Clearfield Republican. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1851-1937, 1880-07-28

Vehscu hltOBetner, Dut lnc reDel smell,
came as numerous as ever. Then, foi
, over half hour, not soul was seer
! string on our line-we might have
been an army Of dead men for all The
evidence OF life visible Suddenly the
enemy stopped their fire. which had
been going ON for nearly two hours
without intermission, and then the long
lines Of their infantry-eighteen thou.
sand strong-emerged from the woods
and began their advance.
At this moment silence reigned
along our whole line. With arms at
a "rightshoulder shift" the divisions
OF Longstreets corps moved forward
with precision that was wonderfully
beautiful 1t is now our turn and the
lines that few moments before seemed
80 still now teemed with animation.
Eighty OF our guns opened their
brazen mouths solid shot and shells
are sent on their errand of destruction
in quick succession We see them fall
in countless numbers among the ad.
vancing troops. The accuracy of our
fire could not be excelled the missiles
strike right in the ranks, tearing and
rending them in every direction. The
ground over which they pass is strewn
with dead and wounded. But on they
come. The gaps in the ranks are
closed as soon as made. They have
three quarters of a mile TO march, ex.
posed TO our fire, and half the distance
is nearly passed. Our gLnnors now
load with canister and the effect is ap.
palling; but still they march on.
Their gallantry is past all praise-it is
sublime. Now they are within a hun.
dred yards. Our infantry rise up and
pour round after round into these
heroic troops.
THE GALLANT MEN OF THE SOUTH.
At Waterloo the Old Guard recoiled
before a less severe fire. But there
was no recoil in these men of the
South-they marched right on as
though they courted death. They con.
centrate in great numbers and strike
on the most advanced part Of our line.
The crash Of the musketry and the
cheers Of the men blend together. The
Philadelphia brigade occupies this
point. They are fighting on their own
State, and in the bloody hand.tO-hand
engagement which ensues, the Con.
federates, though fighting with desper.
ate valor, find 1t impossible to dislodge
them-they are rooted to the ground.
Seeing how utterly hopeless further
effort would be and knowing the i'm.
possibility of reaching their lines
should they attempt to retreat, large
numbers of the rebels lay down their
arms and the battle is won. To the
left of the Philadelphia brigade we
did not get to such close quarters.
Seeing the utter annihilation of Pick
ett's troops, the division of Wilcox
and others on their right went to
pieces almost before they got in musket
range. A few here and there ran
away and tried to regain their lines,
came eau "HfT FL as ''tat btatls6Rgfs. 'hXf tie most
critical moment Hancock fell, among
his men, on the line of Stannard's Yer
mont brigade, desperately wounded,
but he continued to direct the fight
until victory was secured, and then he
sent Major Mitchell TO announce the
glad tldings to the Commander of the
army. Said he "Tell General Meade
that the troops under my command
have repulsed the assault OF the enemy,
who are now flying in all directions in
my 'front.' "Say to General Hancock,
said Meade, in reply al regret exceed
ingly that he is wounded, and that !
thank him for the country and myself
for the services he has rendered to-
day" Truly, the country may thank
General Hancock, as Congress alter
ward did, for his great service on that
| field.
Five thousand prisoners were sent
to the rear, and we gathered up thirty
three regimental standards in front of
the Second corps. The remaining hours
of daylight during this day were oc-
cupied in caring for the wounded,
looking over the field and talking over
the incidents of the fight. Many noble
officers and men were lost on both
sides, and in camp hospitals they died
in hundreds during the afternoon and
night. The rebel General Armlstead
died in this way. As he was being
carried to the rear he was met by
Captain Harry Bingham, of Hancock's
staff, who, getting off his horse, asked
him il he could do anything for him.
Armistcad requested him to take his
watch and spurs to General Hancock
that they might be sent to his rela-
tiyes His wishes were complied with,
General Hancock sending them to his
friends the first opportunity. Armi-
stead was a brave soldier, with a most
chivalric presence, and came forward
in front of his baigade, waving his
sword. He was shot through the body
and fell inside our lines. Some of the
wounded rebels showed considerable
animosity toward our men. One of
them, who lay mortally wounded in
front of the Sixty ninth Pennsylvania,
sullenly refused to be taken to the
hospital, saying that he wanted to die
right there on the field where he fell.
The scene after Longstreets charge
was indescribable. In front of the
Philadelphia brigade the dead lay in
great heaps. Dismounted guns, ruins
ofexploded caissons, dead and mutt.
lated men and horses were piled up
together IN every direction.
SCENES ON THE TTLE,FIELD.
The Colonel of one of Pickett's regi.
ments lay dead, his arms clasping the
body of his brother, who was Major Of
his regiment. They were singularly
handsome men, and greatly resembled
each other. Out on the field where
Longstreets corps had passed thou
sands of wounded were lying. We had
no means of reaching these poor fel-
lows, and many of them lay there be-
tween the lines until the morning ofthe
5th. On the,4th we lay quietly all day
awaiting the next event. The enemy
could be seen moving around on Semi.
nary Ridge. Welcome supplies came
up and were issued All hands felt
cheerful, but degree of uncertainty
as to whether the battle was over or
whether the rebs were getting ready
for some new movement prevented us
from celebrating the National Anniver.
sary in a proper manor. Once in q
awhile the sharpshooters would try
their skill on some of our people TO let
us know they were still there The
strenoh from the dead became intoler.
able, and we tried to escape it by dig.
ging up the ground and burying our
faces in the fresh earth. On the morn
ing Of the 9th we found that the enemy