The Kimball graphic. (Kimball, Brule County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1905, 1885-02-20
REBELLION ECHOES.

9kNx1Ee OnAE80 - VA
1Att1s Of 0tttyASur9-Dsscrabsd BY q
UeiAAsr VIVA Witnessed Il nom Behind
tbs Dosnss.
lfom thu BostonsJ Journal.
The famous charge Of Longstreet's
corps On the third day at Gettysburg
has ibeens6ften described, and it is bet
ter understood, probably, than any 9th.
g great battle scene Of the civil war. It
u therefore not my purpose. in this arti-
cleitc give anything like general de-
scription Of the movement, but simply
70 speak Of it as seen by o little party
Of men belonging to the first corps,
who we're woun.deedin the first day fight
among whorn1it was my fortune to be
cast We were placed hors de
combat on the crest of Semi
nary Ridge, afterward the key Of the
confederate position. When our troops
fell back we wereleft where we fell, and
ri therefore obliged to accept the
hospitalities Of the enemy. OF their
abilities as entertainers I do not care to
speak. Neither will it prove agreeable
to awaken too many of the recollections
Of that terrible experience. It would
require the pen of o Dante to cover the
whole ground Therefore, as was once
said by onedonbtlessmor efamiliar with
theswritings of Dante thnnI am, eve
viii lave allthat go.n
On the third day, when preparations
were being made for the coup de main
our little party occupied a house within
the rebel lines, a short distance from the
spot where Longstreetformed
his attacking column. Not having
had our wounds properly attended
70, and being almost wholly without
food, it can readily be seen that our
situation was anything but pleasant.
And IA, bad as this was, We were com
pehedtoandure adfnething a great deal
worse, in the shape Of tan~talization and
insult from the hordes OF sneaks and
bummers who were continually prowl-
ing about the building. Some of our
tormenters may have been genuine sol
diers, who YER simply passing and re-
passiig in~aatheslina Of sduty, If so, ITO
thsriI makeSke amanda honorable, but
toward the skulkers, I felt then and en-
terrain still nothing but the deepest
contempt. Among the blusteg to which
We sIaEconrel1ed h Listen came the
following;
aYou 'uns will hear plenty of music
pretty soon; Longstreet's going tc
charge" said a blatant rebel captain,
who had hung about us like o leech fol
day and q hall, while his regiment
the eighth Georgia, was preparing tc
advance with tho attacking column.
"Oh, giyealsS a rest!" cried an indig-
nsnt boy in blue Lying helpless upon
the floor what do you know about it q
II know this about it, Yank. In q little
while you1i2hnar I.aig gun. That's on
y the sigma. though; the fun is to fol
low Then TIE artillery will open all
alongssthe fine Then Longstreet will
charge, ahdn any Of your fellows are
LETT alive when his menget there, they'll
hayGto gitsss And our Falstaff, having
delivered himself Of this bombastic ut
tensnoe, sstruttsd hack and forth, with
the air Of cneWho had settledthe whole
business with aswaye Of his hand.
sWhat5does The reb mean? ~ we whis.
pered to one another.
aCanit be possible there is any truth
in what he says? Do You suppose he
knows anything about it. or that if such
= movement is contemplated their whole
army knows it2. asked q sergeant who
was lying beside me-
.Yes,DI replied, "it may be true.
Perhapsl has got his news from some
courier or staffs officer. I have read OF
one battle in Europe, I have forgotten
where, IN which the commanding gen
eral a~nnouncedsto his army in a general
order that one g0f his. divisions would be
called upon for q desperate CHARGE
We felt certain, anyway, that the
rebels wereAIp to some mischief, SO
many hints Of it had been given and it
was sostill every where. Occasionally
we heard the clatter ofhoofs, but this
was all; and we regarded this, even. as
ominous of amove of some kind. Those
sof us who could crawl.got to the doors
and windows We were o sorry look
ing setoffe1lows-tornsby shot andshell,
covered with blood ard dirt, our faces
haggard with weariness and suffering
but the grand old army Of the Poto-
mac contained no men who were more
anxious for success. Between us and
onr comrades was an imp assable
guilt nearly two miles wide, thickly
strewedviYhs the dead anddying Of both
armies, bofdered with angryhn in
blue and gray-impediments to progress
more formidable than the waves of the
storm-swept sea-yet in spite OF this we
longed to fly to them or in some way te
warn them Of the coming storm. In
anxiety, in agony even, we watched and
waited for hours.
aAtJastflie Ggnai for onslauSEht came.
. wAssthessharp report4of Whitworth
gun, and as its echoes died away in the
distance we could see thousands of men
everywhere scrambling for their places
inthe ranks and behind the breastworks.
Batteries came galloping up from the
right and left, taking position on the
ridge and MISUNDERSTANDING fire, and
stall officers were carrying orders in
every direction. twas an exciting mo-
ment. The p~ortentous silence of the
morning had been oppressive, and we
were glad it o now broken. Any
thing was better than uncertainty. The
rebel captain'sfstory was beginning to
be verified. In q short tirne,. emerging
from q struggling forest in the distance,
We distinctly saw, the heads Of three coll
nmns OF infantry. Our eyes were now
strained to their utmost to watch this
movements Of this new force. T1lawly