The Abbeville messenger. (Abbeville, S.C.) 1884-1887, 1886-02-09
The Battles Of the Dead.

It is midnight in the brick farmhouse
at Chancellorsville-the now building
on the site of the enc partially destroyed
when Hooker marched his troops into
the wilderness to get in the rear of Lee
at Fredericksburg. In the yard are the
rot,ing wheels of gun-carriages; in the
south wall are Il dozen cannon-balls
firmly imbedded; half a mile below is
the stone marking the spot where Stone
wall jackson received his mortal wound q;
here is the same dark forest which shell
tered friend and foe.
Are you asleep"
"No."
The last stroke of twelve had scarcely
died away when the farmer opened my
bedroom door to ask the question.
"Then maybe you'd like to see it9"
"What2"
1.-THE battle of Charlottesville. The
Federal troops are now in sight on the
Ely's Ford road"
l hastily dressed and passed out into
the yard with him. l noticed that he
had on a Confederate uniform, dusty
and worn. 1 looked at my own gar
ments; they were blue. He pointed his
finger down the road, and l saw through
the mist of the umIner night a great
army approaching. There was cavalry,
infantry and artillery-thcre were flags
and banners and ambulanccs. In two
minutes more the head Of the column
had reached the Charlottesville plank
road. Some turned to the right, some
to the left, some plunged into the
gloomy pine thickcts beyond.
'But hear no noise-not the foot
step of a horse o the clank of a sabcr,"
/ protested.
FLUSH! IT'S a battle of the dead I!
The spirits of the thousands who fell
here have come to fight the battle once
again!"
l looked ut him more closely and I saw
the light of battle in his eyes. His form
grew erect, his feet seemed impatient
and he scented the air as if half eager
to Join in the fray.
Now the highways and byways-the
cleared ticlds-the open w~oods-the
lonely thickets were full of blue uni
forms. Couricrs and aides gallopcd
here md thcre-staif officers turned
heads of columns to the right or left.
1t was strange to witness those thou
sands moving with such order and yet
giving out no sound.
AooN ySlSN IL i'll
panion rs he pointed down the plank
road.
There was a cloud of smoke rolling
the starlit sky like q stain of blood. It
spread and grew until half the stars of
heaven we're hidden. Meanwhile, the
face of every man in blue vas turned
that way. We saw battery after battery,
regiment after regiment, brigade after
brigade, move down to the scene of
conflict. Tongues of flame flashed
through the smokc-cloud and lighted
up thickct and field, but there was no
sound. The stiffness of night was al
most painful.
Here are the results" whispered the
Confederate, and I looked to the right
and left to behold the dead and the
wounded. I could sec them in the
fields, under the pines, on the highway.
Some faces show fear and horror-othcrs
expressed vindictiveness. There were
horses lying dead, others hobbling about
and seeming to appeal for mercy.
''It is horriblew l whispered.
"Aye! but 1t Is over"
l looked again and the vision had
faded. The highways were barren of
lifc-thc fields and forests at peace.
The smoke-cloud had disappeared. and
the dead and wounded had been spirited
away.
"And so the dead of the armies fight
their battles o'cr2' ! asked. e
GAS you have secn," he solcmnly re-
piled. "Until the hate and rancor of
men is no more-until all men are at
peace-the spirits of those who fell in
battle cannot rest. They must plan
campaigns and fight their battles as of
old. The vision you have seen here is
repeated ut Antietam, Gettysburg, Vicks-
burg, Franklin-on a hundred battle
fields of America. Let us go mn.
QUAD.