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

"Bring up the guns"'
Let the order be heard by u regiment
Of infantry crovding to the rear in q
panic and it will halt the men in their
tracks and make fighters of them again.
There is something in the companionship
. of field battery that makes foot soldier
braver than when his regiment fights
alone. The guns may be wasting ammu-
milton as they roar and crash, but il seems
to the regiment on flank or in rear that
every discharge is driving great gaps
through the enemy's lines. So long rs
( the battery remains the supports will re-,
main. Even when the order is given to
! double shot the guns and the infantry
can sec that half the horses have been
shot down he still carries the feeling that
grapc and canister will win the victory.
81 Tho loss Of horses, wagons and small
8 arms is lightly mentioned in ofhclal re-
ports and the losers fee! no depreciation,
n but let a brigade lose single gun from
q one of its batteries. and every soldier
feels the shame. 1t is next to losing the
flag presented to a regiment as il marched
from home.
AT MECHANlCSVII LIE.
When Mcclellan, in his change OF
base, took position ut Mechanicsville, his
left rested near Elison's mill. For three
hundred yards in front the ground was
open, part of it being Il plowed field.
Two hundred feet in front Of the 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 All abattis OF
rails, tree-tops, limbs and sharpcned
stakes. Then came more than thirty
eld-pieces in line, and behind them on
the slopes were infantry supports three
lines deep.
Pendef's brigade, of d. IL. Hills com
mand, advanced alone &c assault this po.
sition, intending it as flank movement
to turn the Federal left. They had no
sooner moved out into tie open field
them. Grape, canister ard short fused
shell were hurled at them almost by the
ton, and in five minutes the four regi-
ments which had left coHr in beautiful
order were little better than n mob.
However, instead of retreatng in panic,
the men dropped to the gr.und, and be.
gan sharp musketry fire. This was an.
swered by volleys from beytnd the mill.
race, which literally plowed the ground
Pendcr hung until the aeault became
a butchery, then the ordeTwas given TO
retire. Pender's brigade numbered less
than 5000 men, and yet il twenty five
minutes its loss was one-ixth of its
strength. 1t was an exception to find q
man who could not show bullet holes
through his clothing, andlsome of the
wounded were hit three anC four times.
Those who buried the dead said that of
the 200 or more killed by til artillery fire
at least IT'S were SO torn andmutiated as
to be little better than blpdy mass.
AS Pender was driven tlck he met
Ripley's brigade, of the same com
mand coming to his support Lee knew
the position but he must CARY it to turn
the Federal left. This se,pnG brigade
had less than two thousand men. and,
united with Pender, the While strength
was not over five thousand -Four times
that number would not hae made an
impression upon that positiq.
When Pender had rallied fs men, the
two brigades advanced in columns of
assault, breaking cover with cheer and
on the double quick. The Flleral guns
were worked with terrible enegy, but un.
der cover of the smoke, and E crawling
upon hands and knees, the onfederates
reached the millrace. Inded several
hundred Of them crossed it, Then, for
forty minutes, there was teHble strug-
GLE So fierce was the Feder5 infantry
fire over and through the ab4tis that it
was gradually whittled away. Limbs as
large US q mans arm were barkd Clipped
and splintcred as if lightning Ad played
over them, and the surface ofthe mill
race was covered with splinars, twigs
and leaves.
Fender and Ripley could ndadvance
beyond the canal in force. Thy could
not maintain their lines where thy were
The fire from the Federals searcAd every
foot Of ground, and every miltte their
lines we're melting away. Wfn the
order was given to fall back, thektillery
raked them again rs they crofd he
open ground, and when the meRinally
reached cover, the loss of each rNimeE5
had become amazing. Fer iistatSe, the
Fourty- fourth Georgia, which nubered
only about 700 men, lost 33S offic@ and
men. Every field officer was killee and
Of the ten capt9ins and twenty lieten-
ants, only twelve remained. 1t va the
same with the Third North CarolinA.nd
other regiments.
AT FRAZlER's FARM.
At Fraziers Farm during this Ss,e
eventful week, Randall's battery oibx
pieces was Oh NlCCleilal . IiBht, ttl1
supported by the Fourth Pennsylvana.
The front was an old field devoid T
shelter, and the battery was playing inn
the woods half mile beyond. This BAY
terry so annoyed the Confederates that
brigade was ordered to charge it. Til
Eleventh Alabama had the lead, and wa
to be closely supported by the other thre
regiments. Through some blunder tn
Alabamians, numbering about seve
hundred and fifty, were permitted to ad
vance alone.
They were seen as soon as they brok
cover, and more than one hundred of thel
were killed by the artillery as they ad
vanced across the field. The men wer
thrown into disorder one moment to b
rallied the next, and finally, with muske
at trail and caps swinging in the nj
they made a rush straight upon the gum
AS they came near the Pennsylvania
rose up and delivered two or three volley
right into them. These we're returned
and then the final rush was made. In
minute wild mob was swirling 'rouu
and round the guns-bayonets trinkin
blood--clubbed muskets telling men
the wounded staggering up TO clutch a
enemy and pull him down.
The guns were won. The Fourth W,
pushed slowly back, but rs the cheers
the Alabamians drowned the noise of tt
battle of the right and left, the Sevent
Pennsylvania came to the support of Il
81 Ea,...J ntba Eobf ,yl,ich now fnot plut