St. Landry democrat., 1878-11-30
A Terrible Story.
now TWO CONFEDERATES WERE BUR
OF THEM TURNED FROM JET
BLACK TO WHITE IN THAT
SINGLE DAY.

persons now living, will give you and
your readers the circumstances as they
occurred, when, where and whom they
are.
When Grant sprang the mine," or
hIow-up," as many call II, III front OF
Petersburg, Va. ut twlIlSht on the
morning of the 30th of July, 1864, the
pout Immediately over it was occupied
bv Il Vlryinian battery. The bitches on
the right, immediately next t" the bat
terv. were occupied by the 22d South
Carolina Volunteers, Col. Fleming. On
the left of the battery the bitches were
occupied by the 18th South Carolina,
Col. w. H. Wallace (now Judge Wallace,
of South Caroina,) of which regiment
| was surgeon. All along our lines our
soldiers had dug out bomb proofs, as
they called. These bomb proofs. were
GENERALLY about four feet broad, three
feet high and seven feet, lOng-large
enough, for two or three n1en to crawl
into and sleep with comparative com
fort aud safety, which they did when
off ,lutv during the. never to Ue forgotten
selge, 10y eve4y man who participated
therein.
In one of the bomb-proofs on the ex-
t eme right of the 18th South Carolina
volunteers, and Just to the left of the
mine, Lieut.. Willard Hill, Company +,
and Sergeant Green, Company A, 18th
South Carolina volunteer, having been
relieved from duty an hour before, were
sleeping. The first they realized OF it
was the shock, then deep darkness,
and then consciousness that Il mine
had been sprung, and that they, had
been buried, how deep they could not
imagine. Their first lmpul lse was
deer, indescribahle pir-Ileart-slck
,.,tAintp hEnAlaSSnaSS that
lett them almost pOwerless Tor a time:
But what could they do? They had
nothing to dig out with but a bayonet
that Sergeant Green had in his belt, and
there was but a canteen OF water III the
cell. But what WAS going on above
them? Grant had contaminated that
most diabolical OF all the deeds OF d
terrible war. | was within 1S0 yards
of it on my morning visit to my reEl-
n,rnt, and it Was just at that time ot
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS even trees can look
like ghosts, and that added to the welr't
scene of death. simultaneously with
The deeI. dead sound and quiver OF the
earth tIl0re arose OH the air Il cloud oi
dust and smoke. and tlmberS, men and
mlskets, and all manner OF shapes and
flagmeits were flying in every direc-
tun-uud then fora lnOmenta Stiffness
and it seemed as it every cannon on
the whole Federal line was turned loose
uuon our lines. Shells shritketl through
tie air, nluskets balls and fragments ot
shells in every direction, plowlng up
the earth and cutting off limbs from the
lew trees that the relentless hand of war
had spared. Then came the charge.
Negro troOps in front, with spentld
| cupariSoned troops of the Federal army
behind, driving them, as it were, to the
battle cry of Remember Fort Pillow
and the few, the very few, that survived
no doubt remember the crater Of Grant
full as well.
High above all the confusion and
smoke and dust and gr0ans of the
wounded could be heard the battle cry
of the Federal, and the words OF ell
couragenlent of gallant officers-the few
that are left Of the 18th and 22d South
Carolina volunteers, and ut those brave
Virginialls whose battery was buried in
IL common grave with nearly every SOL
dier who manned it. But the COnfed-
crate lines We're broken in twain Fed
era and negroes had made breast works
of the boulders that were blown up
by the explosion. But they were not
to say there. Soon came Gen. Malone
with relnforcements; and, after one of
the most gallant fights OF ali tile war,
he carried the works, and tile crater
turned 10 Il grave for It's capturs. had
heard OF pools OF blnod-it was there ]
saw them. Then silence reigned, that
painful silence Wticl, always Fellows on
the battlefield after death has held high
carnival.
Then. came the sad duty of counting
up the cost. Ny brigade had suffered
stverely-the 22t South Carolina had
lost its gallant Col. Fleming and many
brave soldier. Ny regiment had lost
162 men. Two whole companies, s, A and
G, 18th South Carolina, had not man
left, who was on duty, to tell the tale.
| One hundred and one of my men, in
cluding Capt. McComicll and Bridgis,
We're dead-indeed in the crater or scat.
tered along the works--and sixty-two
missing. --ss. - -. 49,. o
Among the missing are Lieut., Hill
and Sergt. Greer. We leftthem in their
almost living grave-Greer digging with
his bayonet while Hill passed back the
dirt with all the desperation of despair.
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 despair. Hill has often
told me how, when he awoke to con-
sclousness OF his condition, the thoughts
that flashed through his brain like light
ming; how he thought II he could only
see one ray OF light or breathe the fresh
air once again that il he could only let
| his wife know how and where he died,
| that death would be relief TO him. AL
! most suffOcated for want of fresh air,
they worked on; at last it seemed to
them that something crushed them;
they had dug through the loose bowiders
and the light burst upon them. They
! bOth--uyerculne with the sudden tram
stinn from, their suffDcation and DESPAIR
to light aud hOpe--fainted. How long
they remained there they know not.
w hen they awoke from their swOon
| the first sound that broke ON their ears
WAS the clasl. ut arms and the Guick
rolling roar of the hattle as it ragged
| around and above Almost i'm stupur,
trying to realize that they could again
see the light of heaven and hear the
voice of IL living creatute, they Law still
until they recovered their minds enough
to know what was going on. Hill has
/ often tod me that when he knew and
realized it was battle, the sound was
the sweetest music that had ever greeted
his ears. At last the cry of victory rose
high aboveevery thing else. They knew
that somebody was vanquished 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 theirald comrades nor
conld they realize that it was the same
day that they were buried.
They were brought back to me at the
n ~ Il Il