St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1880-03-06
THE CANNON'S MOUTH.
Men Have Been There, and Yet Died o

IHE CANNUN'S MOUTH.
Men Have Been There, and Yet Died OF
From the Detroit Free Press.l
There is nothing connected with a
battle so exciting as to see battery OF
flying artillery take position. Troops
open right and left, drivers lash and
shout, horses plunge and rear, and guns
and caissons dash through and over
every thing until reaching the chosen
spot. A line of men waiting for the
fight to open will show pluck and
enthusiasm with the booming of the
first gun, and the faster the battery is
worked the more impatient will the
supports become for close work. No
one will say that an army could be sue
cessfuN without artillery, and yet those
who hold the lannon's MOUTH to be
king of terrors or the jaws of certain
destruction will feel disappointed when
they come across statistics showing how
little damage is inflicted by cannon
compared with the musket.
1t is often said of a man: "He
would not be afraid to march up to the
lannon's mouth;' and yet it is not
high compliment to his bravery. Just
previous to the first fight at Bull Run a
brigade Of infantry made reconnois-
sance towards Blackburn's Ford to see
how the enemy was posted. A Michigan
regiment, in reserve just outside the
fight, was opened on by six field pieces
in plain sight. The firing was rapid
and lasted for half an hour, and yet not
a man in the regiment was even wound
ed. Massachusetts troops, advancing
into the woods, fought against cannon
mounted on an earthwork for fully
twenty minutes, and yet all their loss
was from the musketry of foreign
troops. On this occasion no less than
200 round-shot and shell were utterly
wasted.
During the Sunday fight at Bull Run,
a full battery, posted on the left, and just
outside the fight, kept up continuous
and rapid fire ON a highway three quar-
tiers of mile away, over which the
were marching as they
went into action or changed positions.
Shot and shell could be seen to strike,
and outside of tearing a cover off an
army wagon, and the killing of horse
or two, no damage was done
At Fair Oaks the artillery fire was
ferce, and seemingly destructive. Trees
were rent and shivered, great burrows
plowed in the ground, and shells
screamed everywhere over the battle
field. Yet the loss of life by musketry
was in the proportion of twenty to one.
The Third Michigan Infantry lost more
men in five minutes by infantry fire than
any brigade lost all day by shot or she'll
The daily papers used to make great
ado over artillery duels, which were
pronounced fiendish, blood-thirsty and |
20 forth. At Antietam a Union and a
Confederate battery, not over half a
nile apart and in plain sight of each
other, had one of these duels, lasting
orty minutes. The guns were worked ,
or all they were worth, and when the
luel ended the loss was horse killed,
he wheel of caisson shattered and two
infantry men lying in support killed.
\ change of position sent the writer's
egiment over the ground occupied by
he Confederate battery, and here was
ound two disabled horses, a dead artil-
erist and the wreck of caisson. Dur
NC the forty minutes that these twelve
,uns were banging away with such little
esult four or five sharp shooters just to
he right killed more than a dozen men
nd made no fuss over it.
Lee had splendid position for his
rtillery at fredericksburg, vet the
Jnion troops swept forward unmindful
f the fire until they reached the point
'here the Confederate infantry could
egin work Shells exploded in the air
r beyond the line, round-shot took men
ingly, and no great damage was done
ntil grape and canister came into
lay. The Union guns on the other
ank of the river, numbering at least
ne hundred and fifty, doomed away for
everal hours at the town and at Lees
oops above, yet they did not cripple
Re enemy as much as the fire from
ngle infantry regiment.
At Savage Station, when Mcclellan
as changing base, a Union battery was
1arged by Confederate regiment.
hey came across an open field, in plain
ew and on level ground, with six guns
laying away on them, yet they cap !.
red the battery with a loss of only l
even men killed, and four of these
ere killed by one she'll A Union regi-
ent rallied on the guns, fought over {
em hand to hand and recaptured
EN-, and in ten minutes each regiment :
st over hundred men. 1
1t is popularity supposed to be for l.
m hope when men rush forward on T
attery, but any old soldier would take s
s chances there sooner than in trying i
dislodge infantry from the cover of a '
out rail fence. At Second Bull Run
e writer's regiment swept forward to
pture some field pieces which had got
cir range down fine and were creating !
nsiderable havoc. :.
There We're four cannon. and thew