Alpena weekly argus., 1880-04-21
Veteran Meeting.

The conclusion of Comrade
Knights narration, which was CON-
menced in our last issue, is as fol-
lows:
Just before we had got mp TO the
line Of battle, little incident oc'
Cured which l would mention.
A shot from rebel battery came
flying through the air and passed
Just over the head of General John
Gibbons. That officer jumped
from his horse Just in time to save
his bacon, and stepped to a gun oi
his old battery standing near, sight
ed it. and sent his compliments to
his brother, upsetting the gun
from which the shot had been fred,
then mounted his horse and sang
out to the sergeant Of the battery :
Sergeant, that is my brother, Bill
Gibbons battery-give him -!
A lusty cheer rang out along the
ranks of the old Iron Brigade, and
they came up in line of battle on
the right of the End as finely as on
review, and went to battle at once,
hut darkness soon drew on. The
firing began to slacken along the
lines, and soon nothing could be
seen of the rebs except the fash
of their muskets along the zig gag
stone wall, and, at nine o'clock,
both armies ceased firing. Picket
lines were established and so near
each other were the opposing forces
that ordinary conversation conld
be distinctly heard in either camp
by the men on guard.
No fires were permitted, conse-
quently no coffee for the tired and
hungry so we laid upon our arms
Just where we were, and courted
the embrace of Morpheus. To me
it came not, for, as / lay upon the
bosom of old Mother Earth, the
moans, groans, shrieks and cries of
the wounded and dying, rang in
my ears, driving all thought OF
sleep or rest far away. Some were
praying to God; some cursing
their fate; some crying for water
and help; others upon mothers,
wives, or friends, in the most agon-
izing and heart-rending tones.
Ah, my friends I! those Of you
who have never witnessed anything
of the kind, can have no idea, nor
can your imagination picture the
horrors of a battle field at such a
time, and l pray that you may
never be called upon to witness it,
nor l to pass three hours more
amidst such terrible scenes.
The major Of my regiment was
officer of the picket that night.
At IL o'clock he reported that the
rebels were preparing to make
move of some kind. He stated to
the colonel that he had heard the
colonel of q South Carolina regi-
ment order his officers to get their
G e,mpanies in line, when captain
RENTED: "Colonel, my company
are IN line, out on that field. ! am
the only man left" During the en-
gagement, the regiment had charg-
ed upon the 2nd brigade. who held
their FIRE until the regiment got up
within so or LOG yards, when they
opened upon thela with the above
result.
At 1 o'clock, we were aroused,
formed our lines, and withdrew
from the field. At early Dawn we
arrived at Manassas Junction, and
there found General Porter's corps,
quietly taking their rest. Porter,
instead Of going to fill the gap in
our lines as ordered, had marched
his forces off to the right, thus
leaving Ricketts, and Kings divi-
sions, Of the 1st corps, to take
care of themselves as best they
one with 5000 men to
fight Jackson's corps, and the
other to hold Longstreet in check
at Thoroughfare Gap. This he did
with his division Of 5000 or 5000
men, az long as he could, and un-
ell losing all hopes Of aid, when he,
too, fell back to Manassas juno
tion.
Immediately upon hating, we
TO prepare our morn
ing repast, but before we could
get fres burning, we were order
ed to proceed to Groveton. We
arrived early on the morning OF
the 10th, and took the position as
signed as. Fighting was going on
In front nearly all day. Just be-
fore dark General Mcdowell sent
m aid with orders for the 1st
brigade OF the 1st division to adj
vance on the double quick and fol-
low the enemy, who was thought to
be In full retreat.
An We passed the general on the
BIN top, Just before crossing Bull