Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1885-02-15
gBttIias Resiates
r~sEDEREKBURGS FIGHT.
r.e,s About Gen. Burnsids's Cam
paign Of Slaughter"
II. Major Tells His Story Of the Battles
About Naye's Aeights---Fearful and
Fatsful Charges Against Well
Served Artillery,

When | began taking some weeks 2
,.,s burnside campaign at Frederieks-
o. intended - tell you something o fthe
aid major when be was eemtorta-
s-..s,,6 close to the heater, but when /
~ h,osophisiug about the men, l bulged
"A nv story ofhoW the men, and some
Ecs-S La sorry to say, cleaned out DR..
lr.r,.r8s house. The men were mIschieY-
~ destructive. but the few officers that
- psr, should have shown a better ex-
me even If they did not interfere to pre-
IN, The destruction.
II BeTuardS home waSa Square,roomy,
v~sLsrrauged frame house, two stories high,
and having standing outside at each cad
,Sr.s picturesque, huge broad brick chin.
"e,, TIA, axe peculiar to the South, but
,.cr, f~snsciAlly TO Virginia. These chin.
IS aIaays made me imagine that they
we're forgotten sentries that had petri6ed
;,,n brick, as an Irishman might say, with
,,5.ishwcn, at seeing Yankees so near
10 homes they were set 10 guard.
"a, house stood on a high bluff not many
raris Iom the river, at the place known as
.Tba BEND. and Was surrounded by fruit or
,bsris Inside, cosy as well as elegant,
.~r-ritare and a magnificent library of choice
and evidently carefully selected books
,b,usd the owner to be a man not only of
wealth bu; Of elegant culture and rather
l~uxuriaEt taste.
IN Az hour the interior Of that luxurious
country residence looked as though a Nan
AS cyclone had been shut up in it and had
rr.bcd around some time ike a scared ice
10, before escaping. AcySlOne, numerous
IN 5glk. had been there, out it was clad in
blue and wore a forage cap. 4 large
nsa,el mirror had been taken out aud fitted
ve-y nicely a to chicken coop, the recent oc-
cgpants Of which had already become &C
o~rsinied with the invaders. Not q book of
he hundreds remained. A hat rack stood
oul IN the orchard
Laden With Cartridge and Waist Belts.
4 roonv wardrobe had found It's way out
siie and formed a convenient arms rack
for The S~pring6elds. Richly covered pSrlor
chairs accommodated frames that for a
gesr had thought a bareback box an excel
lent seat and lounging and rocking chairs
held occupants that must have thought Of
home as they lnlled in one swing with salts
red sir in the other. A mattress held halt
A DOZEN men, with twice that many ranged
ryuud it. shere they could pillow their heads
N Is edges. One fellow had a sofa over
pbieh he had perched a piano top to keep
oil the Geg which he told his comrades
Eas Unhealthy while in his neighborhoOd
another cautious one who had heard the
ievy hvgienic advice. and had secured an
other sofa, spread his blankets on the
ground. aud, upsetting his prize over his
resting place, ordered q comrade to tell the
clerk Of this hotel to put M down for q call
in time for the morning train, and to send
Up four champagne cocktails. The doctor
mas ordered them for my health. One was
wrapped gOrgeously in q beautifully.em-
broiderel piano cover, while others had
srread over their blankets handsome silk
Jed covers. Rich carpeting had found its
way outside, with heavy floor rugs, and COW
cred scores Ct men rolled close together, as
e under huge bed quilts, and before morn
.3g those iurthest away from the edges
Quad little 10 complain Of from cold.
No hres were allowed that Thursday
night. and the sharp atmosphere drove sll
out the wa,chlul guards and picksts to their
blanket beds, and at an early hour after
night set in everything was as still as if IN
established winter quarters. The frost was
very severe during the night, but the sun
rose in a clear SKY Friday morning, sending
brood such warmth that the frozen ground
Of the nigh, before was replaced long before
gOoG With
Amin Bed of Black, sticky Mud.
An day Saturday most of the troops
composing the Sixth Corps, under General
Badly Smith, lay quiet behind the breast
OF ground near the river road, Newton's di-
vision being massed in the orchard near DR..
Demands house. To the left there was
considerable m~anTuYering, especially BY a
cavalry command, and there was some, but
not much, light lighting along the whole
iCe Of Frsnkliu's grand division. Once IN
awhile a dropping fire would begin on the
picket Lac beyond the road, and once or
,w'ce a brigade was showed up in sight,
able a battery would open up, but all
would he quiet again and the troops re-
sCmCi their waiting,
Anay across to the right fully three
m'.e, away, the ground sloped up from be-
hid fredericksburg town to the foot OF
N.S Heights, which was the stronghold
~. 'ac Confederate position. From the
ral.wa~ ca; and the cemetery back OF town
svt.7 ;uch Of ground vas in full view from
he yet where Newton's division lay and
oyu TAI ground we could see much light
ss;-ui.hinC all day. Early on the morn
ing OF Saturday the 18th of December, the
guns began rapid firing on the right, and
The heavy pail Of powder smoke that soon
settled along the slope back OF the town
told Us on the left that the work for which
We were on the bank Of the Rsppahsnnock
wOald speedily begin. The guns flashed
faster and faster on the right, and before 8
great while-I don't know how long the
artillery FIRE sl~ackened, and right after a line
OF blue coated men showed out from under
he curtain and smoke and
Dashed Away With n Ringing Cheer,
that vas distinctly heard by US, from the
rebel works. The artillery on Msryes
Heights played furiously on the advancing
line. but al else was quiet, as though the
guns ABOVE were merely Practlelng, unul
our line was almost at the foot Of the hill.
By this time our men on the left were
sending back cheer for cheer to our chsrg-
ing line. aud every officer and man watch
ing 10 see the line sweep up the bill, In
another instant a universal groan Of horror
succeeded to our cheers, for that charging
line disappeared as though swept from the
face Of the earth by the long line
Of red tame that burst forth into the very
faces OF our line of blue. Il seemed as if the
line was swept utterly away, but as we
looked, after the smoke, that seemed Ike n
plying veil driited away, we could see men
here and there along what had been that
rushing line pick themselves up out OF the
mass and seurry back across the sloPing
plain.
Over and over sgsiu, through that long
bright December morning, Burnside hurled
hne after line against that sunken road
along the foot Of Marye's Heights only to
be crushed to atoms Of bueelad humanity.
Il vas cheering to us, who idly watched the