The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1878-11-09

Carolina Volunteers, and just to the
left of the mine, Lieut.. Willard Hill,
Company E, and Sergt. Greer, Com
pany A, Eighteenth South Carolina
Volunteers, having been relieved from
duty an hour before, were sleeping.
The first. they realized of it was the
shock, then deep darkness, and then
a consciousness that the mine had been
sprung, and that they had been buried,
how deep they could not imagine.
Their first impulse was a deep, in
describable despair-heart sickening,
heart-rending hopelessness, that left
them almost powerless for time. But
what could they do? They had moth
ing to dig out with but bayonet that
Sergt. Greer had in his belt and there
was but canteen of water in the cell.
| was within 1870 yards of the mine on
my morning visit to my regiment, and
it was just at that time of day-twili9ht
that even trees can look like ghosts,
and that added to the weird scene of
death. simultaneously with the deep,
dead sound, and culver of the earth,
there arose in the air a cloud of dust
and smoke, and timbers, men, and mus
kets, and all manner of shapes and frag-
ments were flying in every direction
and then for moment a stillness-and
it seemed as if every cannon on the
whole Federal line was turned loose
the dir, musket balls and fragments of
shells in every direction, blowing up
the earth and cutting off limbs from the
few trees that the relentless hand of
war had spared. Then came the charge.
High above all the confusion and
smoke, and dust and groans of the
wounded, could be heard the battle
cry of the Federal, and the words of
encouragement of gallant officers-the
few that were left of the Eighteenth and
Twenty-Second South Carolina Volun-
teers, and of those brave Virginians
whose battery was buried in common
grave, with nearly every soldier who
manned it. But the Confederate lines
were broken in twain. Federals and
negroes had made breastworks of the
powders that were blown up by the
explosion. But they were not to stay
there. Soon came Gen. Malone with
achievements; and, after one of the
most gallant fights of all the war, he
carried the works, and the crater turned
to a grave for its captors.
Then came the sad duty of counting
up the cost. My brigade had suffered
severed the Twenty-second South Car
DINA had lost its gallant Col. Fleming
and many brave soldier. My regi-
ment had lost 1853 men. Two whole
companies, A and c, Eighteenth South
Carolina, had not a man left, who was
on duty, to tell the tale. One hundred
and one of my men, including Cap
tains Mccormick and Birdgis, were
dead-indeed in the crater or scattered
along the works-and sixty-two missing
Among the missing are Lieut.. Hill
and Sergeant Greer. We left them in
their almost living grave; Greer digging
with his bayonet while Hill passed back
the dirt, with all the desperation of de-
spair. They hear not, heed not, the
battle that is raging above them, but
toll on. Often hope would spring up
in their hearts to give way only to de-
spair. Hill has often told me how,
when he awoke to a consciousness of
his condition, the thoughts that flashed
through his mind like lightning; how
he thought if he could only see one ray
of light, or breathe the fresh air once
again; that if he could only let his
wife know how and where he died, that
death would be a relief to him. Almost
sutfocated for want of fresh air, they
worked on; at last it seemed to them
that something had crushed them; they
had dug through the loose powders,
and the light burst upon them. They
both, overcome with the sudden transi-
ton frOm,their suffocation and despair
to light and hope, tainted. How long
they remained there they know not.
When they awoke from their swoon,
the first sound that broke on their ears
was the clash of arms and the quick
rolling roar of the battle as it ragged
around and above. Almost in stupor,
trying to realize that they could again
see the light of heaven, and hear the
voice of living creature, they lay still
until they recovered their minds enough
to know what was going on. Hill has
often told me that when he knew and
realized that it was battle, the sound
was the sweetest music that had ever
SlCCICu ilo az lttob llC VI vi
victory rose high above everything else.
They knew that somebody was van
pushed and that somebody was victor,
who they knew not. They emerged
from their awful retreat, weak, worn in
body, and with minds almost crazed.
They knew not how long they had been
there; they did not even know their
old comrades; nor could they realize
that it was the same day that they were
buried. a. 81 E.-f ..ts. ....t
They were brought back to me at the
field hospital more dead than alive, for,
strange as it may seem, they were the
most sadly changed men that l ever
beheld. Both were fine-looking soldiers
before; now they were weak, with
sunken cheeks and eyes. Lieut.. Hill
whose hair twenty-four hours before
t was black, without single gray hail
in it, Gas he was only thirty years old)
was now almost as white as snow
Whether il turned from horror at his