The Council Bluffs nonpareil. [volume] (Council Bluffs [Iowa]) 1857-1867, 1861-07-27
soLDsER's EMOTIONS II sArrLE.

! 4 SOLDIERS EMOTIONS Ii sArrLE.
i Our citizen soldiers inexperienced 10 Ii
battle sie.d, will tiad the most s~rrible mo
g.meuss lust before ths combat begins.
soldier in his narration Of PERSONAL adven
Eturcs in the Mexican war, published i,
Hare's .Achieremeafs Of Aa,erecaas, give
some interesting items on thss head 10 hi
description ef the battle af Palo Alto, th
opening battle Of the var.
1 When ali was ready both armies seoo,
ssill for about twenty minutes, each wsitin,
for the other 20 begin the work Of death
and during this time did nos see singl,
man OF tho enemy move; thsy stood hk,
statues.
weremained quiet, with two exceptions.
General Taylor, followed by his siaf, rod,
from left 80 right as a ssow pace, With hi,
| leg thrown over ike woman, aSd as b,
passed each regiment, he spoke words Of
encouragement. l know not whas he saG
TO the others, but when he came ur 10 whers
We sseed, he lonke.i stsdiiy at ns, suppose
TO see what effect rhe novel circumstances
| in which We were placed had upon us and
as he gaxed, he said: .. The bayonei, M,
hardy cocks, the bapoae! is the thing!
The other occasion was that OF Lieut.. Blake,
| Of the engineers. who volunteered TO galloy
along the enemy's line, IN front Of both ar
mics, and count their guns; and so close
did he go that he might have been shot a
hundred times. One Of the officers Of the
enemy, doubtless thinking be had some com
manication to make, rode out to meet hlm.
tn rn,A aff N hin,
but rode on, and then returned and reported
to Taylor.
Thus stood those two bell;serent armies,
face to face. What were the feelings OF
those thousands! How many thoughts and
fears were crowded into those few moments!
Look at our men! a clammy sweat is settled
all over faces slightly pale, not from cow
ardly fear, but from an awful sense Of peril.
combined with determination not to Elnch
from duty. These are the noments in VIII, ch
true soldiers resign themselves 10 their fate.
aud console themselves with the reflection
that whatever may befall them, they will
act with honor, these are the moments when
the absolute coward saifers more than death
when, if not certain he would be shot in
his tracks, he would turn aud flee. Fight
ing is very hard work the man who has
passed through two hours fight has lived
through n great amount of mental and phys
ical labor. AT the end Of battle, always
found that had pcrspired SO protusely as
to wet through oil my thick woollen cloth
ing. and when had got cool | was as sore
as f had been beaten all over with club
When the battle commences, tn. feelings
undergo change. Reader, did you ever
see your house on Gre? II so, it was then
YOU rushed into great danger it was then
you went places, climbed over walls, lifted
heavy loads, which YOU never could have
done in your cooler moments; you have then
experienced some Of the excitement OF a
soldier in bat le. always know my dan
ger-that at any moment was liable to be
killed; vet such was my excitement that
never ful y realized it. All men are no,
alike; some are cool; some are perfectly wild
or crazy; others are so Frustrated with fear
that they are completely unnerved--an aw.
full sinking and relaxation Of all their ener-
gies takes place, awful to behold they
tremble like an aspen, sink into bitches and
covert places, cry like children, and are
totally insensible to shame-dead to every
emotion but the overwhelming fear Of in.
stant death. We had few, and but few,
Of such in our army.
As the two armies were facing each other,
it was remarkable TO see the cooiness Of our
men; there they stood, chewing bits Of bis
cults, and talking about the Mexicans-
some wondering if they would fight; others
allowing they would, and like demons, too.
kept my eye on the artillery OF the enemy.
aud happened to be looking toward their
right wing, when suddenly a white curl OF
smoke sprang up from one Of I cir batteries,
and saw the dust ily some distance in front,
where the ball struck. Instantly another,
and then another rich curl Of smuke arose,
succeeded by II booming sound, and then
the shot came rushing toward US. The en-
envy fred very rapidly, and their balls
knocked the dust about US in all directions
some went over our heads. others struck
The ground in front and bounded away.
Our batteries now went to work and pour
ed in upon them perfect storm Of iron.-
Lieut.. Churchill and his men began With
their eighteen FOUNDERS, and when the first
was fired, it made snch a loud report that
our men gave a spontaneous shout, which
seemed to inspire Us with renewed conf
dencc. l cnu.d hear every word the Lieu
tenant said TO his men. When the GEst
shot Was fred he watched the ball, saying.
TOO low men; try again; the third time is
the charm!" The thlrd shot was fred. and
saw with my own eyes the dreadful effects
of that and the following shots. "That's
il, nv boysl" shouted Churchill, jumping
up about two feet; .'you have them nos
keep ut that; and 40 they did. and every
shot tore complete lanes through the enc
my's line. but they stood il maufully. The
full chorus Of battle now rnged; twenty
three pieces Of artillery belched forth their
iron hail.
We are ordered to lie down in the grass
to avoid the shot; this puzzled the enemy.
and they could not bring their guns to bear
upon Us, narrow escapes; one ball came
within six inches of nv left side. The force
uf the .ho, was ,remendous; n horses BODY
vas no obstacle a, all; a mans leg vas a
mere pipe stem. | watched the shot Is j,
struck the roots OF the grass, and 1t was as
,onishiny how the dust Asw. In about an
hour the gras. caught on FIRE, and tie cloud.
~ smoke shut ous the opposing armies from
view. We had not as yet Loss . man from
osr. regiment. In tb. obscurity. the enemy
changed their lin., and the eigh;eep.p susd-
ers, supported by our fegiment. teok Ds~
position on a little rise Of ground. As ~
mny d on 10 the spot shot carried ava,
the lower jas Of Captain Page, asd ,h.r
took of a mans head on tbs right ~ clear
a. with knife. The blood Of poar Page VA,
ahe firss blood sau be vas knocked dosr
in tn. grass, and a. hs endeasored to rails.
himself. he presented snch a ghastly spec
tacle, that sickiy, faintinz ssnsatian cam
over me, and the memory OF that nigh.
shall carry wish me 20 my dying dss. 4
little later, Major Ringgold vas morsall,