Raftsman's journal. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1854-1948, 1865-05-10
THE OLD BATTLE GROUNDS.

A correspondent who recently visited some
of the old battleields of 1864, before Rich
mond relates that at the battle ground of
Cold Harbor, he came across skull, bleach
ed as clean as ever seen In medical college,
Turning over few bushes, he found the re-
IDENTIFY by his blue blouse and United States
plates on his accoutrements. L dismounted
examined the skull, and found it a finely de-
veloped head. Poor fellow He was one
of the bravest of the brave, and making the
charge upon the rebel lines he had penetra-
ted between the second and their lines, where
he met his death. He had evidently crawl
ed into the bushes and died. Not a vestige
OF flesh was on his bones, which were bleached
perfectly white Keeping up the little road
along which charge had evidently been
made by our troops, we came across another.
and another, till we passed more than doz-
en- skeletons, all in Union clothes, lying just
as they fell. The shoes were on most of
them, and their clott ing, which had shrunk
from the action of the weather, had left the
leg bones exposed and the arms at the
wrists. Continuing on to the debateable
ground between the two lines. a sorrowful
sight presented itself More than one hun
dred Union soldiers were unburied on the
small space ofground that came within view
and their grinning skulls and feshless arms
and legs were lying around In every direc-
ton, all with more or less Union clothing on
the remains. We commeced to count them,
and rode about fifty yards, but as they We're
lying in every direction, we soon lost the
count, and gave it up. There were fully
one hundred ard fifty exposed within view,
and how many more we could not tell, as the
sight was not a pleasant one, and we con-
cluded to turn the way we came. and left
These bodies have been the prey of turkey
buzzards, hogs and dogs for nearly year.
ormous wings, sailing about in the air
watching their opportunity, when we would
leave to pounce upon their prey. A dog
was shot by one of our party, which was
gnawing away at some of the remains. A
farmer in the vicinity told us that, having
no fence to confine the cattle, the hogs wan
dered about and he had often driven them
away from feeding upon the bodies where
they lay. The spot where these remains lay
is about a quarter of a mile from Cold Har-
bor Tavern, little dilapidated one story
building. We rode up to 1t, and four roung
women, named STEWART, came out to meet
US. We inquired how it was these bodies
remained unburied so near their house
They stated that the bodies had beeen bu-
ried once, but that Gearv' Brigade of South
Carolinians came along some time after the
Battle, and they dug them up, and left them
in the condition we had seen them. For the
honor of human nature, [ am inclined to
discredit this part of their story, as the skel-
etons seemed to lie exactly in the positions
they had fallen, and do not look as if they
had ever been buried. However the young
women asserted the fact earnestly, and give
this statement for what it is worth. If the
bodies ever We're buried, or covered with
earth it must have been by digging some of
the surrounding earth and throwing it over
them, which, in a short time, is washed off
to bury the dead, gathering up all the re-
mains, depositing them in a trench, and
raising mound high enough to prevent
farmers from blowing them up.