, reporting thftt he had safely crossed tho ïlun. The General was lying on the ground, having been ül daring the night, but at once inounLC' his horse and rodo on to join the column on which so much depended. From tho tretgbborhood of Sudley Church he saw the onomy's left in battlo arrav, and at onco advancotl npon ihem with the Fourteenth New York and a battalion oí regular infantiy - Colonel Hunter ordering up the stalwart Rhodo Island regiments, one led by that model of the American volunteer - Burnside - tho Second New llampshire, and our own finely disciplinod Sevcnty tírst. Gov. Öpraguo hunself directe'd the movemonts of the Khodo Island brigade, and was conppici.ous throughout the day lor g.illentry. The enemy were found in heavy numbersoppontte this unexcelled división of our army, and greeted it with shell and long volleys uf battalion as it advarrced. lint on it went, and a tk-rce contiict ensued in tho nórthern battlo ground As soon as Hunter wiis thua discowrod to be making his way on the flank Gen. Tyler sent iurward tho right wing of his column to oo-operate, nnd a grand force was thus bronght to buur most effectually on the eueiuy's lef t and centro. The Inmous Irish regiment, 1,600 dtrong, who havo had BO tnuoh of the hard digging to perforar, claimed the honor ot a.share oi thu hard fightiug, and lnd the van of Tyler'e attack, followed by the Seventy-ninth (Uighlanders), and the Thirteenth New York, and the Second Wiaconsin. It was a brave sight - the rush oí the Sixtv-ninth into the Ueuth stnigglo ! Witn such cheers as those whioh won tho battles in the Península, wlíh a quick step at first, aad then a dniblequick, and at last a run, they dashod torward and ulong the edgo oí the oxtended forest. Coats and knapsacks vvero thrown to either siile. tbat nothing might impede their work, but we knevv that no guns would slip frotn the hands of those determinad fullows, even if dying igonies were needed to olofo them vvith a tirmer grasp. As the line swept along, Meagher galloped tovrard the hoad, crying ''Come on boys! you've got your chance at last !" I have not since seen liim, but hear that ho fought magnifiüöntly, and is ■wounded. Tyler's farce thus moved forward for balt a inile, describing quite one-fourth of a circle on the right until they met a división of the oneiny, and of course a battery of the enemy's most approved ityle, THE HEAT OF THE CONTEST. It was noon, and now thebattlecom menced in the fierceness of its most extended lury. 'J'he batteries on the distant hills bcgan to phiy upon our own, and upon our advancing troop , with hot and thunderous effect. OarhelfiSBBWered for uh, and Sherman for Hunt er's Divisions, vvhilo the groat ö2pounder mldressed itt-elf resistlessly to thea Itermite defenses oí the foe. Tho noiso of the cannonading was deafon ing and conünuous. Conversely to the circumatanee of tho fonner engagement, it completely drownod, at this period, the volleys of theinuslretry and riflemen. It blanched the cheeks oí the villagers at Uentei ville, to the main street of -hich place some of the enemy's rifle shell were thrown. It was heard at Fairfax, at Alexandria, at Washington itself. Five ot six heavy batteries wero in operation at once, and to their clamor was added the lesser rol] of twenty thousand Binall arms. What could we civilians seu of the fight at this time ? Little : yet perhaps more iban thoy who engaged in it. EÏOW anxious we strained our eyes to oatch tho various movements, thoughtless oí every thing but the i-pectac!e ond the succussts and reversos of the Federal army. Our inñtntry were engitged in tho woodd and moadows beyond our view. We knew not tho nni ture or pasitSon of Mie foree they were fïghting. But now and then there would bo a fierce rush into the open prospect, n gallant charge on one side and a rotroat on the other, rd we saw ! plainly that our columns were gaining ; ground, and stoadily purRuing their advintage hy their gradual tncvernent wbieh continueJ toward the distanco and tho enemy's center. Wo indeed heard continnous tidinp of heroistn and vic'ory ; and tbose in the trees abovo bs tola U3 ol more thnn we could discover with our field gfawea from belov. Ve fieal-d that Hunter had fuirly rounded the enemy'u flank, and then wo listened for ourseives to the sound of hia charges in the northern woods, and saw for onrselve tho air gathoring up smoke from their branches, nnd the wavering column of the HisnBfippiam as they fled frofii ttie first batlery and were forced into iba open field, fhen we snw ourowa Sixty-ninth and Smenty-ninth, corprt animuted by a cl.ivalrous nationa! rivfilry, presa on to the support of the in.'iru distan t column. We could catch glimpses of the continua] ulvarces uhd retreuts ; could hear oecasionally the gun of a battery before undiscovered; could gue.sB how terribly all this accumulution of death upon death must teil upnn tho?o undaun'od men, but could atso Fee - and our cheers ccntinually followed the knowledge- that iur forces were gradually driving the right of the enerny around the second quarter of a circle, until by 10 o'clnck the rnain battle was raging at a point altnost dircctly opposite our standing place - the road at the udge of the woodf" - where it had commenced six hours before. Thore was a hill at the distance of a mile and a half to which I have hitherto alluded. From its height, overlookin; the whole plaia, a fuw shell had reached U3 early in the day, and as it was nearer the Manassas road thau almost auy other portion of the field, more of the enemy's reiuforcements gathered abont its ridga than to the aid of the beaten rebel m the woods and valleys. Hcre there was an opon battery, and long liuea of infantry in support, ready, íor a wonder, to let our wearied fellows seo the fresh forces they had to conquer. As the Sixty-ninth and Seveuty-ninth wound round the meadows to the uorth of this hill, nnd bcgan to cross the road appareutly with the iutention of scaling it, we saw a column coming down from the farthest perspective, and for a niOment baüeved it to be a portion of Hunter'a División, and that it had sacceeded iu co'npletely turning the enemy's ruar. A wild shout rose from us ali. But soon the look-outs saw that its ensigns bore secession banners, and we knew that Johnston, or somo other rebel general, was leiding a horde of fresh troops against ourunited riht and center. It was time for more regiments to be sent forward, ar.d Keyes was ordcred to advance with the First Tylcr Brigade. , The three Conneoticut regiments and the Fourth Maino camc on with a ■vill the First CouQCcticut was posted ia reserve, and the other thres corps swept up the field, by the ford on the right, to aid the struggling advance. All eycs wero now directed to the distant hill top, now the center of the fight. All could sec the enemy's iufantry rangiug darkly against the sky beyond, and tha fiit linos of our men moving with fine determina!' up the stcep slope. The cannonading upon ?"r adeance, the Btruggle upoa the hilltop,the intórnbange ofpasition between the contcstants were watcbed by us, and new forces rushing in upon' the er.euiy's sido the secue was repeated over and ovor again. It must have been ! here, I tliink, t'aat the Sixty-ninth took and lost a battery eight times in succession, and ti.ially were compelled, totally exhausted, to resigu the completion of their werk to the Conuocticut regiments which had just come up. The Third Connecticut fiually carried that summit, unfurled the stars and strij)cs above it, and paused from tha fight to checr far the TJnioQ cau.-e. T hen the battle bogan to woik down tlio returüing half of the cirele, which the eucmv described daring the day driveu before tlje desperate charges of our troops, uut il they reached the very point wherc Tvler'a aJvance cominenced tho autlon Dowa the hill, and into the Talloj thíotetá o:i tbc left tbo Zounves, thu Cunnecticut and New Yovk regiment, with t!io unconquerablc Kh.ide Tslaridors, drovo the eoiitinually enlarging but always vanquisUed columns of the enemy. It was only to moet moro battcriea, eartbwork succeeding cartlnvork, ambuseade after arnbuscade Our fellows were hot and weary ; most liad drank uo water dui'ing hours of dnst, and sinoke, and iusufferablc heat No one knows what clioking the battle atmospliere produce in a few moments, until lie has personally experienced it. And so the conflict lulled for a little whilo. Our rcgiments held the positions they had won, but the enemy kept reeeiving additions, and contïnued a flank moveinent toward our left - a dangorous movcment for us a movement which thosu in tho rear perceived, and vainly etideavored to induce some general oflicer to guard against. fiere waa tha grand blunder, or misfortune, of tho battle. A misfortuno, that we had na troops in reservo after the Ohio rogiments were Sgain sent forward, this time to assist in building a bridge across the run on tho Warrington road, by the side of tho stone bridge known to be mined. A blunder, in thtxt the last reserve was sent forward at all. It should have been retaiued to guard the rear of the left, and every other regiment on tho field should have been promptly reealled over the route by which it had udvanced, ordered ouly to maintaio such positions as rested on u supported contiuuous line Gen. Seott says, to-dar, that our troops had already aooompliiheë three days' work, and should have rested long before. But MeDowell tried to vanquish the south in a single strugglo, and the sad rosu'.t is before 133. Asitwas, Capt. Alexander, with hi sappers and minera, was ordered to cut through the abatis by tho side of tha mined bridge, in the valley directly beforo us, and lay pontoons across the strcam. Carlisle's artillery was detailed to protect the work, and the Ohio and Wiseonsin reserve tosuppnrt the artillery. Moauwhilc, in the lull which I have montioncd, the thousand heroic details 0$ Federal valor and tho sbaniiilessness of rebel treachery began to rcach our ears. We learned the loss of the brave Cameron, the wounding of Heintzleman and Hunter, and the fall of Haggerty aadE Slocum and Willcox. Wc heard of tbs dash of the Irishmon and their decimation, and of tho havoo made and bustniiied by the Rhodo Islanders, the Highlauders, tiio Zouaves and the Counectieut ïhird ; then of the iutrepidity of Burnsido and Sprague - how the devoted and daring young Governor led tho regiment he had so ïuunificcntly equipped again and again to victorious charges, and at last spiked, with his own hands, the gun he could not carry away. The victory seeined oura. It was an hour in sublime unselfishness, and apparently glorious ia its results ! At this tiino, near 4 o'clook, I rodo forward through the open plaia to tha creek whcre tho abatía was buing aasailed i by our engineers. Tlie Ohio, Counectiout aud Minnesota regiments wero variously posted thoreabout ; others were in distarit portions of the field ; all were corapletely exhausted and partly ditseveved ; co geceral of división, eíeept Ty lar, emild bc fjuml. Whdro weïc onr osHccis''.' VVUere #aa tho íü'f Wlo ki ev wlielluT Wö liad WOU or loat ? The qnestioH w:is ijviickK lidad far u3. A smlden swoop, aad n body of i eav;. h-y ruthcti down apon ouv oolttuuis i nc.ir tiio. bridge. Tkey ca-uie from the wcwa on the Icff, and infantry pourad , out beliínd thcèj'. Tyler and h nato, , vrith the resci-vo, wcro apparéntly cut off by the qoick mlinceuver, 1 Buooeodod ia 'iiining t lio porition L iiuil jnst left, there witnesscd the cáptate of Carlisltt's j tcry iu the plain, and s&w uiother toteo of cavalry id infantry pottring info t!;o road ÍX the vory spot wliorc tlie bat tío coniuu'iiocd, and ncar which tba South CurolíuialiB, who manned thc battery ( lertced ia thc morning, liad doobübsa all , day been lying concealed. The ambu , klVbM and" gons liad graduully advauced to this spot, Rod of oourse an I i Btnr.tancous eoufusion nud dismay ; i'd. Our own infantry broko raiiks iu the , tiuld, plungcd into thc WOÓds to avoid tbe , road, and got up the Lili as best they ; could, without leaders, every man saving , himself in liis own way. Tlil! BETEEAT. 15y tho time I reacbod thc top of the liill, the retreat, thc panic, the l.ideous ' headloug cpufusiou, worc no'.v boyond a hope. I wiis nenr the rear of tho move meiit, with the brave Gapt. Alexaudor, ] who endoavored by t!io ia,ist gallant but. i ' unavailable efwtiona to clieok the ; wai-d tumult. It was diffioult to believe in the reality of our sudden reverse, - 'What doos'it mean?" I osked Alexan dor. ''1'. mcans doiu.it," was his reply. , ''e are beatenj t ís a shameful, a ; rdly retreat I Ilold up, meo i! don't , be such infernal eowards !" and he rode . baekwards and forwarda, placing bis ' horsc across tho roaj and vtúnly frybg 10 rally tho ranoiog íroops. The teams ; and wagons coiifosod and dismétabered everv corps. We were now out off from tlie iidvancc body by the eneuiy's infantry, who had rusbed on tho tilope just 11 ft by us, 8urrounded tho guns and sutlor's. wagons, and were appareutly pressing up aeaiost us. "lts no use, Alcxander,1'' 1 said, "you raust leave with the rest.:' -ril bc d-d if I will," was Lis Bullen reply, and the spleudíd follow rodo back to maka liis way as best hc could. M$antiuie I saw ofüers with leavis and caglcs on tlicir shoulder straps, MajorBJ and (Joloi.clí!, who had dsevlou thuir roiuuiands, pass me gallopine as if for ileir life. No ëncray pursued just then; but I Bupyose all wie afraid that his gnus would be trained down the long, narrow nvenuc, and wow tho rctreating thousauds, and batter to pieces anny wagons and everything eise which crowd cd it. Only ohe field ciScer, so f:ir as my observation estendcdj seomed te liave reincmbercd lus duty. ÍÁcut. Col. Speidel, a forcigr.er áttached to a Connccticut regiment, strove agaiost tho current for a league l positively doolare that, with the two exceptions inentioncd, all eflbrts made to check the panic before Geutreville waa reached, wero confii:cd to cicdinns. I saw a man ia citizen's dress who had throwu oü his coat seized a rausket, and was trying to rally the soldiera who cauie by at tho poiut of the bajonet. - In rcply to a request for his name, he said it was Washburne, and I learncd that he was the member by that name from Illinois. The Ilon Mr. Kellogg made a similar effort. JJnt'i these Congressmou bruvely stood their ground till the last moment, and were sefviceable af Centreville in asaisting the halt there ultimatcly made. And othor civilians did what thcy could. But what a scene ! and how terriBo the onset of that tumultuóos retroat. For three miles, hosts of Federal troops- all detached from thoir regimenté, all mingled in oue disorderly rout - were fleeiug along tlie road, but mostly through the lots on eithcr side. Anny wagons, sutlers' teams, and private carriages, cheked the passage, tuiubling against eaeh othor, amid clouds of dust, and sickening sights and sounds Hcks, contaiuing uulucky speotators of the late affiay, were soiiasbed like glas, nnd the oocupants were lost sight of in tho debris. Boraes, flying wildly from the battle field, many of thein in death agony, galloped at random forward, joiniug in the stampcde. Those ou foot who could catcli them rode them baroback, us ïuuch to save themselvcs from being run over, as to mako quicker time. Woanded men, lying aloug the banks- the few ether loft on tho field nor taken tothe ciptured hospitals, appealed with raised hinds to thosc who rode horses, begging Í3 be liftod beliiud, but few regardcd such petitions. Then the artillery, sueh as was saved, came thundoriug along, s-nasbing and ovorpowering evorything. ï.ie regular cavalry, I record it to their Bhame, jobed in the inelee, addiug to its t3irors, for they rode down footmeu without mercy. One of the great guns was overturncd and lay amid the ruins of a caisson, as I passcd it. 1 saw an artilIcry man running between the pondorous fore and after-wheels of his gun carriage, hanging ou with both hands, and vaiuly striving to juinp upon tho ordinaueo. - Tho drivers were spurring the horses; he could not cling mach longor, and a more agonizing expression never iixod the leatures of a drowuing man. The carriage bounded from tho roughneaa of a stoep hill leading to a creek, he lost his hold, fll, and in an instant the great wheels had crushed the life out of him. Who ever saw such a fiight'? Could the retreat at Borodino hve csceeded it in confusión and tumult? I thmk not. It did not slnck in the least until Centrevillo was reached. There thc sight of tho roBerv-e - Miles' brigade- fonued in order on thc hill, seomed somewhat to re-assure the van. lïut still the teams and foot soldiors pushcd on, passing their owu camps and headiog swiftly for the distant Potomac, until for ten milos the road over which tho grand army had so lately passed southward, gay with unstaiued bauners, and flushod with surety of! Etrength, was covered with the fragments of ita retreating forcea, shattered and panic stricken in a single day. From the branch route, the trains attached to Hunter's división liad caught the contagión of the fight, and poured into its already swollen current another turbid freshet of confusión and dismay. Who ever s;uv a more shameful abandonment of ïnunitions ga-thered at such vast expense? The teamsters, many of them, cut the traces of their horses, and galloped from tbe wagons, üthers threw out their loads to acodérate their flight, and graiu, pieks and shovels, and provis ions of overy kind lay trainpled in the dust for leagues. Thousauds of muskets Btrowed the route ; whon somc of us sucoeeded in rallying a body of fugitivos, aud forming theai in a line aeross the road, hardly one but had thrown away big arms. If the enemy had brought up hig artillery and served it apon the remaining train, or had interceptad our progress with fivo hundred of his cavalry, no might havo eaptured enough supplios for a weeks feast of thanksgiving. As it was, enough was left behind to toll the story of tho panic. The rout of the Fodcral anny soumed complete, JS3C Tvvonty threo regiments havo jias.scd through Bultimore fiincj tlie liull'a Kun disaster,