Clearfield Republican. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1851-1937, 1881-04-27
of the minnie joins the loud scream Of
the oblong bolts.
HANC0CK's GALLANT ADVANCE,

that assail us. The hills rain fire and
the men advance with heads bowed as
when walking against hail.storm.
Still through the deadly shower the
evor-thinning lines press on. The
plain over which we have passed
is thiokly spotted with the men
of the Second Corps, dead, in twos
and threes and in groups. Regiments
and companies have now their third
or fourth commander and the colors
are borne TO the front by the third or
fourth gallant soul who has raised
them. The gaps in the lines have be.
come so large and so numerous that
we have to make continued efforts TO
close them, and the command "Guide
centre is frequently heard. French
nears the entertainments of the Con-
federates' first line and the enemy
redouble their efforts. The storm rises
to a greater fury. Tho struggle is
hopeless. His lines wave like corn in
a hurricane recoils, then breaks and
the shattered mass falls back amid the
shouts and cheers OF Cobb's and Ker.
shaw's brigades, that line the trenches
in front. Now Hancock, with the
division that never lost gun or a
color, sweeps forward, and being joined
by many of the gallant menof French's
command makes the most heroic effort
Of the day. Passing the furthest point
reached by the preceding troops, he
impetuously rushos on, passes the
brick house 80 conspicuous on the field
on, on, until his flags waved within
twenty-five PAGES of the fatal stone
wall. Then with q murderous fire
everywhere around us we realized the
full absurdity of the attempt to ac.
complsh the utter impossibility. We
had not yet fred shot. We had only
reached the spot where our work was
to begin. Forty per cent. of The force
had already fallen. No support within
three quarters Of mile. In ourfront,
line after line of works followed each
other up the tcrraced heights to the
very crest, which was covered with
artillery. Tocarry the assault further
would be extreme madness. Should
we take and occupy the first line, it
would simply be to meet the fire
of the second and third. To fight
the host in front was not possible. We
were only to be shot down without
being able to return the blow. So the
division, or rather the half OF it that
still existed, began falling back but |
Hancock would not be driven from the
field, and halting where the formation
of the ground afforded some shelter to
his hard.tried command, he remained |
until relieved at night.fall, And now
the long, long dreadful afternoon that
awaited the thousands wounded, who
lay scattered over the sad and CHASTITY |
plain.
The only place of cover was the
brick house out near the stone wall.
To this hundreds OF the wounded
dragged themselves and great mass
of sufferers huddled together and
struggled TO get nearer to the house,
that they might escape the fire. Ali
around the great heaps of dead bore
testimony to the ferceness of the COM
bat. Near by color sergeant lay
stark and cold with the flag Of his
regiment covering him. Just in front
OF the stone wall lay line Of men Of
the Irish Brigade, with the green box.
wood in their caps, and the two bodies
nearest the enemy were those Of my
beloved friend, Major William Horgan,
and Adjutant J. r. Young, both Of the
Eighty-eighth New York. 1t was not
yet one o'clock when the assaulting
column retired and we had nearly five
hours 20 wait for darkness. We heard
the clock in the Episcopal Church in
the city strike the hours that seemed
SO long The sharpshooters of the
enemy soon got position from which
they could enflade the house and when
one moved among the mass of bleeding
men it was u signal for the rife balls
to whistle around. Few of us expect.
ed to live until night and but few did.
Kecpingvery quiet, ,hugging the ground
closely, we talked together in low
tones. The bullets kept whistlingand
dropping and every few moments some
one would cease talking never to talk
again. How quietly they passed away
from the crimson field to eternity, their
last gaze on their waving flag, the lost
sound TO reach their ears the volleys of
musketry and their comrades cheers.
THE BLOOD OF ALL NATIONS
What a cosmopolitan crowd these
dead and wounded were-Amercans
from the Atlantic Coast and the Pacific
States, from the prairies, from the great
valleys of the Mississippi and the Ohio
lrishmen from the banks Of the Shan.
non and Germans from tho Rhine and
the blue Danube Frenchmen from
the Seine and Italians from the classic
Tiber mingled their blood and went
down in death together that our cause
and the Union might live. Every lit
tie while we could sec other columns
emerge from the city, dcploy upon tho
plain, march forward, but never got
so far as the brick house. The APP.
pearanoe ofthese troops would draw the
fire Of the batteries on the hills above
us and hundreds of deadly projectiles
would go screaming over US and we
could SEQ them burst in the midst of
our friends. Evening came at last
the sun went down behind the terrible
heights and we anxiously watched tho
shadows lengthen and steal across the
field Of blood, creeping over the plain,
through the houses OF the shade, then
up the church tower until the only OBJ.
ject that reflects the rays was the cross
of FURNISHED gold, which sparkled a
moment against the purple sky and
then twilight was upon US and deepen
cd until it was difficult to discern OBJ
jects. We thought the battle ended,
when through tho darkness loomed up
the divisions Of Hooker. Nobly they
came TO the work, with empty muskets
and orders to carry the position with !
the bayonet. The dark mass passed !
the brick house and almost to the point
that Hancock had reached. They had
come up through the cleaning unseen
and surgcd againstthe base OF Marye's
Heights.
Again the hills flashed fire, shook,
rocked, roared and belched forth moro
tons of iron on tho red plain, more
minutes of useless carnage The som.
bro wave rolled back, the last and
most absurd attempt of the disastrous
day had come to naught and seventeen
hundred more had been added TO the
ponderous list Of casualties. Clouds
nunrshadnwnd tho skiea and nnidnd