Little Falls transcript. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1876-1894, 1884-12-12

choke down something in his throat;
while, at every exploding she'll or dis
charged feld-piece, he shuddered like Q
guilty man.
Nonsense, corporal! Move back in
to the ranks. Everybody feels so at
first. You'll be over it in few minutes, !"
I added, as kindly as I knew how; for I
could just then appreciate part of the
poor fellows trepidation.
"Oh, lieutenant, can't! I know I
can't, pleaded Jerry. EDO let me go
back. Do let me go help that 'ere
wounded man. I can't, indeed I can't!*
reiterated he. ooh my!"
This last was jerked out by another
shell, and my petit caporal fell out Of
the ranks a step or two with; his arm
shattered and bleeding; and holding up
his broken gun in the other, with a
smile on his face, which all the time
was twinging with pain, he said:
MY musket's gone, lieutenant, and
SOS my arm; but [ guess I'll stay here
with the file closers"
Find your way back to the rear my
boy. Surgeon Colt is not far back.
You can't so on or be of use with that
arm" Then, turning to Dayton, who
looked helplessly on, "For shame!"
said /. Move back into the ranks, you
coward, or your life won't be worth a
pills purchaser" with an ominous move
m emit toward my revolver"
All this time the firing came closer
and closer, and the stragglers grew in
number till the groups numbered TWEEN
ties and fifties. Regiments and bri-
gades seemed all mixed up in one het-
erogeneous mass. Our troops seemed
to be fighting with much less regularity
than the enemy, the rattle of whose
musketry was continuous But fresh
Union regiments were coming on the
field, and line was being established
facing the clearing, and almost connect
ing with our own, which promised to
make stand.
But our surprise was not successful.
The regiments Of the rebel flank be-
came aware of us before they had fallen
into our trap, and. charging front for
ward, they opened fire. This was ou1
first experience in an infantry fight.
but the men stood it evidently better
than the Smelling. No close explosions,
no noise except ''chick chick!" as the
balls cut through the leaves beside us.
and these were soon drowned in the
rattle of our own musketry when the
order was given to fire. The men were
SO busy loading and firing that they had
little leisure to notice the occasional
falling together or dropping out of a
killed or wounded companion, and not
an unwilling or skulking man had that
day in Company G. but one-andhe was
Corporal Jerry Dayton.
No sooner was the rebel fire opened
upon us than it was all up with Jerry. He
was right; he could not stand it. He
had moved back into tho ranks in obe~
dience to my orders, but at the first vol
ley from the rebel line he seemed to lose
his senses. He crouched together like
hare, turned and was creeping to the
rear. But I intercepted him with my re-
volyer cooked and pointed:' i r.
Corporal Dayton. your only chance
of life is in the ranks. One step more
and, so help you God, I blow your brains
out!"
-. He Strengthened himself up to his full
height leaning backward and mechan-
ically putting out his hand for the mo-
ment his lesser fear of the rebel fire
seemed frozen out by his greater dread
of my own threatening weapon. He
looked at me with great, pleading eyes.
In which entreaty, shame and cowardice
seemed contending; and with sad, life
less look Of resignation to his fate, COM
pletely at odds with his former trem-
bling cowardice, he cried:
you've killed me, lieutenant-you've
killed mel"
No sooner had he uttered this cry,
and, with the look of patient brute
driven to the SHAMELESS, had turned to-
ward the enemy, than his musket fell
from his grasp, his huge frame crushed
together like grant of the forest be-
meath the woodman's axe, close at my
very feet, and his upturned face showed
me small, round hole, pierced by a
rebel buckshot in one corner of his fore
head, from which thick blood was slow
~ oozing; while his hands clenched and
snapped the dry twigs which lay upon
the earth, in tile last convulsive strug-
gle, his eyes rolled upward for an in
slant before they glazed over, and then
half closed; and his features set in the
ghastly stare Of death.
Had killed him?