Omaha daily bee., 1883-05-31

Yards OF level meadow lay, then the bill
rites sharply for full FIVE hundred feet,
sloping back for three hundred more, less
steeply. Three lines Of breastworks can
be plainly traced by the light of Pickering
camp.fres. The frat line Is at the foot OF
the hill, skilfully placed TO sweep the level
ground in front with
ARTILLERY AMI INFANTRY
The hum Of voices can be hoard in the
still frosty air, and the occasional rumble
of artillery wheels on the frozen ground
tolls that movements are sfoot. Holt way |
up the bill sparkles Of light glancing
through the trees mark q second position, |
while the fash OF bivouac fires beyond and
higher shows the hill Is covered with
armed mon TO its very crown. Following
the summit Of the ridge the eye can trace
the rebel line to their left and rear until
it is lost in the distance. The military
problem TO be solved in the morning is to
Ret down the hill into the creek, up its
muddy, s~lippery banks on the other side,
disperse the rebel picket line, cross the
open ground under, 1t may be, o heavy
fire of artillery at short range, and make a
lodpment within the enemv's first line. |
All this must be done or the uassed troops
in the main att&ck, following close be-
hind. cannot hope to cross the open ground, |
the broken banks Of the miry stream, gain
the foot Of the foot Of the hill and deploy |
for further work on the lines beyond,
without serious loss aud possible derange-
ment of the n ans. SO close was my friend
to the enemy's position and 80 bright the
moonlight that q half dozen or more batter |
les could be oouted-forty or fifty guns at
least covered the little. meadow. VIII
enough men live to get through and engage
the enemy at close quarters, masking che
movement In rear? A few hundred yards
back of the crest of the hill on the Union
side, and under the friendly shelter Of the
dense pine woods TO- 600 men were massed
in close column Of attack; brigade behind
brigade. division behind division, one
could have walked from front to rear Of
the mighty mass upon the heads of the
| men, The whole force was consolidated
into o body q few hundred yards square.
The
ATTACH VAS TO BE MADE
in the early morning, the signal to be
| given from the headquarters Of the army,
| some three miles away, one gun, then after
| an interval in which n could count
| five in quick time. two shots In quick sue
| ceesion. The hours pass on, the cold in
| creased as the night grew old; none but
| those | Ike you, my comrades, who have
passed the ordeal know of the tension of
| nerve that comes az such a time; each man
| of that line lying without o blanket or
| cover in the frost coyered.grass, is alone
| with his thoughts, for not a word can be
spoken to comrades close at hand, for it
may betray his position to the wakeful foe.
The grey light comes In the east; 1t grows
broader and brighter and the time la at
hsnd-the time has come, why is not the
| signal given! Precious moments are being
wasted; the ear is strained to catch the ex.
pected boom OF the signal gun; the enemy
is stirring in his camps; in the increasing
light the lines can be seen swarming with
men; every moment increases the danger
| of disco very, An hour beyond the ap.
| pointed time the silence Is at last broken
by the boom Of q heavy siege piece; it is
the expected signal; one -two-three -
four-fve, then comes b~oom!-boom!
Swinging himself into TIE saddle, my
friend, the commanding officer, said to the
expectant bugler ct his side. 'Sound the
advanced With the first notes the brave
fellows, who for many hours have laid on
the cold earth with the murcury below the
freezing point, spring to their feet, and
without o word or inspiring shout, rush
forward over the slope, over the few yards
that measures the meadows width, into
the creek and over the startled pickets lin
ing the further bank. The line d~eployed,
but with close intervals, rushes on; the ad-
vance is irresistible; the prospect OF sue
GEES gladdens every heart; in a moment
more the troops will have reached the first
breastworks, and 80 far
SCARCE A SHOT
has been fred, when from the woods in the
! rear rushes a mounted officer, shouting as
he swings his hat, Come back! Come
backl" The attack is Abandoned; it is an
aid of the commanding general, and the
order must be obeyed. The bugle sound.
| ing the retreat seemed to call the started
enemy to his senses, and springing to his
| guns he sent destruction into the gallant
ranks falling back. Il is not for me to tell
ct this time why the signal was delayed
was at ut given-snd then 30 speedily
followed by the recall. My purpose il
accomplished in bringing to the minds of
the veterans before me o picture from the
panorama of the war. Success or failure
should not influence too greatly our esti-
mate Of the enlisted men who bore o part
In events such as these; the purpose was
ever the same-to follow the call of duty
whatever the end might be. Untoward
events might cause the shipwreck of many
| o fair scheme of skLlful generals; defeat
might come as it sometimes did in place Ct
| cheering victory, but fidelity to duty,
| courage in the hour Of trial and patience
with hopefulness ever marked the mass of
our army.
Another sketch is the great battle of
Autietam, fought September 18th, 1862, l
trust will be of interest. The gray light
| of the coming day begins to dawn; during
| the darkness the contending armies have
| l.u.,, kN-a&kar ,,nNsl NTH the tnnroaotnr
light the men can see the opposing line,
| within short musket range. The dropping
| fire of the infantry begins to play ~reveille
| along the line; q battery of light guns is
pushed to the front beyond the central
| wood, over o plowed field near the top of
the slope where the oorn.field begins. On
this open field In the corn, and in the
| woods beyond, il to be enacted the deadly
scenes of the DAY. The scattered fire Of
an infantry skirmish swells into
CONTINUOUS ROAR,
accented by the laundering bass
of the field artillery las battery after
battery comes into play. Within half an
hour the steady discipline of our men be.
gan to tell; the enemy's line begins to
sway back and forth like the pulsations of
some huge animal. The movement is
noted and forward men, forward" comes
the commaud, and with ringing cheers on
20 our lines, the colors of the regiments
we'll advanced and cleaning titfully
through the battle smoke. The retresting
enemy leaves the ground thickly covered
with dead and wounded men as back the
broken masses so across the oornfeld,
over the fences and stone walls, past the
sunken road, through the stream and into
the dark woods which closes about them.
The Union troops follow with increasing
speed until they fling themselves against
the woods into which the beaten enemy
has disappeared. But suddenly one OF
the incidents common to war and that
marks the uncertainty of battle changes
the aspect of affairs; from out those groves
come terrific volleys OF musketry and the
crash Of artillery-volleys that smote and
broke the compact front, tearing huge