The Portland daily press., 1871-03-04

all that was correct in sodierly de,o,,r,o..
was among the first. Capt. Cloudman d.
ped dead with ball tlrougn his head betorr,.
his company was aligned his brilliant uniiorm
making him target for the rebels.
We waited a moment more Tor the last few
OF our First brigade boys to- come out, and
then the fire of the enemy became too severe
To stand quiet under. The sun bad set and
Tue M smoke had settled like thin mist over
ce sne entire field OF battle. We noticed the
f,,. iv,ms OF men darting around among the trees,
far n a u,,';, not distinguish them plainly, and
onnos;, "n"e nag was haunted in our faces
PpH'.e ,t o our right wing. We could seq too
,t' .he o.aze OF the enemy's muskeIs instead nf
pun VI sihoRe which one observes i'm br,ad
uaynsnI' Overthese dark and smoky woods
was tue bright sunlight dazzl;no onr euo,'
adding another dlop 10 our bIckeI fni ~ %uu aa'
advantages. VI us
The hre OF the enemy,I say, became too So.
we're Tor u.s. and one by one as The men came
ntopositlon they fired without orders from
the Colonel or regard 10 any style laid down
in the tactics. We always had it for a ioke
on Lieut.. Beardsley of Co. ID. that after tLe
first volley. he commanded, "Eighth COM
pdny!"-"LOad up nine tmeS!" But this
must go for a joke, not a fact.
1t is worth nothing that counting ourselves
as reorganization of the 1st Maine, it Lad
~ ihoiC tudu Ollt year duu tDTcc
since our first volunteering, and now at last
the regiment as such fired its first voev.
we who were in line can never forget the tre-
inendous crash and echo il made Years
aiterward Chaplain Knox, who remained he
hind near the battery at the Colopeps SUCCESS
ton, used to speak of following us with his
ear through the woods, OF hearing the Down
east cneeis, and at length alter pause which
he said distressed him much, there hurst ont
the thunder OF this first volley. The .ooJ
mans eye always moistened as he spoke of
this, comparing it to the crash with which
Gideon's little army burst upon the Midan-
ites,t and he always mentioned the pride that
came over him, as he felt that he BELONGED m
US.
This first volley had marked effect on the
enemy. some oil The more sanguine of us
nave Always coDtended that if we bad follow
ed up with the bayonet we should have driy-
EN- him out of the woods. But the rebels soon
returned to their work, if they went at all.
and Tor few moments it was simply Give and
take. Then as regiment after regiment of
them came in, their bullets began to flv and
our line began to wilt 10 way none of ne
ever knew before or since.
1t IS sad thing to refer to- vet i'm elancino
along the line the sight was ludicrous in The
extreme. ALI were excited and were loadino
and firing in every conceivable way. Some
ing down. Some were astIaddle their pieces
ard were ramming the charge totally regard
less OF the rule S on that point. Many had
poured their cartridges upon the ground, and
were 'pedding out" the lead with more
speed than accuracy l fear, We all took this
occasion 10 swear at and gibe our friends in
gray to the test OF our ability. So with the
din of musketry and the one common veil of
friend and foe, it seemed as if bedlam was
loose.
rne behavior of those who were hit ap-
peared most singular, and as there were SO
many Of them, it looked as if we had a crowd
OF bowling dervishes dancing and kicking
around in our ranks The bullet often knocks
over tue man it hits, and rarely fails by its
iorce alone to disturb his equilibrium. Thea
the shock, whether painful or not. carses a
sudden jump or shudder. Now as eyery man.
with hardly ali exception, was either killed.
wounded, hit in his clothes, hit by sLent balls
and stones, or jostled By his wounded COM
rades, it follows that we hal wonderful ex-
hibiiion. Some reeled round and round, 9th
ers threw up their arms and fell over back
ward. others went plungine backward trying
TO legaln their balance; o lew tell to the front
but the force OF che bullet generally prevent
ed this, except where it struck low down and
apparently knocked the soldiers leet from un-
der him. Many dropped their musket and
seized the wounded with both hans, and a
very few fell dead.
The enemy were armed with almost every
kind OF rifle or musket, and as their front ex-
ceeded ours three times, we were under a
cross fire almost from the first The various
tunes sung by their balls we shall never for
get, and furthermore shall never confound
them with any other we have heard. In a
moment, when curiosity got the better of fear,
took notice of this fact, and made record of
it in my diary day or two afterward 1t was
at a moment when probably fresh regiment
had arrived on our right, ltor the mass OF mis-
sils were coming across our line at an angle
of forty-fve degrees. The fierce zip" of
the swift Mimic bullet was not prominent by
comparison, at that particular moment,
though there were enough of them certainly.
The main sonnd. or the air of tine tune ii L
may be allowed the expression, was prod iced
bv the singing Of slow, round balls and buck
shot fired from smooth bore, which do not
cut or tear the air as the creased ball does.-
Each bullet, according to its kind, size, rate OF
speed and nearness to The ear made different
sound. They seemed to be goiug past in
sheets, all around and above us.
tBook of Judyes Chan VII