The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1878-02-15
How the Tide of Victory was Turned
The Share OF the Sharpshootcrs.

The day seemed irrctricvably lost.
and so 1t would have been but for the
arrival of other troops. Moving rapid
ly through the cntwining trees and
matted underground, in all haste to
find the rear, we caught the CLEAN of
bayonets in front of our disordercd and
plunging mass, and soon saw the daunt
less mien and heard the steady tread of
Longstreets corps marching up TO the
relief, under the composed direction of
"Old Pete" himself. Like Dessaix at
Marcneo, he arrived just in time to
"win victory While some of the
broken troops of Hcth and Wilcox join
ed in the advance with Longstrect's col
umn, Others struggled back to the point
where they were first engaged the night
before. The sharpshooters moved
across the road, near by certain batter
les of Poague's artillery which had been
planted on a slight plateau on the left of
the road, and were at this time crowded
with troops. Gen. Hill and Gen. Lee
both occupied this position; the latter
appearing intensely disgusted at the
turn which affairs had taken. The
ridiculous procedure OF the ambulance
corps, the teamsters and the followers
generally, was singularly well calculat-
ed to ag9ravalc this irritated feeling /;
for these people, supposing the day TO
have been lost. sought the rear with
keen ardor, leaving the road SO block
AIDED with sporadic plumber and wagons
turned upside down as to render diff
cult the movement of the supports. The
cold man. was in no good humor, and
had business look about the eyes
as he ordered the guns to be loaded
with canister and trained down the
road. For five hundred yards in front
of the plateau the road ran perfectly
smooth and straight, and WAS now filled
with Federal troops moving in column.
but in no regular order; for all con-
formiiy had been sacrificed in the
charge, and besides great number of
soldiers Ind conycrgcd into and adj
vanced up the road to escape the tangled
underground of the Wilderness. On
the line came. firing and shouting, so
closely following our own fugitives as
to be mingled with them and thus cause
the cruel necessity of firing through the
lost of our own people to check the pur-
suit. A few rounds OF canister did the
work; and by this time fresh troops
had come. Thus not only was defeat,
that seemed TO be impending, averted,
but substantial victory was gained,
though at great sacrifice. For Long
street, in himself tower of strength,
upon whose sturdy valor and fidelity
Gen. Lee leaned not less confidently and
not less worthily than on Stonewall
Jackson's, was taken from the field
grievously wounded; while Jenkins of
South Carolina and many other brave
officers had sealed in blood their deyo-
tion to the cause which their souls and
their swords upheld. The Wilderness
was field we'll adapted by the very
nature of the country to the operations
of the sharpshooters; but so fierce had
been the engagement that no opportun-
ity was afforded them for the display
either of man9uvres or markmanship.
The Wilderness battle has been fitiy
compared TO the struggles of two giants
not unequally matched, who fruitlessly
yet frightfully writhe and twist in each
Others embrace until they are forcibly
wrenched assunder.-rCapt. j. ID.
Young in Philadelphia Times.