Morris tribune., 1880-12-23
SOLDIERS UNDER FIRE.
How Majority Waste Their Shots-HOw the
Few DO the Work.

Few DO the WORK.
From the Detroit Free Press.
Whenever you can find soldier who, un-
der fire, aims low and shoots to make every
bullet wound or kill, YOU will find fifty who
are nervously throwing away ammunition,
seeming to reason that the reports of their
muskets will check or drive the enemy
And vet this nervousness need not be won-
dered at. fof they are playing game of life
and death.
At Malvern Hill seventeen soldiers, be
longing to an Ohio regiment, took cover in a
dry ditch, which answered Admiralty for a
rif1e-pit. A Georgia regiment charged this
little band three times and were three times
driven back. The fire was low and rapid,
and the loss in front of their guns was more
than 100 killed in ten minutes. Regiments
have been engaged for an hour without los
ing over half that number The fire of
these seventeen was so continuous that
Mcclellan forwarded brigade to their sup
port, believing that an entire regiment had
been cut off.
At Mine Run the writer was just in rear
of New York regiment which was sudden
ly attacked. Asingle company of Confeder-
ates, cut off from the regiment and lodging
aboutto rejoin it, suddenly debouched into a
field and found itself face to face with the
Union regiments. Fighting commenced at
once. A regiment fought company, both
lying down for cover. lay SO near third
sergeant that could touch his heels and l
watched his fire. Every time he pulled the
trigger he elevated the muzzle of his gun at
an angle of forty-fiv degrees instead of de-
pressing it for the enemy lying down. 1 saw
him repeat this operation fourteen differ
ent times. The man next to him fired as
many bullets plump into stump in his
front, and the man on the other side shot
into the ground about ten feet etaway. Others
must have been wasting bullets in the same
way; but that little company was shooting
to kill. In that ten minutes of fighting the
New Workers suffered loss of thirty six
killed and wounded, and then bayonet
charge doubled them back and opened a
gap for the little bands escape. Iwalk-
ed over the ground and found one dead
and one wounded Confederate. Nota gun,
blanket knapsack or canteen had been left
behind.
Any soldier will no doubt fight better un-
der cover than he will in the open field, but
cover does not always insure good fighting.
At Pittsburg Landing 5000 Union soldiers
the enemys fire and many of them threw
u
shot. Again at Yellow Tavern, five of Gus
ter's men, dismounted and lying behind u
fence, held five companies of cavalry at
bay for twelve minutes and killed seventy
four men, and this without getting scratch
in return.
AT Mine Run Union regiment went in
to the fight with sixty rounds of ammuni-
ton per man, making total Of perhaps
1000 bullets. This regiment was placed to
act as check to any advance Of the enemy
in certain direction. They did not see
thirty Confederates during the whole day,
and yet it was twice more supplied with
ammunition. 1t fired away at least 1900
bullets, and yet only killed two rebel
skimishers.
One cool man will do more execution
with his musket than thirty men firing at
random. One must have will strong
enough to crowd down all emotions, and
oblige his hands to cease trembling at the
word. Out of every regiment not more than
one hundred men were fighters. These
shot to kill. The others shot at random and
killed only by accident. Thirty cartridges
would last good fighter for an all day's