The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1886-07-08

tensely disagreeable remark / ever heard.
resolve to defy discipline and sleep as long
as I liked, but when morning came got up
with the rest
The most of that dav we were Just on the
edge Of fight, and that is the time you feel
most uncomfortable If man ever tells
you he felt jolly in such circumstances, you
had better change the subject, as you are
not getting reliable information. To hear
lot of firing little way Off, and
lot of nasty, buzzing, squealing, whin-
ing noises let loose uncomfortably near you,
and then to have to keep still and think of
everything you don't want to think about,
with no chance to blaze away in return, is
not so much maddening as sickening.
know didn't like it bit, and would have
been glad to be excused. Any man, il he
once gets where the shooting isn't all one
sided, can stay; he is generally too much in
terested to think about going
This day at Gettysburg did not feel the
stage fright as usual because l was too
sleepy Every little while, as we lay down
in various places, took a snooze. Perhaps
was saved good deal of anguish this
way, and perhaps Col Vincent did us good
turn in ordering that very early reveille.
Certainly would rather feel sleepy than
scared.
Along in the afternoon, things seemed to
thicken up. They had our regiment in close
column by division, and all the other regi-
ments in the corps seemed to be formed in
the same way, AMI these masses to be in
pretty compact line. l remember that the
regulars (who constituted the bulk Of the
Second division) lay on our left in the same
formation; that l saw the Hundred and
-. Isx,tat
in their singular light blue and yellow
uniform, coming up in place with the Others,
and noticed a college friend at the head Of
his company. As l remember, we were on
pretty high ground, with higher still in
front. andback on the plain came long
slender ribbon of infantry. The corps flag
at the head with its Greek cross, told that
this was the Sixth corps, who were finishing
tremendous march, such as we had made
the day before.
But now our old brigade call of "Danl
Danl Danl Butterfleldl ButterfieldP rang
out in such an emphatic way as l never
heard before, and brought us instantly TO
our feet. 1t was the last time l ever heard
1t in use. 1t seemed hardly minute before
we were marching off. We weren't told
that we were going to hold the Little Round
LOD, uuU bltJ was ullSsiOns OOho Souh
officer seemed to be riding ahead and show
ing the way, and a battery was plunging up
| in the most reckless manner / ever saw, at
least one wheel in the air all the while, while
we double quicked up at our best speed.
1t is queer how in such moment Of ex-
element your mind is busy with some alb
surdly trilng thought, and how plainly
you remember this afterward. At Freder-
icksburg we were under a very warm en-
filading fire, and the captain Of Company B
reported the fact to the major. My thoughts
ran like this: "Enflading Never heard
that word pronounced, though l have read
it all my life Now, first time l hear it, l
am enfiladed Practical example, like
Squeers' teaching at Dotheboys Hall" An
other time, at Oh an cellorsville, | was listen
ing, during that heavy artillery fire, to some
little birds, whose high treble notes did not
seem to be in the least interfered with by
the deeper tones
l noticed several things, as we ran along
One was q cannon ball which looked as il it
was passing Just in front Of our alert little
majors face-iust above his horses ears 1t
seemed-prohably it was further off. He
must have dsmounted soon, for | did not
see any horses after that. Another thing |
noticed was a fox-the only wild one l ever
saw at large; the little fellow must have
been so frightened by an exploding shell, or
something as to lose oil fear Of men, and he
ran almost under our feet.
On the way up, but before we got far,
there was an old stone house, over which
was the red flag. l recollect calling out;
"Boys, there's hospital; we'd better re-
member the way back to it" As q punish.
ment perhaps for my prophecy of evil, |
was the only one of the company who got
there; but still it was q good thing to know.
Pretty soon we went through the woods,
| and as we came out there stood our
old friends Of the Sixteenth Michigan, who
seemed to be just getting into a very
scrambling sort of line, but we knew that 1t
was there to stay.
We heard the command, up at the head
Of our regiment: "On the right by file into
line. march," Now, though we did not by
any means go through the motions Of that
very complex movement as we had learned
it when drilling, yet it told us just about
where the colonel wanted to place us, and
we got there with rush. The command
was not to be executed literally, but 1t was
a graphic indication of our intended posi-
ton. II any one thinks that drill is of no use
| because it can't be used in fight, let him
| imagine I'm what words he would explain Off
hand to procession of citizens, four abreast,
how he wanted them to get "on the right
| into line.
The principal feature of the ground there
was rocks. Not what they term rocks in
prairie states, where rock Is the size that a
small boy can throw, but what would have
been recognized even in Vermont as rocks
weighing half ton or more. These were
elegant things to get behind and shoot over;
we appreciated them fully, for we always
had to scoop up our own protection, and
never had had ready-made works; ours were
custom goods.
The ground in front of us ran steeply
down and was full Of rocks and trees. II
would have been considerable exertion for
fat man to come up without opposition.
Almost the instant our company got behind
the rocks some one said, "There they come, "
and just for q half second could see "them"
lodging zlg-zag among the trees down the
hill never saw them again distinctly, for
instantly we began to fire. There was no
order to do so-there seldom IS; on the con-
trary heard the colonel yelling cease fir
ing!' and Mike repeating 1t with bis bugle
1t reminded me Of the birds at Chancellors-
ville-and we did not heed 1t any more than
we should the birds. 1t was bangity, bang,
bang into the smoke ahead of us. and rip,