Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1882-05-04
What a Battle Really Is.

him."
What Battle Really Is.
| Detroit Free Press
In reading the brilliant description
of battles given by NJ. Quad in The
FREQ Press, am reminded of the many
battle scenes 1 had read before the
war, and Of the impressions they made
upon my neutrality-suspicious. and Wis
ions of glory, and the desire to ego in
on rush and clean out the foe," and
be one in brilliant charge" or "splen-
did dash" and come out covered with
glory" all "for our dear country's sake"
etc. am thinking how that expert
ment at Gaines Mills 1.-THE first serious
battle in which the Fourth Michigan
infantry were engaged) cleaned out all
my precOnceived ideas of war, and
made that which had appeared "glori-
Gus" to me by reading, most loathsome,
cruel and horrible beyond the powers
of expression contained in type or
spoken language.
When see young men, or old, I'M.
acquainted with the reality of war,
after reading well written account of
a hard-fOught battle, anxious to ego in"
and distinguish" themselves where
bullets and shells are flying, and men
are falling like grass before the now
er; when i realize how many of our
youth are led to believe that war is
glorious. and taught to believe that it
is fun to take part in a battle, and who
are spelling for fight" and then re-
fleet upon how the GLORIOUS" accounts
of battles in American history have af-
fected myself, and how that Gaines
Mills battle-and so on through TO
Malvern Hill-wOrked a sudden and
complete reversiOn of all my notions of
war-well, 1 only wish 1 could once
impress the actual truth upon the
minds of rising generations the differ
ence between battle on paper, while
the participant is seated in an easy
chair, reading Of ''charges" and dash
es," and taking his place in the ranks
and going in and taking his chances of
one in two or three to get out alive.
A man would think seriously before
going into den of lions single handed
with a rifle, and try titles with the
animals to see who was going to es-
cape with whole skin, but readers
will think that 1 exaggerate when 1
tell them that not one of the surviv-
ors of the Gaines Mills battle who got
damned into that "wedge that stuck in
their lives and remained there" (hun-
dredS of them disemboweled and he d.
less) but would very gladly swap that
glorious affair for tussle with a
cage of lions single-handed.
1t is sOber-very sober-truth, how
ever, as l am sure they will learn-if
they try.
People love to read of scenes which,
if they were compelled to witness or
take part in, would plow them up with
unutterable horror. Fancy two sep
a1a'e crowds OF excited. delirious men
with guns in their hands, coming to-
gether, those behind crowding those in
front onward in spite of themselves
(for when men get within ten feet of a
line of hostile bayonets they must be
forced on-not one in 100 can 60 volun-
tart y; fancy those in front being
forced, damned right into each others
faces by crowd behind, who do not
see or feel the immediate presence of
the enemy's steel, both sides alike, and
then when these poor devils-for all
are devils then-come together, it is
beyond the power of mall to describe
the climax of all horrors ever enacted
on earth, that happens then. Those
who live through such a murder.mill
will never be able to get the terrible
picture out of their minds.
Every time the writer has restless
dreams-if he goes to sleep while
lying on his back, or is delirious with
fever, whenever his mind is disor-
dered, night or day, since that "bril-
liant dasb," and GLORIOUS work, "
visions of disfgured faces, with the
black blood spouting out of their
mouths, crushed skull-or a rent
side, or head crushed, arms and legs
torn off = shrieks -gIoans -yells =
every noise that agonized and terrified
men, suddenly transformed into de-
stroying demons-the climax of every
woe on earth-it all returns, more ter.
rible than any nightmare, because it
J, was real. That men can sit down and
write up such q scene, and make it fas-
cinating and charming 10 readers, and
that hosts are growing up to believe
that war is glorious-that the iEpres-
sien upon the reader is SO different
from the impressions of those who were
engaged in the splendid affair."" ap-
pears to the writer most singular and
wonderful phenomenon.
i If all men could know the truth of
what war is-in advance-there would
never he another glorious charge" re-
corded in history. Those who make
wars would have to fight them through
alone. @. III. B.