The Mineral argus., 1884-04-24

movements OF this new force. OlOWly
it came out into the open ground, it
halted and dressed it's lines.
Here and there a slight wavering. as
if shaken by the wind, showed they
were stripping for action. Officers
were riding up and down and in and
out among them, and their wild cheers
showed they were determined to do or
die. They waved their hats and cap
above their heads, as if in answer to
the appeals of their leaders. All this
time we did not speak to each other, so
intently were we watching the enemy.
We held our breath and waited, each
busy with his own thoughts. After a
while the great entering wedge"
moved forward. Then cheers and yells
broke ont all along the line of battle. It
was a scene which for grandeur and
heroic interest was never before equaled
on this continent, and how mighty were
the interests involvedl The fate of the
republic itself-aye, more, the progress
of mankind-hung trembling in the bal
ance.
I had often seen great bodies of
troops in motion, but never anything
like that. Steadily, with the regularity
VI - AlAALIAl1Cg bAAON bnCPb Ohs We "O4
almost deafened by the roar of cannon,
for more than a hundred rebel guns
had opened their mouths and were
spouting tons of iron at every dis
charge. The windows of the building
we occupied were rafting as though an
earthquake was upon us, and the very
ground beneath seemed to tremble.
Added to this was our anxiety for our
comrades. Could they live through
such a cannondade? Would they be
able to hurl back this mighty charging
column, SO terribly in earnest? Yes;
in spite of our fears we knew they
would. We knew the temper of the
men upon whom the destiny of the re-
public now rested. And even while we
speculated thus the guns of the Union
made answer Every loyal gun
was now pouring shot and shell upon
the advancing enemy. We could no
longer see them, so closely were they
enveloped in clouds of dust and the
smoke of bursting shells. The volume
of sound now increased a hundred fold,
and it seemed every minute that it
would be more than our ears could bear.
1t was terrific beyond anything that can
be imagined by those who never wit
messed an artillery battle of magnitude.
It was my lot, just before the battle of
fredericksburg, to lie behind Burnside's
guns, massed on the heights of Falmouth
while they rained shot and shell into the
town of fredericksburg and or to the
hills beyond. l thought that cannon
ade was terrible. But it was boys play
compared with the one we were
our -A,.A,. Al vo4 Stronno onI
improbable as the statement may seem,
above all the roar of conflict we could
hear the rebel yell of that reckless
charging column. 1t was shrill and
continuous, like the whistling of the
wind in a storm. Finally the fire o.
rebel artillery slackened a little, as
there was danger now of their killing
their own men. but the battle was be-
coming more furious, for the battle OF
musketry had begun, and the clatter Of
small arms was continuous. The roar
of the guns on Cemetery hill and from
every available point in the Union line
continued with increasing fury but still,
above it all, the rebel yell! Would il
never cease? The rebels back of us and
from every elevated point far and lea
were Watching their forlorn hope, and
officers of high and low degree gaZed
anxiously into that vortex of carnage.
Occasionally they would point in this
direction or that, and staff officers would
gallon away to distant parts of the field
as though preparations were being made
for o general advance. Our anxiety in
creased every moment, but We were
still hopeful. As long as there was nc
abatement in that terrible musketry fire
we knew our boys were standing theiI
ground. We dared not think of the
thousands of brave fellows who were
going down every moment.
But the climax came at last. That
piercing yell had died away, and moth
ing could now be heard but the din and
roar of battle. This continued for some
time, and then, as the sun is wont tc
burst through the clouds and scatter
the mists and darkness, only more sud
denly, came the full, round, hearty hur-
rahs of our comrades. We needed NJ
interpreter to tell us the meaning OF
those cheers. They were louder, even
than had been the rebel yell, and We
answered them with a will from our
position inside the rebel lines. Rebel
officers standing about the building tried
to stop us, but we only screamed the
louder, for we were beside ourselve:
with Joy. Wounds and hunger
were forgotten, and tear
flowed down our grimy
faces. The enthusiasm of Appomatto1
did not exceed ours. We cheered again
and again. A few of my companion s
in that extreme moment, snapped the
slender cord that held them to earth