The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1886-04-08
SPOTTSYLVANIA.
Incidents OF the Battle by q
Federal Soldier.


Federal Soldier.
Vivid Pictures of the Horrors of War
Drawn by Spectator.
From an account of the battle Of Spott-
sylvania by Harvey s. Wells we copy as
follows:
AS such close quarters so many mon
were struck in the head, as the result Of
deliberate aim. Although to ono in the
line it did not seem as if many men were
falling about him, but steadily all day
long the firing of the sharpshooters ac-
eomplished its fatal work until the
ground was literally strewn with the
dead. The weather was warm, the men
got tired of lying so long in positions of
constraint to their bodies; they wanted
water and chance to stretch their wear
led limbs, and, although knowing it was
almost instant death, they would rise and
run for the rear, sure to be followed by a
volley of bullets from the rebel sharp
shooters. l never during over four years
of active service in the army witnessed so
many individual acts of daring and fool
hardness ON the part Of soldiers as on
this day.
In the company which | commanded,
out of 81 men who entered the fight 10
were killed and wounded, most of them
killed instantly, and half of that number
shot in consequer ce of acts of foolhardy
daring, uncallcd for in the requirements
of faithful duty. At the time attributed
much of this devil-may care spirit to the
whiskey in the cantcens issued to us the
day before. There was drunken artil-
lery officer, who rode up and down along
our line with gay uniform, mounted on a
spirited horse, swinging his hat and call
ing on the men to charge, who seemed to
possess a charmed life, for he escaped un.
harmed. The man stopped and talked
with me short time, with the bullets fly
ing all about him, when one of US did not
dare poke up finger for fear of having il
shot off. A cap on a bayonet stuck W
above the brcast-work was sure to be per
forated by Confederate bullets.
When the ammunition of one caisson
! had been exhausted dozen men reckless
ly rushed after another between the two
lines and dragged it back with then
amid a perfect hailstorm of lead. Not
less than hundred dead bodies lay
close around that brass piece of artillery
captured from the enemy when nigh
drew her sable curtain over the sanguina
ry work of the day.
During the night the enemy abandoned
the salient, and early the next morning
the Union troops could go over the soen'
of the previous days carnage withou
fear of molcstation. "Pilcs of dead" j
often used as figure of speech, but il
the works abandoned by the Confederate
piles of dead literally and without exag
gcration were lying in the compartment
which | have previously mentioned.
Two, three and four deep, tanglcd-ul
with each other, bodies and limbs inter
twincd, actual heaps Of dead, their blacl
and bloated faces urturncd to the sky, il
all manner Of positions, and dccomposi
ton already polluting the atmosphcr
with horrible stencil. 1t was such
picture of war, horricd war, as few peo
pie, even those who make q business @
war, ere permitted to witness. 1t woult
take the pen of Victor Hugo to faith
fully describe such scene of death an,
carnage, such hideous and appallin
holocaust of human life. In the wood:
Immediately in the rear of the COnfedcr
ate line of carth-works one could see tn
fearful effect of the muskctry fire fror
the Union line. Swinton, in his history
says that all the trees within the range G
he mNsketry were killed, so blighting i
its effects was the fire of lcadcn bullet
poured into the forest in the 90 hours til
Union troops were ordered to never ceas
firing.
On that morning after the battle l sa,
two oak trees of vigorous growth, abou
IS inches in diameter, that had been act
ually Gu. in two, gnawed off four or fiv
feet from the ground by bullets fire
from the Union line in front the day Dt
fore. This may give the reader som
idea of the terrible fire concentrated o
the Confcderat5 line behind their eartl
works on that nevcr-to-be-forgotten 12t
of May, 1864, by the troops Of the arm
of the Potomac. In the fall of 1856!
when was still in the army, l visite
Washington on official business. As
entered the War Department, on cac
side OF the main entrance, in front an
under little projecting portico, sa
two stumps of trees. the same that ha
witnessed on the battlefield of Spottsy
vania They had been sawed off an
carried to Washington as mementos
4 the bloodicst field of battle which uistol
, records of the late war.
Ruled 0u!.
A witness was called in a Dakot
cnlirt