road had delayed him. lie at once ascertained the 
position of certain rebel batteries which lay in front 
of him on our right, that threatened absolutely to 
bar his advance in the morning, and selected posi¬ 
tions for a couple of his batteries, from Which they 
could silence the one he dreaded. Placing these in 
position, and arranging his brigades for support, 
took him till one o'clock in the morning. Then his 
wearied men lay down to snatch a few hours of 
sleep before entering into the Valley of the Shadow 
of Death on the morrow. 
TMR RATTLE ON MONDAY. 
To those who had looked despairingly at the 
prospects Sunday evening, it Seemed feif&ngft that 
t,be rebels did not open out on us by daybreak 
again. Their retreat before the bombshells of the 
gunboats, however, explained the delay. Our own 
divisions wore put, in motion almost siniuHanaouoly. 
By 7 o’clock. Lew. Wallace opened the ball by 
shelling, from the positions he hud selected the night 
before, the rebel battery of which mention has been 
made. A brisk artillery duel, a rapid movement of 
infantry across a shallow ravine as it to storm, and 
the rebels, enfiladed and menaced in front* lim¬ 
bered up and made the opening of their Monday’s 
retreating. 
Nels*j»‘s Advance.—To the left wo were slower 
in finding the enemy. They hail been compelled to 
travel some distance to gi>t out of the gunboats’ 
range. Nelson moved his division about the same 
time Wallace opened on the rebel battery, forming 
in line of battle. Skirmishers were thrown out, ana 
for nearly Or quite a mile the division thus swept 
the country, pushing a few outlying rebels before it. 
till it came upon them In force Then a general 
They were some hours ahead, but, unfortunately, 
the General was a little ahead of them — two gun¬ 
boats with open countenances were sending up great 
columns of smoke at the entrance to “Keelfoot 
Lake,” the only point they could embark on their 
boats, some fifteen miles below, white upon the op¬ 
posite side the gallant Palmer stood to his batteries, 
ready to give an aqueous interment to as ninny as 
gave him opportunity. Here they went Tennes¬ 
see, Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana— 
puffing, blowing, and swearing at, the ** nnchival- 
rous” treatment, as Ohio, Illinois, Indiana and Iowa 
stepped on their heels, and occasionally pulled at 
the coat tails that stuck out so invitingly. Once in 
a while they would get mad and shoot, and have 
the compliment returned ; but it was the old song, 
“ nobody hurt." 
Trapped. — When the poor fellows found our 
battery planted below, and the two gunboats with 
the stars and stripes ahead of them, and their hall- 
dozen cowardly gunboats taken good care to leave 
them, they appeared to resign themselves to their 
fate. They sat down on logs, crawled into tree 
tops, dodged into houses, and went promiscuously 
loose. Guns and cartridge boxes were thrown 
away—clothing and blankets, ammunition, lumber 
of all kinds, from the favorite eighteen inch tooth¬ 
pick to a thirty-two pounder, lay along their line 
■even the march of the chivalry, one of 
“at any time whips live Yankees.” But one 
CENU 
BUELL 
ARMY 
PITTSBURGH^ 
nr 
GENh WALLACE 
Flag of our Country, 
Bravely wave o'er us, 
Fling tlie broad shadow 
O'er land and o'er sea; 
Emblem of Freedom, 
Of honor and greatness, 
Wave thou forever 
Unsullied and free. 
GENkSMITH 
HEAD QUARTERS, 
yCEto'V 
r \\ 
MfCLERMAND 
ROCHESTER, N. Y., APRIL 26, 1862. 
tili it came upon them In force Then a general 
engagement broke out along (lie line, and aguin the 
rattle of musketry and thunder of artillery echoed 
over the late silent fields. Till half past ten o'clock 
Nelson advanced slowly but steadily, sweeping his 
long lines over the ground of our sore defeat of 
Sunday morning, forward over scores of rebel dead, 
resistlesslv pressing bark the jaded and wearied 
enemy. The rebels had received but few re-enforce- 
ments during the night, their men were exhausted 
with their desperate contest of the day before, and 
manifestly dispirited by the evident tact. that, not¬ 
withstanding their well laid plana of destruction in 
detail, they were fighting Grant and Buell combined. 
Gradually, as Nelson pushed forward his lines 
Under heavy musketry, the enemy fell back, till 
about half past ten, when, under co ver of the heavy 
timber and a furious cannonading, they made a 
general rally. Our forces, flushed with their easy 
victory, were scarcely prepared for the sudden onset 
where retreat had been nil they had been seeing be¬ 
fore. Suddenly the rebel masses were hurled against 
our lines with tremendous force. Our men halted, 
wavered, and fall back. At this critical juncture, 
Captain Terry's regular, buttery came dashing up. 
Scarcely taking time to MU limber, he was loading 
and sighting his pieces before the caissons had 
turned, and in an instant was tossing shells from 
24-ponnd howitzers into the compact and advancing 
rebel ranks. Here was the turning point of Ilia bat¬ 
tle on the lelt. The rebels were only checked, not 
halted. On they canto. Hfirst* utter horse from the 
batteries was picked oft! Every private at one of 
the howitzers fell, anil the gun was worked by Cupt. 
Terry himself and a corporal. The rebels seemed 
advancing. A regiment flashed up from our line, 
and saved the disabled piece. Then for two hours 
artillery and musketry at close range. At last they 
began to waver. Our men pressed on, pouring in 
deadly volleys, just, then, Buell, who assumed the 
general direction of his troops in the field, came up. 
At a glance he saw the chance. •" Forward at 
double quick by brigades.” Our men leaped for¬ 
ward as if they had been tied, and were only too 
much rejoiced to lie able to move. For a quarter of 
a mile the rebels foil back. Faster and faster they 
ran, less and less resistance was made to the ad¬ 
vance. At last, the front camps on the left were 
reached, and by half past two that point waB cleared. 
The rebels had been steadily swept back over ibe 
ground they lmd won, with heavy loss as they fell 
into confusion; we had retaken all our own guns 
lost here the day before, and one or two from the 
rebels were left us trophies to tell in after days how 
bravely that great victory over treason in Tennessee 
was won. 
Advance of Crittenden’s Division. — 1 have 
sketched iho advance of Nelson. Next to him 
came Crittenden. lie. too. swept forward over his 
ground to the front some distance before finding the 
foe. Between eight, and nine o’clock, however, 
while keeping Smith’s brigade on his lelt up even 
with Nelson's flank, and joining Boyle's brigade to 
McCook on the right, in (he grand advance, they 
came upon Iho enemy with a lmttery in position, and 
well supported. .Smith dashed his’brigudc forward. 
There was sharp, close work with musketry, arid the 
rebels lied. For half an hour, perhaps, the storm 
raged around these captured guns. Then came the 
reflex rebel wave that bad hurled Nelson back. 
Crittenden, too. caught its full force. The rebels 
swept up to the batteries, around them, and on 
down after our retreating column. But the two 
brigades, like those of Nelson to their left, took a 
fresh position, faced the loe. and held their ground. 
Mendenhall’s and Bartlett's batteries now began 
shelling the Infantry that alone opposed them. Be¬ 
fore abandoning the guns so briefly held, they had 
spiked them with mud. and the novel expedient was 
perfectly successful. From that time till after one 
GENV 
SHERMAN 
of march 
whom 
division of our little army reached the enemy until 
they were all made prisoners. General Payne was 
in the advance, and both lit* 1 and his men did their 
duty like true soldiers. Gen. Pope and staff slept 
in a deserted mansion upon the border of Tennessee, 
and early in the morning took a steamer, which 
landed them by eight o'clock at Tiptonville (Merri- 
weather’s Landing,) Soon alter his arrival the 
prisoners began coming in. 
Welcoming the Visitors. — Gea. McCall was 
first in command, and had formally surrendered his 
force. He marched it in about nine. I almost felt 
sorry, the poor fellows looked so chapfallen. Gen- 
Pope had just two regiments to receive, them, while 
the force surrendered was seven regiments from 
Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama and 
Louisiana. They were ordered to stack their arms 
in camp, and marched to the bank of the river by 
companies and regiments. Besides ihese regiments 
there were a number of batteries and boatmen. 
Generals Stanly and Hamilton soon came up with 
their divisions, and began the “grand hunt" for die 
dodging soldiers who preferred to go south to spend 
the summer. It was nothing strange to see half a 
dozen of our soldiers bringing in fifty armed men. 
Now.it may seem strange, but it is true. I never 
yet saw men so completely humiliated. Some of 
their officers were as dashing and bloviating as 
ever. One says, “Well, I have been fighting all 
my life, but it’s over with me now. 1 am a prisoner, 
but.gentlemen,you cannot subdue the South. Just 
as sure as you live, the next great battle we will 
whale you to death. You can't whip the South.” 
The correspondent of the Missonrl Democrat, 
under date of the 7th. gives the following account 
of the capture of the rebel batteries : 
The Gunboats. —As soon as it became sufficiently 
light, the Pittsburg and Carondoiet were prepared 
for action. Yesterday afternoon the Carondoiet 
made an extended reconnaissance from here to 
Point Pleasant. It was known the rebels had 
erected batteries on the Kentucky shore to oppose 
any attempt of the New Madrid army at crossing, 
but the magnitude of their operations was not un¬ 
derstood. Hardly had Capt. Walke’s vessel pro¬ 
ceeded a hundred yards down stream, when one 
masked battery opened, the ball going wide of its 
mark. Returning the fire and passing on. five dif¬ 
ferent works, at advantageous points on the Ken¬ 
tucky shore, were discovered, For a while the 
cannonading was heavy, but the rebel balls fell 
harmless. Before night the Carondoiet silenced 
their lower battery, ten miles from here. Its garri¬ 
son fled, and a cutter being sent on shore, the guns 
were spiked. It was then dark, and the vessel 
returned. Thus affairs were this morning. 
The Engagement. —At half-past five the Caron¬ 
doiet and Pittsburg left New Madrid, keeping near 
the Kentucky shore, and in a few moments the 
engagement began. For a time it raged furiously, 
and occasionally boats and shore would bo hid 
from view in a dense smoke ; then a breeze would 
hurry it away, aud the combatants be again re¬ 
vealed. Around the battery engaged, forms could 
be seen for a few moments plying busily the means 
of resistance : but as the iron sides belched out 
regularly and rapidly their destructive missiles, 
the dark objects suddenly left the works and flitted 
away into the wood. An instant’s scrambling over 
fences, a hurried flight across narrow fields, and 
they were gone. Some more shell are rained into 
THE WAR’S PROGRESS 
^ I 
* 1 
The Operations of Jlaj.-Gen- Pope. 
Our columns have heretofore contained a brief 
paragraph concerning the operations of Maj.-Gen. 
Pope, upon the Mississippi, between the Island No. 
10 and New Madrid, in conjunction with Com. Foote; 
and as these were of such magnitude as to demand 
further space, we now enter somewhat into detail- 
The following is Gen. Pope’s official: 
Expeditionary Forces, Nrw Madrid, Mo., April 9. 
Major-General 11 W. UaUoc.k .■—The canal across 
the peninsula opposite Island Number Ten —and 
for the idea of which 1 ain indebted to General 
Schnyfar Hamilton — was completed by Colonel 
Bisseli’s engineer regiment, and four steamers were 
b r oiight through oil the night of the (Uli. The heavy 
batteries I hud thrown up below Tiptonville com¬ 
pletely commanded the lowest point, of the high 
oTOinid on the Tennessee shore, entirely Cutting off 
The enemy’s retreat by water. 11 is retreat by land 
has never been possible through the swamps. On 
the night of tin* -Uh. Capt. Walko, of the navy, ran 
the enemy's batteries at Island No. 16. with the gun¬ 
boat Caronflolet, and reported to me here. On the 
night of 1 li<* 6th the gunboat Piltsbnrg also ran the 
blockade Our transports were brought into the 
river from the bayou, where they hud been kept, 
concealed, and at daylight on Ihe seventh day bad 
Paine's division loaded. The canal had been a pro¬ 
digiously laborious work It was twelve miles long, 
six miles of which were through heavy limber, which 
had io lie sawed off by hand four feet under water. 
The enemy has lined the opposite shore with bat¬ 
teries, extending from Island No, 10 to Tiptonville, 
Merriweather Landing, to prevent the passage of 
PRENTISS' 
GENV HURLBUT 
RoimoF 
closing in on either side, like the contracting iron 
chamber of the Inquisition, what could they do but, 
what they did? Speedily their resistance became 
less obstinate, more and more rapidly they fell back, 
aud less frequent became their returning volleys. 
The enemy pushed their advantage They were 
already within our Lines; they hud driven one divi¬ 
sion from all its camps, and nearly opened, as they 
supposed, the way tu the river. Just hero, between 
nine and ten o'clock, McArthur’s brigade, of W. II 
L. Wallace’s division, came up to give some assisi- 
' ' r .. .i, on 
left, now in Imminent danger of being 
. i. McArthur mistook 
the way, marched too far to the right, and so, instead 
of reaching Stuart, came in on I lit 
rebels, now closely pushing Prentiss, 
opened vigorously i . 
they seemed likely still to 
sion. But coming Lm,...u,.-,...?.... j .■> >... ... . 
doue, upon the enemy, their positions were tint well 
chosen, and all had to fall back together. 
Brig.-Gen. Prentiss, and three regiments with 
him. the 23d Missouri, of his own division, and the 
12 th and 14th Iowa, of those that had come to his 
assistance, delayed their retreat too long. Almost 
before they were aware of their danger, the flanking 
forces rushed in from either side behind them, and 
ihey stood, perhaps two thousand strong, in the 
midst of thrice their number They threw down 
their arms: and the rebels signalized their first 
attack by marching three Lincolmte regiments, with 
a division General, as prisoners, to their rear. 
Overwhelmed by this fresh disaster, without a 
General to organize them, with still hotter and hot¬ 
ter fire to their front and flanks, the remainder of 
Ihe division, whole regiments at a time, gave way 
in disorder. For a short time a few maintained a 
confused defense, retreating, hailing, tiring, court¬ 
ing death by remaining in isolated squads or com¬ 
panies, to resist a little longer the overpowering 
acter of a panic. Several let ters written for mailing 
Routhward were found, it being stated in Borne that 
the Federal attacking force was eighty thousand. 
One from New Orleans announced that seventeen 
gunboats there were ready for launching. Others 
wore filled with fabulous stories, showing that self- 
deceit has not yet lost its charm to stricken ones in 
benighted Dixie. 
ance to Stuart's brigade, of Sherman's division 
the extreme 1 
cut off by Prentiss' defection 
The Great Battle at. Pittsburg Landing. 
Tun Cincinnati Gazette contains a most graphic 
account of this terrible conflict, and we draw upon 
it for such details as have not, yet appeared in the 
Rural, and which will bo perused with intense 
interest by our readers: 
THE RATTLE ON SUNDAY. 
Oita Men Surprised.— Almost at dawn, Sher¬ 
man’s pickets were driven in. a very little later 
Prentiss' were, and the enemyWere into the camps 
almost as soon as were llie pickets themselves. 
Here began scenes which, let ns hope, will have no 
parallel In our remaining annals of the war. Many, 
particularly among our officers, were not yet out of 
bed. Others were dressing, others washing, others 
cooking, and ft few eating their breakfasts. Many 
guns Were unloaded, accouterments lying pell moll, 
ammunition ill supplied — in short, the camps were 
completely surprised—disgracefully, might he add¬ 
ed. unless some one can hereafter give some yet 
undiscovered reason to the contrary—anti were 
taken at almost every possible disadvantage. 
The first wild cries from the pickets rushing in, 
and the few scattering shots that preceded their 
arrival, aroused the regiments to a sense of their 
peril; an instant afterwards rattling volleys of mus- 
Ketry poured through the tents, while, before there 
was time for thought of preparation, there came 
rushing through the woods, with lines of battle 
sweeping the whole fronts of ihe division camps 
and bending down on either flank, the fine, dashing, 
compact columns of the enemy. Into the just- 
aroused camps thronged Hie rebel regiments, firing 
sharp volleys as they came, and springing forward 
upon our laggards with the bayonet; for while their 
artillery, already in position, was tossing shells to 
the further side of the encampments, scores were 
shot down as they were running, without weapons, 
hatless, costless, 'toward the river. The searching 
bullets lbuinl other poor unfortunates in their tents; 
and there, all unheeding now, they still slumbered, 
while the unseen fee rushed on. Others fell as t hey 
were disentangling themselves from the Haps that 
formed the doors to their torus; others as they were 
buckling on their accouterments; others us they 
were vainly trying tu impress on the cruelly e.v 
ubant enemy their readiness to surrender. Officers 
were bayoneted in their beds, and left for dead, 
who, through the whole two days' fearful struggle, 
lay there gasping in their agony, aud on Monuuy 
evening were found in their gore, inside their tents, 
and slill able to tell the tak\ 
Such were the fearful disasters that opened the 
rebel onset on the lines of Auckland's brigade in 
Sherman's division. Similar, though perhaps less 
terrible in some of the details, was the tate of IT'en- 
tiss’ entire front. 
Meantime our shattered regiments did what they 
could. Falling rapidly back through the heavy 
woods till they gained a protecting ridge, firing as 
they ran, and malting what resistance men thus sit¬ 
uated might. Sherman’s men succeeded in partially 
checking the rush of the enemy — long enough to 
other side of the 
* i. His men 
upon the enemy ? and for a time 
G save our imperilled dtyl- 
uuawures, as they seem to have 
some was the response our broken infantry battal¬ 
ions poured in. The enemy soon had reason to 
remember that, if not 
“Still in tbeir ashes live tlie wonted fires," 
at least still in the fragments lived the ancient valor 
that had made the short-lived rebel successes already 
cost so dear. 
The Gunboats Open Fire.— The rebel infantry 
gained no ground, but the furious Cannonading and 
musketry continued. Suddenly new actors entered 
on the stage. Our Cincinnati wooden gunboats, the 
0. A. Tyler and the Lexington, had been all day 
impatiently chafing for ibeir time to come. The 
opportunity was theirs. The rebels were attacking 
on our loft, lviflg where Stuart’s brigade bad lain on 
Licking Creek in the morning, and stretching thence 
in on the Hamburg road, and across toward our old 
center, as far as llurlbnri’s camps. Steaming up to 
the mouth of the little creek, the boats ruonded to. 
There was the ravine, cut through the bluff us if on 
purpose for their shells. 
Eager to avenge the death of their commanding 
General, (now known to have been killed a couple 
of hours before,) and to complete the victory they 
believed to be within their grasp, the rebels hud 
ineimlionsly ventured within reach of their most 
dreaded antagonists, as broadside after broadside ot 
seven-inch shells and sixty-four pound shot soon 
taught them. This was a foe they hud hardly 
counted on, and the unexpected tire in flank and 
rear sadly disconcerted their well-laid plans. The 
boats fired admirably, and with a rapidity that was 
astonishing. Our twenty-two land gnus kept, tip 
their stormy ihunder; and thus, amid a crash, and 
roar, and scream of shells and demou-like hiss of 
Minie balls, that Sabbath evening wore away. We 
held the enemy at bay; it was enough. The pros¬ 
pect for the morrow was foreboding, but sufficient 
unto the day is the evil thereof. 
The Night Between Two Battles.— Stealthily 
the troops crept to their new positions and lay down 
in line of battle on their arms. All through the 
night Buell's men were marching up from Savannah 
to the point opposite Pittsburg Landing, and being 
ferried across, or were coming up on transports. 
By an hour after dark Lew. Wallace had his division 
Tli vi mrrli Ihn rmuilirontinn he luirl received, he 
two miles apart, and skillfully constructed. Some 
had rifle pits, branching out and running along the 
banks on each side for a distance of half a mile. 
In forming them no respect was paid to private 
property, the pits being dig through yards, and 
what had been beautiful gardens completely de¬ 
stroyed. The earthworks were high and strong, 
and the positions chosen excellent It was sur¬ 
prising they had been so quickly abandoned. 
The Rebel Panic.— Being told there was a de¬ 
serted camp half a mile back, we went out to it. In 
a lane we found two field pieces (6-pounders) aban¬ 
doned, and near by were tents for a regiment. Fires 
for cooking were smouldering, various articles of 
food burned to cinders over the coals, and tables set 
with tin plates. The flight, like many indulged in 
lately, had been a speedy one, partaking of the char- 
