The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1886-05-10

terry and commences speech to his men! Griffin
orders one of his officers to load with canister
and let drive at them. The guns are loaded and
ready to fire. when up gallops Barry, exclaiming:
Captain, don't fire there; those are your battery
supports
At this supreme moment Reynolds gorgeous
looking marines are sitting down in close column
on the ground to the left of the Union batteries.
The snowy Eleventh New York Fire Zouaves
are little to the OF the right of those guns.
The gallant Fourteenth New York Chasseurs, In
their dustcovored red uniforms. who had fol-
lowed Grifhth's battery at some distance, have,
only little while since, pushed finely up from
the ravine at the of our batteries into the
woods to the right of Griffith and Ricketts, at a
doublequck. To the left of the batteries.
close to the battalion of marines, Heintzleman
beStrldeS his horse near some of his own diviS-
ion. To Major Barry's startling declaration
Captain Griffin excitedly shouts: They are Con
federates Sure as the world, they are Confed
crates" But Barry thinks he knows better, and
hastily responds: i know they are your battery
support Griffin spurs toward his pieces, coun-
termand his previous order, and firing Is re-
sumed il the old direction.
"Averell, assistant acknowledgement to Gen.
Andrew Porter, has Just ridden to Heintzelmans
side, and now catches sighto of the rebel regiment
What troops are thoseP he asks of Gen. Heitzel-
man, pointing in their direction. While Heintzel-
man is replying. and just as Averell drops his
reins and levels his field glass at them, down
ably. as Averell afterward said, there never was
such destructive fire for few minutes. 1t
seemed as though every man and horse of that
battery JUST lay down and died right off,
ut is dreadful mistake that has been made.
And there seems to have been no excuse for it
either. The delberateness Of the rebel colonel
had given Barry abundant time to have discov-
cred his error For Griffin subsequently de-
cared, under oath, that after the officer who
had been talking to the regiment bad got
t,pn,1 hn - <ho 1Aff had
them about fifty yards to thA woods. then faced
them to the right again, marched them about
forty yards towards US. then opened fire upon
us-and that was the last Of usr
sit is terrible blunder. For up to this mo-
ment the battle is undeniably ours And while
the rebel colonel has been haranguing his brave
men, there has been plenty of time to have
passed the word along the lines of our batteries,
and poured canister into the rebel regiment,
from the whole line of eleven guns, at point
blank range. which must inevitably have cut it
to pieces The fate of the day hung balanced
right there and then-with all the chances in
favor of Mcdowell. But those chances are now
reversed. Such are the tickle changes in the
fortunes of battle Instead of our batteries cut
ting to pieces the rebel infantry regiment, the
rebel infantry regiment has moved down the
gallant artlerists of our batteries. Hardly
man of them escapes. Death and destruc-
ton reap wondrous and instant harvest
Wounded, dying or dead lie the brave cannon
GERS at their guns, officers and men alike hors de
combat. while wounded horses gallop wildly
back with bounding caissons down the gentle
declivity, carrying disorder and further danger
in their mad fight The supporting Fire Zouaves
and marines on the right and left of our
guns stand with staring eyes and dumb. open
mouths at the sudden turn of affairs.
They are absolutely paralyzed with astonish-
ment They do not run at first. They stand
quakng and panic stricken. They urged to
advance upon the rebel regiment, to give them
a vOlley and then the baVOnot.' In vain!
They fire perhaps hundred scattered shots. and
receive in return, as they break and run down
the hill to the rear volley after volley of deadly
lead from the rebel muskets."