The Jeffersonian Democrat. [volume] (Chardon, Ohio) 1854-1865, 1865-05-19
Horrible Scenes or the Old Battle
Grounds Before Richmond.

A correspondent who recently visited
somc of the old battle fields OF 1864 before
Richmond relates that at tho battle ground
OF Cold Harbor, he came across skull,
bleacted and as clean as ever seen IN a
medical college. Turning over a few bush.
%. no found tho remairs of Union soldier,
which he could identify by his blue blouse
and United States plates on his accoutre.
n,ants. dismounted, examined the skull!
and found it a finely developed head
Poor fellow! He was one of the bravcst Of
the brave. and making tho charge upon the
rebel limos ho had penetrated between the
second and third lines. where no mot bis
death. He had evidently c,awled into the
bushes and died. Not vestige OF flesh
was on his bones. which were tleached per
tectly white. Keeping up tho little road.
along which charge had evidently been
made by our troops, VIC came across another,
aud another, Til we passed more than q
dozen skeletons. all in Union clothes, lying
Just as toy felt. The. shoes were on most Of
them, and their clothing which had shrunk
from tho &C ion of tho weather, had loft the
leg boDos exposed and tho arms at the
wrists. Continuing on to tho dcbatable
ground between the two lincs, u sorrowful
sight presented iisolf.
More than ono hundred Union soldiers
were unhured on The small space Of ground
that came within view, and their grinniDg
skulls and heshlGss arms and legs wore ly.
ing around in every direction, all with more
or less Union clothing on tho remains. We
commenced to count them, and rode about
fifty yards. but, as thoy were lying in every
direction. we soon lost the count. and gave
it up. There were fully one hundred and
fifty exposed within view, and how many
moro we could not tell, as the sight was no,
a pleasant one, and we concluded to turu
the way We came, and left. These. bodies
have been tho prey of turkey bu.zards, ,hsog
and dogs for nearly a year. We could see
tho buzzards. with their enormous wings,
sailing about in the air. watching their OPP
portunity. when we would leavo,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 tho vicinity
told us that, having no fence to confine the
cattle, tho hogs wandered about,and he had
often driven them away from feeding upon
the bodies where they lay. Tho spot where
these remains lay is about quarter Of a
mile from Cold lIarbor Tavern. a little. d.
lapidated, one story building. We rode up
to it, and four young women, named Stew
art. camo out TO meet US. We inquired
how it was that these bodies remained IN.
buried so near their house. They stated
! that the bodies had been buried once. but
that Gcary's Brigade of South Carolinans
came along some lime otter tho battle, aud
they dug them up. and left them in the
cnndi,ion we had seen them. For the hon
or of human nature. am inclined to dis
credit this part of their story, as the skele
tons seemed to lie exactly in tho position
they had fallen, and DO not lock as if they
had been buried. However. the yourg wo
men assert the fact earnestly, and l give
their statement for what it is worth. II The
bodies ever were buried. or covered with
Garth. it must have been by digging some o.
tho surrounding earth,a throwing it ovel
them, which, in short time, IS washed of
by tho rains. working party of colorod
troops have since been sent from Rich
mond to bury The dead, gathering up al
tho remains, depositing them in a trench
and raising mound high enough to pre-
vent tho farmers from plowing them up.