The Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1837-1867, 1862-08-22
thews Of the throat bare and black. The eyes


sme and fastening corruption. What more
may have been remarked it is useless to say,
save that no imagination of death was half so
terrible. If such feelings were enpendered
by the glimpse of a single body, what shall
describe the horrible picture of the dead
grouped, nay, heaped. upon each other, and
whitening under fiery sum- They lay by
the margin of the tributary rivulet, half hid
den in the stalks of corn-one with an arm
drawn over the eye, another with arms fixed
ly folded upon the chest, and others sitting
bolt upright, as if resurrested and about to
speak. There was no speculation in the eyes
that they did glare withal; the grave seemed
to have been opened that might see, and
after glory the worm had come to hold high
revel upon the good, the gallant and the gift
ed. A few officers were noted but the tin
sci shoulder straps were rusty and discolored,
and they looked Ike common clay. noticed
one stalwart fellow who had fallen with his
musket tightly gripped TO his side, as if he
had fallen at shoulder arms Some seemed
to have died irresolutely, and the terror had
petriied in their visages; but the predomi-
nant expression was one of wrath, caused,
perhaps, by the loss of some tried comrade
who had fallen previously. A few looked
placid. though their features were distorted,
and all were so swollen that they compared in
size with the dead horses ad iacent.
The bodies of these are lifted by their COM
rades and deposited in trenches, without coffin
or head-stohe. Occasionally the practical
sexton discovers some old friend, honors him
with special grave, and quietly makes note
of his resting place for future exigency. All
of our dead, so far as | saw or heard, had been
plundered of their money, arms and in some
cases of their clothing. think that we NAV
have had a hundred and fifty dead. found
them grouped in the edges of all the woods,
in one case twenty-five together. Several Of
these appeared to be killed by fragments of
shells, and one mans head was missing. In
curious juxtaposition to these ghastly objects
] saw an old-fashioned plow that had been
struck by solid shot and broken in half. War
had leveled the earliest and last indication of
industry. BY the kindness of the rebelcaval-
ry General Stewart. was allowed to ride
with Lieutenant Johnston across the rebel
lines and examine the enemy's dead. As
most of these had been buried, | could not
tell with certainty the rebel loss but If could
scarcely have been less than ours. Eight
North Carolinians lay in row by fragment
of tence-stout. stalwart rustics In home
spun clothes, who had perhaps been dragged
as conscri pts from their homes to perish in
an unholy cause.
We rode into piece Of woods not half
mile from Slaughters Mountain, and beheld
the spot where Union and rebel had tugged
and tustled face to face, parrying and thrust
ing with cold steel. Some of the rebels
seemed to have edged over to our lines and
fell among our meanwhile some of the Union
lists were quite turned around and lay in a
bevy Of their enemies. The rebels claim to
: have blown up several caissions left behind
J US on Saturday evening, and TO have picked
, up more than two thousand arms, with up
ward Of sixty horses. i saw what had been
previously undiscovered, about fifty muskets
stacked against piece of scrub timber, and
within our lines IS re-established.
WOUNDED ON TIE FIELp.
4 great number of our wounded were car
ted from the field by ambulances. They had
lain two days upon II e side of their fall, and
were nearly famished and perished. We took
in perhaps four hundred on Monday, between
, nine o'clock and dark. The enemy had char
: Iiably relieved the necessities of few but
= their provisions being limited they were obli-
t ged to desert some of the most helpless. Ma
/ ny men merely had broken limbs, upon which
they could not stand. Several cases of am
putation were undergone on the field, and by
tween our lines and the enemys.
GENERAL slGEL's TROOPS.
Y Many will probably ask why the corps of
t General Sigel and Mcdowell did not come
s up in time TO reinforce General Banks. The
question is easily answered. Genera Banks
only encountered the enemy al about four
4 O'Clock in the afternoon. and it was not until
FIVE O'Clock that il Mas known that there was
more Than a few regiments of rebels-a mer,.
advance guard, similar to Banks own force
/, upon our front. Gen Banks thought HIM
= self TO be, and, as the sequel proved, was able
:. TO maintain his position, and only sent back
= for rein.orcemenis when he found the enemy
were being greatly reinforced ard were mass
ing troops upon him. As soon as General
N Mcdowell, who was five miles away on the
sr Culpepper road, found that he was needed
" his army corps was pushed forward, arriving
l. upon the ground just as the firing on both
l. sides ceased. Ii must be remembered that
d, the day was an oppresslvely hot one, perhap,
4 the hotties. of the season. and no troops in
lr the world, under the circumstances, could
e. have reached the field sooner. Experience
u Will teach any one that there is vast differ
a. ence between double quicking" four or irt
" miles over dusty road, with the thermome
e. ter at 9> in the shade, and performing III,
~ same feat in January, when he has TO agitats
his limbs nimbly 10 keep his blood from con
is gealins. McDowell's forces came up in GOOD
in time TO cover our exhausted troops as the,
1T rested for the night, and that was all tha
d. could be experted of them. Sigel had I,
&, march eight miles TO reach the same.
ur INCIDENTS CLEANED FROM VARIOUS SOURCES.
AT General Geary's wound will probably caus
ey the loss of his arm. He rode back into tn
d. fight bloody and full of pain, and commando
he his regiments with the utmost exactness.
af- 1t is reported that when General Augu
.al was wounded he sent for General Prince. q
le. Senior Brigadier TO take command of III
d. division that Prince Immediately rode tow
he ard the spot where he supposed Augur wa
lat but found the troops at the point were frin
ed upon our forces. He began TO remonstrat
he with them for such conduct, when they chal
m ged upon and seized him. They proved I
he be rebel troops and captured him.
of When the fight commenced We sent a she
directly through the roof of Mrs. Crittenden
house, when most of the family decamped.
Miss Crittenden, said to be comely and fa
of 10 look upon, refused. however, to abser