The Arkansaw traveler., 1883-11-17
THE MISSION OF FIELD ARTII.
 LERY.
NJ quad n Detroit

THE MISSION OF FIELD ARTtL-
 LERY
 NJ osad. n Detroit rec 5cs>-.
 hing up the guns '''
 Let the order be heard by regiment of infantry ero~ding to the rear m a panic and II will hal, the men Tn their tracks and make hghtets of them again. There IS something in the oompanionship of i.eM battery that makes foo, soldier braseT than when his regimen, hgh,s alone. The guns may be wasting am muniuon AS they roar and crush, but |, seems ,e the regiments on flank or m rear that every discharge k driving grea, gaps through the cnemy's line. So long AS the battery remains the supports will remaIn. Even when the order IS given ,e double shot the guns and the infantry ean see that half the horses have been sho; down. he still carries the feeling that grape and canister will ~in the victory. The loss of horses, wagons and small arms Is lightly mentioned m official re- ports and the losers feel no degradation bu, lei brigade lose single gun rom one oi its batteries, and every soldier feels he shame. IL IS next to losing the flag presented to A regiment as Il marched ffefa home.
 When Mcclellan, m his change of base. took position al Mechanicsvilic his Jeff rested near Ellison's mill. For ,e-1 yards in front the ground was open. a pant of Il being plowed ield. Two hun dred ice, m front of the federal lines ran the mlll-racc. which then had peIpen- i dicular banks and contained iouI feet oi water Thirty fee, back from the race the iederals had made an abauis oi rAils, ,ree-,ops, limbs and sharpcnei stakes Then came more than thlrty held-ples es n llne, and behind them on the slope were the infantry supports three l mes deep.
 Tenders bu.adc of n II. Hill's com msnd, adsan, ed alone ,o assaBl, this position. intending Il as a flank move mcnt to urn the federal ief They had no sooner mo>ed oI: mo the open ground than the artillery had A fuil sweep a, them. Grape oan,sicr and shorl- fused shell were hurled s, them a.nlos, by the ton, and m hge minuies the iouf regiments which had lefi savef n beau. titul order were ltt,le better than .. mob However. instead oi rc,sea,ing m psnic, the men dropped 10 the ground and be- gan sharp mgske,ty hfe. Thls was sn- swered by vollcys from yond the mil. ra' which literally piowed the ground Fender hung until the assault be- aine d butehery. and ihen the order was gwen To re,He. lenders brigade numbered less than 1000 men, and yet in twenty tive fDirAtes its loss was nearly one. s,h of IS strength. |, was an exception ,n hud s man who could not show bullet hole through h.. clothing. and some oi the wounded were ht three and foui tunes. Those who bured the dead sad iha, of the 200 or more killed by ,he artil. iery fire al Ieasi $ were Q torn and mt,. tllatcd as to bc little better than d bloody mass.
 As pendef was driven back he me, Ripley's brigade, Of the same command coming to his support. Lee knew the position. but he must carry il so turn the federal left. This second brigade had less than , 400 men, and, united ~th Tender. the total strength wss T os eve, 5000. -Four tunes that number could not have made An impression upon tha' position.
 When Fender had rallied has men. ,hs
 
 saul,. breaking cover with cheer and ou the douhle-qaiek The federal guns wef. worked xiih terrible energy. bat under cover of the smoke. and by crawling upon hands and knees, the oonfederz,es reached the mili-race. Indeed, several hundred Of them crossed il. Then, for forty mn uies. there was terrific wruggle. se herce gas the federal infantry ire oyei and through the abai,ls that II was grad ual'y whi,tled away. Limbs as large ss a mans arm were b2rked, clipped and splin,ered as fl lightning had played over them. and the surface of he mii.-fzes vas cosered sith splin,srs, tsIgs and leaves
 Fender and Ripley could noi ad. snos beyond me canal n force They could no; long maintain ,heir lines where ihe, were. The ire from the federzls searohed every foot of the ground. and every min. Gie iheif lines were melting away Wkes the order was gwen to fall back the ar tillery rzked them again as they crossed the open ground, and when the men finally reached rover the loss of each reg imcnt had become amazing. For instance the Forty-fourth Georgia. which nun. beseC only about TOO men. los, 53s off cers and men. Every held officer wa. killed, and Of the ten captains and twenty lieutenants, only i~else remained. | was the same with the Third North Car. elina and other regiments.
 At Franerss Farm. during ,his same eventful week Haadail.s battery Of si,