The pioneer express. [volume] (Pembina, Dakota [N.D.]) 1883-1928, 1884-04-11

.guna, massed o. tAsA alkhAs q IN RI
while they fained shot and 6kat hAo ths1
town d fredericksburl anA a 70 che
hills beyond. I thought that cannon.
ade was terrible. But Il w. boys play
compared with the ta0 " wero.
now witnessing, And vt. strange, and
improbable O. the statement may seem,
above all the roar Of conflict We could
hear the rebel yell d that reckless
charging column. Il was shrill and
continuous, like the whistling Of the
wind in d storm. Finally the FIRE Of
rebel artillery slackened . little, q
there was danger now Of their killing
their own men. but the battle was be.
coming more furious, for tho 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, hut still,
above it all, the rebel yell! Would il
never cease? herebels back of M and
from every elevated point far and near
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
gallop away to distant parts Of the field
rs though preparations were being made
for general advance. Our anxiety in
creased every moment, but we were
still hopeful. As long Is there was no
abatement in that terrible musketry Ore
We knew our boys were standing their
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 he heard but the din and
roar of battle. This continued for some
time, and then, as the sun in wont to
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 no
interpreter to tell US the meaning Of
those cheers. They were louder, oven,
than had been the rebel yell, and we
answered them with 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 wc were beside ourselves
with joy. Wounds and hunger
were forgotten, and tears
faces. The enthusiasm of Appomattox
did not exceed ours. We cheered again
and again. A few of my companions,
in that extreme moment, snapped the
slender cord that held them to earth,
and their spirits took flight to world
where wars never come. This was all
that marred the scene-all that lessened
our Joy.
"Ah, here they comet" we all cried
OF once. Yes. sure enough. they were
coming. But they were not coming
back in the order in which they ad-
vanced. Far from it. They were
pouring buck to the shelter Of their
guns in the widest disorder-swarm-
ing over every foot of ground in defeat
and confusion-broken and completely
demoralized. No order and no forma-
ton anywhere. It was terrible rout
"a wild stampede for safety. The de-
scendents of the cavaliers had
dashed themselves against
Plymouth Rock and been hurled back.
For some time wounded men had been
streaming in from the scene of the en-
counter in large numbers, and for
hours till far into the night, the mourn
full procession kept moving on. It was
q sickening sight, and one can never
forget.
It soon became silent again. Despair
rested on the face of every rebel we
could see. Chaos ruled everywhere.
The enemy had staked their all on the
throwing Of the dice and had lost. We
watched long time for the advance Of
our comrades, that the work of over
throwing the foe might he completed,
butt came not. We have since learned
why. Meade was too timid. APhil
kearney at the head Of division would
have swept the rebel army out Of exis-
tence. Phil Sheridan in Meade's place
would have done it. The old sixth corps
was there ready for the work. The
war might have been virtually ended
then and there, for with Lee destroyed
the Mississippi open, Vicksburg and
Port Hudson in our hands, little would
have remained to he done.