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THE NORTII-WESTEEN BASTION OP PORT SANDERS, SHOWING THE GROUND OVER WHICH THECONFEDERATES CHARGED. FROM A PHOTOGRAPH.

sions, though on the latter we got in a sharp andpretty artillery duel over some nice open groundunusually favorable for it, during which one ofour guns, a 20-pounder Parrott, exploded, but for-tunately without killing any one. Here we foundout that we had opposite to us an old friend,Benjamin’s battery of 20-pounder Parrotts, whichhad been our vis-a-vis at Fredericksburg, where ithad pounded us from “ Mary Scott’s Hill.”

The night of the third day, the 17th, Burnsidewas safe in Knoxville , and we encamped at Ha-zen’s, a short distance off. The next day we beganreconnoitering for the best place to assault.

A Federal cavalry brigade, under General "W. P.Sanders, held a line of rail breastworks on a hillnear the Armstrong house, and interfered seriouslywith our freedom of motion. Our skirmishers hav-ing vainly tried to move them, and artillery ammu-nition being too scarce for much of a cannonadeon a minor point, we got up two of Taylor’sNapoleons, so they could not he seen, behind ahouso which stood about 250 yards from theenemy’s line, and asked for two regiments of infan-try to charge it as soon as we made an impression.All being ready, the guns were run out frombehind the house and opened vigorously with solidshot, being helped also by Moody’s 24-pounderhowitzers with shrapnel, a short distance to theleft. At the close range Taylor made the rails flyat every shot, and the enemy began to desert them

S This action was very sharp for a small affair and waswe.il fought on both sides. When our infantry line haltedand lay down, Captain S. Winthrop, of my staff, gallopedup to and through them as they rose, and right up to thebreastworks. A dozen muskets could be seen blazingat him, and he fell forward on his horse’s neck with abullet through the collar-bone. He had been a captainin Her Majesty’s 24 tli regiment, and came to the Con-federacy to get a taste of active service, and on other

rapidly and run back over the hill. Then the 2dand 3d South Carolina regiments of Kershaw’sbrigade rose from their cover and dashed at them.Sanders and his officers rallied their men gallantlyand brought most of them back to the line, andpoured a heavy fire upon the Carolinians. Thelatter advanced rapidly without returning it untilthey reached two cedar-trees within thirty yardsof the enemy, when they halted, lay down, andopened fire. This was from a misapprehension oftheir orders, which were not to go farther forwardthan the enemy’s line near the cedar-trees. Inthree minutes, however, the mistake was appre-ciated, and, rising with a yell, they dashed uponand carried the rail breastwork, killing and cap-turing quite a number of the enemy. J

On the 19th, the enemy being now pretty closelyconfined to the town, we began preparations toassault him. It was first necessary to study hislines and find the most favorable point.

The town had been partly fortified a year beforeby the Confederates, and the topography beinggenerally favorable to defense, it was not easy tofind a weak spot, especially as we were all unfa-miliar with the locality, and without even maps ofthe city.

It soon appeared that there was but one pointof the lines which it was possible to assault withany hope of success. That was a fort which hadbeen started by the Confederates under the name

occasions than this also fully sustained the reputationof British pluck.

Tlie Federal general, Sanders, was mortally woundedin this skirmish. He was from Mississippi , and I believewas a distant relative of President Davis. We bad beenintimate at West Point, and had met in San Francisco in 1861 , as I was about resigning to cast my fortuneswith my native State. We parted with no anticipationsof such a meeting.— E. P. A.