The Palatka daily news. (Palatka, Fla.) 1884-1888, 1886-09-04

clouds, with parched threats. tuotSorc i.id
weary Not "a Crumblr did hear But with
set jaws we toilcti on, intent on capturing
Petersburg before tho Army of Northern Nir-
ginia got behind the works. IL was march,
march, march No Struggling now. Ii Is far
better IL march tonight than IL assault earth
works defended 10y Less men tomorrow.
Hurry alnngl Hurry, hurry, hurry" And
We marched our b.St W" passed a group uf
soldiers who wore the distinctive badge Of the
Second corps, cooking ly the roadside, their
muskcts stacked 10y their fire. We asked how
far it was D. the battle line. Only n few hun
dred yards they replied. Then We asked what
Confederate troops were ahead of They
answered with u scurnful laugh, petersburg
militia" We asked what Union troops were
engaged, and they replied, "S0mc Of liutlcr's
men" With the dislike all soldiers have for
unknown troops We said heartily, "D-n But
lcr's men, We do not know them. We wish
the Fifth or Sixth corps were here instead of
them" Many suliicrS anXiuusiy inquired,
"Will Buffers men iiSht.' Then some private,
who was better informed than the most Of Us,
told us that Buffers men had b.,tu lying at
bermuda Hundreds, and that there were many
negro troops among them. The moss Of the
Second corps men We're cooked sharply IN til"
air Mt this information.
THE COLORED TROOPS.
Word had passed among Us that the negro
troops had had famuI~ success that day, that
they had wr,~tcd n heavy line uf caIthworks
from the Cunfcdcratos, and had captured
eighteen guns. The soldiers halted for an in
slant They examined their rifles AMI shiitcI
their cartridge boxes Ia position whrrr they
could get at them easily, AMI they drank
deeply from their cantccuS. Then h-itS were
tightcnc,l blanket rolls shifted, thu last hiis'
of har tack that the mon had been chewing
were swallowed, AMI their mouths again filled
with water and Tin~o4t nUt, and then through
out the ranks nurmurs arns.. nt Now for it,"
Put IIs into II, Hancock, my boy We viii
end this rebellion TO night, and We laughed
luwly and our hearts h-,at high. Soon
heard commands given tn the infantry, and
they m;rcrd oil My battery moved for
ward, twisted ohlipucly ia and out among
the Itumi,s, and then tin, gums swung into lstt-
terry on IL cleared SIn''-
And thcn-Gnd, how II Anglers mo even
now after ana interval Of twenty -tw" years.
and then W. went IL cooking. That night
Was made Ia fight GA. \ bright and almost
fun moon shnnc above It's The Confederate
caTthyvorkS were III PLAIN view before us
caTthworilS which NE knew We're hirr Of
soldiers. There was a noisy lire from the
Confederate pockets IN front al us. 81 un-
ncrvcd and frightened were they that their
bullet .clu,s high above uS We cooked and
at, =. fooled the time away. This when
corr. know that not many miles away the
column, nf ia. army 81 northern Virginia
wcr,. marching furiuuSly L. save Petersburg
and Richmond and the CoEfrtarary. We
couli almost -cc tiioe-' veteran tIn"lS-lcan,
s,lIaiii. hungry ami battle torn, with set
law, and anxious looking ~triding
rapidly through the diIst, pouring over
BRIGGS, crOw'iing through the StrN.tS Of
villages and ever hurryinE ON u face Us.
81 flu..V III. Il .
carthwo9ki in oar front, We CnulI not drive
then, 49,: Thy dill no. surrender cannon
and entertainments To- disoricrlv gangs IF
armed Negroes. fi"y did not understand
how troops cnull la~r Cartiw"rkS when
asSs.il. e! 10y equal numbers of s.lii'rs. Still
We cooked AMI att and sat idly booking into
one a!Iuthcr's eyes pu,s,t:nninE!y ut first then
impai.rntly, and then anSrily.
WERE Not TO EI,IIT.
GRADUALLY the fact that we wcr.. not TO
fight that night impressed itself nu us. l
walked over IL the Timber I'll my gun, opened
INV knap,lcl, and took out campaign map
and a pair of comprises Returning L. tho
fire. the map was spread on the ground As
| measured the distances group OF excited
soldiers gathered around and watched the
work We had tho less distance Ia march,
about nine hours the start, and allnwin, for
the time lost at the crossing of the James
river wcr", at IL p IN, four or live hours
ahead of the Army of Northern Virginia
VIII they Ec in the works 10y morning,
menf" / asked. and all answered: by God,
they will" Discouraged, l put away the
map, loaded "A pipe, lighted il and strollcd of
down the line, stopping ut almost every fire
| came To tn talk To the infantry soldiers
The rage of the intelligent enlisted men WAS
deviish. Tho most blood cur,lling hlaSphcmy
| ever listened Ia heard that night, uttered
IL.
feed on TIA, morrow. The whole corps was
anrrily excited returned to my battery a
little after midnight Seated on the ground
rested my back against one of the ponder
Gus wheels of my gun. Resting there l Slept:
At carly dawn l was awake and tried T.
examine the Confederate line. | noticed that
the noisy, wast"ful picket firing of the night
before had cc;IScd, that the main line al
cnrthworks indistinctly Srcn in the gray
light was dead silent. Some Of our infantry
came into our slight carthwork, and We stool
gazing into the indiStinctncSS before Us. All
of Us wcrs greatly depressed IL grow lighter
and lighter, and there before Us, fully r,-
ycalc,l, was long, high line Of intrcncIi-
mcnts with heavy rcdoubtS where cannon
were nasSe,l at the angles, silent grim NJ
wasteful fire shot forth from that line Now
and then IA man rose up out OF the Cunfe,l,T-
ate rifle pitt and q rifle hall How Close abuy,
us, no longer singing high III the air. Sadly
we looked at one another. We knew that tlir
men who had fought as in the Wilderness, al
Spottsylvania, North Anna and Cold HarbDr
were III the works sleeping, gaining strength,
tn rcpul-c our assault, while their picket
watched for them. While We slept they h...I
marched Years aft"rWarl, while cTo~SIE.-
northern Dakota IN thc srrvicc nf the Nurti.
cTn Pacific Railroad company, | mot C,u.
Hancock, ami campcl with Ills party. TIT
night, while talking around the camp iirc. /
asked linn why hc did not tale i,tcTshuT.-
the nig lat Tho Second CORPS arrived there. IA
p.ply Ia told IN" that Ia had not been orlep.i
u take the town, and added: Mr. Grant
said hc at mc the order. l never rCcciV,.i
il. - No one has ever accused Con. iIanco. :.
OF Iyiug-FrGnk Wiikt>on ia Chicago Tim,