The Republican journal., 1882-02-16

only means of recrOssing the river was upon
pontOOn bridges, and the enemy had artillery
enough in position to blow every pontoon in our
possession out of the water We could not adj
vance. We could not retreat if the enemy was
disposed to prevent it, Our position was much
worse than that of Lee at Antetam. If General
Lee had opened upon our army situated as it
was on that Sabbath morning, its destruction OF
surrender must have been Il fOregone conclu-
sion. Why Lee did not seize the opportunity |
do not know, but the fact that he did not goes
far to prove that Lee not so skillful leader
as his admirers would have us believe. Our
brigade was in close quarters on that memora-
bic Sabbath. The rebs kept strict watch over
our movements. 1t used to be the old adage at
Donnybrook Fair, wherever you see Il head
hi it." and with our enemy it was wherever
YOU see a head shoot it, and as soon as we un-
derstood that they desired us to remain quiet we
Were very willing to crafty them. There We're
only a few exceptions to this rule. Here and
| there was man so reckless that he would stand
up and fire at the rebels, and thus bring upon Us
the fire of a hundred rifles. one man in Com
pany took special delight in this. He was
-
officers to desist but he needed them not. He
saw rebel lar above him on the hillside. Ris
ing to his feet he took deliberate aim and fired
A sharpshooter spotted him. a bullet came sing
in, through the air, and With a dull thud it
struck in the mans brow and he fell corpse, a
victim to his own rashncSs. And thus through
the entire day we lay-hungry, covered with
mud. and benumbed with Old. About ten O'Clock
on sunday evening, under cover of darkness we
Were relieved by another brigade and fell back
TO the city, and spread our blankets upon the
| sidewalk to obtain a little sleep, and notwth-
standing the grave situation of the army, As
regiment we were much elated. We had fought
our first battle, had made Il most brilliant
charge with unbrokcn ranks, where the old
regiments had faltercd in fear. Colonel Ame~
c0mplimented lis for the bravery we had shown,
and we all understood that compliment from
this gallant officer wa, of some Importance. and
ii was greatly appreciated. sunday night pass
ed; Monday came and Went, and no movements
of importance Were made on either Si,I,. Burn
| side was preparing to retr; at from his pcrouS
! position, and Lee was strengthening his position
in fear that we would make another assault
Late on Monday night our brigade was pushed
up close to the enemyS lines, and in the dark
ness the work of recros>ng the river began. 1t
wa>a most dangerous undertaking, and upon
its success depended not only the safety of the
army but the salvation Of the government. The
pontoon bridges We're covered with earth, that
no noise should reach the enemy and inform
! them Of the movement We Were making. Swift
| ly and i'll silence the troops moved on. At two
| o'clock in the morning we We're Withdrawn and
| marched back through the city. and to our sur
| prise found the army had nearly all recrosSed
| the river. think that our brigade was the last
| one to leave the enemy'~ front, and our re9i-
ment was the last one Of the brigade to rpcros>
the river The battle had been fought andlos
! On the Union side ten thousand men had been
| killed and wounded. With sad hearts we
marched from the field of battle, and thus
closed my first visit to fredericksburg.
| MY SECOND VISIT
was made in May 1864. \ long line of ambu-
lances aud army wagons heavily laden with
wounded soldiers made its weary way from the
| battle field of the wild rncss to Fredericksburg.
| saturday night Sunday and Sunday night had
journey. On Monday at noon we entered the
| city. The growing of a distant cannonade was
heard far away at Spottyslvania. There seemed
| to BE- but few people in the city to receive us.
| The baggage wagons drawn by six mules in
which twelve Of Us had been carried from the
| wilderness halted by little church yard, where
we We're unloaded and placed under the shade
of some great trees. Slowly We're the wounded
unloaocd from the wagons, The church, the
| yard, every square and many of the buildings
We're filled with the suffering soldiers. Scores
bad died by the way, and hundreds were buried
| here | was very hungry, but there no
| foot. My shattered lee WAS ntlamed and pain
| full, bat forgot ii all a. | watched the acute
suffering of those around mc--humnity shot
and maugIed in every conceivable form. The
| surgeons Were busy attending to the most spri-
on, eases. Through Monday night, and Tues
| day the air wa, filled with the groanS and cries
or suffering heroes. What Il fearful RESPONSE
! bility rests upon the in>tgatorS of that cruel
war. ON Tuesday WAS surprised to hear my
name called, and TO see approaching me an old
school mate now Il member of the 17th L. :.
| Infantry He had been in search of food and
| had obtained two cakes of hard bread and tin
cup half fun of coffee. IIrncedod no invitation
to divide. We~at ON the ground and ate the
priceless food and talked Of hoa,e. II" remained
! with me until evening, when our train was once
more in motion. We climbed into our wagon:
the ~iN mules started off at a brisk pace, the
| great carriage numbered and ratified down tn,
principal street. across the river. and for the
second time | bade good bye to Fredericksburg.
| THE THIRD VISIT.
Onabrautiful SIay evening in S6j, long line
| of infantry marched along the northern bank of
| the Rappahannock river and encamprd just OPP
posite the city of fredericksburg Their uni
| forms We're stained and ragged, and their flags
| were torn TO shred~. They had evidently seen
| active service. 1t was the first division of the
old Fifth Army Corps now commanded by
Major General Chamberlain. They are fresh
| from the surrender Of Lee at AppomattoX and
are marching from Richmond to Washington.
The tents are pitched and the weary soldiers lie
| down to rest: but have strong desire to re-
visit the city. | crossed the river and in the
deep twilight climbed up the principal street.
The indications of war only existed in the brick
| buildings bored through and through by Union
| shells. | reached the little church yard. 1t
was not now filed with suffering humanity. 4
| few worshpers had entered the sanctuary; a
sweet song of praise rolled softly out on the
evening air | passed ON, A. nearly l could
remember over the ground where our regiment
! made its charge, and then climbed to the heights
| from which we We're repulscd There We're no
indications of war. The breastWorks had been
levellrd; the green grass had covered the graves
of blue and gray alike. that the one could
not be told from the other. | sat for a moment
| on a little knoll. How peaceful and quiet. 4
little group of children We're playing and laugh
| ing merrily in yard just below ne. The songs
of the worshipers were indistinctly heard in the
distance. l thought of the war now ended: of
the brave comrades whom had left on so
many bloody fields of the sacred dust scattered
N oViSh1N tbp Slo,,rs hnf 7