The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1886-11-23
"BALDY" SMITHS MEN.
HOW THEY SAVED I UNION BATTERY
At ENTIETEM.

- ~ - nv
On the Left Of the Bunker Church
: outaanEsed By the Confederate Forces
Pouring in Canister-A Gallant Brigade
Commander.
Ny battery q six guns, said the major,
had been increased 20 eight BY the add
ton Of section from q volunteer battery
that had lost all It's officers. We were
posted in front Of FrankIin's division, and
% the left Of the bunker church, and mad
come into battle facing ooliGuely toward
the right Our position was on the edge
Of some rather thick woods, that projected
like 4 peninsula from the front Of our
general line, and we had been Smelling
Jackson's men on the principle Of the
Irish fight, -Nhenivsr ye see a head, hit
IT. Right in front Of Us were undulating
fields, th.ckly covered with corn, which
on the nth Of September was tall and
afforded excellent cover. We were sup
ported by a single regiment Of ZOuaves,
though the battle was raging 1ercely 20
our left, where Burnside had forced the
bridge, and was fighting hard 70 maintain
the position ne had gained.
A CRY OF WARNING.
We were in a comparatively quiet spot,
and hardly realized the fact that one Of
the most nnOmeutOus engagements Of the
war had reached its climax In our
fancied security we paid little OF no at
tention 70 possible danger TO ourselves
that might be lurking in the wooded
slopes beyond the cOrnfeld- So IL hap
peued that q Confederate division was
formed and had actually started on the
run, to capture US, before we had any in
timation that we were threatened But
in
and we saw the long gray lines sweeping
rapidly toward our left flank, while our
red-legged supports we're decamping in
the hottest Of hot haste.
a nice position it seemed! We couldn't
Timber up and gallop away. because the
woods were 30 dense and the ground so
rough that only slow retreat was posi-
BILE And how could we beat back a Iii
vision with eight guns2 But we could
try to beat it back, and assisted by few
gallant fellows from the zOuaves who
stood their ground we changed front by
hand, and opened fire on the charging
brigades. They were 50 near Us, how
ever, that we used canister, which IS only
tit for the shortest ranges. Our fire was
rapid and very effective, but though we
could see that it tore great gaps in their
ranks, still they came on CALAMITY, and
1t seemed certain that we must lose our
guns, a bitter thought to an artillerist.
We could distinguish the Confederate
officers, and could see the men putting
caps On their rifles as they came on at the
double-quick, and though we pitched the
canister into them faster than ever, that
magnificent rugged infantry Of HIPS
never faltered in their charge.
a TRANSPORTATION SCENE
But in the meantime Transformation
scene had been arranged, Of which we
knew nothing At the first glimpse of
the threatened attack a staff officer,
who had been chatting with Us, had
wheeled his horse and galloped rapidly to
ward the rear through the woods. Close
at hand he found Gen. Franklin, and in
the fewest words informed him that a
regular battery was in danger of capture
and was unsupported. Fortunately for
rs, a very prompt and gallant brigade
commander was with Franklin at the
moment and received the order to hurry
70 our support, and IN an incredibly short
time he had deplOyed his regiments in the
face Of the advancing COnfede rates. 1t
was just in time, for the enemy had al
most reached our guns. But our fire had
somewhat broken the momentum of their
charge, and the appearance Of our sup
ports sent them back as hastily as they
had advanced.
But for the oppOrtune presence of this
brigade, and the prompt action OF its
commander, our captured guns would
have been turned upon our center which
had been greatly weakened by the assist
ance sent to Burnside on our left, and It
is more than probable that our army
would have been cut in two. Our right,
terribly shattered by the bitter struggle
that had been in progress since the earIi-
est dawn, would have been cut off from
our left. and the rout OF the army would
have left Washington and Baltimore
open and almost defenceless to Lees adj
vance"
Such is the story Of one of the many &C
casions during the war when the safety of
our national existence was secured by a
lucky chance The narrator is a quiet
and very courteous gentleman, who in
herited an iIlustrious name, and the b~i-
gade commander whose promptness foilel t
the attack was Gen. w f ("BaIdy", (
York Commercial Adver- /
tiser.