The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1884-01-17
FIELD, FORT AND FLEET.
The Mission Of Field Artillery.
aBring up the guns !"

ulGlOu Do tuoJ 1OsSi ouA " o|oAA3 osAs ASsS
tothe regiment on flank or in rear that
every discharge is driving great gaps
through the enemy's lines. So long as
the battery remains the supports will re-
main. Even when the order is given to
double-shot the guns and the infantry
can see that half the horses have been
shot down he still carries the feeling that
grape and canister will win the victory.
The loss of horses, wagons and small
arms is lightly mentioned Unofficial re-
ports and the losers feel no depreciation,
but let q brigade lose a single gun from
one of its batteries; and every soldier
feels the shame. 1t is next to losing the
flag presented to regiment as it marched
from home.
80 AT MECHANlCSvILLE.
When McC Clellsn, in his change of
base, took; position at Mechanicsyllle, his
left rested near Ellison's mill. For three
hundred yards in front the ground was
open, part of it being plowed field.
Two hundred feet ins front ofthe Federal
lines ran the mill race, which then had
perpendicular banks and contained four
feet of water. Thirty feet back from the
race the Federals had made an abattis of
rails, tree-tops, limbs and sharpened
stakes. Then came more than thirty
feld-pieces in line, and behind them on
the slopes were infantry supports three
lines deep. ,,.
Pender's brigade, of D. p. Hills COM
mand, advanced alone to assault this po.
sition, intending it as flatk movement
to turn the Federal left. They had no
sooner moved out into tie open field
than the artillery had afull sweep at
them. Grape, canister aFd short-fused
shell were hurled at them almost by the
ton, and in FIVE minutes { le four regi-
ments which had left covlr in beautiful
order were little better than a mob.
However, instead of retreatpg in panic,
Z the men dropped to the gri innd, and be-
gan sharp musketry FIRE. This was an
sswered by yolleys from beyqd the mill
race, which literally plowed the ground.
Pender hung until the asault became
q a,butchery, then the orderTas gwen to
retire. Pender's brigade numbered less
than 5000 men, and YET ID twenty. i've
minutes its loss was oneiixth OF Its
strength. 1t was an exception to lind a
man who could not show bullet holes
through his clothing, and some of the
wounded were hit three and four times.
Those who buried the dead Esaid that of
the 200 or more killed by thl artillery fire
at least IT'S were 80 torn andmutilated as
to be little better than a bl9dy mass.
AS Pender was driven hck he met
Ripley's brigade, of theEsame COM
mand coming to his support Lee knew
the position but he must cary it to turn
the Federal left. This seclnd brigade
had less than two thousand men, and,
united with Pender, the whle strength
was not over FIVE thousand. Four times
that number would not haY made an
impression upon that positiol.
When Pender had rallied lis men, the
! two brigades advanced in columns of
assault, breaking cover with cheer and
on the double quick. The Faeral guns
were worked with terrible enegy, but un.
der cover of the smoke, and y crawling
upon hands and knees, the Gnfederates
reached the mill-race. Indad several
hundred of them crossed It'll Then, for
forty minutes, there was terrible strug-
gle.' So fierce was the Federa infantry
IRE over and through the abatis that it
wss gradually whitfield away. Limbs as
large as mans arm were barket, Clipped
and splintered as if lightning bid played
over them, and the surface of the mill
race was covered with splinHrs, twigs
and leaves.
Pender and Ripley could notadvance
beyond the canal in force. Thy could
not maintain their lines where thy were.
The fire from the Federals searehd every
foot of ground, and every minSe their
lines we're melting away. WRn the
order was given to fall back, the 4tillery
raked them again as they crossed the
open ground, and when the menfnally
reached cover, the loss of each reEment
had become amazing. For instance, the
Fourty-fourtb Georgia, which numbered
only about 700 men, lost 33S of6ceH and
men. Every field officer was killedand
of the ten captsins and twenty lieten.
ants, only twelve remained. 1t watthe
same with the Third North Carolinahnd
other regiments.
AT FRAz1ER's FARM.
At Frazier's Farm during this sane
eyentful week, Randall's battery of Ax
pieces was on McClellan's right, aid
supported by the Fourth Pennsylvanil
The front was an old field devoid 4
shelter, and the battery was playing init
the woods half mile beyond. This bati
tery go annoyed the Confederates that a
brigade was ordered to charge it. The
Eleventh Alabama had the lead, and was
to be closely supported oy the other three
regiments. Through some blunder the
Alabamians, numbering about seven
hundred and fifty, were permitted to ad-
vance alone.
They were seen as soon as they broke
cover. and more than one hundred ofthem
were killed by the artillery as they ad-
vanced across the field. The men were
thrown into disorder one moment to be
rallied the next, and finally, with muskets
at trail and caps swinging in the air,
they made rush straight upon the guns.
As they came near the Pensylvan!ans
rose up and delivered two or three volleys
right into them. These were returned,
and then the final rush was made. In a
minute a wild mob was swirling round
and round the guns -bayonets drinking
blood-clubbed muskets telling men
the wounded staggering up to clutch an
enemy and pull him down.
The guns were won. The Fourth was