The Nevada Democrat., 1862-09-02
The ReaJItIes of a Battle.

No person can begin TO comprehend, from
q description, the terrible realities ofa bat
Ile; and even those who participate are
competent to speak only of their own per
sonal experience. Where friends and foes
are failing by scores, and every species of
missile is dying through the air, threaten
ing each instant to send one into eternity,
little time is afforded for more observation
or reflection than IS required for personal
safety. The scene is one OF the most excit-
tug aud exhilaraling that can be conceived.
Imagine q regiment passing you at "dodble
quick" the men cheering with enthusiasm,
their teeth set, their eyes flashing, aud the
whole in frenzy of resolution. You &C.
company them TO The field. They halt. An
wid-de.camp passes to or from the comman-
ding General The clear voice of the Off.
GERS ring along the lines in tones Of pas
lionate elOquonce; their words short thrill
ling and elastic. The word Is given to
march. and the body moves into action.
For the first time in your life you listen to
he whizzing of iron hail. Grape aud can.
ter fly into the ranks, bombshells burst
.verhead, aud the fragments scatter all
-ound you. A friend falls, perhaps dOz-
"A or twenty of your comrades lie wounded
II dying at your feet, strange involun-
1ry shrinking steals over you which it is
npossble to resist.
You feel inclined neither to advance nor
ecede, but are speil.bOund by the contend.
ng emotions of the moral and physical
lan. The cheek blanches, the lip quivers.
I'D the eye almost hestales to look upon
ne scene. In this attitude you may, per-
ADS, be ordered to stand an hour inactive,
iavoc meanwhile marking its footsteps
nth blood on every side Finally the or
.er is given to advance, TO tire,Or to charge
And now what a metamorphOsisl With
our first shot you become aew man. Per-
.oual safety is your last concern. Fear has
10 existence in your bosom. Hesitation
eiVes way to al uncomfortable desire to
ush into the thlckest OF the 6ght. The dead
And dying around you, If they receive a
aassing thought, only serve to stimulate
sou to revenge. You become cool and de-
,iberate, and watch the effect Of bullets, the
ihOwer of bursting shells, the passage OF
cannon balls as they rake their murderOus
channels through your ranks; the punging
bf wounded horses, the agonies Of the dy.
ing, and the clash of contending arms which
follows the dashing charge, with feeling
80 callOused by surrounding circumstances
that your soul seems dead to every sympa-
thzng aud selfish thought.
Such lie the spir it which carries the soldier
through the field of battle. But when the
excitement has passed, when the roll OF
musketry has ceased, the noisy voices of
the cannon are cd, the dusky pail OF
sulphurOus smOk i risen from the field,
and you stroll over tho .leatea of carnage,
bearing the groans Of the wounded, dscov-
ering-here, shattered almost beyond rec
ognition, the form of some dear friend,
whom only an hour before you met in the
full flush Of life aud happiness--there an-
other perforated by bullet; third with
d limb shot away;a fourth with his face dis
figured; 9th almost torn to fragments; a
sixth headless corpse; the ground plOwed
up and stained with blood; human brains
splashed around; limbs without bodies aud
bodies without limbs, scattered here and
there, and the same picture duplicated
scores of times-then you begin to realize
the horrors of war, and experience reac-
ton of nature. The heart opens it's food.
gates, humanity asserts itself again, and
YOU begin to feel. Friend and foe alike re-
ccive your kindest sympathy. A battle
field Is eminently place that tries mems
souls