The weekly Union times. [volume] (Union C.H., South Carolina) 1871-1894, 1877-11-02
STONEWALL JACKSON.
A "REMINISCENCES OF THE WILDEE


unions mean something more than decora
ted halls, grand dinners, and toasts and res
ponses. Memory sits down with the boys
In blue and the boys in gray, and makes
their hearts thrill as they remember the ter
'rlble charge of the Confederates to possess
themselves of the key-position at Gettys,
burg. She asks the veterans to remember
how the brave Seventh Michigan pushed
across the wide river flowing past Freder-
icksburg and looked into the fierce ewes of
Barksdale's Mississippians. She calls upon
= the essshse 6ght, at Trevillian Station, the
tramp OF Stonewall Jacksof's men on the
plains OF Manassass and the mad, eager rush
at the earthworks around Petersburg
Well may memory sit at every veteran s
right hand, for under one soil, lulled to
eternal repose by the same soft breezes, are
the blue and the gray-falling on their
skirmish line, in the charge, single and by
: scores---and no man dares say that they
were not brave and true.
That was an awful day when that Con-
tederate lion, Stonewall jackson, crept up
on poor Hooker, hidden in the wilderness.
LEE ON ONE sIDE-JACKsoN ON THE 9TH.
Err,
and the woods around Charlottesville
shook and trembled, and were almost swept
from the face of the earth by the whirriug
round-shot, and Kissing shell, and the
screaming grape -shots@ Men wefe struck
stone dead as the battle-line advanced or
retreated. White, faced recruits and bronze
faced veterans were torn to fragments and
hurled against the living.
Wounded men fell in their tracks, to be
crushed in the earth by the great limbs cut
from trees by shot and she'll The roar of
guns, the crackle of musketry, the fierce
shouts and awful groans, made such :, non n
upon earth of that battle-6c,sa, 80 ss; was never
seen before or aftSsr ~
Fighting joy Hooker was in hoy but
:. w". in his great army dreamed that
w.. so until the long gray line of Stone
jdl Jackson came creeping through the
/quiet for,st at o'clock on that ever-to. be-
remembered I'd day of May, 1868. The
light earthworks had been thrown up to
face another way-toward Ice. All lines
faced Lee; all men were looking for Lee,
when three divisions Of Confedcrates, NOV
ing with soft step, took Hooker's army in
the rear, and drove one brigade pell-mell
into and over another, until veteran soldiers
were without strength or presence of mind
That awful night when
THE WOUNDED WERE BEING BURIED
in the woods, and the dead were thicker
than the leaves just broadening into full
life, report ran through the reorganized
ranks that the great Stonewall Jackson had
been killed. Thousands believed it; but
three of us, lying side by side in the new
battle line, born after night came down, put
no faith in the rumor. Why we did not is
what I started to write about.
Stuart's cavalry had been following up
Hooker's army, but it was like rat follow
ing in the footsteps of horse. Lee was
so far away and coming up SO slowly that
Hooker had time to throw up light earth
works, seize the best ground, fell trees to
protect his hanks and make ready to shattcr
and hurl back the expected attack On
that I'd day of May, his soldiers, hidden
in the woods or lying in the fields, washed
their clothing, wrote letters home made
comfortable beds for themselves, and were
not in the least troubled about what anoth-
er week would bring forth AS deep riv-
er suddenly bends to avoid bluff, 50 did
JldI STedI vi Iicc uCuu W uNOiu Guc
Wilderness. 1t split in two to attack at
given hour on both sides, and Joe Hooker
sat in his tent and congratulated himself on
his impregnable position-.considered I'M
pregnable' by him when two great highways
ran along the rear of half of his army. So
universal was the feeling of security that
soon after noon three infantrymen started
out to
BEG OR BUY FORAGE FOOD.
Sigels corps was on Hooker's ives; flank,
and commanded that day by Howard. Part
of this corps faced the old turnpike and
plank road part faced the other way
Most Of the men were hidden in the woods
and behind ridges, and up the broad high
ways which should have been first looked to
as Stuart was pushing his cavalrymcn as skir-
mishers We three men were beyond Sig
'eps corps, and on the point of entering a
farm house from which everybody had fed
when, less than rife shot away, we caught
sight Of the Confederate advance. The
cavalrymcn were advancing slowly, evident.
ly expecting to find a heavy guard at some
point, but at the time we imagined that less
than regiment of Stuarts men were feel
ing along up to pick up stragglcrs, locate
positions, etc. We, at least did not fcal
them, and the proposition to enter the
house and secure a better view of the road:
speedily conveyed us to n chamber win
dow We could sec but little more from