Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1871-06-02
VOL. Xiv. NEW SERIES. vO1, xvII

in A hoarse foreign voice, bya dark object or
the Ground. which, as approached, straight
eped out into the figure of a man. ! SHOULD
scarcely have been surprised had ! learned
that I was outside the skirmish line. as
used TO have a peculiar luck that way. anC
was relieved when learned that the sentr,
belonged to provost guard, and had beer
posted there before dark to keep men from
skulking to the rear. lie was an outland.
ish foreigner, and | could get nothing from
hin regarding his regiment or division. OF
where the nearest troops were he only
knew that he had been there since before
dark. | asked, Where's the next post Of
your guard? and he pointed to an indis.
tinct form some distance off. and toward thi.
! walked, hoping to find an American or at
least on intelligent being, who could tell me
something.
But on reaching the figure found, sitting
on a bank, propped against a hedge, his
muSket lying across his knees, soldier, per
fectly dead. | could find no mark of bullet
and no stain of blood, but his flesh was cold
and had the clammy dead feeling which |
had learned so easily to reeognize. lie sat
with hls arms hanging down, his head
thrown back, and the heavy rain was beat
ingdown on his calm young face.
WAS there to be no end to my wander
ings in the dark? And were all men dumb
and dead to me?
! Yet halfI seemed TO recognize s0me trick
OF mischief happened TO me. G01 knows where
/ Progress this way.
L sat down and tried to collect my
thoughts. The sounds which before 1 seem
ed to recognize were only now the signs Of
the Valley Of Death. The forms around me
rose. The trees. the fitting shadows. the
scattered arms, the silent dead sailed bv in
! gloomy procession, and taunted me as they
mourniully danced in time to the sighing
branches. The sights, the sounds, the very
earth itself seemed all unearthly now, and
nothing real but my own aching head
Slowly the procession of dead things
aoated down, slowly the sad sounds became
only the low sighIngs Of the wind; and as
the rain lulled | arose, and as | did 50
caught sight Of tree | recognized as having
passed in the afternoon. Thankfully | put
myself upon the road, and as now knew
where | was, the distance to headquarters
| seemed interminable. I started and ran
along the slippery path, and as the first
faint blue streaks Of light began to brighten
the horizon, saw the patient horses stand
| ing, and found the brigadier
i was about to ask if he had heard from
the front lately, and to offer some explana-
| ton Of my absence; but he broke out with
Hello, Captain ! thought you'd gone up
/ I've Just managed to get some regiments %
relieve ours. Smiths gone out with them,
and when our men come in YOU sec if YOU
I hon
close as You can lie gave a sigh Of relief,
which heartily echoed. and sank down be
side bis tree.
How lost my way and where / wander
ed is quite as inexplicable TO me now as
then. had often missed my way for a
time in going about at night in the woods or
over fields. but | never felt 50 strongly the
sense Of loneliness and h0rrid hell lplessness as +
did when every direction seemed the wrong
one, as ! stood in the dark shiyering with
cold, with the uncommunicative dead around
me. Ii is not a noble or heroic feeling. but
it is one which all soldiers have at one time
or another had. and as it Is the least like
home experiences. have tried to tell you OF
it. The next morning sight was the mos
sickening, but it did not make the same lastt
ing impression on me
We sat all three looking into the grey
ashes in the CRATE for some time, when
Brown broke silence with, And how about
next morning?
So Turner resumed: After the regiments
had all come in and had with a good deal Of
difficulty been got into shape. came back
and lay down in the mud. When | aw0ke
the sun was several hours high and the rain
Of the night before was steaming ogt Of the
men and horses. | was anxious u see the
scene Of last nights skirmish or whatever it
was aud asked permission to ride out.
All firing had ceased at daylight, and the
sun showed very few live Conieieates, but
God knows there were plenty Of dead ones.
The enemy's works were very strong and had
been made with much care-thc inside built
up with logs. over which the earth from the
interior ditch was thrown. They had also
been ditched in front and 1t was this which
enabled our men u come close up u them,
where, standing in the ditch. they were as
well protected as those on the other side. At
every twenty OF thirty feet there were heavy
travcTsas which had been made o protect the
guns The ditch behind the work was liter
ally filed with dead, and the rain which had
settled IN twas crimson red. In front the
ground was strewn with our dead, and on
the crest Of the parapet lay the hravest- who
had tried 70 70 over. These bodies living di-
recily IN the line of both fires. were chopped
and hacked by balls. There was one poor
fellow the back of whose head and whose
whole body was perforated like sponge, and
flesh and clothing were hashed up together
in red and blue mass, but whose face.
when we turned II up from the mud in which
= 4 ..| =
as if asleep.
Behind, the dead had fallen thick those
first in the ditch had fallen, and on these
others had kneeled u fire. to lie likewise
killed, and they lay twisted and intertwined.
The space in the rear was covered with those
who had tried TO escape, but who while crawl
ing off on hands and knees had been shetland
bad fallen on their faces. Behind every
stump and stack were the corpses Of some
who had striven to cover themselves; and in
one place behind traverse a man had used
a dead comrade as a shelter, but As he had
risen to fire had been shot, ana had become
the rain shelter for a third who had fallen
dead over the other two.
4 walked about the place, and was Just
climbing over the works on my return when
| saw in the ditch young Confederate, who
lay in bloOd-sained water, with the upper
half of his body upon dead man and with
two others across his legs. Ills eyes were
open, but glazed, though there seemed a
slight animation in them, and they moved
dreamily as looked at him, while he made
a slight movement with the arm which was
disengaged. could not sce where he was
hit, nor could be sure that he was con-
scious. told some men TO come over to get
him out which they did with reluctance. as
the enemy were keeping up constant 'pick
ing Off from the new line to which thew had
withdrawn during the night. but before
they had extricated him an orderly came for
me from the brigldier, saving our brigade
was moving and that ! was wanted at once
SO mounted and rode after the command
Turner rose and after poking among the
gray Goals, he found a red spot. and with a
paper relit his pipe, and saying Good-night,'
left the room.
We heard his step along the entry ami
listened to him going up stairs; and as We
heard him close the door behind him Brown
said, i believe, on the whole, I'm glad
didn't see a battle. = GALAXY for May.
MERELY A MEMBER OF CoNGREss-Nerely &
member Of Congress The judge could not pre-
vent the blue philanthropy Of his eyes from
turning little green with envy. The title Of
an. g" had been for more than quarter Of q
century the mark Of his ambition. To set
those two letters to bis name he had spent mon
ey, gushed eloquence, intrigued, entertained
iAttered, bowed, grinned lived, and all in vain
Ever since age had quslifed him to run for that
goal, the State party had been an o7ermatch for
the Union party in his district and it was always
a Beaumont, or some other CalhOuuite, who had
", the congressional race. At last, two years
previous to this interview, ne had despsired OF
being called 10 save his country, had publicly
announced his final withdrawal from politics,