St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1888-09-15

of battle crowned anew for its splendid
achievements. Whatever may be said OF the
generalship that placed soldiers in the desper-
alto situation, where life must be freely sacri-
feed in order to win slight advantage, the
devotion of the soldiers themselves to the
wishes of their leaders was such that the
world hears with wonder and admiration tho
story of their deeds. When Reynolds pushed
his single corps out on the Chambersburg
road as a breakwater to restrain the waves
of Confederate invasion, he trusted the men
who followed bis banners to be as bold and
brave as himself and when Sickles advanced
his column to the debatable position on the
Emmitsburg road-a position Of which both
armies stood in need and one the Confed-
crates were fastening to sei2e-isoiated and
exposed as he was, and enveloped by superior
numbers, he asked great things of his men
when he called upon them to stand to their col
ors through such a crisis. And SO it was over all
that field and III every contest, men fought
ss they had never fought before and for the
simple reason that such desperate work had
never before been required of them. Gen.
John c. Robinson, division leader il the
First corps tReyno!ds), says that the fighting
of his men during the short time they were
engaged at close quarters-a couple OF hours
was the severest that be ever witnessed.
lie spoke, too, from an experience Of throer
years in the Army of the Potomac, froa6 The
FIRST Bull Run to tie Wilderse*s
..esALLyINe oy1Tv9 FLAG.
ssfFss Ef@5ss hfSeaaa, a.itier Meredith, with
Cutleis brigade of the same division, opened
the infantry battle on the Union side. Mere
elith led his men in to the support Of Cutler,
and while passing their commander, Gen.
Doubleday, who was second in command to
REYNOLDS, he told them to hold their ground
a grove On the bank of Willoughby Run
OF all hazards The response to this call was:
t.If we can't do it, where will you find the
men who canf' AS they entered tho grove
from one edge the Confaderates Of Heth's
division came filing in from the opposite side.
having forced their way over the stream On
the flank of Cutters line. One volley from
tho Iron brigade staggered the mon in gray,
for they had been told that they would meet
only raw militia on the road to Gettysburg.
But when the smoke cleared away from
Meredith's line they saw familiar sight and
exclaimed:
"Taint the militia, neither! It's the
Army of the Potomac. There's the black
hated fellows again"
Col. Morrow, of the Twenty-fourth Michi-
gan in his official report, tells story as
strange as any romance. After reforming
his lines twice and making 4 desperate resist
ancc, he was compelled TO fail back to third
line and here the fhird color bearer of the
reciment was killed. There were not above
one-fourth OF his men In the line n1Y, and
one of the color guard was ordered to
"plant tho colors." 1t was done, and the
brave fellow fell beside the upright staff.
Morrow now seized the standard and waved
it to rally his remnant, and Private Kelly, OF
Company B, rushed to him. and said; The
colonel of the Twenty-fourth shall never
carry the flag while am alive" lie grasped
the staff and fell instantly under a sharp
shooters bullet. Private Spaulding next
took the flag, and Morrow sisnaled his men
to rally around it, but was soon wounded
himself and borne from the scene. at last
there were only lifeless hands to hold the
staff. and so the colors Of the Twenty-fourth
r;e.e found at the barricade, where the last
stand of the line was MAIDS preparatory to
tho retreat from Oak Ridge to Cemetery
Hill. A dying soldier had chung to them and
DRAGGED himself back until he could go no
further, and there he delivered them to his
own comrade, Capt. Edwards. On this field
the deeds of heroism were numberless, and
no one regiment or brigade can be singled
out for an example. The record of the Iron
brigade, asiascribed OH the monument Of the
Nineteenth Indiana erected on this field,
shows loss of 1912 men eat of 1,ss3 that en-
tered the fight.
Cutters brigade lost 975 men. Ono of the
regiments here was the Fourteenth Brooklyn
Eighty fourth New York volunteers Then
the Confederates began to advance down Oak
Ridge on the flank Of the line formed along
the run in 3IcPherson's woods, this regiment
charged sweep of over quarter of mile,
and afterward swung in at one end OF the
railroad cut, heading off Davis Mississippi
brigade aud capturing nearly the whole com
mand The story of all these regiments is
not told by the losses, heavy though they
were The glory lies in the work they did,
brlvely contesting the ground inch bylinch,
and keeping at it after every second man in