Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1886-11-24
Misfellaueuns &eading.
OFFER HAPPENINGS IN WAR.

VuEEk HAffENlNuo in WAN.
Men might write for 100 years of the Gu
rious phases of war, and still leave the sub
ject fresh. War is lottery, and the prizes
are shot, she'll, wounds and death. Tens OF
thousands Of men served four years in the
late war and returned home. In l,OOO cases
recruits were killed within tWent ty-four
hours after reaching the front. Wars mis-
siles are no respecters of persons; and the
soldier who fights an all days battle without
receiving a wound may be killed in his tent
at night by the accidental discharge of a
musket =,
At the battle of Franklin the first shell
sent from the first field-piece to open fire
killed twenty-six Confederates. The next
five shells from the same gun either failed to
explode or cleared the advancing lines. In
this same fight, the horse of a Confederate
colonel was cut square in two by shot, ana
the rider escaped unhurt. Ten minutes al
ter a Union officer behind the breastworks
stumbled and fell forward on the ground,
breaking his neck.
In one of the assaults on Fort Wagner, in
Charleston harbor, the iron-clad fleet, assist
ed by land batteries numbering tWenty-seV-
en- heavy cannon, bombarded the fort for
two hours before killing single soldier.
From seventy to eighty heavy cannon were
hurting three tons Of iron into the fort each
minute, and yet no one was hurt until over
800 tons of 'solid death" had been wasted.
AS an offset to this, witness the work OF q
single solid shot thrown from Federal
gunboat on the lower Mississippi. A Con-
federate flying battery was just taking po,,
sition, and one piece had already opened
fire. The Federal shot was aimed at this
piece. The big mass of iron struck the six
pounder square on the nuzzle and upset
gun and carriage. A piece of the muzzle
Weighing about twenty pounds, was bro
ken, and this flew to the left and killed two
men. Three men were hurt by smaller
fragments of flying splinters. The big shot
next struck and exploded caisson, killing
three men and wounding two Others. From
the caisson it turned to the right, killed a
horse, smashd wheel OF a field-pleee, ana
crushed the leg of sergeant to a bloody
mass. That one shot so disorganized the
battery that it limbered up and wheeled
away to cover.
While heavy ordnance is necessary in re-.
ducing forts and earthworks, it is doubtful
if there was any profit in the work OF the
big guns carried by the iron-cla.ls on the
rivers. When Mcclellan fell back he had
the cover of gun-boats, and some writer's
have claimed that their fire saved his army
from capture. So far as the Confederacy
records show, the loss by the hundreds OF
shells thrown over the heads Of our troops
into the woods by these great cannon
amounted to no more than 100 men. They
were new thing then, and the awful crash
and terrific explosion on the men were de-
moralizing on the troops in line.
A Union gunboat on the White river
threw three shells into Confederate camp,
killed nearly fifty men, and routed force
of 500. Within week after that event the
Confederate Gen. Shelby planted four piec-
es of flying artillery on the levee, within
400 feet of the same gunboat at anchor, and
without the least cover for men or guns
kept up the fight for over all hour, or until
the gunboat backed out of it and steamed
away.
The chances in lottery can be figured
down fine, and certain percentage of es-
capes is allowed in steamboat explosion
but he who goes to war has nothing to con-;
sole him. He may dodge 2OO-pound shell
and be killed by two buckshot. He may
receive dozen bullets and live on, or the
first may be fatal. He may ride in the wild
est charge unhurt, and he may be killed by
a stray bullet around his camp fire.-Arn1y
Bulletin.