Chenango Telegraph, Norwich, NY, February 19, 1862
Letter from W.S. Baxter, 2nd Minnesota Regiment
The following letter is from a nephew of Hon. Joseph Bush, of Bainbridge [Chenango Co., NY]. He is a lieutenant in the Second Minnesota Regiment of volunteers, and was in the battle and helped gain the glorious victory at Somerset [Battle of Mill Springs, Jan. 19, 1862] . Mr. B. has kindly forwarded the letter to us for publication, for which he will please accept our thanks.
Camp Cumberland, Ky, Jan. 28, 1862
Our victory is said to be the most complete of any since the war commenced. Still, the forces engaged were very small in number, compared with those of the enemy. There were but four regiments on our side engaged in the battle and only two of them at a time. The 4th Kentucky and 10th Indiana regiments first engaged the enemy The 4th Kentucky, after giving them a few shots, retreated, though Col. Fry, of that regiment, succeeded in shooting the rebel General Zollicoffer. The 9th Indiana fought well and kept the enemy in check until our regiment, the 2d Minnesota, and the 9th Ohio came up to take their place. Both our men and the 9th Ohio fought as bravely as ever men fought, and after standing the fire of our two regiments for forty-five minutes, the rebel scamps excelled anything heard of at Bull Run, both in speed and disorder. Yes, it was indeed a Bull Run, and, fortunately for the cause of the Union, the run was on the other side.
They left everything behind them. Their entrenchments were about six miles from the battlefield, and the whole distance was strewn with guns, cartridge boxes, blankets, haversacks full of provisions, and even the clothing from their persons. Many of them pulled their shoes from their feet in order to quicken their speed. They left two pieces of artillery on the field, cutting the harness from their horses and riding them away. They had several wagons loaded with ammunition, which they left at different places along the road.
Had we not expected them to have had masked batteries stationed at some point where they would rally and give us another fight, we might have followed them close enough to have taken them all prisoners. But our officers moved very cautiously and marched us in line of battle to within a mile of their entrenchments that night. It was both hard and slow marching, being most of the way through woods, where the brush and logs were very thick. Our boys were called out before having had breakfasts in the morning, so they had [unreadable] but our men did not murmur, for they were overjoyed at so complete a victory and all felt that they were well paid for the privation.
We expected the enemy would give us a hot reception from their stronghold in the morning, but our forces had increased during the night to fourteen regiments and twenty-two pieces of artillery, and our generals decided to storm their entrenchments. Soon after daylight our forces were formed in line of battle, and started, as we supposed, for a hard fight. The artillery commenced throwing shell and ball as we marched forward, expecting every moment to receive a volley from them, but we received no such reception. As we marched up their embankments where we could get a good view, what do you suppose met our astonished gaze? Nothing but horses, mules, wagons and deserted tents.
The routed army had a small steamboat, and several flat boats and under cover of the night they managed to get the most of their men over the Cumberland river. It was very unfortunate that we had no forces there to meet them. Those men who could not succeed in getting into the boats to cross the river, jumped in and tried to swim, A man who lived near where they crossed told me that he saw two companies jump in at one time, and only twelve of the whole number escaped with their lives. I do not doubt the truth of his story, for large numbers of dead bodies are being constantly found in the river. We will never know the exact number of their loss, but it could not have been less than a thousand killed and wounded. Over three hundred of their dead have been buried by our men. On our side we had about 50 killed and 140 wounded. In our company, B, there were four killed and eight wounded. Our regiment, with the exception of Company B, had a rail fence for a breastwork, which no doubt saved many lives. The men of company B climbed the fence before them and marched up about five paces in advance of the balance of the regiment, which will account for our meeting with a greater loss than any other company in the fight. Our men were all perfectly cool, and the longer they fought, the more determined they seemed to be. While the dead and wounded were falling by their sides they did not waver, but the expression of each face seemed to say, "We will have victory for our comrades blood!"
We captured everything the rebels had; two thousand horses and mules, sixteen pieces of artillery, all of their camp equipage and any quantity of wagons. We are now encamped on the banks of the Cumberland, six miles from Somerset. I do not know how long we will stay here, nor do I know where we shall go when we leave here, but many think we will go to Tennessee.
Yours, W.S. Baxter
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