St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1883-10-05

! Nslil luG HllStIN Oh JHc
ceaseless march of the long, sultry
hours. 1t was a hot, breathless July
day. The sun poured down with mer-
ciless, unbrOken heat, and the dust
that rose in great lazy clouds from the
highway envelOped man and horse,
general and private alike, in its all
embracing mantle of torture. How the
exhausted lungs painted for one full
breath of pure, cool, fresh air ! Pant
ed only to be Knocked by the bitter,
burning, dust-laden blast that seemed
to come from the mouth of furnace.
What wonder that the sun-stroke was
omnipresent along the line - that
strong men gasped and staggered and
fell, while the thick blood burst forth
from mouth and nostrils and the tor
tured frame was placed tenderly in
some shaded nook by comrades whose
visions swan and who trembled on the
verge of like fate. But the winding
column never paused, for not the life
of one man but the life of the nation
was at stake that day.
About midday the regiments filed
into the fields beside the road and the
men sank upon the ground. Make
no fires, for there will be no time to
cook anything only few minutes for
rest" was the instruction as the line
halted, and every moment was devoted
to the relief of the painful feet and
weary limbs. All too soon came the
summons to fall in again, and the men
struggled to their feet. They had not
realized before how tired they were,
how sore and stiff their limbs.
nrlN l,a
artillery had proclaimed the work of
death to he still in progress, and each
hour as the distance leSSened the thun-
der grew louder. Already the corps
was meeting the tide of wounded has
tening with desperate energy to the
rear-that most demOralizing expert
ence to Il body of troops approaching a
battlefield. With scarcely an excep-
ton the tale they told was one of dis
aster to the federal army. ''You fell
lows will catch it the whole army is
smashed to pieces :" said more than
one browny fugitive with bleeding
arm or Il bandaged head, glancing over
his shoulder as though fearing the pur-
suit of a rebel column. Only a few
miles remain, and occasionally through
an opening between the hills what
looks to be white bank of fog can be
seen. 1t is the smoke that hangs over
the scene of the great contest. There
is sharp hill in advance over which
the pike winds, and when its crest is
reached the field will be in view. The
word runs back along the line, and
what Il transformation is wrought
Gone now the fatigue, the WEAKNESS
forgotten the blood bounds once more
in the veins, the muscles harden, the
eyes flash Down into the yalley-up
the sharp ascent beyond, and with ca
ger eyes the men of the 9th corps look
upon the greatest battle of the rebellion
Yet it is not much that they see A
low range of nights battery crowned
and partially wooded, with masses of
soldiers that look like threads of blue
drawn at hap-hazard across the green
of the landscape cloud of smoke
about the batteries at the left, with
now and anon the white puff of burst
ing shell-then they go down the slope,
across Rock creek, and turn into the
fields beside the Baltimore pike on
which they have been marching.
Crest !" is the brief and welcome com
mand, and they drop on the unshaded
ground, glowing with heat, though it
is. Here and there one, less exhaust
ed than his fellows, gathers as many
canteens us he can carry and starts for
IL supply of water-a precaution that
must not be neglected. a canteen of
water is the wounded mans best friend,
and who can tell what the remaining
hours of the declining day may have
in store The column proper has
halted, indeed, but there is no cessa-
tiOn of the procession coming up the
pike. The thousands who have been
unable to keep pace with the swiftly
moving corps tlrong the highway in
groups and masses, all actuated by Il
common mOtivc-tO to find their respect
i've commands and do their duty.
All too short has been the interval of
rest, when Il staff officer dashes down
the turnpike. There is Il mOmentary
consultation, Il hurrying here and there
of Orderlies, then the command, sharp
and clear, "Fall in ~ To their feet
spring those who few minutes before
seemed helpless from exhaustion. For
gotten the pain, ignored the stiffness
of limb, for help is needed, and never
did the 9th corps fail ut the call of
duty. As by magic the line is formed,
but the march is no longer by the broad
highway it is down across the fields
and thence up into the forest toward
Weeds hill, where Sickles and his Sd
corps are in Il death grapple with the
confederates under Longstreet How
heroically the men hold their places,
as though fresh from long period of
inactivity. ''DOuble-quick," is the
I
in splendid array, with never tagging
step. elk bayOnets :" and with IL
clash and clatter the cold steel is fitted
to every musket, ready for headlong
dash into and through whatever may
oppose, and already the leading brig
ade is driving back the foe.