The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1884-01-17


guns were again playing upon them
! The loss of the Confederate regiment wa
over $50 men, 100 of whom, including
eight company commanders, died arounC
1 the battery.
/ THE REpuLSE AT KENNESAw.
The day after the repulse of the Elf
/ tcenth Corps at kennesaw mountain The
Forticth and Fif.y-seventh Indiana
! Ninety. seventh and Twenty sixth Ohio
Twenty eighth Kentucky, and One
hundredth illinois regiments, each mum
| bcriug about 500 men, were selected tC
make an assault on ridge 800 yards in
! their front. The lines were formed il:
regimental divisions, and while the front
was only the width Of two companies the
depth was thirty lines of men i'll open
order. II was in fact giant wedge OF
| flesh and blood and steel which was &c
! drive itself through the Confederate
. lines.
| AS the men stood in line their officers
explained to them in low and earnest
| tones what was planned and what was
hoped for. II was a iorlorn hope indeed
Every man must have realized that there
would be terrible loss of life even be.
| one seemed to nerve himself for what was
to come. During the twenty minutes
| interval between forming and the order
to advance there was almost dead silence
in the ranks. The men leaned upon
their muskets and peered through the
forest in their front which hid the Con.
| tederate position, and the supports on the
ranks moved up and into position rs il
fearing that their footsteps would disturb
the dead of the day before.
1t WAS not positively known to the
Federals that the salient was defended
by cannon. The hope that it way not
gave the Enen inors spirit, as .Ie lay Of
the ground-forest, thicket and ridge
furnished fair shelter from musketry fire.
Soon after o'clock single low spoken
order brought every man to q front face.
The moment had come. AS the column
had formed under cover it was hoped to
take the defenders of the salient by sur.
prise. The lines were dressed, aud i'll a
moment more were moving through the
woods. From the valleys at the base of
the kennesaw, Lost or Pine mountains
to their crests there is scarcely a level
spot. The sides are covered with forests
and thicket, and the ground is almost a
succession of rocky terraces. Over this
difficult ground the great blue wedge
forced its way at 4 rapid pace, but no
cheer WAS heard-no shouts were given.
"Crack ! crack crack %
1t is the alarm from the Confederate
skii:nishers, who have Crcpt down al
most tc the base of the mountain. They
are posted behind great rocks and hidden
behind ledges. They cannot retreat; ;
they must surrender or fight it out. They
choose the latter course. Nine out Of
every ten hold their positions until the
point of the blue wedge reaches them and
brings savage death with it.
All along the sides Of the grim noun
tain the skirmishers bar the way, seeking
to detain the wedge and alarm the defend
ers of the salient. Here and there a
Federal throws up his hands and falls
back, but the column makes no halt. Up
upo up, and now au officer in front waves
his sword rs the slopes of the parapet
come into sight. Here the cover sud
denly ends. From the bushes to the
salient, distance of 200 feet, the ground
has been swept bare of tree and bush,
and rocks have been rolled aside.
At the foo, of the parapet is palisade
outside of that abattis. Behind the
works are thousand muskets-a thou
sand Confederates with fingers OH trig-
gers. At regular intervals along thls
iine-250 feet front-are six field pieces,
each one loaded with grape and canister
The men within are waiting. Not an
order is given nor head appears in
sight until the first line Of blue is out of
cover.
Now, as if one finger had pressed the
thousand triggers, great sheet OF 1iame
leaps forth and scorches and blisters and
shrivels the advance. The second line
crowds up over the dead and dying, the
third and fourth cheer as they come.
Now, with a crash rs if volcano was
breaking through the crest of the noun
tain, the six guns belch their contents
into that mass of men sixty deep.
The effort was horrible. What were
men moment ago are now bloody sh hreds
blown against the rocks and scattered far
over the ground. Some OF the CORY trag-
ments fall upon tie lines yet halfway up
the slope.
The advance halts in confusion the
rear linse crowd up. There is another
bloody feast ready as soon rs the cannon
can be charged. Then comes the order
70 break lines and divide to the right and
left tt, get out of range of the artillery.
The men rush forward to the abattis-
som. lie fiat down-others take cover be-
hind rocks.
For fifteen. minutes heroic carnage
holds them before the salient. The Con.
federates have them at their mercy. Men
take deliberate aim and send a bullet
through the heads of the living targets.
Nhan tho hurial party comes to do its
work it will find that seven out Of every
Aten Federals lying before that abattis has
1been killed stone dead by single bullet.
III The fire of musketry might have
ehecked the assault, but aided by artil-
Ery the assault became a butchery.
, hrape and canister searched out spots
, ecure from bullets, and men in the very
ear ranks, who did not even catch sight
y the abattis were struck down by the
, In missiles. No assault could have
! lHught out more nerve and heroism, bu:
as the wave dashing against rocky
. Ehen the men had fallen back to their
a orAnal positions the roll of dead and
: welded was shock to those who had
!, esdAed. No one had blnndered. John
! stoN lines we're there, and they must be
;, carA by assault. Sherman was look.
? ingk weak spot to drive & wedge into.
!, ThaAsalient was one of the strongest
poirAn the Confederate line.
M.QUAD.
g 4 Dead Subscribers.
e 1t lad at all times to have to chronl'
. c1e fhdfl,otb of frieDds hut IL ia espe.