Sharp County record., 1880-07-29
DYING WITT THE REAR GUARD.
WE were 19ing to fall back!

:
No one lat Il soldier realizes the
meaning ofDn order to fall back in the
face of foe flushed with victories
gained on light, left and center. 1t is
next to a panic. One false move will
make it gpanic and rout.
"Thelrmy will fall back to more
Favorable position" were the words OF
the Gneral to the various command
ers.
Thlt meant defeat. 1t meant that
our dead and wounded were to be left
in tie hands of the enemy. 1t meant
tina we had been ut-generaled, and
that the only hope left was to withdraw
AMI reform in new position. The
wagon train had been moving for two
- hours, and now, within three hours of
slndown, our battle-line melted away
IS regiments and brigadeS were called
in and divisions went marching down
the highway.
There were pale faces and timorous
glances among the old fighters. They
had laughed and joked each other on
--tAe,~battle- but there were no
smiles now Put soldier with his
back to the foe if you want to see a
coward!
The enemy are pressing forward.
They are eXultant and reckless. There
is only the one dusty, crooked highway
for hunted and hunter. One charge of
cavalry down upon our rear-a dozen
screaming shells from a battery planted
on this hill---will be the signal for such
panic as only soldiers ever see. Men
will throw away everything that i'm
pedes flight; they will fri ghten each
other with looks and words; they will
forget their battles, their scars and their
FLAG and think only of Swifter pace.
y w. ,. zbe the rear guardP There
C4 CClio' ioi oorder to settle the question.
Ssl de General orders the Third to
form in rear and fight and fall back
fail back and fight. Leave your dead
and wounded where they fall. Hold
the enemy in check at all hazards. On
this depends the salvation of the whole
armyw
Fight and fall back! First fight.
Where? Beginright here on the crest of
this hill. The enemy is coming up the
road at gallop, cheering and yelling
and determined to ride over us. Steady
now! Here we are in battle-line across
the highway, with company on each
flank along the fences. The road is
full of the charging cavalry, and with
grand yell they are upon us. 1t lasts
but minute, and as the wind whirls
the smoke away we see that the road is
full of men and horSes-some dead as
the stones under their feet-some
writhing in the torture of ghastly
wounds. There is q cheer as we see
the remnant galloping back out of
range, but it dies away as we count
thirty of our own dead and wounded.
In that one minute of fierce fighting
more than one hundred men went to
the dust.
Fall back? No! This is our battle
line for a while yet. The wounded are
lifted from the dust and laid upon the
turf, and we are yet at the work, sery-
ing friend and foe alike, when the enc.
my comes again. 1t is cavalry, as be-
fore, but while they are massing as best
the narrow limits will permit, a battery
on the hill behind them shells us as if it
meant to leave no one alive. Fence
rails 90 nying--dust and dirt arc sent
higher than the tree topS-treGS are cut
short off orsplintered asif lightning had
spent its fury there, but no one moves.
Our order was to die on the line.
Ready, men! Hold your fire until
every bullet win count! We can hold
this line until dark!n
Here they come! Beyond us is the last
of the great wagon train, followed by
brigades which are looking back at us
as women do at twilight shadows. If
they can only break through us!
Not q wOrd-not a whisper in answer
to those wild cheers. Not movement
in the line until the nearest horses are
burned with the wave of flame which
rolls out and enwraps horse and rider
with a crimson robe of death They
press on. Horses leap over the dead or
trample upon them. SaberS and bayo-
nets drink blood, andmen fight on after
they have fallen.
1t is over again, and we have beaten
them back. The highway is an awful
sight TO lock upon as the smoke floats
sullenly away. There is no longer
path through the dead. The road is
packed with the dead and wounded
literally packed.
Fall back? Yes. Their infantry has
come up and Iianking parties are being
pushed forward. We leave eightY-siX
dead and wounded to their care, and