We have been permitted to publish the following letter written by Capt. A.I. root, of the 12th Regt. N.Y.V. on the Tuesday following the battle of Bull's Run. This Regiment it will be remembered was not engaged in the action of Sunday, it being then in the reserve at or near Centerville, but took a prominent part in the engagement of Thursday previous.  From the facts stated by the Capt. it will be seen that the retreat of this regiment was under what was supposed to be the order of their Colonel, and not from cowardice as has been charged. Our confidence in the bravery and "pluck" of the offices and men composing Capt. Root's company remains firm.

*

Arlington, July 23.
 

   Mr. James M. Willett - My Dear Sir: -

      As we have been on the battle field since I wrote you last, and have been branded as cowards by the newspaper correspondents, I propose to give you a slight detail of the battle we had on the 18th, and leave it for you to judge whether the newspapers are right or not. The brigade the 12th is connected with left the Chain Bridge on the 16th, at 3 o'clock P.M., and marched to Vienna, a place about 7 miles from the bridge, and encamped for the night. We started again early on the morning of the 17th for Fairfax Court House, which was about 7 miles further on, expecting to have a brush with the rebels there; but when we arrived we found the "birds had flown," so all we had to do was to follow them, not expecting to find them till we got to Manassas Gap Junction. We marched a few miles further and encamped for the night.  Early on the 18th we were up and off; marched about 10 miles and came up to Bull\s Run, and found the enemy ready to meet us. We found them in a piece of woods containing about 20 acres, and had no idea, of course, as to how many we were to meet, but were ready to take our chances, let there be more or less. Carlisle's Battery, of Pennsylvania, being with us, took a position and commenced throwing shot and shell at them, which they returned quite vigorously at first, but in about half an hour the firing ceased.  Gen. Richardson ordered the infantry to clear the woods.
 

   The 1st regiment of Massachusetts and the 2d of Michigan, to go in on the right, and the 12th N.Y. to engage them in the front. We marched in about 15 rods, and before we knew where we were, we were fired upon by the enemy from a masked battery and musketry, which were so close that the power burnt the men's faces. The men dropped on their faces and returned the fire, and then retreated a few paces, loading as they went, and received the second volley, not only in front, but from the right and left. At this time a Captain in the left wing of the regiment gave the order to retreat, unbeknown to the Colonel, and left with six companies and about two thirds of mine.  As I did not hear the order, I was surprised in a  few minutes after to find that my men had gone. I ran back and rallied a few of them that I found, and returned, but finding it useless, retreated.
 

   The first volley the rebels fired went over the men's heads, or the most of it. After that the men were lying flat on the ground, and but few were killed or wounded. It has been ascertained that there were from 10,000 to 20,000 men concealed there. I had three men wounded, one, Wm. Lathrop, mortally.  He was struck by a ball in the shoulder, it coming out at the spine. He lived until Friday afternoon.  His family are at East Pembroke, I believe. Will you be kind enough to see that they are informed of his death in a proper manner. You can say to them that everything was done that possibly could be under the circumstances. I detailed three men to take care of him, who were with him most of the time. He arranged his matters with one of his attendants, but as both of  my Lieutenants were so overcome with the heat on the day of the battle that they were obliged to be carried off the field, and have not been able to do anything since, I have not had tome to attend to anything else than the company, but will see that his matters are attended to immediately. Wm. Graham was wounded in the abdomen by a bayonet. He is doing well and will live.  Alanson Vercillus was slightly wounded by  a buck shot in the shoulder. None were killed - I have much more I wish to write, but am too tired to do it now.

    Most Respectfully Yours,

                Capt. A.I. Root

Republican Advocate - Batavia NY
September 16-1862


Capt. Root.
~ taken from the 'Syracuse Courier.' ~Capt. Augustus J. Root, of Co. I, 12th Onondaga Regiment, is at home the second time, suffering severely from wounds received in the recent battles. We called upon him at his rooms in the Syracuse House, yesterday, and although dangerously wounded, and in considerable pain, we found him as cheerful and pleasant as though nothing had happened. He has a severe bullet wound in the right side, and another on the left hip, having been hit twice, no doubt by some rebel sharpshooter. From his own lips we gathered the following particulars of Saturday's battle, in the vicinity of Manassas, which will be interesting to the public. Daylight of Saturday morning, the 30th ult., found the Twelfth Onondaga Regiment five miles west of Manassas Junction, with orders to march immediately for Centreville. By sunrise the regiment was well on the way, and had made about half the distance when it was ordered into a corn field, with the balance of Gen. Butterfield's brigade, and prepared for battle. -

After laying there an hour or two, Col. Weeks received orders to take command of the brigade, and move forward. Capt. Root was ordered by the Colonel to take command of the regiment, which took him very much by surprise, and he received it with regret, inasmuch as it would take him away from the head of his company. Capt. Ira Wood was taken ill the night previous to the battle, and was not with the regiment. There were but eleven line officers in the regiment, and Capt. Root could not take one of them to his assistance. Adjutant Watson, a man in whom he had every confidence, and whom he reports as having done his duty nobly, was the only assistant Capt. Root had during the battle. The regiment moved a few rods into a piece of woods, and halted. Capt. Root cheered up his men, scanned them closely, found them resolute and determined, and was convinced that they would make a "bully fight." The first duty assigned the regiment was to charge upon a rebel battery.

On emerging into the open field, which was only a few rods in advance, Capt. Root ascertained that there were two brigades besides that of Butterfield's on the charge with him, and speaks of it as the most exciting and beautiful sight a man ever witnessed. The brigade moved forward in fine style till within about forty rods of the enemy, when the advance was checked on account of the heavy fire from the rebel batteries. Two regiments being between the Twelfth and the front line, the boys had no chance to fire upon the enemy. As they could not stand thus, exposed to a raking fire, they pushed through the ranks of the other regiments, formed into line of battle, and went to work in earnest. The fire from the enemy was terrible, and none but veterans could have withstood it for a moment. The ranks of the Twelfth were being thinned out very fast, and the force sent against the rebel
batteries was not strong enough to take them. Reinforcements not coming up, the order was soon issued along the whole line to fall back in good order,
and then commenced a scene that beggars description.

The enemy opened upon the retreating column with redoubled vigor, piling the dead and wounded in heaps upon the battle field. Capt. Root says he has been under heavy fire several times, but never experienced anything like what the rebels dealt out on that occasion. The smoke from the explosion of shell was so thick that it was impossible to see but a short distance, while solid shot, grape and cannister, and bullets from Mine rifles and muskets were showered upon them by the bushel. In fact, it hailed iron missiles, and it seemed a miracle for a man to escape with his life. Capt. Root had got back about three rods, and was congratulating himself upon having escaped without a scratch, when he was hit in the left hip by a rifle ball. Thinking this was all he was to get, he kept on with his men, but had only proceeded a few steps further when he was struck in the right side by a ball, the force of which knocked him forward, and he fell into a small ditch, half filled with water. He made an effort to get out, but found he could not move, and shortly afterwards found himself in the hands of the enemy. He had been in the ditch but a short time when a rebel approached, and relieved him of his sword, belt, and pistol. In about the space of half an hour the same audacious fellow returned and coolly inquired of Capt. Root if he had some
ammunition he would give him for the pistol. This appeared to him as a good joke, and he told his rebel visitor that he was sorry to say he could not
accommodate his reasonable and very modest request. In a short time a fellow came along and relieved the Captain of his hat, a new one, leaving an
old, dilapidated one in its stead. Capt. Root begged his new visitor not to carry off his shat, but he jocosely remarked that "an even exchange was no
robbery, so he would trade with him." As the "secesh" hat had probably been worn before the rebellion broke out, joke No. 2 struck our philosophical
friend, the Captain, as a better one than the first, and he acquiesced, with a smile. Aside from these two little incidents, Capt. Root says that the
enemy, into whose hands he fell through the chances of war, did everything they could to make him both comfortable and cheerful.

He lay in the ditch during the entire night. Just after daylight the following morning, there came up a tremendous shower, which at once put our brave friend in fresh trouble. The water began to collect in the ditch, which threatened to drown him. He made a desperate effort to move out, but found it impossible. His wounds had become swollen and painful, and his joints stiffened. He was so weak that he could not make a noise or raise an outcry. The water was rising rapidly in the ditch were he lay, when four rebel scouts happened to come that way, and saw him. They picked the Captain up and carried him to an old shanty about ten rods distant, and left him under shelter, expressing their wonderment and regret that he should so soon be on the field again to fight them, after his first wounds of only a few months before.

Capt. Root remained there until about noon of the next day, when our ambulances, having obtained permission to cross the rebel lines under a flag of truce, arrived, and he was taken charge of, and put into one of them, where he remained until Wednesday night, was removed to Alexandria, and from thence to this city by railroad and steamboat conveyance. The long journey has been a painful one to him, but with the kind care and devoted attention that he is receiving, we hope to see him about in a short time.