The Delaware farmer., 1883-10-12

ereeps Bull Run. On the morning of
the battle the broad cornfelds on the
other side and away ont yonder miles
away over the foot hills the Federal
bayonets cleaned by tens of thousands.
They were marching for Beauregard's
rear, or rather for the Midland line, by
which he had come up from the South.
He had come out from Manassas, four
miles away, to stop this movement, as
all the world knows. The North was
not to be stopped. Hence the battle
here But this is trenching on history,
and we must draw the line. You can
see where the South retreated to where
stood jackson ''ike a stone wall"
Back of this house, where the old
schoolmaster lives with his older sister,
about a hundred yards, and almost at
the top of the gently sloping hill, on the
outer edge of the tall, rank corn, and
against a young growth of pines, is the
place where jackson got down from his
horse to pray. And here it was he sat
his horse. was wounded, held his men
in stubborn line that day, while the
storm of battle beat against them, and
so won his singular name. On the front
of this sloping hill that lies here, be-
tween this house and the place where
Jackson sat his horse during the battle,
the dead lay thickest when the fight was
done. The corn is rank and tall. But
do not see, as some pretend to when
looking over the field of Waterloo, that
the blood of brave men has put any par
ticular mark of vitality upon it. The !
truth is, if some one did not point out to |
you all this, you would know nothing ,
of the battlefield of Bull Run. /
Nature covers up all such scars; time heals
the wounds on the breast of our common
mother, as well as our own. Wander
about here for a week, as I have done,
md save for one little brown stone mon
lment here, the old earthworks at Man
lssas and some SCARED old trees, You
would not know there had ever been any
)attle here. have picked up one bull
ct and one button from a soldiers coat;
hat is all. But on the earthworks near
Manassas, under peach tree, while
,icking up peaches, I found an Indian
rrow-head. Think of it, and follow
hese two facts. What other battles,
What other races had fought for the
ields of Virginia ages and ages before? g?
Not many people come to visit this
battlefield. I have seen a thousand at ]
for a single visitor here.
The great trench where the dead we're
uried on this sloping hill, Immediately q
nder where Stonewall jackson sat his l
orse during the battle, is still trench. l
his is a sore that refuses to heal. 1t /
as become a little drain or rivulet. The a
ones of the dead were mostly taken :
way at the close of the war; and this q
pened the trench anew. This portion v
the battlefield is a pasture now. A i
tile line of trees has grown along the c
lnks of this trench. Under these rank y
oung trees a good many sleek-spotted 7
title stood yesterday chewing the cud "
ID lazily switching flies. You never b
ear a sound of any kind around here tt
all, no coming and going of carriages d
at Waterloo and other great battle "
Ids of Europe. The trees are turning
little red in the blush of early autumn.
here is hazy gray atmosphere over
here which makes the stiffness seem "
ore still; a weary ghost of the smoke s
war. In the corners of the old Vir- cl
MA worm fences the wild berry grows v
ak and red, as if dripping with blood. C
ie very earth is red, as if the bosom of tC
,ther earth bleeds perpetually for her !;
ave dead who fell in the battle here. P
JOAQUIN MILLER.