Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1888-03-11
|PLUNKETT'S STORY.
TYCIDENTS At THE BATTLE OF CHANCEL-
louisville.
A Brave Lte,e Cir, Who Chung Fast to Her
Bl5y Brother Through a Shower Of
Lad TIL the Firing Stopped,

Here said PluGkett rs he handed
over a slip Of yellow paper, ser fellow wrote
these lines on a cartridge-bOx for er table,
aud was while the balls was flying and the
bombs we're bursting, and before he got
through they were ordered forward, and
picked i. up from where he let it fall in
the confusion, and I've kept it, and
Browns gals say if he'd er flushed it it
would er been or pcem.n Here are the lines.
Pieces grew thick at Characteristic
And shells were falling fast,
The ground was covered uec with straw,
And twigs and w.tIercd grass.
The battle ragged, the COntcds charged
NuJjrJve the blue coat. back,
And held the field, with wounded strcwu,
Amid the battle rack.
The cry of "Firo" above the din
Nu~ heard, and like q storm
The flames rushed DER the battle ground
Der many Il soldiers form.
The men in bin took i'm the scene
With horror and lislHy.
Between them aul their burning friends
There doomed u line Of gray;
FIX payonets, the quick command
OF officers nm blue
Wen save oar comrades from the fire,
or we will perish too"
steady, steady. the battles RAGE
Was iurcp,J of the DAY.
But not II single backward step
Wa, tprC.tthat line OF gray
81 could tell you n heap erBout that
igh'." continued the old man.
"CbfncelItysvilie is NJ the river from
Fredericksburg, and / think it's what was
afterwards called the "Wilderuess, - when
Old General Grant got dow there. Thar's
or world o pine land erloug there, but they
the long pines like we have in
Georgia, they are kind Of stuhby like, and
the limbs come down nearly TO the ground,
and I seed General Wright on er horse
what they said the ladies Of Augusta give
10 him, 20 er sailing ermoug them limbs,
and got his long hair tangled up Ground
them and liked to have got snatched ofrtu
the horses back.
Hooker was the Yankee general At
Charlottesville. aud the boys among the
Yankees would tell our fellows from across
the river how he'd fight, and Mr.. Lincoln
came down to Fredericksburg and reviewed
the army, and we could see them on the
other side of the river, and our fellows be-
Iiu to think that they wouldn't have old
3urnsides to deal with, but Hooker
couldn't do nothing with Lee nor none OF
EN-. rs long as he had anything like an
army.
But spoke oil man Brown, "Hooker
made Gorden's brigade skin outen the
1-eaStNorks down at fredericksburg, and
AZ they mn half bent, the Yankees let EN-
haveif. and / never seed the like Of men
shot under the shoulder-hlade during of
the war. but IL wac because they were
Il linked the reason they run.
But" resumed Piuakett, what | was
gaiug To tell you erbout was the fire dur
.ng Of the battle
The bombsbells set the woods Dre,
and there wascc lotsO fellows burned, and
lf ever on seed lighting II was there. The
Confeds had lust run the Yankees back
and held possession Of the field, and when
the woals caught on fire the Yankees tried
10 regain the ground, so as to save their
wounded. but they might Just rs well been
a- huttiug crgaiu Stone mountain, for the
C5nfr1s wanted 10 save their wounded, too,
aud they stood. Three times the Yankee
charged. and they Got nearly close enough
20 cluh guns, hut they had to 20 back, and
pretty s-0n the details heat the fire and
rot il stopped. aud every body was glad of
tor there waru't no old soldiers but
wanted prisoners treated well, and
they were all treated we'll on both sides as
lon Ne they were in The hands of men who
fourht-it was fellows that didn't fight
thu. trr.trl prisoners bad, and il was fsl-
that didn't fight that gets SO tar
alcinue mad. Bullets and bombs had er
mighty soothing effect on n fellows tenn
r.r. Ig,stwise it did on mine.
But IN tell yOu one thing" continued
Plunkctt alter . pause, there vas er
mighty hig difference in the looks of the
prisoners captured in Virginia and these
here fellows what Sherman had with him
Lees army captured er many er fellow that
Won couldn't tel no more what he was talk
ing erbout than YOU could er duck qua
erround. Thuy hadn't been over
here long. and ! may be mistaken, hut |
don't think they fit like these Western fel.
lows. but they ft well enough fer me-"
And mn, too. ~ cHimcd in Brown, IN
able longer to contain himself.
Bot" continued Pluukett, ''blvOnets
hadn't much use in the war, ccptin t.
souza down in the ground and keep your
gun standing up. You can't find many
folks that ever fought with hoyonets, Int
whau the war first broke out every fellow
that went out had to have a great big
butcher knife, and Governor Brown had
some pixies made. to be used instead OF
blyoucts, but we soon learned better than