Bristol news. [volume] (Bristol, Va. & Tenn.) 1867-189?, 1881-09-13

ridge sinks to the level Of the rest of the
ground the color Of the sub-soil makes
the breasLworks plainly traceable.
Having passed over the fields, in which
| found not 80 much as bullet or q
bog, came to tract heavily timbered
with OAK, pine and holly Here again
the parapct was high and the trench
deep, for the works have never been
disturbed and have suffered only ma
ture's slight changes. The line looks as
If some huge mole, some monster of the
underground, had run its suOut along
just beneath the crust of earth, uphcay-
Ing an uneven mound miles in length.
Here II IL brown with cast-oif foliage
shattered from u thousand pines; again
Ii has Il touch of green as ii sinks into Il
swampy stretch, but for all its length it
is clearly marked as though banked up
year ago. What to me was mysterious
and that TO which my attention was
constantly drawn found just under the
heaviest banks Of earth. At first /
thought certain little scooped-out places
must have been made by men who sought
protection in the sand, but | was not
long in concluding that from every one
Of these holes, after battle, dead man
had been dug. And so it was. Many
poor fellow had quick interpeut in the
trenches where he fell, and these little
sears in the ground each did duty us n
soldiers rude shroId.
QUICKEST OF MODERN BATTLES.
The line leaves the dense woods to
cross road that runs from the Cold
Harbor House to the Chick;hominy. In
a Held to the left are remains Of artil-
lery works, and along The lpad, just at
the eastern side, the infaitry breast
works stretch as far as Birker's Mill,
fully three miles from my starting point,
But by the time reached tie intersec-
ton Of this Chickahominy rad with n
road leading to New Cold lllrbor Store
was tired enough to give bper the at
tempt to follow the line Oh foot. Mol
doubt many people have it ia their minds
that II battlefield is u siggle feld--a
piece Of land that may be walked across
in ten minutes, n CrCumsCrDed place,
spot, When Grant assaulted Lee on this
ground, at daybreall on the II Of June,
his line of battle was sewn miles in
length. More than hundr!d thousand
Federal soldiers moved forward at the
tick Of the watch. While Binside was
on the dOuble-quick at Bethesda church,
six miles TO the north, at the same mo-
ment Hancock was leading his columns
across the road into the wSods where
lurked the foe. Before Il swift bind
could fly from one end Of tie usslnlting
line to the other, Lee had received and
withstood the shock at everypoiut. Ten
minutes only had passed, but in that
beggarly bit of time the ground was
strewn with slain, and die quickest
fought battle Of modern tines was de-
cidcd, Only Hancock held tenaciously
to what he had gained, and NE fight in
front was prolonged for Il hQlr, store ,
keeper Tucker, whom mctat Ga,nes's
Min u few weeks ago, went with me
from his store at New CoN ilarbor to
the place of Lees line where Hancock |
fought ON, and there saw number OF |
wonderful evldeHces Of he1ierce fight.
The trunk Of n "honcyshick' tree---a
kind Of locust, thorny, andof hard wood |
rests against the earthwoiks, and Mr.
Tucker says that 1t was SO hacked with !
small shot that the next high wind blew |
1t down. found II skull and dozen
buttons in n marshy spot u dozen yards !
away, and on the other side If the breast !
works Is a mound that shelters number
Of fallen Alabama beavcs.