Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1886-02-19
STORIES OF THE WAR.
No, OIL ancock at Spottsylva-
MIA Court House.

rlttcn Tor the Free IrCSS from entirely or
igina sources.
OF the hundreds of thousands who saw
Winfield Scott Hancock last summer rid
ing at the head of the military escort at
Gen. Grants funeral, few thought that it
would be his last appearance in public,
Advancing years had not effaced the man
~ beauty that made him in his prime the
handsomest man in the army, and he
bore himself bravely during the long and
wearisome ride through the nterminable
city streets. His horse, in fact, gave out
before he did, and the old soldier waJcom-
PEELED to finish his last march in the eff
Terminate luxury of Il carriage, a conces-
SION to the force of circumstances, no
doubt physically grateful, however re
pugnant it may have been to the pluck of
tried campaigncr.
To many Il veteran of the second corps,
who then looked his last upon General
Hancock, the memory came back of the
day when at the head of his staff he rode
down the lines at Gettysburg just before
Longstreets corps made its last memora-
bic charge of the disastrous day at
Charlottesville of the sangunary CON
flict in the Wilderness, and last but not
least of the brilliant feat of arms at
Spottsylvania Court House.
Gen Hancock was identified with the
army of the Potomac from the first, and
served with honor and distinction under
all its different commanders, In defeat
and in victory. he was always the same
daring, prudent soldier, commanding the
respect alike of his superiors and of his
subordinates.
General Grant knew his man when he
selected Hancock and the second corps to
carry the advanced works of the Confed-
rate position at Spottsylvania.
Ga page 453 of Campaigns of the Army
of the Potomac by William Swinton,
find the following concerning the fight at
Spottsylvania Court House:
"Of all the struggles of the W II this was.
perhaps, the iicrccSt and most deadly. Ere
qucntly throughout the conflict, so close was
the contest. that the rival standards were
planted ON opposite sides of the brcastwOrks.
The cncmN's most savage sallicS were directed
to retakc the famous salient, which was now
become an angie of DEATH. and presented Il
spectacle CHASTITY and terrible. On the Con-
iedcrate side of the works lay many corpses of
those who had been baNOnCtcd by HdnCOck's
men when they first lcapcd the intrcnchmcnts.
To these were constantly added the bravcSt of
those VINO, III the assaults TO reCapturc the
postum, zen Ut Tue margin OF the WORKS. TIL
the ground was literally covered Wi, h pics of
dead and the woods in front of the salient
were one hilcous Golgotha. At midnight,
after twenty hours OF combat, Lee drew back
his lccding lines aud reformed them on his
interior position, The loss on the Union side
this day was ABOVE 5000, and on he Confcd-
crate side much greater. II had an e ccllcnt
moral erect upon the Union army"
In at least one of the many war sketches
| have written for tle- newspapers, | sad
that had been i'll but one battle that af
lOidcu me ANY enjoyment, or which, amid
the stirring incidents of The stubborn and
bloody com 1at almost all sense of danger
was forgotten. II was TINS battle, on the
II II Of May, lSG4, referred to in the scrap
of history quoted, that had in my mind
No o,ncr battle of the many in which
participated with the army Of the PJto-
mae lea behind such an lndelible impress
upon my memory, many of The incidents
OF Which are just rs fresh to-day, over u
years after, as on the dav they occurred
~ " I't'. III ala iiir 'alilrS Of cur civil
War. tu,' men su-a-'d N conflict scarcely
saw thcr prDunento. here were buNOucI
hglIt> ana ACT dal PERSONAL encounters, but
they We're tvN aud lar hctWeeG. When
they did occur it Wa with blind fury.
where crossed BAY Ourts, C. uDbpu mushets,
throwing at StOiIcs ana even The fist were
bruu4hi into play. In this particular
fight which shah essay t. describe the
champion pugiHst, john l.. sullivan. had
great advantage and attained more lasting
personal glory than he ever achieved in
the prlZ,-rlnS. AT one nom mt of the
battle 1t was simple Touchdown and
drag fight, somewhat after the style
of il biz saloon row among drunken men.
ana one must needs experience a certain
savage joy, provided he was on the WIN
ming side. ! would at any time run quick
er from drunken row, seeming more
danger, than from an enemy with guns in
their hands, i'll legitimate warfare. This
Is, no doubt, owing Ia my bringing up. |
never found any place in army lite which
tried my nerves 50 much, or which called
for higher order Of bravery, cool, calm
and deliberate courage. than on the Skin
miSh or picket line when in active cam
paign. There, it WAS much ike two men
about to engage III a duel. When on the
sklrmish line, preliminary to ii general en-
gagement, each soldier acts, as it were, on
his own individual responsibility, without
the excitement of a battle to make hun
forget the dangers of the situation. At
the same time the danger is greater, for
each bullet speeds on its mission of death
aimed at ana intended to hurt somebody.
The army of the Potomac had lust
emerged from the Wilderness country,
where for three days it had a Smuggling
match with the army of Northern Nir
ginia under Gen. Lee The two armies
confronted each other near SPOTS, iVania
COuIl libuSe, lue enemy DclnS well IN
trenched behind most excellent imprOvise,i
breastworks. Cutting loose from the rear
the Union army had no base of supplies
until after the Wilderness fighting, when
base was established at Fredericksburg
ON the l{appahannock river | recollect
right well that our corps (the Second re
ceived generous supply of rations on the
18th of May, including ration of wills
key. ! mention this issue of "comms-
sary' in particular, for verify believe il
had much to do with the daring charge
and many of the reckless feals of the next
day. 1t was resolved to make sudden
sally against the right center Of the rebel
army The Confederate line was AT this
point advanced so as to form a salient
To penetrate this salient, with a sudden
and brilliant charge, would be like driv-
ing a wedge between the right and the
centre of the enemy, and rift asunder the
formidable breastwOrks behind which
they lay ensconced, in apparent security
The Second corps, commanded by General
Winfield Scott Hancock, was selected to
make the charge upon which so much de
pended.
Every man in the corps had II present.