Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1886-09-10

verSing together III whispers. by
my side sat Henry Winemann, the
brother of the First Sergeant, and
to the front Of our little group,
some five PAGES in advance, stood
the Captain, engaged in earnest
conversation with the First Lieu
tenant. There came a kissing
sound, then a tremendous explosion,
and poor Henry's blood and brains
despatched my clothes. Several
more of the men were killed and
wounded at the same time, out the
Captain and l, as usual, miraculous
ly escaped. The First Sergeant,
Henry's brother, and a noble sold
Ter never stirred from his post of
duty on the right Of the company,
although he must have known the
terrible slaughter which had taken
place only a few steps from him.
"Your brother Henry has Just
been killed." l heard the Captain
whisper to him in a husky voice.
"That is what we may all ex-
pect,' he answered quietly, with
his mouth firmly set, and grasping
his musket with both hands from
the ground by his side.
Then came the battle; the march
forward out of the open field into
the woods. Before entering the
latter, | looked back and beheld,
from our somewhat elevated posi-
rion, the tens of thousands of
Union troops engaging the enemy,
as yet concealed in the dense brush.
Then came the vOlleys by file, by
rank, by companies and by regi-
ments; forwards and backwards !;
the terrible yells of the dying, as
they fell; the agonized cries of the
wounded the crash of the tree
branches above us, as they were
splintered by shot and shell, and
the atmosphere dark and heavy
with powder-SmOke. Forwards
and backwards at some points
bayonets met in the charge ! Drawer
men never handled musket than
those dirty, half.starved gray-coats,
of whom l myself captured several
during the conflict.
Then, all at once, Just before sun
down, there came the most desper-
ate, earsplitting yell | have ever
listened to, either before or after
that day. 1t was the signal for a
grand rush along the whole line.
Slowly we we're pressed to the
rear, over the ground We had
gained during the afternoon, and
strewn with our dead and wounded;
out into Ire open again. What
sight! The Union army in full re-
treat ! Cavalry. artillery and in
fantry in a chaotic mass, escaping
to the rear. OH how my heart
ached for the terrible defeat
Just at this moment a fragment
of a shell struck my neighbOr,
jolly Schreiver, Bavarian, across
the lower body. Dropping his
musket, and grasping with both
hands the protruding intestines, he
ran about twenty PAGES; then he
fell. shall never forget the hOr-
rible expression of his face, as |
passed him. The Captain and
other officers we're, during the
slow retreat, busily engaged in
breaking and bending the muskets
of the dead, in order to render
them worthless.
Then l noticed, to my dismay,
the regimental colOrs fall prone,
the bearer being shot dead. Cap
tain r. Smedbery, and myself ran
for them, but a small drummer boy
secured the prize, and begged, with
tears in his eyes, for permission to
carry it during the balance of the
day. This was granted him-but
the poor boy only lived a few min
utes longer.
Then came a solitary rider, all
covered with dust, and swinging
his hat in the air. i"Make a final
stand, my men ! We must check
the enemy how, or all Is lost About
face Officers, reform your men !
Collect all stragglers ~ Then he
galloped to other points of the
line.
This man was General Fitz- John
Porter, and l never again beheld a
more magnificent looking soldier
than him. Up and down the line
he went, like a whirlwind, beseech-
ing the men Of the Fifth Corps to
stand by him. His call was not
made In vain, and we soon advanc-
ed to the left, led by Porter in per-
son, into a perfect hail Of iron and
led, where the victorious enemy
was just emerging from the woods,
to annihilate what was left Of Pope's
army.
History will yet give credit to
General Porter and his Fifth Corps
for having saved, on that day, the
Union army from utter ruin, cap
ture and destruction.
On we went, with cheers and
fixed bayOnets. The thick lines of
our dead, which | helped to bury
several days afterwards, within the
enemy's line, under flag of truce,
attested to the work Of the Fifth
Corps and its gallant leader.
General Milroy, OF Indiana, who