The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1880-06-10
Dying With ahe Rears Gsara.,
ye ware t,oine tfl fall hadAi

| inB OF an cTQer 20 falI back IN the face
Of foe flushed with victories gained on
right left and center. 1t 10 next to O
panic. One falso move will make it a
panic and q rout.
'yThe army will fall beck in more
favorable position," were tho words OF
the general TO the. various commanders.
That meant defeat, 1t tmeant that our
dead and wounded were 10 be left In the
had been outgeneraled and that the only
hope left was to withdraw and reform
in new position. The wagon train
he'd been moving for two hours, and now,
within three hours Of sun down, our bat
tle.line melted away as regiments and
brigades were called in and divisions went
| marching down the Highway.
There. wero palo faces and timorous
glances among the old fighters. They
had laughed aud joked eac6 other on the
battle line, but there were no. hmifes now.
Put soldier with his back TO the foe If
| you want TO see G coward
The enemy are passing forward. They
ere exultsnt and reckless. There is only
the one dusty. crooked highway for hunt
Ell and hunter. One charge Of cavalry
down upon our resr---a dozen screaming
shells from battery planted on this hill
will bo the signal for such panic as
| only soldiers eveE see. Men will throw
away everything that iDpedcs flight
they will ffighteu each other with 1ooke
and words-they will forget their battles,
their scars and their flag and think only
OF swifter pace. Who will be the rear
| guardY There comes an ordes TO settle
the question.
"The General orders the Third to form
In rear aud fight and fall back-fall back
and fight. Leave your dead and wound
ed where they fall. Hold the enemy in
check at all hazards. On this depends
..ae salvation .oEtbe whole army r., I.
Fight and fall back Firxi fight.
Where? Begin right hereon the crest of
this hill. The enemy, ia coming up the
road at gallop, cheering aud yelling
and determined TO ride over us. STEADY
nowl Here We are In battle.line across
the highway, with o company on each
OF the charging cavalry, and with grand
minute, and IN the wind whirls the smoke
| away We Gee that the road is full of men
and horse5--some dead "a thes stones under
their feet--some writhing in the torture
| of ghastiy wounds. There is q cheer az
we gee the remnant galloping back out of
range. but 1t dies away az we count thir-
ay of our own dead and. wounded. In
that one minute Of fierce fighting moro
than one hundred men went to the dust,
Fall bGckf No! This is our battle
line fore while yet. The wounded are
lifted from the dust, and laid upon tho
| tut., and we are yet at the work, serving
friend and foe alike, when the enemy
comes again. It ig cavalry. as before, but
while they are massi2g- .bestth narrow,
iimits will permit, q battery on the hill be.
hind them shells us as If it meant TO leava
| no one alive. = Fence-rails gd Hying--
dust and dist aresant hignar,tE1an lie tres
top1-trees are cut short of or splintered
as If tightening had spent its fury there,
but no one moves. Our order was to die
| on the line. a379Dg .1at,sta
Ready: menI Hold yorr fire until
every bullet will COUNT We can hold
this line. until dsrkp .e.
Hero they comeI Beyond us is the
last OF the great wagon train, followed by
brigades which are looking back at ua "a
1 women do at twilight shadows. II they
can only break through usi
| Not word-not whisper in answer
to those wild cheero. Not movement.in
/ the lines until the nearest horaes ere
burned with the wave of flame which rSJls
out and envraps horse and rider with q
crimBon robe of death. The pass on
Horses leap over the dead or 'trnmple
upon them. Sabres and bayonets drink
blood, and men fight on after they have
fallen. -,
IL 10 over again, and We have beater
them back. The highway is an awful
sight to look upon as the nmoke fios ssuI
lenly away. There is no longer aFIiait
through the dead. The road Ia nacke6
with the dead and wonnded-literally
packed.
Fall backl Yes. Their infantry ha,
como up and haHking parties are beind
pushed forward. We leave eighty-giS
dead and wounded to their care, and W.
trail. arms and Withdraw at double. quick
One company has been wiped out of ex
istonce-one man ous CT every eight II
our ranks 10 left to mark e.. battle line
Fall back and fight. A quarter OF {
mile down the road and We form anew
our fanke protected by sVnmps. They
are coming after us, rendered moro wary
but at the name time more desperate ant
determined. They. cannot uge cayairy
here, but they push forward line aftel
line Of infantry, TO be checked, broken ani
hurled back by FIRE more hot end steady
than has been on tho front of a whole
brigade.
Fall backl They are pushing cavalry
and infantry along by-road to cut III
oH. leave your dead and wounded /,
| How many thia timer We have fought
twenty minutes and lost forty.two men
Double.quick f9sahalf mile and. ssWt
form in the bend Of road. They can.
not flank as on the right but the left and
front arc open for both cavalry and in.
fantry. Hero 10 their chance. They filt
to the right and MATS Id the fields. Brig.
ade efter, brigade wheels into place.
batteries rush into position, and we ere
snllen and silent, while O whole division
l l naesasa for hattla aeainat O mero hand
fnlP' :.
Here Here 1sss,5sasee 1ss,5sasee si..s::: skisnishers Thee
are feeling our pesiiion. They skulk and
creep aud crawl and dodge, and embol.
I dened by our silence d battle line moves
after them. Tha creek below us is our
dead line. Every man Gays so 20 him.
seif and not a gun is fred until the pur.
ling waters wet the enemy'a feet. Than
there is crash, o Feeling to aud fro. and
the waters OF the creek arc damned hnnlr
by bloody corpsAs.
Fell back form new iinei Who Is not
With l1a aa un nnva auav? Twenty.
four ofthe handful mark tho point where
the energy came aeareat. Eighty9aix-
forty -swenty.fouri One hundred
ald tftY-egFo naen gone from one hand
fol, aud yet dnrkgeos 10 y long way offl
Fall back and fght--dght and fall back
Every battle-iine 10 marked so fIiat il
eanpot DO forgotten. Every bend in the