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■v-riding ilotf M* Rae and rations to his Wecnmad. TW ouel m fetfiii f cowardice on this oceaiii|JMula icemn airergot gyilt;ilpPI try tha ease. I saw uaqneatloncdhone, ***sinceUeq—only ca3 od theso. 'The Ti^tofthis comm, „ aassrsijsattytr.':hour white s perfhei atem of lead went ovar onr Soole. Abottt tun*down wowereontflnahedby a heavyay fforce ofthe e ncmy, and the ,order to faee#j the rear rank glvei^Onr retreat** was made^indr a £ nlUng fire, hut in goeftfjy, with the reba ysWug like devMAr^WfaeoSrcnekm ground, and fonndihe FirstKaeifte battery in iKMdkftet ai halfdistance to the right of the position we had occupied. The Tenth formed for Its support. This batteryideu by(then and now a Methodist tninfs-waa commanded by Capt. Tenney,ter.) Before he opened fire, the reba were in their glory. They hadi fptpafl oyr;. whole jliue out of 4he timber by waimuktaneoua charge, and], fait aure of our defeats But their advancing columns were met by a well-directed firefrom all oar puse. I saw the effort of. Tenney. ,t changed the exultant tonic of the reba, and in a few momenta they were fiytng for the timber in every direction, and the battle of Prairie Grove waa fought.: The importance of our success In this engagement may be understood when It’ is known that llindman bad 38,000 men with him, and if he had defeated Blnnt and Herron, his road to St. Lonla waa open, where he could have recruited his army to any deaired extent, and supplied it with everything necessary, if Col. Judson had not diverted him from his coarse to Bay’s Hill—where his position could have been made impregnable in aahort time, with supplies of all kinds abundant—it is not probable he would have been, beaten, as his force outnumbered ours, and be waa surrounded by friends; while we were in an enemy’s couu-try.Col. Weer, who commanded the Second brigade of the First division, in his report of this battlestates that “ our whole line of battle conld not have numbered more than 1,200 men.” He further states that “our safety, from the commencement of the action, must be attributed to the fact that our weakness was concealed from the enemy by onr position.”Another Incident *f this action 1 must relate, that will show something of the coolness of the Kansas troops under lire: Babb’s battery was verv closely pressed, the ilriug of the pieces rapid, when the water gave out. One of the gunners could not wash his piece without wetting his sponge, and as a last resort he famished a supply from his own resources, and this under a very heavy lire. S. J. Wii.i.KS.
Newspaper Details
Lawrence Western Home Journal
Lawrence, Kansas, US
Thu, Dec 30, 1869
Page 2
Full Page
Clipped by
Anonymous
USA 27 Jul 2019
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