The National tribune., 1881-12-17

disease. Then followed the disastrous Sunday
assaults Of the 14th, in which, from daylight to
dark, half the army in two columns struggled
to penetrate the defenses, and were hurled back
with a loss of 1900 in killed and wounded After
that, almost whole month of mining, cannon
aiding, sharpshooting and starving was required
to bring the gallant defenders to capitulation; :;
and surely there was not soldier in our own
sadly thinned army left to witness the surrender
who did not experience what Sir Walter Scott
calls
"-the stern joy which warriors feel
In foeman worthy of their steel.'
Jackson Wells, the hero of this adventure
was corporal of the colOr-guard of my regi-
ment, brave, sturdy boy of 90 short and stub
by in figure, but with boldness and resolution
enough inside of him for three of his stature
Tall soldiers for the color guard was the prin-
ciple with us when we first entered the service;
but some months of active service, with the raw
ages of disease and of the bullet, had weeded
out the ranks, and our giants of six feet four,
five and six were few enough. So the Colonel
began to act on the better principle, the best
soldiers for the color-guard," and none better
could have been found than Jack, as he was FAM
iliarly called. He had been in the color-guard
three months at the time of this dreadful assault,
and was with it, Of course all through that his
toric day.
Hard enough did the brave c0lor-guard fare in
that fight. Their place was in the middle of the
column and as the battalons in front of us were
urged one after another up against the almost
perpendicular Notifications where they melted
away like the mists of that morning before the
sun Just rising, and our turn came, we, too surg
ed forward with a clamor of shouts and yells
right up to the rocky fence of hill, over the
stumps and rocks and into the ditch. The colors
were Haunted in the very face of the enemy and
carried as far as the foot of man could reach be-
meath the enfilading fire of round balls and
buckshot that withered away our battalion.
was borne from that angle of death quite early
in the day with shot through the body; but
the impression of the battle scene that photo
graphed itself in my mind will describe the whole
days work. 1t was constant rush Of our blue
clad boys, with bayonets fixed, and yells of de-
fance, up against that impossible wall, without
the means at hand for escaade a continual
spurt of dashes through the gray mist from the
works, and the incessant cracking report of mus
kets and sharp kissing of the deadly missiles
the ground in front strewn and encumbered with
the dead, dying and wounded-and thus the
bloody and useless work went on till night, when
our columns, what was left of them, Withdrew
and the ill-starred assault was over
The muster of the next morning showed that
every man of the color-guard was killed or
The color bearer was shot dead as
soon as he came under fire; the corporal who
= h. H,,- A.
and, In succession, every man of the
six was struck down, and the flag was rescued
from the muzzle of the confederate muskets by a
gallant private, who dashed up through a very
hades of fire and seized it from the ground where
it lay, with corpses piled all about and upon it,
Two or three of the wounded color-guard were
brought away; two others were known to be |
dead; and it was supposed that all but those two
had perished on the field of honor. A truce was |
agreed upon the second day after the fight and |
some 500 bOdies blackened by exposure to the |
fierce sun of that latitude, We're buried together
in the soldiers grave. 1t was not doubted at the |
time that Corporal Wells was among them He |
had been seen to fall as he caught up the flag and
waved it over his head, with cry of encourage
staff had passed to other hands, which |
he never Woulu have permitted unless badly |
nothing had been seen or heard of him
since. Poor Jack! There were brave fellows |
and good fellows enough to cry after that dread
full Sunday; but no more honest tears were shed
than those that fell for you.
The siege dragged its slow length. along, and
the capitulation came at last, with the 9th of |
July. The ceremony was over, the arms ground
ed, and our men had begun to examine with |
natural interest and curiosity the defenses that
had held them at bay for six weeks when, to the
establishment and delight of his comrades Cor
poral Wells suddenly made his appearance. A
shout of welcome greeted him. and crowd quick
y gathered about him with eager questions and
salutations, while each hand was seized by half
4 dozen at the same time.
"Be hanged if believe it is Jack" one of them
said "Let me pinch you, old fellow, and see if
there's solid flesh ON you, or if it's nothing but
ghost covering. Why, blast it, man, didn't we
bury you over in the ditch yonder after the bat
tle with some hundreds of others?
Not as l know of, you didn't, replied the cor
poral. "Wheres your tobacco? Give me a chew,