The Sunday herald. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1866-1887, 1882-04-16
NEW PUBLICATIONS.

WAR DIARY OF EVENTS IN THE WAR OF
THE GREAT REBELLION, isG3-iS65. ByGEoHGt
". GuRDoN, late Colonel Second Mass. Infantry,
& Co.
1t is to be regretted that there are not
writer's upon our Civi war Of tho class to which
General Gordon belongs Not because his productions
TO be accepted without examination, nor that Ito
is free from preudlcc but because no actual particle
pant In these events can wrlte about them without
giving us valuable information not obtalnable from
other sources. General Gordon has already made Inn
porant contributions to history In his ''Sccond Mas
sachuscttsund Stdnewall Jackson ~ and 'tTho Army
otVlrginia " wemay add that the first named work,
which Is by Ear the most interesting, was privately
printed aud is now, understand being revised and
enlarged for publication, and that the author Is also
preparing account OF the Nnticatn campaign for
q separate volume,
Those readers who arc only Interested In the great
battles OF tho war will nnd the 4" war Diary tho
least lntcrcstlngot General Gordon Volumes since II
covers n period when his service was not Of worry
exciting character. lilo was In Norfolk and there
abouts during the campaigns OF Charlottesville aud
Gettysburg, served months upon the sea Islands
near Charleston, made n brief and not important
campaign In Florida, then went TO the lower Mssls
sippi Valley aud Mobile Hay, aud returned nd
mnlstratvc duty at Norfolk during the closing
months Of the war. Yct he has given many lfc-
curious aud amusing incidents. Tho mention Of the
disastrous battle ~ umstc6 might properly
have boon male more ", aud fuller
description Of II woull have enabled the
reader 10 Judge mote CORRECTLY than we are able
IN do from the scanty materials author furnshcg,
not only to the conduct NJ the troops and surbor
dnatc commanders, but rs to the proper apportlOn
ment Of the blanc between General Gilmore, who
ordered the movement, and General seymour, who
ppu o1 A WN mai "A mn o. uetn
far we understand It, anything to palliate Soy
mour conduct. II Is clear that he did not move
with sufficient caution, aud that II he did not run the
head Of his column into an ambuScadc, he did what
was next thing to II. General Gordon shows this
clearly, and also that when the repulsc of Colonel
tnow senator) Il,wley's white brigade showed the
the strength Of the position 1t bad policy to push
forward successfully the other hrgldes to be beaten
In detail. our author calls Seymour can officer OF
skin and great bravery, His sklllho did not exhibit
ut Oustee, aferwarh In the Wilderness.
ono of the best things In tho book rs the glimpse
given MS OF Antetan, the detailed account of which
Is reserved FOR future volume We take the follow
ing vivid description from the opening pages
At daylight reached the trout, and found that
during the night the rebel army, abandoning their
dead aud wounded, had fallen back across Antietam
| treek satisfied with the heavy nghting of the day
before ut the gaps, where we had been victorious.
| Two OF three hours went by, and we pushed on in
pursuit. Mcclellan rode past our corps, and we
chcered Justify shook hands with him, and rode a
short distance by his side, llO seemed anxious to
Overtake the enemy and said he should feel much
obliged IL they would only stop long enough to let him
whip them. We huri led ON during the day, encamp
Ing, on rather halting AZ night where Antlctbn
| Creek emptles into the Potomac. Behind the creek
| was Sharpsburg,
Early In the morning of the sixteenth we werc
aroused and ordeted to march forward and attack the
enemy, wh9 was supposed to be In position be-
| hind the creek. Our line of battle formed In
sight OF Lees army: but the day wore and no at
| tack was made, although tho answering growlS OF
artillery continued all day Night came, and we lay
down upon piles of straw. not to sleep however, FOR
before my eyes closed was ordered 10 prepare
to march Immediately toward the right of our line
| and reinforce General Hooker. our corps, formed
| In compact masses, was soon In notion We
| marched nearly all night, our route carried us
| across Antietun Creek, toward the extreme right
where ooker had preceded us aud had taken posi-.
| tou We halted about two hours before daybrcak.
Around us were stacks of straw, OF which we gladly
| awaited ourselves for few moments slumber. We
knew that were near the enemy and that We
should soon meet him. flushed with many victories
maintain himself on the LETT bank of the Potomac:
| but l, for one, was worn out with fatigue, so
| overpowercd with sleep aud had become so passive
under the experiences of the past campaigns of the
year, that slept.
That mellowing of the darkness precursor of the
coming day. was scarcely visible on tho seventeenth
| when we were aroused by fierce exchange of mus.
kerry, The long night-inarch, the deep slumber so
rudey broken, the beginning of tho deadly battle In
| that dim light of the early morning-all combined 10
| form picture which can never forget. We rose
to feet, formed In columns, and moved TO point
|
| the front to aid Hooker IL he required help.
| General Mansfield, who had been assigned to the
command of our corps Blanks had been put on other
| duty when Pope RETIRED was n reputable man and an
| experienced officer who had been wounded In previ-
GUS wars lie ordered certain precautionary dispo-
sitions, that aid might he sent without delay TO any
quarter; and then with the thoughtfulness OF an old
soldier directed me TO allow my troops to use mo-
mentary interval of rest in making coffee IL time suf-
| feed, and it not, then the men could "kick over
their camp kettles and move forwarl.' Instead oil
preserving the compact columns Into which the regi
f.,t.,n had .nnn
them to lessen danger from the enemy's shells now
bowling around us. The sun had not yet risen and
the forms of the tree and forest yet indisnCt,
when looked In the direction where the Second Mas
sacusetts Regiment had gathered around n cheerful
fire. over which the water y famPks,les was b.
his saddle on small scrap OF paper In reply TO my
question he,cheerily said, sob, am writing to my
| mother" The words, 40 Dear mother, 1t is misty,
moisty morning." with which he began this las
touching line to the he loved best earth,
found upon his person. , few hours later, when h,
when the order, Forward into action ~ sent the
men to their feet They advanced amidst shell and
proper deployment without huddllng: and the ter
rife and glorious battle of Antietam Creek was be-
gun The details Of that fearful struggle belong t'
| the historian; cannot give them here From sun
rise 10 sunset we fought, swayng to and fro witt
varying fortune, until our lines moved forward II
final triumph, and the sun, whose rising we had seer
with much apprehension, now, rs 1t sank, lit ~
| our victorious flags
| But what a field of carnage lay about us Neither
time nor change dim the remembrance OF these
fields peopled with corpseS; can shut out the sight
too horrible to be real and get too real to forget, OF
that bloody pathway or OF that whole brigade OF
rebel dead with Its skirmsl line In front, Its troop
In rear. In the dim light our guards came upon It,
at the most advanced point that II was deemed pru
dent to take at night. - line of battle here Or
duty - exclaimed the officer In command; - Their,
must he mistake, for was told that this would
lie my font, and here Is whole brigade Of men, VIII
are they Sergeant? DO yOn know them Ask then
from what corps they came. ~
For some moments both officers aud men wer,
staggered at this mystery Ihat confusion Nigh
enough but that at such place whole brigade o
guards could he found buried in sleep, almost In pres
ence of the enemy, fillid them with ainazcment.
The Sergeant now vainIy attempted to arouse tn
man nearest him, with his foot. he stopped, shool
the man, and cried out, 'Halloo say wake up y
Then the truth beginning tn dawn him, he put hi
| hand upon the head, the face, and found II Cod III
| listened, but heard sound Of life. Another: NJ
answer from another still, nor yet from any o
those silent men lying there, still and stark, In tn
pale moonlight on that battlefield. Along the plain
over the h the line extended until lost In Obscur
ity, nothing but dark masses appeared. Throughou
tile night the moon filled the scene with mystic i'm
ages and unreal shapes. IL phantOms from the splri
never there time or place or sight 50 seasonabe
1t Il marvel to the living, and so continued unit
the faded before the dun Hight OF day, aud til
| awful truth was revealed. A whole brigade Of TebC
dead lay there CHASTITY battle nc as " they too wer
keeping watch upon tine field.
| Poor Dwight, the mai OF the Second MasSaCIu
sets Infantry, was inortally wounded about moo
OF the 18th, before wooded knoll whic
Dwight were together, scarcely sheltered from
| mur1cTousnre by afenCc of common posts am
, rails, when n musket ball entered near the latter
) hip, lodged In his body, and he fell. crying, 1.-The
Dwight was left upon the field. There. alone, he in
IgbCd that letter begun at the camp. fire at daylight