Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1886-08-06

aStaaSat TUT speed all around no
vho Suseasaily the veteran Yankee ;nf.,4r,,
taIo ~ nat ~ 70 mold their line of earthworls ~
man g Tue water, loaded and fired, INV
thno,a aeil oy hundreds. We staggered on
for SSa .nls storm OF bullets and canister
IIn;nn I'm; manu ?, We had not reached the
70 our left, and through the dr;ft;na s snsN
caught a glimpse of our battle aaos n smtae
On the Federal breastworks on ths bif,I ian nea
as we saw the men clad in gray clamhar o wv
sae WORKS n disappear, we redonhlaa Nv.
s snol ~, 70 take the line in front Of M. Tts
nie uld not slacken a particle. Ifs dafor5
sis PAID no attention to the disaster that
nad o~vertaken their center. Az we ara a.
closer, the parapet, redeemed in the smn I"
ano tne hre, resembled the fury Of beII IN
JUS intensity. Then loud above tho hattla'a
roar roar sounded the charging cheer If the
faankee troops, and We knew that the Con-
1ederates who had broken the Federal CEN
tr were being called upon to make good
We, V"ai success by meeting the charge of the
P pnunee reserves. Could they withstand it?
.a iGiap1l came the answer. There was q
OF the line, and in an instant tho remnants
OF the victorious Confederates swarmed
OUT OF the captured works and ran for
cover. Instantly the earthwork was
manned by a double line of blue-cooted in
1antly, who shot down the fying Confeder-
ates by scores.
I'VE pressed on. W. were SO close to the
works that some of our men fell into the
ditch. We could see the ewes Of
the Yankee infantry as thew looked
over their rifle sights. Their faces
were pallid, their jaws set, and their ewes
blazed with battle light. I never before saw
such rapid handling of artillery. It seem
ca 70 me that l could see No. l impatiently
TAP with sponge staff on the blackened
m9zzies OF the brass guns, as he
called Tor canister, and more canister,
ana still more canister. We were
suff1clently near to feel the wind of the
guns: looked back. We had not advance
ed far. The dead lay in windows.
Wounded men we're staggering over the
field and falling in ones, twos, and threes.
as they came together for aid, between the
lines OF dead. The men hesitated. They
realized that they could not carry the
works. Their line officers tried to hold
them; They. staggered a few feet nearer
the Federal line, firing wildly the while, to
be scorched by the hot breath of cannon
and rifles. They wavered badly. tried to
hold on, then broke and ran for cover. We
were under fire for about ten minutes, and
one-third of our division, Reynolds, were
KILLED or wounded. Stunned, bewildered
and horribly disappointed, we gathered in
protected position and were speedily re-
formed. We were allowed to rest for
awhile.
"Of course the planned simultaneous at
tack by several columns had failed. Of
course they did not get off together. They
went IN one after the other, and they were
all whipped. Again we were formed into
charging columns. Our officers briefly ex-
planned the necessity of carrying the works.
We swore to take them or die in the at
tempt. Ah," said Thomas, cit is easy to
swear to do things when you are not
under fire, bat hard, exceedingly hard, to
accomplish them. We rushed to the as
sault again, again to be met by q fire the
heat OF which warped us out of line. 1t
seemed to me that the air was so full of
bullets that l could have caught some by
simply grabbing on either side or above me.
We advanced close to the works, and again
we broke and fed for cover. The Yankees,
now thoroughly angry, and merciless, be-
gan to shoot at every living object within
range of their rifles. Wounded Confeder-
ates, who moved q leg or an arm, were in
stantly selected as targets, and were liter
ally shot to pieces.
Darkness descended and still the battle
torn Confederates were formed into charg-
ing columns and launched against the Yam
kee works. We advanced, stumbling over
our dead and wounded. The latter shrieked
as We trod on their mangled limbs. Powder
hung over the field in clouds, which
reflected the lurid fire that blazed along the
Yankee parapet. Eight o'clock, 8 o'clock,
9:3O, and we were still fighting, still dying,
atin frorpo1inr N, dad o,5 rvo,,,,1ol no-
rades into the earth. Then we gave it up.
We had made five desperate charges. Pat
Cleburne's men had made six, and he fell
dead while leading the last. Every general
officer in the army, except Hood, was killed
or wounded. Our losses had run high up in
the thousands. We stacked our arms and
lay down. Allnight our wounded comrades
crawled off of the field and sought comfort
and rest and water among their unhurt
brothers. Men with one leg trailing on the
earth behind them, others with shattered
shoulders or torn e~ntrails, or CHASTITY flesh
wounds, or with smashed jaws, or eyes shot
out, would crawl, walk, or be led into our
ranks, where they would sink beside us and
murmur: I am glad to get home to you.
1t was hell itself, boys!' And they would
sink into sleep or death.
"We were awake early the next morning
to discover that the Yankees had crossed
the river during the night, and were prob
ably we'll N their way toward Nashville.
We were mighty glad they had gone. Hood
seemed to be stupefed at the disaster that
had befallen US. He allowed his dis
couraged army to remain in camp by that
bloody battlefield. The men, already dis
pirited and doubtful Of his ability as a COM
mander, were permitted to roam at will
over the corpse strewn field. I never before
or after saw such a frightful battle ground.
Many of the dead were shot to shreds. And
I saw scores of men who had been wound
ed-legs broken probably-who had put
their thumbs into their mouths and had
chewed them into shreds to keep from cry
ing, coward like, as they lay exposed to the
merciless fire of the Yankees, waiting for
death to keep them from voicing their fear.
Franklin was The only battle ground I ever
saw where the faces Of the majority of the
dead expressed supreme fear and horror.
Dead mems faces were drawn awry. Their
eyes were wide open and fear staring.
Their very attitude as they lay prone on the
ground with extended, earth clutching
fingers, and with their faces practically
buried in the soil. told The tale of mental
agony they had endured before death re-