The National tribune., 1883-08-16
BATTLEFIELDs AND RELICS.
ChickamauSa and Stone River Fields After Twenty


Il ~
ChickamauSa and Stone River Fields After Twenty
Years.
lGso. s. Garfield, is BTaiaerd (JfIRH.) Tfrnes.I
The field where Chiekamauga was fought
was nowhere dense forest. but quite open
wood, cleared off in frequent places, or perhaps
it would be more accurate to say that the
cleared country was here and there covered
with open timber. There was nowhere any
thing like a wilderness, though it is not bad
description to say that much of the battle was
fought behind trees and clumps of bushes.
Such was, in fact, the topography Of the eoun-
try that from any elevated point it would have
been easy to get glimpses of moving troops in
almost any direction. But the elevated point
was wanting, except the single ridge where old
Pap" Thomas, the Rock Of Chiekamauga,
checked LOngstreets victorious hOrdes. Bus
in front of that, as beyond it, was the heaviest
wood of the whole field. and il was Of strag-
Cling pine trees in places filed in with UNDER
growth. The ridge itself was skirted with
timber. with an open feld-s corn field-in
front, between the foot OF the ridge and the
woods. Along the crest of the former Thomas
stretched his lines. and Longstreet assaulted
from the woods crossing the open field The
"dense underground has all grown since the
battle-it will be twenty years next Septem-
ber-and in this respect are all the changes
any visitor win be able to note. Strange to
say, the ground that was cleared fields then re-
mains so now, while the woods are, indeed,
filed with a dense underground. The woods,
were the underground cut out, would seem
thicker, of course, from their growth, bat the
underground makes the greatest changes per-
ceptible.
A year ago, going over the field, it was easy
to find nearly every important point that did
not require going into woods bat in the latter
one was instantly lost. The traces Of the battle,
as to the sears and marks, are exceedingly
dim. A bullet-mark can only be told by the
experienced eye. In a healthy tree, q gnarf on
the coarse pine bark that would not be no.
ticed ordinarily, would set the relic hunter
to chOpping, and he rarely failed To- pro-
duce bullet having hacked IN two or three
inches. A leaden ball Injuries q tree indifer-
entity. If entering fa-, there may be little
dead wood at the surface, but the new grows
over, covering it like the forgetfulness Of
wrong done friend by friend If sticking
close to the surface, the new wood grows over
the ball in the layer of a year or two, or may
be three In dead timber, as in rails, bullets
hasten decay. We possess a Gettysburg relic
from Cups Hill, the gift of a friend, of piece
of rail witha battered mimic ball. When struck,
the oak wood was hard and solid. Now it is
streaked with decay, like the silver on the
veterans temples. A year ago the gallant
Confederate Major Sparks, of Murfreesboro',
Tenn, sent me rare treasure of red cedar
cane made from tree on that battlefield, with
bullet in the head of the stick It was soEdly
eneased, as if artifeially placed, the wood as
clear-grained as that of No. 1 lead pencil IL
was split from cedar log which contained
seven balls,-fred, by the way, from the Con-
federate side
On the same field we found cedar tree,
which, having been split by cannon shot, had
grown solid again above and below, the shot
spot marked with decay. But cannon shot and
shell are quite murdeFOus to living timber. On
this field, the awful day when Davis, Negley's,
and Van Cleve's divisions fought their fight, a
| tree-an Oas-w&s struck by solid shot, and
| pierced, Just high enough above the heads Of
| some soldiers behind it to be exceedingly un-
comfortable. Twenty years after, to day,
| dead stub, broken off at the shot, was what re-
manned. Rot and decay had done their work
| as time and disease on man. On the Chicka-
| mauga field few trees could be fonnd standing
/ that have marks of cannen-nOt one could We
| fnd But here and there among the thrifty
| younger trees, q decaying trunk or awhitened,
| tottering stub. showed where heavy shot, or
storms of smaller ones had taken the life of
! sturdy and silent witnesses of wars havoc
| On Chickamauga field, year ago, picked
up several bullets where they had fallen spent.
On almost any part they can be found still, al
/ though hundreds of pounds of lead, with almost
| tons of iron, have been gathered In c0Hn-
/ try store at Crawish Spring, near the field was
| n large keg of battered bullets, picked up from
| the field by boys and men, and sold aid for
| sale for old lead. On Horseshoe Ridge we found
| a fence stake that had been part of an artil-
/ lerv wagon tongue. From a large tree that
/ marks the spot where Garfield found Thomas,
when he reached the field on the ride which
/ extravagant hero making has made famous"
we dug deeply imbedded piece of shot. This
/ was the tree in which pretty fiction located
| white dove which, as embeilished by partisan
| politics. circled in the air and lighted over Gar
I fields head as he reached the Rock of Chick
/ amauga." The dove was, as the story went, an
| omen of victory. 1t was the same bird, pre-
/ sumably, that as also fabled. once circled over
/ the Capitol in Washington, and slighted on the
/ dome, rs Garfield was making q great speech in
I the House The stories were the product OF
I the presidential year of 1880, and the birds had
/ not been heard of before that. nor seen since
| One signs, in the interest and for the sake OF
/ truth, TO think that next year IS a presidential
| year.
| On the field of Stone River, also year ago,
/ ] found living at the lower edge of an uplifted
/ rock, or raised portion of the rocky bank,
battered ball, and the spot where it had struck
/ above was still visible The exact spot was d.
reetly over where, on the edge Of the bank, our
/ boys had lain for shelter from the balls Of the
enemy. whose charge was being waited until they
reached the waters edge Of the opposite baak-
A soldier had been certainly sheltered by the
/ rock which as q shield no Doubt saved him
life or manning. or both. In the woods exactly
opposite, where theenemy's charge was dercest,
| we picked up a eartridge-belt cut through the
breast with a ball hole Also, near the same
spot o cartridge box, bored through, tin lining
and all, with the same tell tale hole. The ashes
/ of him who wore it. probably, lie IN the Ma
tional cemetery not far away.
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