The new South. [volume] (Port Royal, S.C.) 1862-1867, 1862-10-25
had not been more afraid to disobey orders. /

formed on us and the old habit kept us all there.
A cold sweat stood all over me- but ] had not time
to think before the other divisions were double
quicking it through some open woods into line OF
battle, when we were ordered to lie down till our
battery came up. Pretty soon Georgia Regiment
advanced on Us down through dip in the ground,
halting occasionally and loading and firing as they
came on. The bullets whistled all around but
done no harm. Our battery on our right drew the
fire of the secesh battery andwe had an open chance
before us. By forming on third division We had
lust slight roll Of ground between us and the dip
in the meadow in front, and when we lay down the
balls from the battery would ricochet over us, or
90 over our heads without striking. few men
got hit with pieces Of shell, but nearly all we lost
stood leaning against tree at the right and IN the
crown of the knoll, as cool as cucumber, watching
the enemy. The surgeon, and assistant and band
were o. .cking up. the wounded men and carrying
them to the re n out of fire. Every now and then
the Colonel would turn and look at us lying along
the ground, and / could see him from where was
show his teeth with ferce-looking kind OF grin as
he looked at US. The same as to say, it seemed to
me, just wal till order these fellows at you, 1t
seemed veS short time before the order came.
We fred single volley at 100 yards distance and
then fixed bayonets, and down we went at double
quick charge, every man yelling to suit himself.
The Georgians stood till we were twenty PAGES
from Them and then broke and run for worm
fence, where they tried to rally, but in climbing
the fence we came up with them, and the rails few
OF and we after them right up on to their battery,
which could not hit US without hitting them. So
we took the battery of four brass guns. Thiss all
know about the first bate of Winchester After
we were ordered up to fire and charge did not see
any body tn It looked scared for my part did not
think anything about it then, though, till the Sc
cesh broke, men were every now and then dropping
out of the ranks hit or killed.
Our Brigadier-General came down to see US next
morn g, and we were ordered out to receive him,
and he made US another short speech. Says he !:
'sBoys, we have been just learning you little
here, and you have done very well. But l am
going to take you over into Nc Ulean's cJrps one Of
these days, and then shall expect you to fight in
real earnest. But see your clothes look as nice
as usual this morning" We had bold talking
Sergeant in the color guard who spoke up and said:
That's more than yours do, General, :" which made
us all grin. For the skirt of his coat had hole
through it, and his baggage had been started to-
ward Manassas the day before the fight, and he
had no change, and the hole could only be mended
with patch; but suppose for as cool as he would
talk to us he was rather proud of that hole in his
coat. If he wasn't we were. We lay at Winches-
ter some days before we marched across the She
nandoah for Manassas, and while lying there
went into the hospitals where our boys and the Sc
eesh wounded were being taken care of. And here
l saw something thlt made me feel pretty bad.
One of our corporals had bullet through his thigh.
He was wounded on picket the night before the
battle. He had an Iri,hman on his picket guard
who would smoke bis pipe through anything and
everything. Well, it was cold and damp this
night, so Pat Lighted his pipe and smoked away
living down with his shoulders ag inst fallen tree,
for It was not his relief, and he could not sleep
he said he would take it out in good smoke. This
spark of fire madeta good mark, and pretty soon
bullet struck the corporal who was standing some
distance from Pat. eBless the pipe, thin," says
Pat for if you had been smoking it, corporal, he
would have fired at you and hit me- The guard
fred back by chance, and afterward approached
cautiously toward the place from which the shot
had been fired. They heard groans which guided
them, and soon came to a badly wounded man, in
farmers dress, with large bore rifle lying by
his side. They stopped the bleeding as well as
they could, and turned out Pats relief to carry
him and the corporal to the nearest house in our
lines. This turned out to be the farmers own
4 10 Inl,, oa,nf