From Fort Monroe

FORT MONROE, Feb. 11.

By a flag of truce to-day we learn the complete success of the Burnside expedition at Roanoke Island. The Island was taken possession of and Com. Lynd’s fleet completely destroyed.

Elizabeth City was attacked on Sunday, and evacuated by the inhabitants. The city was previously burned, whether by our shells or the inhabitants is not certain.

The first news of the defeat arrived at Norfolk on Sunday afternoon, and caused great excitement.

The previous news was very satisfactory, stating that the Yankees had been allowed to advance for the purpose of drawing them into a trap.

The rebel force on the island is supposed to have been little over 3,000 fighting men.

Gen. Wise was sick at Nag’s Head, and was not present during the engagement. – when the situation became dangerous he was removed to Norfolk.

All the gunboats but one were taken, and that escaped up a creek, and was probably destroyed.

One report says that only 70, and another that only 25, of the rebels escaped from the island. Gen. Huger telegraphed to Richmond that only 50 on the islanded escaped.

There appears to be no bright side of the story from the rebels.

The Richmond Examiner, this morning in the leading editorial, says:

“The loss of our entire army on Roanoke Island is certainly the most painful event of the war. The intelligence by yesterday’s telegraph is fully confirmed. Twenty-five hundred brave troops, on an island in the sea, were exposed to all the force of the Burnside fleet. They resisted with the most determined courage; but when 15,000 Federal troops were landed against them, retreat being cut off by the surrounding elements, they were forced to surrender. – This is a repetition of the Hatteras affair on a large scale.”

The following dispatches on the subject are taken from the Richmond papers of this morning:


NORFOLK, Feb. 10.

The latest news states that O. Jennings Wise, son of Gov. Wise was shot through the hip, and disabled.

Maj. Lawson and Lieut. Miller were mortally wounded. About 300 Confederates were killed. The wounded number over 1,000. The number of Yankees wounded is about the same.


SECOND DISPATCH.

A rumor has prevailed that Com. Lynd’s fleet of gun-boats had been captured. It is not regarded as true, but it is believed that all were burned by the Confederates to prevent their capture, with the exception of one, which was endeavoring to make its escape. The fleet went to Elizabeth City from Roanoke Island, and was probably burnt at the former point.


THIRD DISPATCH.

NORFOLK, February 10.

A dispatch was received at Richmond at midnight, stating as follows:

A courier arrived here this p.m. at four o’clock, and brought the intelligence that Elizabeth City was burned this morning by its inhabitants. During the conflagration the Federals landed a large force. All our gun-boats, excepting one, were captured by the enemy. Gen. Wise has not yet arrived at Norfolk.


The following – the very latest – we copy form the Norfolk Day Book:

A courier arrived here yesterday p.m. at about three o’clock, from whom we gather the following information: The enemy advanced in full force upon Elizabeth City yesterday about 7 o’clock and began an attack upon the place. The citizens thinking resistance vain evacuated the place, but before doing so set fire to the town, and when our informant left it was still in flames. We have also to record the capture by the enemy of all our little fleet except the Fanny or Forrest. Our informant is not certain which eluded the enemy. She was pursued, however, and fears are entertained that she was captured. It is said that before our boats surrendered they were abandoned, and that their crews succeeded in making their escape. If so, we are at a loss to conjecture why the boats were not fired before they were abandoned.

This disaster to our little fleet is attributed to the fact that having exhausted their supply of coal and ammunition, they proceeded to Elizabeth City for the purpose of obtaining supplies. Every effort was made to obtain coal, but without success, and the boats could not therefore return to the Island and send any assistance whatever to our forces.

All the details, as published with reference to the capture of Roanoke Island, are confirmed by the courier, who represents our loss at 300 killed and 1,000 wounded, and that of the enemy not less than 1,000 killed.

Great havoc was made among the enemy while coming up the road leading to the Fort. Our soldiers brought to bear upon them two 32-pounders, and at every fire their ranks were terribly thinned. The places of the fallen, however were quickly filled.

The Park Point battery was manned by the Richmond Blues, and most nobly did they defend it during the conflict. They were attacked by a whole regiment of Zouaves, and though completely overpowered, they stood their ground; they did not yield a foot till all but seven of them had fallen bleeding to the ground.

There is good reason to believe that had Col. Henningsen, with his artillery, been on the island it would not have been forced to surrender.

It is reported that one regiment from Massachusetts was badly cut up, but it is impossible to ascertain which of the five it was that were attached to the expedition.

All the Southern papers received to-day are unanimous in admitting a complete victory for our troops, and in saying the loss of the island is a very serious one. The news received to-day occasioned great excitement at Old Point.

A steamer with official dispatches from Gen. Burnside is hourly expected.

The prisoners captured, numbering at least 2,000, will be here in a few days.

A flag of truce was sent to Craney Island early this morning, to inform Gen. Huger that the prisoners of war from Ft. Warren had arrived. The rebel Steamer West Point came out from Norfolk, and the prisoners were transferred. They numbered 4 Captains, 3 1st Lieutenants, 6 2d Lieutenants, 2 3d Lieutenants and 384 privates and colored servants. They were taken at Hatteras and Santa Rosa, and are the last of the prisoners of war at Ft. Warren, except. Com. Barron.

The Norfolk boat brought here the Captain of the transport Osceola, which was part of Gen. Sherman’s expedition, which was wrecked on the coast of Georgia, Nov. 2d, and the Captain and the whole crew taken prisoners.

The latest intelligence from Savannah is that the Federal gun boats were at Wall’s Cut, and opening which [communicates] with Savannah without passing Ft. Pulaski.

A dispatch from Charleston to Richmond says that, on the 9th, Fort Pickens, with the Niagara and Colorado, opened fire on Forts McRae and Barrancas and the Navy Yard. After some hours’ bombardment, both vessels hauled off. Both are said to be badly damaged.

There has been some skirmishing between the Federals and the rebels at Port Royal.

The city of Savannah was being strongly fortified.

We find the following additional news from various points of the South in the papers received to-day:

Ex-Gov. Campbell declines the tender of the appointment of a Brigadier General, and assigns as a reason his physical incapability to perform the duties of the office. He was to have filled the place vacated by the death of Gen. Zollicoffer.

The bill to raise troops to meet the requisition of Virginia by the President of the Confederate States, passed both branches of the Va. General Assembly on Monday in secret session. The bill provides that all companies now in the field shall be filled up to the number of 100 men; that the Governor shall call for volunteers for this purpose, and that if the requisite number be not thus enlisted the deficiency is to be made up by draft from the enrolled militia.

The injunction of secrecy has been removed from the bill passed by Congress appropriating $2,000,000 for the benefit of the State of Kentucky.

James Lyons is probably elected to congress, to supply the vacancy caused by the death of John Tyler.

The War department has issued an order for the seizure of all corn in the hands of distillers or others for the purpose of distillation. This step is taken not only on account of the pernicious effects of the unlimited manufacture of whiskey, but also because of the exorbitant prices that Government is obliged to pay for an article indispensable to the subsistence of the army.

– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Thursday Morning, February 13, 1862, p. 1

From The Second Iowa

The subjoined letter is from JOHN LYNDE, a young man who went from this place, and was formerly a clerk in this office. The letter is directed to Mr. Moody:

Pittsburgh, Tennessee,
March [sic] 8th, 1862.

Friend Moody: –

Agreeable to my promise, I write you the first opportunity after anything of importance had taken place, and I am sure a battle of the greatest importance to our cause has taken place here within the last two days. I shall be very brief as I have not time to write much, and it is doubtful whether this will be permitted to reach you.

That you may better understand the description I will speak of the country around here, and the position of our forces.

We are encamped on the West bank of the Tennessee river, at, and near Pittsburgh. The town (six houses originally,) is between two sloughs which are filled with water from the river at the present time, running back to the west one-third of a mile or more. Our encampment occupies this space, and when beyond the sloughs, extends both North and South for nearly a mile, while it runs back four miles from the river. The ground is covered with heavy timber, with the exception of here and there a small clearing, and is rolling, like our prairies in Iowa.

On Sunday morning, the 6th, the enemy drove in our scouts and attacked us in full force, driving us nearly a mile before they could be checked. At about half past seven, we succeeded in getting force sufficient to check them for a while, and they, bringing up reinforcements, extended the line of battle full three miles in length. By this time the battle had become general throughout the whole line; but they brought such great odds against us, in spite of the numbers which were killed by our batteries and infantry, they would crowd up to and force our lines back, in some instances taking our batteries from us, and though our men fought desperately they were obliged to fall back and take new positions. – The battle continued thus until about half past five o’clock in the evening, our forces making a stand and forming a line on a slight elevation of ground extending North and South, and parallel with the river; maintaining their position as long as possible, then falling back to another ridge and forming again. This was repeated again and again until the last stand was made on a ridge running from the sough on the South in a north-westerly direction back from the river. If they had carried this line the day would have been theirs, and our whole transportation; for it was between our line, the river, and the slough on the north, with no opportunity of escape if our line was once broken. You may rest assured that I felt some anxiety at that time, if not before, for I was with the train of our regiment and must necessarily be taken or swim. At that time our new line was forming. Buell’s forces from Nashville began to arrive on the opposite side of the river, and before the enemy began the attack about 5,000 had crossed to our assistance. In this attack they failed and were driven back with great loss, and routed for the night. At daylight the next morning, we being reinforced, commenced the attack, and by 2 o’clock P.M., had re-taken all the ground lost, and the enemy soon running. During the evening I rode over the field, and everything indicates terrible fighting, and indeed there was; from until after 2 o’clock there was one continual discharge of musketry, and only twice during that time did I hear the distinct and separate discharge of a single musket; the rest of the time it was one continual roar, much of the time increased by the discharge of cannon, and these decreasing as they ceased.

You can travel miles through the timber and can not find a tree of any size but that is marked by the balls. In many places the small trees are entirely cut down by the fire of the small arms, while larger trees are torn and broken in all directions by shell and shot from the cannon.

Our Regiment was ordered into position about 9 o’clock in the morning and with the 14th, 12th and 7th Iowa Regiments, forming a brigade under Col. Tuttle, were placed a little to the left of the centre of the line of battle and maintained their position until Gen. Wallace ordered them to fall back; which order came so late that the brigade was outflanked nearly a mile. Our boys did not fall back until ordered, and then only the 2nd and the 7th got out, passing through a cross fire for nearly the whole distance. – The 12th and 14th both fought bravely but were overpowered, and surrendered.

Our boys in the 2d, suffered severely then, but were in the fight again the next day and made the last charge on the right; which may be said to have commenced the race. We have lost nearly 100 in killed, wounded and missing. In Co. D, we have no one killed that we know of. Two are missing. These are Austin Rush and James Crystal, son of R. S. Crystal of Lee township. These will come in, I presume, in a day or two. Wm. Riddle, John Looby, Leonard Houston, Sergeant Wm. Houston, and some others are wounded, more or less, but not very severely. The whole Regiment behaved with the utmost coolness during the time they were in the fire.

The prisoners taken say that they had sixty thousand men at the commencement of the action and were re-inforced by sixty thousand more during the day. I do not think that we had over forty thousand in all the first day, and many of them were new troops and did not stand fire. So that our force cold not have been half of the enemy on Sunday. On Monday Buell took the field with fourteen thousand of his men and then we drove them without check.

I have not time to write any more at present, will write again soon. I have written this in a great hurry, and you must excuse errors. The boys send their best wishes, and I include mine.

JOHN LYNDE.

P.S. By-the-way I wish you would send me a half dozen postage stamps, as it is almost impossible to get any. This is my last.

JOHN

– Published in the Daily State Register, Des Moines, Iowa, Tuesday, April 22, 1862