St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1885-06-04

plain, brick building, the walls of
which give abundant evidence of the
fight that took place near it. In the
rear of the church and extending down
though the woods are rifle pits which
our guide told us the ladies helped
throw up. Three or four miles farther
ON, we come to Chancellors' house, a
long, two-stOry brick building, where !
General Hooker had his headquarters.
The house was partially burned during |
the engagement. On its west wall
four solid shot remain bedded in the |
brick as mementOes of the battle. Half
a mile beyond we come upon a large
boulder beside the road, placed there
to mark the spot near where General
Jackson was wounded. A peculiar in
terest attaches to his last dispatch,
which can be seen ut the capitol at
Richmond. 1t is written upon a half !
sheet of note paper with lead pencil
and reads as follows:
"Near 3 p. NJ, May ID, 1868.
General: The enemy has made a
stand ut ChancellOrs, which is about :
miles from Charlottesville. | hope
as soon as practicable to attack.
trust that an ever kind Providence
will bless us with great success.
Resp'y,
T. j. JACKSON.
NJ. Gen1.
General X. Z. Lee.
"rhe leading division is up and the
next two appear to be well closed.
II. J. j."
About six hours after, he was wound
ed by his own men through mistake
and died from the effects ut IA house at
Guineas station.
Beyond this we come to the Wilder
ness church, a small wooden structure
situated in a grove of large pine trees,
Il short distance from the road. 1t was
used as a hospital after the fight and
has upon its front IL small sign with
the words, "Wilderness church, repair
ed 1877" Two or three miles beyond
we come upon the main lines of the
two armies, distant apart about one
fourth of IA mile and running parallel
through the woods. Occasionally, as
you come to IL little clearing, can be
seen the positions of the batteries.
Upon the ground are strewn pieces of
equipments, fragments of shell, etc,
while the larger trees show many
marks of the fearful fighting done in
this section. Here and there along the
road and scattered all through the
woods, you come upon the places
where the dead are buried. The bodies
were in later years removed to the ma
tional cemeteries, but the places from
which they were taken remain untitled,
showing plainly the great number sac
rificed. A circular trench. surround
ing large pine tree, is pointed ont lis
the burial place of an entire Mississippi
regiment.
One cannot describe the feelings eX-
perienced as you stand there, where IL
little over score of years since the
the two cOntending armies stood face
to face in that Wilderness country. No
sound comes up from the empty rifle
pits, once filled with the "boys in
blue" You step beyond, into the in
tervening space that separated the two
great armies. To have done so then,
would have been to meet instant death.
No living thing could then have cross
ed the plain as you do now, with the
bright sun shining down upon you and
the air filled with song of birds. You
wander farther on through the Confed
crate lines. No one awaits You there
tn hinder your return. No, the war is
a thing of the past, and whatever feel |
ing we may entertain toward those |
who fought for the "lOst cause" kind !
nature knows no difference. Alike in |
the Confederate trenches or the Union
lines-the empty graves of the 'blue"
or the gray" she makes the fresh |
green grass to grow and the beautiful
fusion.
Our time did not admit of going to
Spottsy lvania, as planned. One day
was all too short for visiting rs much
as we would have been glad to the
places already mentioned. An entire
week could be spent in this vicinity,
and every hour fun of interest. SO
our faces toward Fredericks-
burg, we reached the hotel at shutdown,
aud the day following babe adieu to
the quiet old place and the pleasant
there formed. f. f. G.
st. JOhnsbury, May, 1885.