The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1881-09-15

ing, and then a rosounding clash. hard
together. April had given fresh foliage 10
the trees, bat May had brought two hun.
drcd thousand men TO lurk in lthe cha
parral. 10 tear through the thickcts Of
brambe bushes and clumps Of thorny
shrubs and to light up the hollows, hith-
erto dismal from time unknown, with
flashes whose reflex startled the continent.
For eight and forty hours the blind giants
fought with desperate purpose and then,
leaving twenty five Thousand men to the
fate Of the brave, they dragged their Grip
pied lengths suilenly southwark to better
battle grounds beyond.
FOOTPRINTS OF THE ARMY.
Here in the Wilderness are the best
preserved heel prints and claw marks Of
the war. The face Of the earth retains
scars Is we'll Is the face ofa man, and Da-
turc when let alone will show scratches
made by those who long since have been
gathered beneath her green. As soon
as a line Of breastworks was thrown up in
these untro,ldeu forests there sprang
from TIE sub soil all sorts Of shrubs and
woodplants, which, with the coating Of
skaters blown from the pines around
resist tie wear and tear Of time. The
Wilderness is a wide stretch Of tim
ber on rocky, rolling land, covering
the northwestern 'riicr of Spottsylvania
county. At the southern edge, few
miles from this heart OF il, is the Chan
ccllorayille battle ground, fifteen miles
below Is the scence Of slaughter at Fred
crickSburg and To the south is Spottsyl-
vania Court House, where occurred the
terrific twin battle TO the olc delivered
here. Every square mile Of land in
Spottsylvania is his,oric-a place Of bat
tie upon which to fight meant to slay
But, unlike the other fields in the county,
this upland corner, hemned in by the
Rapdan, is heavily timbcrcd with scrub
oak, pine, chestnut and hazel, with briars
and chincapin bushes springing at the
roots Of the trees. There is an occasional
opening and at this point, on the Wilder
ness run, a branch of the Rapidan, are
several farG!S, some comfortable dwellings
and Il store. The land Immediately bor-
derng the run is more fertile than that at
the distance Of a mile or so, and n narrow
strip OF II Is now in corn and grass
When the battle WAS fought a tavern
stood near the Grauge turnpike, on hill
lock at the side Of the stream, but it WAS
torn down by the soldiers and since then
mere has been no attempt at restoration.
Within sight Of the store whittier country
men for miles around come to trade, are
four farm buildings, while somewhat to
the month is L mine from which gold re-
Gently has been taken in paying quanti-
ties. Looked at while in the midst Of It's
deepest shadows.the Wilderness is howl
ing one indeed, but seen from the atorc,
1t isn't half rs bad II case of the forest
vul I 4
DITCH WITH PILES OF DEAD.
Riding out to the pike with the oblig-
ing young storckecper We came to a
point where ut the edge Of an oak belt is
q new growth of pines which lift their
small green cones twenty or thirty feet
above the ground. At the time of the
battle this pine woods was an open field
and through it ran n ditch. The ditch
remains, but its bed ia dry and oycrcrown
with weeds. Flies buzzed around our
heads and bit our hands lis we made our
way along the ditch, for here three thou.
sand men fell and We were searching for
evidences of the struggle between Warren
anu Ewell. OF bones there were none in
sight, but rusty canteens were as plenty.
full as persimmons and l had the good
luck to find stump from the rotten heart
OF which we picked number of Mimic
balls. The storekeeper tells me that af-
ter the desperate assaults this ditch was
SO filled with bodies that in ono place a
miner, shod with bloody CRIME, walked
tor two hundred yards or more with hu-
man heads for stepping stones But
Warren and Sedgwick, uudcr Grants
stern eye, gave back in kind. So it
comes that along the clearly marked line
OF rebel entertainments on the other side
OF the tEicket are several mounds and
Just as many tri6ing relics, of the canteeii
KIND, as are to be seen in the ditch The
canteens that ! noticed among the weeds,
where the men of the North stood, arc
inclined to the oval in shape, but those,
picked up along the breastworks were
round and Tat, like q slice cut crossways
from water melon. Campaigners and
those familiar with tho equipment of
the two armies will recall that the rebel
canteen was rs different from the canteen
or Yankee mnke as is Kentucky corn
juice from Connecticut cider or Jersey
lightning.
THICkET OF DEATH
The battle WAS fought in two deGles-
for while Oh the 9th Of May it ragged along
the Orange turnpike, at Grants right
hand, on the 9th Hancock and Longstreet
wrestled along the Orange plank road, to
the left of Grant and some two miles
south of his headquarters at Old Wilder.
ness Tavern. Returning from the ditch
OF the desolate pines on the Federal
right, We drove down a hill to Grants
cleared field, crossed Wilderness run,
came again to the store, passed over a
hard, rock wagonway, red in the hazy
sunlight, and after half hours trot
struck the famous Brock road. Here
at that thoroughfare's intersection with
the, Stevensburg road, stands an oak
nailed to which is sign pointing south
east to charlottesville and south to
Spottsylyania Court House. This point
OF intersection is historic for more incl
dents than one. On day in May, 1863.
Jackson led his $4,000 veterans by Quick
and secret march 70 this tree and, wheel.
ing. swept resistless fury down the road
until he gave Hooker his lasting scar and
found for himself the death wound of
hero: On day in May, 1864, GETTY
hurrles past the oak to the plank road
below, that he may stop Lees oncoming
host and thwart Lees purpose to crush