The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1850-1873, 1873-01-17
BY HORSLEY BROS. & FIGUERS

other. L, forgetting altogether to fire
and what L ought to have done, tore
the red plume from one of the grenadiel
bear-caps, and swinging it over my
head, called triumphantly to my com
rades. At length we arrived at road
crossing the village lengthwise, and the
sergeant-major had now succeeded in
his attempt to bring us somewhat back
to our reason. There was house.
around the corner of which he suspect
ed that a number of French lay. "Be
cautious" said he to me, "until the
others are up;" but I stepped around
where grenadier stood about fifteen
PAGES from me he aimed at me. NV
antagonists ball grazed my hair on the
right side; shot and he fell. I found
| shot through his face-he was dying.
This was my first shot fired in battle.
OF our whole company, which on en-
! terlng the engagement, numbered about
80 strong, at night only twenty or
thirty combatants remained. The old
soldiers of our regiment treated us ever
after this battle with signal regard,
while before it they had looked upon
us as beardless boys. We marched all
night. 1t rained the whole of the 18th,
but we marched a greater part of that
night also. Rain fell in torrents, and
the roads were very bad. Early in the
morning of the 18th we found part of
our regiment from which we had been
separated. Our men were exhausted,
but old Blucher allowed us no rest. As
we passed the Marshal, wrapped up in
cloak and leaning against a mound,
our soldiers began TO hurrah. "Be
quiet, my lads" said he, "ho1d your
tongues +; time enough after the victory
is gained" We entered the battle of
Waterloo with Butcher in the afternoon;
you know the history of that memoir
able day.
The great body of the Prussian and
English armies marched toward Paris,
but half our army corps to which l be-
longed, received orders to pursue Van
damere. who had thrown himself into
Namtir. We marched the whole of the
18th the heat was excessive, and our
exhaustion and thirst so great that two
men in onr regiment became deranged
noon we went to bivOuac we started
earl ly again, and now my strength for
sock me, could not keep up with the
troops, and began to lag behind. Sud
denly, at about noon. heard
THE FIRST GUNS.
The battle of Namur had begun When
| arrived where my regiment stood, or
as | should say, the little band repre-
senting it, dropped down but fortu-
nately one of my comrades had some
eggs, one of which gave ME great |
strength. Our Colonel came up to us
saying: Rifemen, you have twice
fought like the oil lest soldiers-I have |
no more to say. This wood is to be |
cleared; be steady-bugleman the sig
nal ?" and off we went with great hur-
rah driving the French before us down
a hill toward Namur, which lay in our
front. When l saw our men rushing
too fast down the hill, I was afraid that
some enemies might be hid under the
precipice to receive them. Holding
myself with my left hand by tree, I
looked over the precipice and saw about
seven Frenchmen. ''They will hit me-
L thought, and. turning around to call
our soldiers, / suddenly experienced
sensation as if my whole body were
in my head, and this, like a
ball, were quivering in the air / could
feel the existence of nothing else ; it
was most painful sensation. After
some time 1 was able to open my eyes,
Or to see again with them. found my
self on the ground; over me stood a
soldier firing at the enemy. ] strained
every nerve to ask, though in broken
accents, whether and if so where I was
You are shot through the
neck" L begged him to shoot me the 1
dea of dying miserably, half of hun
ger, half of my wound, alone in the /
wood, Overpowered me. He of course
spoke word of comfort that
perhaps / might yet be saved, and soon j
lfter himself received a shot through |
both knees, in consequence of which he
lied in the hospital while L am writ
ng an account of his sufferings
lere in America. My thirst was
beyond description; it was fever ]
sh burning. / thought [ should die,
md prayed for forgiveness of my sins t
is / forgave all. / recollect prayed /
or Napoleon, and begged the Dispenser !
If all blessings to shower His bounty S
Ipon all my beloved ones, and if it {
,ould be, to grant me a speedy end of '
ny sufferings. [ received a second
1all, which, entering my chest, gave +
ne more local pain than the first; 1 !
hOught God had granted my fervent '
prayer. l perceived, as l supposed, I
hat the ball had pierced my lungs, and '
ried to breathe hard to hasten my +
leath. A week afterward, while 1 lay +
till with my two wounds in house at 7
Iiege, one of my brothers was in the
lospital at Brussels, and another at 7
Aix-la-C -Chapelle-we were just distri- E
'uted at the points of triangle. s