The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1878-02-14
lN TIE WILDERNIIS,S.
HOW tho Tide Of Victory Was Turned -
Inc Share Of the Sharpshooters.
(tID{ ,}}O D. Fn,p,, il, JJn, ,}:,,,,

The Share Of the Sharpshooters.
e"pt Jno ID. Young IN Phim Times.
The day seemed irretricvably lost,
and 50 it would havo been except
for tho arrival Of other troops.
Nlovi g rapidly through tho on
twlniny trees nnu matted undcr-
growth, in all haste to tind the
rear, we caught the CLEAN Of bayo-
nets in front of our disordcrcd and
plunSinS mass, and soon saw tho
di.untloss mion and heard the
steady tread Of Longstrcet's Corps
marching up to the relief, under tho
composed direction Of "Old Pcto'
himself. Like Dessaix at Marcngo,
he arrived just in time ''to win a
victory"
While some Of the broken troops
Of Hoth and Wilcox joined in tho
advance with Longstrcct's column
others struggled back to the point
at which they wore first engaged
the night before. The sharpshoot>
crs moved across tho road. ncar by
certain batteries Of Poague's ar
tillery, which had been planted on q
slight plateau on the left of the
road, and were at this time crowd
ed with troops. General Hill and
General Lee both occupied this
position the latter appearing in
tcnscly disgusted at the turn which
affairs had taken. Tho ridiculous
procedure Of the ambulance corps,
tho tcamstcrs and the camp-foilow-
ors generally, was singularly well
calculated to aggravate this irritated
feeling for these people, suppos
ing the day to have been lost,
sought the rear with keen ardor,
leaving tho road So blockaded with
sporadic plumber and wagons turns
ed upsidc~tlown, as to render
difficult the movement Of tho sup~
ports.
The cold man" was in no good
humor,' and had Il business look
about the eyes as he ordered tho
guns to be loaded with canister and
trained down tho road. For five
hundred yards in front of tho
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 conformity had been sacri-
e - - h--. i e. IL
great number of soldiers had con-
vergcd into and advanced up the
road to escape the tangled undcr-
growth of tho Wilderness. On the
line came, firing and shouting, so
closely following our own fugitivcs
as to be mingled with them, and
thus cause the cruel necessity of
firing through the last of our own
people to check the pursuit! A
few rounds Of canister did tho
work; and by this time fresh
troops had come Thus not only
was defeat that seemed to be inns
pending averted, but substantial
victory was gained, though at q
great sacrifice.
For Longstroet, in himself a
tower Of strength, upon whose
sturdy valor and fidelity General
Lee loaned not less confidently and
not less worthily than on Stoncwall
jackson S, was taken from the field
grievously woundod; while Jenkins,
of South Carolina, and many other
brave officers, had scaled in blood
their devotion to tho cause which
their swords and their souls upheld
The Wilderness was q field we'll
adapted by tho very nature of tho
country to the operations of the
sharpshooters; but SO fierce had
been tho engagement that no op-
portl,nity was afforded them for tho
display either Of manmvures or
workmanship. The Wilderness
battle has fifty been compared to
the struggles of two giants not
unequally matched, who fruitlessly,
yct frightfully, writhe nnd twist in
each others embrace until thcv are
forcibly wreached asunder.
SOLDIERS' IIONUJTINY,.