The disastrous end of the Pollard raid.
The Mobile papers contain the particulars of the disastrous retreat of the
Yankees from their raid on
Pollard,
Mississippi.
The
Advertiser says:
‘
"At 8 o'clock Saturday morning, the force in reserve — some three hundred strong — starting at once in the direction of
Pollard, met the enemy about 10 o'clock at
Abercrombie's, which is about six miles below that place by the
Pensacola road.
Here the fight commenced, which lasted through that day and the next.
’
"The hope was entertained of bringing the enemy to a stand, and, finding this impossible, orders were given to get ready to shell their rear, and, if possible, delay them until the main force of the brigade should arrive.
This was attempted, and the remainder of the fight was in the nature of a race, our men endeavoring to head the
Yankees off. The hardest fight occurred at
Mrs. Williams's, eighteen miles below
Pollard, half an hour from sundown, on Saturday.
There, for the first time, the enemy were fairly routed, and began to drop their plunder, clothing, stores, etc.; first, consisting in great part of ladies' clothes; the last, of coffee and every variety of creature comforts.
It might have been supposed that the sight of these spoils would retard the pursuit, but our boys had got the taste of blood, which has not been so common a banquet with them as to have lost its zest, and they pushed on, unmindful of the golden apples which the
Yankee Hippomenes (horse-stealers) threw in their way. This fight lasted about forty minutes. Near the close,
General Clanton arrived with about one hundred men, and the appearance of this new force probably accelerated the enemy's departure.
"The pursuit, or rather the race was kept up to
Pine Barren creek, which our men reached in the course of the night.
Their guides assured them that by burning the bridge at that point they would cut off the enemy's retreat, but the
Yankees had better guides (are there no guides in the country but those in the
Yankee service?) and crossed at a ford which nobody else seemed to know of.--Not so soon, however, but our sharp scented boys discovered the track and were off for the ford, which they reached just as the
Yankees had effected their passage.
Here they were joined by the remainder of the brigade; but by this time the horses of the entire command were in so jaded a condition that the pursuit was only continued four miles further, ceasing at sunrise Sunday morning ten miles from
Pensacola.
"The ford was reached at one o'clock Sunday morning. Here the enemy were obliged to cut loose ten of their wagons, which, with the harness, fell into our hands.
They had carried off their dead, as well as wounded, in their wagons, but these, soon becoming overlooked, they
threw the bodies out. Fifty dead negroes were thrown out at the ford.
As the wearied command slowly made their way back, they were able to estimate the amount of the disaster done to the enemy.
Not less than two hundred of them (mostly negroes) had been killed, besides the wounded; and the road, for the last eight miles--from
Mrs. Williams's — was strewn with the plunder, which there was now leisure to collect.
On returning to
Bluff Springs, they had not been dismounted ten minutes before horses as well as men were stretched on the ground, having been in constant motion for six days out of eight."
