Alpena weekly argus. [volume] (Alpena, Mich.) 1871-1893, 1880-05-19
"Forward 7"
"Trot |"
"Gallop %
"ChArpe I"

"Trotp
"Gallop%
"Charge I"
Ayel we are not mutes after all !.
. vi! vi! vi! comes the yell, and we
all take it up. Sabres are flashing,
horses rushing, and troopers shout
, ing, and there is an exhileration in
the moment which lifts men in
their stiIrups.
Will they form in square,
No! They shout in derision as
700 men ride down upon 5000.
They halt, and the front rank drops
to its knees, and the rear rank
takes steady aim. | am in the
front rank of our charging line, and
eau see every movement. wish
it was over. 1t does not seem pos
sible that one OF US will he alive
after their first volley. There will
be grand crash, sheet of flame,
and the maelstrom of death will
have drawn us to the earth.
Nearer-nearer hear their
officers commanding them to be
cool. Nearer-here is theIcrash-
the hame-the smoke-the cheers
and the groans! Now we are up
on them! Our horses strike the
line like great wave which can
not be stayed nor turned aside.
/ see men under foot-they jab at
me with bayonets, they strike at
me with dubbed musllets. Bngles
sound-officer shout-sabres ring
-muskets crash, and men live
through it to pass beyond out of
the smoke cloud.
"Rally rally!" call the bngles.
We have broken their lines and
confused them. They are not re-
treating, but they are disorganized
for a moment. We can hear their
officers shouting orders, and there
is pop! pop! pop! of musketry
around us.
orally on the CENTER"
Every horse knows and obeys
the call. Under the smoke we re-
form. The trooper at my left is
leaning forward in his saddle, sa-
bre gone and both hands clutching
his horses name. There is blood
on his bare head and bronze face.
and bayonet has given him hor-
rible wound 10 the leg. The three
horses beyond me on the right
have empty saddles, yet here they
are, ready to charge back again.
"Yi! vi! yi|
Here we go again. Who leads
us / do not know. What we are
charging cannot see. It is only
a minute before see bayonets and
then comes the shock. No man
could tell you what takes place in
that brief moment. 1t is a horri-
BILE nightmare of flame and smoke
and blood and death.
We are scarcely through one
battle line before we wheel to the
left and strike another. The troop
er who was at my left is missing.
There are three riderless horses on
one side and two on the other.
They keep pace with mine. They
rear and fling themselves against
the line, striking with their feet
and screaming like wild beasts a:
, the bayonets prick them.
Now to the right, and we dash
through q lne-Dow a short hal
, circle and men are knoc';ed dowr
/, and tramped under foot-pou
|, straight ahead, and we follow the
single bugle call back to the cover
Of the woods from whence we start
, ed thirty minutes before. Their,
is a heavy smoke cloud dowr
where we fought, and under it
o cover the enemy is trying to reor
, ganize. 1t is too late. Our in
fantry line Of battle has advanced
half a mile, our batteries have SC
!, cured better positions, and the en-
: envy must fall hack all along il
@ line or be- flanked and crushed.
O Where is our colonel Dead un
:. der one Of the cherry trees. On
If major! Killed as we charged tn
first line. Five Of our captains
Stark and stiff down there in tn
). clover patch. Eight lieutenants
!. Dead where the blue coats ar
: thickest.
. Where are the troopers who 50
in these blood-stained saddles
When the enemy draws off, W
I, shall ride over the field and cour