The Sunday herald. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1866-1887, 1886-07-25

commanders (not generally restored and
steadied the lines, and the Confederate
charge was first checked and then bloodily
repulsed.
The first da-'s offensive fighting on the
part Of the Confederates, as we, the enlisted
men, summed IL up, had consisted Of two
general assaults delivered all along our line,
as though to feel Of us and discover where
we were the weakest, and TO promptly take
advantage Of the knowledge gained to attack
In force and with surprising vim and
stanchness first one flank and then the other.
Both Of the assaults were dangerously near
being successful.
The sun sank, and the gloom among the
trees thickened and thickened until dark
ness reigned In the forest where thousands
Of dead and wounded men lay. The air still
smelled Of powder smoke. Many soldiers
cleaned out their rifles. We ate, and then
large details helped to carry their wounded
comrades to the road, where we loaded them
into ambulanoes and wagons. determined
to rejoin my battery. threw away my rife
and belt, and as the first wagons which were
loaded with wounded men moved To the rear,
| walked by the side Of the column and
passed tho guards, II there were any sta
toned on that road, without being ohal-
lenged. When was we'll to the rear for
the first and last time became ''ooffee
boiler" cooked and ate a hearty supper,
and then rolled myself in dead soldiers
blankets, which had hung on TO, and slept
soundly until morning, when found the
battery belonged to without much troubls,
and was promptly punished for being absent
without leave.
About 10 o'clock in the morning was sit
ting by the battery wagon, sullenly nursing
m o IN 81 al 81
had had au experience Of packing q stick
of wood on my shoulder in front OF q guard,
who skillfully touched me up with the point
OF his Saber when Jagged, that had soured
my usually sweet temper. And was i'll.
tempered when wounded men began to drift
through the guns. The noise In the woods
had sunk TO skirmish firing. The wounded
men said that the third days fighting opened
with little artillery practice al nothing,
which was not answered, and that then the
men who carried rifles investigated matters,
and promptly discovered that the Confede-
rates had intrenchsd themselves during the
night. l ssrcastically chided the wounded
soldier who told me this, aud pretended to
believe that he had accompanied Grant and
Meade and Hancock and Warren and Burn.
side and a host of other generals as an or
Derby, and that he had been struck by q
stray ball while holding their horses, while
they personally discovered that the Conf.d.
crates were strongly intrenched. TIL.
wounded man flew into rage, and II his leg
had not been stiffsned by an Eudeld ball in
his thigh 1 believe that would then and
there have been whipped. He snorted his
contempt for any aud all generals, and We.
hemently swore that he had seen none. He
refused 10 smile when said: "Neither
have L." and he refused to smile when
added sugeestively, after minutes pause:
Gan Of the generals must have been killed
early In the first days fighting"
That evening the troops began 10 pour out
of the WOO Is in columns. The infantry sol.
diers marched soberly past the artillery.
There were no exultant songs in those col.
umus. The men seemed aged. They were
very tired and very hungry. They seemed
to be greatly depressed. sat by the road.
side in front of the battery waiting for IL to
move and a'tentively watched the infantry
march past. Many Of the soldiers spoke to
me, asking If there was authentic news as
to where they were going. Some of these
men were slightly wounded. noticed that
the wounded men who stuck to their colors
were either Irish or Americans, and that
they had the stride and bearing of vete-
rams. There was gap in the column, and
the battery moved on to the road and other
batteries followed us. We marched rapidly
and without haltipg until we reached point
where road, which led in the direction OF
the right Of our battle line. Joined the road
we were on. Here we met heavy column
of troops marching to the rear as VS. were.
The enlisted men were grave aud rather low
in spirits, and decidedly rough in temper.
Marching by my side was Vermont Yankee
sergeant, whose right cheek had been slight
ly burnt by rife ball, not enough to send
him to the rear, but sufficient to make him
irritable and ill.tempered. He talked bit
terly of the fight. Ills men talked worse.
They one and all asserted that the army was
not whipped; swore that they had not been
properly handled in the two first days fight
ing, and that the two days fighting had re.
suited in a Confederate loss almost, IL not
quite, equal to ours, as the fighting was
generally outside of earthworks.
Here we co." said slab.sidsd Yankee
private; 'here We go, marching for the Rap
idan and the protection afforded by that
river. Now, when Wa get to the Chanc-llors-
vile House, IL we turn TO the left we are
whipped, at least 80 say Grant and Meade.
And If We turn toward the river you will see
hell. The bounty jumpers will break aud
run, and there will be the very devil of
panic. Oh, for a gsneral!' he exclaimed,
"oh, for general who knows how TO
fight"
"suppose we turn 10 the right, what
then 7" asked.
"That will mean fighting, and fighting on
the line the Johnnie' have selected and in.
trenched. But 1t will indicate the purpose
Of Grant to fight" he replied.
Then be told me that the news in his Sixth
Corps brigade was that Meade had strongly
advised Grant to turn back and recross the
Rapidan, and that this advice was inspired
by the loss Of Shsler's aud Seymour's bri.
gades on the evening of the previous day.
This was the first time heard this rumor,
but heard It 6fty times bsfore slept that
night. The enlisted men, one and all, be-
lieved 1t. and l then firmly believed the
rumor to be authentic, and l believe It to.
day. None Of the enlisted men had auy con-
hdenoe in Meade "a a tenacious, aggressive
fighter. They had seen him allow the Con
fsderates to escape destruction after Gettys-
burg, and many Of them openly ridiculed
him and his alleged military ability.
Grants military standing with the en-
listed men this day hung on the direction we
turned at the Chanoellorsville House. II to
the left, he was to be rated With Meade and
Hooker and Burnside and Pope-the quar-
tette Of finished military imbeciles who pre-.
SOuuu AhsAs hssuo Sh0uCCtOIoNiu0 hOuuo
we turned to the right. Instantly all Of us
heard sigh Of relief. Our spirits rose. We
marched free. The men began to sing. The
enlisted men understood the hanking move
ment. That night we were happy. There
was much interchange of opinion between
the artillerymsn and the infantry. We
gathered from the losses these men snumsr.
sted In their own commands that the three
days fighting had cost Grant about $4,000
men, or little more than One.ffth Of the
army. And the enlisted msn-the volun
tsers who had brains In their skulls-always
stuck to II that those figures correctly repre-
scented the losses Of Union soldiers in the
bloody Wilderness battle.
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