Mobile Register
July 3, 1861
Page 1
Some
Interesting Particulars of the Great Bethel
Fight
[Extracts
from a Private Letter]
HEADQUARTERS---REGIMENT
YORKTOWN, VA.
June 21, 1861
Arrived
in Yorktown, I found about 5,500 troops from Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia and Louisiana here. The Norfolk
regiment, with a few from Georgia, some cavalry and part of the howitzer
battery, had just whipped over 5,000 of the enemy, under Gen. Pierce, sent from
Fortress Monroe to dislodge our troops, who had started on a scouting
expedition, and had stopped at Bethel to rest on Saturday and Sunday. Our troops dug a little trench around them
and threw the dirt outside, so that they could step into the ditch and not be
exposed. The earth was embanked on the
edge of a small stream only five or six feet wide. The Baltimore
papers give a pretty truthful account of the fight—only they were most awfully
fooled by a body of thirty North Carolinians
who rushed out of some bushes, jumped the little stream and pretended to offer
battle to the Zouave regiment, who were coming down a
hill to attack in double quick time.
When the Zouaves got within musket shot, the North Carolinians rejumped the
ditch and hid in the bushes, pulling with them a few cut bushes and exposing thus a masked howitzer, which opened on the
Zouaves with bombshells. This checked—then stopped—then changed the
direction of their attack to another part of the ditch. Here again the North
Carolinians met them with musket balls, and a few additional
rounds from the howitzer caused them to break and run like sheep.
Meanwhile, a small rifled cannon
kept up a constant fire upon the Albany
and another regiment, both of which were
formed in four ranks, and strung nearly half a mile down a straight
road. The rifled cannon commenced at one
end, and sent the balls through the entire length of their ranks. This and the howitzer were the only artillery
that did any execution—the third was disabled accidentally after the second
fire. A well directed effort on the part
of the enemy would have given us hot work, but they could not face the music,
and didn’t understand how the same ball killed men in their front and rear. So every one took to their heels, throwing
away muskets, canteens, knapsacks, etc., leaving about 250 killed and wounded.
Our
troops left Bethel,
rested here until a few days ago—went there again, and tried to draw them
out. Succeeded yesterday, but they left Bethel to their right and
made up the road towards Williamsburg. Our troops at Bethel left there in a hurry for this place,
(fearing they might turn up by a road leading to this point, four miles from Bethel). The enemy found we were about, and turned
back. We will try and draw them out
again in a day or two.
A
portion of Col. Withers’ command (we learn to day) have entrenched themselves
on James river, opposite Newport News.
B…………
