The native Virginian. [volume] (Orange Court House, Va.) 1867-187?, 1868-10-02
HOUSE MORNING OCTOBER 1868 NUM-

ed behind the breaStw0rks to repel the
coming assault. Silence had He'd from
the trenches--the crash of musketry
aud the below ofartillery had replaced
it,. That seemed never to cease. The
men were rocked 10 sleep by i. They
slept on in the dark trenches, though
the mortar shells rose, described their
flaming curves, and, bursting rained
Jagged fragments of iron upon Them
And to MANY that was their last sleep.
The iron tore them in their tattered
/biaEkets. They rose gasping, and
streaming with blood. Then they stag
gered and fell; when you passed by, You
saw a something lying on the ground,
covered with the old blanket. 1t was
one of"Lec's Miseratles," killed last
night by the mortars--a gone To an
swer, "Here - before the Master
The trenches LA the trenches =
Weie you in them, reader! thousands
will tell you more OF them than can.
There, an historic army was guarding
the capital of an historic nation-the
great nation of Virginia-and how they
Guarded it In hunger, and cold, and
nakedness, they guarded it still. In the
bright DAYS and the dark, they stood at
their posts unmoved. In the black
night watches as by day-toward morn
ing, as at tevenng-they stood, clutch
ing the musket, peering out INFO the
pitchy darkness; or lay, DOING around
the grim cannon, in the cmbrasures. =
HUNGER. and cold, and wounds, and the
whispering voice of Despair, had no ef-
feet Oh them. The mortal tedlum lett
them patient. When you saw the gannt
| faces contract, and tears flow, 1t was
| because they had received some letter.
saving that their wives and children
| were starving. Many couldnot endure
that. 1t made them forget all. Torn
with anguish, and unable to obtain fur
louyhs for day even, they went home
without leave-and civilians called them
dcserters. Could such men be shot
| men who had fought like heroes, and
only committed this breach of discipline
that they might feed their starving chill
dren?'' And, after. all, it was not des'
ertion that chiefly reduced Lees
strength. 1t was battle which cut down
the army-wounls and exposure Which
| thinned its ranks. But thin ass they
| were, and ever growing thinner, the
old veterans who remained by the nag
of such glorious memories, were as ue'
fant in this dark winter OF 1864, as they
had been in the summer days of 1867
and 1868.
Army of Northern Virginia !-old
soldiers of Lee, who fought beside youl
captain until your frames were wasted
and YOU were truly his "wretched" ones
you are greater to me in your wretch
edncss, more splended IN your rags
than the Old Guard OF Napoleon, or tht
three hundred OF Thermopyla Meth
famine, nor nakedness, nor suffering
could break your spirit. You were tat
tered and nalf-starved; your forms were
war-worn; but you still had faith IL
Lee, and the great cause @hlch yol
bore aloft on the points OF your bayo
nets. You did not shrink i'll the las
hour-.the hour of supreme trial. 1ol
meant to follow Lee to the last. Jfyo'
ever doubted the result, you had re
solved, at least, on one thing--to clutcl
the musket, to the end, and die i'll har
ness
Is that extravagance-an0 Is this pic
ture ofthc great army of Northern glr
ginia overtlrawn? Did they or did the.
not fight 20 the endl Answer! WI
derness, Spottsylvsnia, Gold liarbor
Charles City, every spot around re
tersburg where they closed in death
grapple with the swarmlng enemy =
Ans Ner winter of '65.--bleak spring o
'65,-terrlble days of the great retrea
when hunted down and driven to ba,
like wild animals, they fought from Fiv
Forks to Appomattox Court House
fought staggering, and starving, am
fal.ing-buG defiant to the last
Bearded men were seen crying on tn
ninth of April, 1865. Bat it was surren
der which wrung their hearts, an
brought tears to the grim faces.
Grants cannon had only made ''l.ee
Miscrlbles' cheer and laugh. Fro
!Moaua or the Lasts Days of Lee and h
: PaIadias--by John Estcn Cooke.