American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1868-05-23
REMINISCENCE OF THE BATTLE Oh
SPGTTSYLFANN-MAY 18TH, 1868.
BY PAUL A. BOTTO.

y
1864 dawncd like that of the day Oi
Waterloo; the dark, wet clouds
hanging like Il pail over the Wilder
ness and the field of SpottSylyanil -
SO soon TO be made memorable
seemed struggling to prevent thC
advent of that day Of struggle aud
fierce carnage. For seven days tht
strife Of battle had ragged fIrinu>iy
and imrcsSantly; from the Rapjdal
to the Courthouse of SpottsylvAuia
the dead Of both armies lay IL heaps
upon the stuhbornly contested fields
a rain storm, during the night OF
the 1lth, had somewhat aIiayrd the
tumult of battle. During this storm,
when naught could be heard but the
rushing winds and descending rains,
Gen. Hancock, Of the Federal army,
moved his corps silently to within a
fl W rods of the Confederate entrrnrh-
mentS, haIting in fIent of a salient in
the Courthouse Here the corps
rested upoh their arms, waiting for
the first iaimt ray Of morning light
to give the signal for a desperate
assault.
enonor docs tbo first cloor of
dov Iioht in thn E,yt tho ,,nI',f. .l.,.
tLnu tIn En1nr,Iy ,iSn f., ,Lnir r,ct
and odvoura unon tbn Cour.lnr,tn
works, 1t is hut short distance,
and thrv are soon rcochnd Tho
StrnrrIn is short. thn Cnurrdnrotns
withnnt nr.y:ous iutimotion of tIn
d,uUrrous uroyinitv nf thr fnn ara
t,l. an n,rtinllv h,, cu,nrisn orl cnn.
trudinm ncuinst ovrrwhrlmlnm nnn.
hnrs e,n soon ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Cnn
T.Lns,n,, L;yis;on and sovnr,L hat
ferries Of artillery are cantnrpd
lruLroIs fan hr,tnlv folri,r ond
the works are lost. Now the Con.
rrdclate line is severed ut its centre.
and the enemy is advancing steadily
through the breach.
In tbc meantime tho hattie has
bnromn rnnnr,I trom ,ioht to Inrt
and Tho Trry r,,th trnmhIrs with thn
.hn,I, of oit;IInrv and omoII arm.
Grant concentrates ,t tI,is solinrt M,
III, ov,iI,IIn f,rcn j., ,I,n,ttonn+ tn
,,iIn,, tI,o hrn,rl, and M ,lo nn,n,,lntn.
N,n tnrnor,r,, lint iran,t,,+ aJ,an.
tN,o TLn ann.,Is nf u,,. fn,r:sL
,,o,L,,,s ro in,t,n,o ,.hnro tl,n nn,.iI
rr,n a,,n,, v."s mara ;,n,ni,nn+ th,n
j. nav. tLn+ NJ thn. .,,rurnlino n,p,,.nf
vorthorn viroini, tLn f,tn nf -
n,tinm InnorJs rnn, if n,d trorI,roy
in ,,o l,,I,nna ,f nroh,h;l;tias pa
,Inrrd in mnmhnrs. nyh,nytoL with
thn constant strife nf G,vs onI e,nan,
less toll nnI vioilanrn nr n;~Lts ms
amy seems tn hn h,ltlir,r win tLn
co,,ioc of Iosnn,,tinn n,,nr no,,irst
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