The Jeffersonian. [volume] (Stroudsburg, Pa.) 1853-1911, 1866-09-20
GENERAL GEARY.
The Battle of Wauhatchie
ST. LOUIS, August 10, 1866.
To the Editors Pittsburgh Gazette:

hopes and aspirations for all time to come,
hung upon the vigilance and nerve of a
single man, and that man was Geary.-
The enemy knew the locality well, and
marched with stealthy tread. Longstreet
from and amid the clouds and chilling
night winds high over head, anxiously lis
tened for the first fusilade of battle to reach
him from the abysmal darkness below
Itwas about nine o'clock when the hush
of our comp was startled by the report of
muskets from our line of sentinels, quick
ly followed by others, and the call of the
long roll, and the hoarse cry of "fall in"
broke the stiffness of night; but our men,
tempered by discipline and experience,
were soon in line ready for the foe. 1t
proved to be false alarm, and investigation
revealed the body of donkey, that brouz-
ing too near the sentinels and disregard
ing their challenge, had paid for his te-
merity with his life; bnt in the words of
the old hymn we can truly say.
.sGrcat God, on what slender thread,
Eternal matters hang"
For, but for this incident, the fate Of the
battle might have been very different, for
it influenced Geary to take additional
measures against surprise, by strengthen
ing and extending his line of sentinels,
and tearing down some log houses and
fences on his front, and with the materi-
ais constructing rude barricade at the
foot of the knoll touching on the railroad
and embankmeL here some six or seven
feet high, and stretching away at right
angles to it on the north. Thus our right
was protected by the railroad, our rear by
guich and swamp, and out left rested
on our little train; our four PARROTS be-
ing on the knoll in the centre of our camp.
The men were ordered to sleep on their
arms in ready line of battle, when the
General retired to tent that had been
erected for headquater uses, just in the
rear of the barricade on our left. 1t was
now near eleven o'clock, and all was once
more still when we heard a seminal some
distance in our rear shout out "who comes
there" followed by the report of mus
ket, which was quickly succeeded by a
startling and most unearthly yell-the
Confederate battle cry--which must be
heard under like circumstances to fully
realize its appalling discord. Without
artillery or cavalry, or even throwing out
skirmishers, they had stolen forward until
they felt our sentinels, and then rushed
forward with their demoniac yell in dense
quadruple line of battle. Getting into
the open field in our front, and seeing
some of our camp fires yet burning on the
rising ground behind our breastworks,
they paused and poured in volley, and
then charged tumultuously forward, full
ly expecting to finish US at once by their
numbers and cold steel, and probably
would have done so but tor an obstacle as
little expected as the sunken road way at
Waterloo by the French cuirassiers. To
our left, and about midway on the north
ern side of the field, commenced gully,
which traversed 1t, parallel to our front,
and about sixty yards distant, and passed
under the railroad by stone culvert.-
The rains operating on the friable soil had
worn it from seven to eight feet deep,
and there was nothing to mark its exist
ence. On they came. The hail of lead
over and around us was truly frightful ;
but, deceived by the glimmering lights on
the rising ground behind our lines, their
aim was generally too high, but the white
walls of the Generals tent were con-
spicuous mark, and quickly riddled into
shreds, it became the focus of death, and
to remain near it was suicide.
With the first challenge of the senti-
mel. Geary, already booted and spurred,
threw himself into the saddle-for his
horse was ready hitched and at hand for
the emengency-and, with the only three
of his staff present, rode up and down his
lines, encouraging his men with stem
torian voice, heard even above the din of
battle, and ordering such fresh disposi-
tions as his cool and fertile brain andthe
emergency of the moment required
While his battle line replied to the ene-
my, his reserves, laying down their arms,
tore down all the huts and fences within
their reach, and pressed every rail, log,
rock and chunk they could lay hand on in
to strength ming and extending their breast
works His stalwart form lowered above
the lines, a conspicuous mark for the re-
bel rifles and both men and officers be-
sought him to dismount and not wanton
ly expose himself to such inevitable peril;
but his heroic reply was, Defeat is
death to us all, and death is preferable tc
defeat The fate of our country hangs
upon our success tonight. Never mind
me, for | can work best in the saddle
God is my shield; by His Grace we viii
make Thermopyla, or win the fight.
He continued to move amid the smoke
and uproar as imperturbable as an iror
statue, although the enemy's charge pro
missed to be irresistible and annihilatior
seemed inevitable, while despair alone
gave us courage to die with honor.
On came the enemy, mad with excite
ment and the flush of anticipated victory
little dreaming of the treacherous gull,
into which they plunged and disappeared
& ll0wal hu on aart hnuaka Wbnli