Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1886-05-28

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ling of artillery. 1t seemed to me that 7
could hear No mpatently tap with sponge
staff on the blackened muzzles of the brass
guns, as he called for canister, and more
canister, and still more canister. We were
sufficiently near to feel the wind of the guns
l looked back We had not advanced far
The dead lay in winrows. Wounded men
were staggering over the fl Id, and falling in
ones, twos and threes as they came together
for aid, between the lines of dead. The men
hesitated They realized that they could not
carry the works. Their line off ,ers tried to
hold them They staggered few feet nearer
the Federal line, firing wildly the while, to
be scorched by the hot breath of cannon and
rifles They wavered badly, tried to hold
on then broke and ran for cover. We were
under fire for about ten minutes, and one
third of our division, Reynolds, was killed
or wounded. Stunned, bewildered and hor-
ribly disappointed, we gathered in a pro-
tected position and were speedily reformed
We We're allowed to rest for awhile
"Of course the planned simultaneous at
tack by several columns had failed. OF
course they did not get off together. They
went in one after the other and they were
all whipped. Again we We're formed into
charging column. Our officers briefly ex-
planned the necessity of carrying the wo"ks.
We swore to take them or die in the attempt.
All, said Thomas, 1T is easy to swear to do
things when you are not under fire, but
hard, exceedingly hard, to accomplish them
We rushed to the assault again, again to be
q g
out of line. 1t seemed to me that the air
was so full of bullets that | could have
caught some by simply grabbing on either
side or above me We advanced close to the
works, and again we broke and fled for cover.
The Yankees now tn oroughly angry, and
merciless, began to shoot at every living OBJ
ject within range of their rifles Wounded
Confederates, who moved leg or an arm,
were instantly selected targets, and were
literally shot to pieces.
Darkness descended and still the battle
torn Confederates were formed into charg-
ing columns and launched against the Yam
kee works. We advanced stumbling over
cur dead and wounded. The latter shrieked
as we trod on their mangled limbs. Powder
smoke hung over the field in clouds, which
reflected the lurid fire that bazed along the
Yankee parapets. Eight oclo X, Q o'clock,
X.
trampling our dead and wounded comrades
into the earth. Then we gave it up We
had made five desperate charges Pat Gle
burnes men had made six and he fell dead
while leading the last. Every general officer
in the army. excepting Hood, was killed or
wounded. Our losses had run high up in the
thousands. We stacked our arms and lay
down All night our wounded comrades
crawled off of tna field and sought comfort
and rest and water among their unhurt
brothers Mel wi h one leg trailing on the
earth lehld them, others with shattered
shoulders, or torn entrails, or CHASTITY flesh
wounds, or with smashed jaws or eyes shot
out would crawl, walk or be led into our
ranks, where they would sink beside us and
murmur: 4 am glad to 9 :; home to you 1t
was hell itself, boysP AM they would sink
into sleep or death.
1--WE We're awake early the next morning
to discover that the Yankees had crossed the
river during the night and We're probably
well on their way towards Nashville We
We're mighty glad they had gone Hood
seemed to be stupefied at the disaster that
had befallen us. He allowed his discouraged
army to remain in camp by that bloody bat
tlefield. The men, already dispirited and
| doubtful OF his ability as commander, were
permitted to roam at will over the corpse
strewn field. / never before or after saw
such a frightful battle ground Many of the
dead We're shot to shreds. And | saw scores
of men who had been wounded-legs broken
probably-who had put their thumbs into
| their mouths and had chewed them into
shreds to keep from crying, coward-like, as
they lay exposed to the mercileSs fire of the
Yankees, waiting for death to keep them
from voicing their fear. Franklin was the
| ONLY hot /
faces of the majority of the dead expressed
supreme fear and horror. Dead mems faces
were drawn awry. Their eyes were wide
open and fear-staring. Their very atti
tude as they lay prone on the ground
with extended, earth-clutching fingers, and
with their faces practically buried in the
SOIL told the tale of mental agony they had
endured before death released them And
| then, the chewed thumbs, showing the dire
full necessity they had to brace themselves
to receive death, was inexpressibly affect
ing.
The repeated disasters we had encountered
| under Hood had dampened our ardor. The
unwse rambling of our men over the battle
field of Franklin broke their spirit We
would not fight at Nashville we lost that
field because the specter of Franklin, livid,
with distorted features, with bloc l-stream-
ing wounds, with CHASTITY, horror stricken
eyes, chewing and crunching its thumb,
stalked among us. 1t was in the columns as
we marched 1t rode sstrde of the Napo-
leon guns 1t sat by our camp fires. 1t
stood in the trenches at Nashville. 1t lay in
the rifle pits O. nights"
Thomas ceased talking, and looked in
tently and sorrowfully into the fire as
though he were searching for the faces of
the comrades he had lost. did not intrude
on his grief, but quietly rolled myself in my
blankets and lay down, not to sleep, but to
think of the horrors of the war and of the
bloody fields in Virginia, which had
worked at a cannon's muzze
FRANK WILKESoN
New YORK, May IS