The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1883-06-07
FIGHTING THEM OVER.
What Our Veterans Have to Say About
Their Old Campaigns.
High Private ON the Battle of Charlottesville.


private may be tedious and tn4iilterestng Greater
minds than mine have been puzzled when think
ing over that great battle to account for the with
drfwal of our lines and the retreat down the Rap
pahannoclz wllen hardly two-thirds of the army
had seen a gray jacket. Bad generalship at the
front and tinid politicians at the account for
many ofSthe failures experienced by the Army of
the Potomac
with eight days rations of coffee. sugar salt and
bread the Fifth Connecticut regiment, with others
of the Twelfth Corps, left their camp around Stat
ford Court House, Va, early the morning of
April 81 Is63,-twenty years ago. The first days
march found us at Hartwoods Church, where we
camped for the night, and the next morning, by
daylight, the leading brigade was in motion for the
Rappahannoct, which was crossed without oppo-
stion. While resting here, General Hooker. staff
and body guard of lancers passed us, and were
greeted with ringing cheers by the regiments
The Rapidan was reached early in the afternoon
and crossed. The bridge being destroyed. the
troops plunged in with eartridgeboxes held aloft on
the ends of the mtsets The river at this point is
very rapid and the bed OF the stream rocky and un
even Several of the soldiers lost their footing and
were drowned. A detail of rebel soldiers were
captured here. They said they TO repair the
bridge for some movement of Lees northward
Two miles further again went into camp,
and the regiments filed to the right and left from
the road into the fields, the rails disappeared from
the fences and soon the were drying their
clothes and cooking coffee around blazing fires of
logs and fence rails.
The next DAYS march brought us to the Wilder
ness and after the lines had been established the
men hastened to throw up breastwofks of logs.
Works of this kind are very safe and pleasant
thing TO have i'll front OF one and always made
haste to construct them whenever we We're in the
vicinity Of Lees army, but never in our four years
Of service did the regiment fire r1tsixet
After the work was done We invariably had to
! move somewhere else.
LOOKING FOR LEE.
Early on Friday morning. the 5tf, inst we were
sent off with other regiments towards Freticrieks
burg to learn we supposed, where Lee was. We
soon found out. and, with the Twenty-eighth New
York as skrl0ishcrs, advanced as near 20 his line
as possible lay down and tried TO bury per-
sons in the dust, as his artillery threw their shells
too near for comfort We returned to our first po-
sitlon after an hour go, and at o'clock IN the
afternoon otgr brigade was again sent outfits
time under General Sckles-to make an attack on
! some teoons seen moving southwark across our
front. While engaged in ssirmishing with them
/ the Eleventh Corps was driven IN by jacSsons
flank attack, and we fastened back towards
breastworss. Nereaehed the woods in the vicinity
of chr first position about o'clock in the evening,
and were received by q volley eff musketry. We
! shouted, stop firing, we are your own men, &c,
but they didn't seem inclined 10 let us alone,
went to the rear, reformed. and sent out two
peaits to reconnoiter. They went forward care
fully, reached the breastworts and found them
/ elnpty--no near apparently. Thinking some
stray party of men must have fired rs,
they did not make very careful search. but
back and reported that everything " all right
/ The probabilities seemed to be that the volleys
/ fred us were from the rebel skirnishers who
We're sent out after the defeat of the Eleventh
/ Corps to look, up oar lines. and who retreated
| after a few volleys. When the column again adj
I vanccd the works found vacant. We placed
our musizets against the logs and began to unsIing
knapsacls when from our right rear came tre-
mendous volley and rush of the rebels. Cur
/ regiment on the extreme right of the line and
! III angle of the works. 10 was 80 dark that no
object could be seen ted feet away. A few faced
/ about and fired. but THE majority sought safety
| towards our left. when halt was made, and we
found about forty officers and men missing nearly
| all from the first three companies the right of
the line. We had also tllree rebel prisoners with
us. No who in that melee viii ever forget
that midnight battle On elevation front of the
| Charlottesville House and in cur rear We're placed
| about twenty guns, which threw their shells di-
| rectly into the woods, where they the flashes
| Of our n1uskets. The opposing lines were not over
leo feet apart, and the bursting shells the falling
limbs of the trees and The roar of our own and the
rebel fire, made the scene perfect pandemoniEm
/ We now knew for certainty who We're in
| front. The lines were established during the
night, with regiment in the third with bat
terry in our rear on an elevation, and at daylight
the fire of our pickets warned us of what
| ing. From our position we had fine view OF the
battle The rebel regiments in three lines, stretch
| ing away to our right and left We're advanc-
ing through the woods and our skirmisl line
falling back before them The front line, with
loaded nlliSkets leveed across the breastw orls,
| awaited the command 10 fire, and soon as our
4 front was clear OF orr own men, the order was
given to fire twenty guns loaded with canister and
EPape5llot and 53 nltlskets sent their good morn
| ing greeting 10 or misguided brothers WHO wore
the gray, and they js,s ready TO return the
| compliment. The hardest fighting OF the cam
/ paign done that Sunday morning, and the
| steady stream of the wounded going to the rear
and the gaps in our front line showing where this
| and that recumbent form belonged, proved that
| the work OF destruction had commenced.
SOME STIRRING INCIDENTS.
A New Jersey regiment lay i'll the second line,
only few PAGES in front OF our regiment Their
colonel and adutant stood erect, watching the
fight. Suddenly the adutant threw up both hands,
wiiirled two or three times around, and pitched
headlong to the grGss-dead. lull in inn
Iaediate front now indicated that the enemy We're
inclined to Withdraw. The New Jersey regiment
was called to attention, and rushing over the
| works In front, made charge, and soon returned
4 with rebel flag and few prisoners. The ground
where they lay was marked by perfect skirniish
wounded in the second and third lines than IN the
l front. The front well protected by the heavy
breastNori1s OF logs and lost but few soldiers.
Captain Benton, of the Fifth Connecticut, was
killed early i'll the morning. He lay by the side of
one of his sergeants and was shot directly through
the head, the bah entering his right car.
In front OF the regiment little brock fringed
4 with & young growth of adcrs. Here the ground
YVES swept by a perfect storm Of bullets which
trimmed nj, the brush neatly IS ifeut by brush
seytbe, and the man whose curiosity oyereaIne his
discretion was pretty sure of being shot if he
raised UP too lar from the ground. a private
named shaw received St wound, and undertook TO
go 70 the rear but before going fifty feet lie received
two more bullets, one of them causing the loss OF a
leg.
About ten o'clock the rebs got a cross fire on the
extreme right OF our line This, together with q
determined rush along tanks. caused many of
the newer regiments 10 break and soon the whole
fontiine fell baeSserae IN confused crowds, Others
III compact companies and regimental orgaaiza-
lions, firing as they retrested.
a repuise OF defeat brings out the true metal and
discipline OF the regiment company. The vet
Gran knows that his only safety is III keeping with
HIS eoitlpanY the recruit only sees thai S u lost.
and starts oil at his best gate for the rear, after
throwing away his blanket and knapsaetS. A bat
terry near tie Chaneelorsville House of twenty
heavy guns succeeded III checking this advance OF
Stewards, and soon had q new line formed But
Instead OF following up his advantage ana making
an attack, Lee placed thin line on our front, and
Withdrew his army to meet SedsNYieS, who adj
yaneing on his flank from Fredericksburg This
was surely Iookers opportunity to crush Lee, for
we had hand more regiments which had not
| n Ire laU N arm
Every man of Lees had been fighting and was
about fought ont, and bold advance by the fresh
corps OF the Army of the Potomac would certainly
have destroyed Lee.
THE SEQUEL.
Two three days hard fighting dsorgan-
ICES any army, whether they are victorious de-
feated. Lees soldiers were short of ammunition
and rations and very much disorganized they
We're now withdrawing from our front 10 meet the
sixth Corps, which was partly IN their rear. The
Array OF the Potomac had fortified line reaching
from the Rapidanto the Ilappahannoek with nearly
$1,000 men who had not seen a rebel and were
ANXIOUS to advance. Could any doubt the re-
suit, with Sedgwick's Corps one side and three
fresh corps under Mead on tie other side of Lee?
Yet the Army OF the Potomac lay quietly along
the banks of the Rappahannock, while Lee over
whelIned Sedgwick's Corps and then withdrew to
the west side of the river leaving their dead and
wounded and nearly Gs1 niusxets for Lees men
to gather nf1when they returned. AT time during
this BATTLE had we under Ere many Lee
Drought to bear at one point. Lee, with army
OF halt our numbers, by bold and skitnl managing
enough to crush through our lines and defeat us
had Grant Sherman, Thomas, or Sheridan been in
command al GhanceilursYie, Lee would certainly
have been defeated and perhaps destroyed. This