The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1880-12-23
SOLDIERS UNDER FIRE.
How a Majority Waste Their Shots. How the
Few DO the Work.

How a Majority Waste Their Shots How the
Few DO the Work.
From the Detroit Free Press
Whenever YOU can find soldier who I'M
der fire, aims low and shoots To make every
bullet wound or kill, You will find fifty who
ire nervously throwing away ammunition,
.eeming To reason that the reports of their
-muskets will check ar drive the enemy.
And Yet this nervousness neednot be Won
dered at, for they are playing game of life
and death.
At Malvern Hill seventeen soldiers, be =
longing TO an Ohio regiment, took cover III Il
dry ditch, which answered admirably for n
sriilc-pt. 4 Georgia regiment charged this
lpttle band three times and were three times
driven back. The fire was low and rapid,
Ind tho loss in front Of their guns was more
than 100 killed in ten minutes. Regiments
have been engaged for an hour without los
rag over half that number The fire OF
these seventeen was so continuous that
Mcclellan forwarded n brigade to their sup
port, believing that an entire regiment had
been cut of.
At Mine Run the writer was just in rear
Of Now York regiment which WIS sudden
lyattacked. \ single company Of Confeder-
atG-i, cut OF from the regiment and lodging
aboutto roiuinit, suddenly dehOuohed intoa
field and found itself face 10 face with the
Union regiments. Fighting commenced at
once. 4 regiment fought company, both
lying down for cover. lay so near II third
sergeant that cOuldtouch his heels and
watched his lire. Every timo ho pulled the
trigger he elevated the muZZle Of his gun 1t
IN angle OF forty-tiye degrees instead of de-
pressing il for the enemy lying down. Isaw
him repeat this operation fourteen differ
ent times Tho man next 10 him fired rs
many bullets plump into stump in his
front, and the man on the other side shot
into the groundabout ten feetaway. Others
must have been wasting bullets III the same
way; bit that little company was shooting
To kill. In that ten minutes OF fighting the
New Workers suffered loss OF thirty-siN
billed and wounded, and then bayonet
charge doubled them back and opened q
gap for tho little bands escape. walk
ed over tho ground and found one dead
aud one wounded Confederate. Nota gun,
blanket, knapsack or cantcen had been left
behind.
AM soldier will no doubt fight bettor UNI
der covor than lie will in the open field, but
cover does not always insure good fighting.
At Pittsburg Landing 8 900 Union soldiers
sliulked under the river bank, safe from
the enemy's fire aud many of them threw
their guns into the river rather than fro a
shot. Again at Yellow Tavern, five of Gus
ters men, dismountod and lying behind n
fence, held five companies of cavalry ut
bay for twelve minutes and killed seventy
four men, and this without getting scratch
i'll return.
At Mine Run Union regiment went in
10 the fight with sixty rounds of ammuni-
ton per man, making total Of perhaps
1000 bullets. This regiment was placed To
act rs IA check to any advance of the enemy
in certain direction. They did not SEQ
thirty Confedeates during the whole day,
and yet it was twice moro supplied with
ammunition. II fired away ut least 1000
bullets, aud yet only killed two rebel
skimishers.
One cool man will do moro execution
with his musket than thirty men firing ut
random. One must have viii strong
enough to crowd down all emotions, and
obligo his hands 10 cease trembling ut the
word. Ont of every regiment not more than
one hundred men wero fighters. These
shot 10 kill. Tho others shot ut random and
killed only by accident. Thirty cartridges
would last good fighter for an all days
fight. The ordinary soldier would fire out
his sixty in an hour and half, and like
enough have his eyes shut half tho time
when he pulled the trigger. 4 member OF
the Second Michigan Infantry hit tho case
pretty we'll at Blackburn Ford. When the
skirmishing began he counted his cartridges
and said:
Just sixty Of EN-, and III fire three q
minute and have these follorS licked III just
twenty minutes 20 q tick