The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1889-09-11
Horrible Memories OF the American
War.

Stanhope Sans, in the Atlanta Jour.
nal, writes The battle of Chick.
amauga was altogether the most
stragic strife of modern time. Wound.
ed soldiers are said to have been burnt
alive at Chattanooga. .....
The real history of that fight can not
be told in the marble sculpture of some
magnificent memorial Of victory. 1t
was written once, and best written,
upon the hearths of thousands who
saw the death struggle, in the shrieks
of wounded men, dying in deserted
heaps between the lines of battle, OF
perishing hopelessly and miserably in
the flames kindled by the torch, or by
fiery shot. The dead were not those
alone who had been mortally wound
ed. Want of surgical attention, want Of
water, and the flames that swept over
the parched field in an onset which no
soldier could withstand, swelled the
fatal list. .r'..
AS pictured to me by soldiers who
had fought throughout those two terri
BILE days, the scenes must have been
horribly pathetic.
"My regiment was in the first
charge of Ector and Wilson's bri-
gade - said an old soldier to me. II
fell in the front line at the farthest
point we pushed to in the assault, and
when the brigade fell back before
Baird's charge, I was left between the
lines. Other wounded soldiers had fal.
len close to me, and / could hear their
low means between the Kissing shot.
Bullets hurled above US and raked
the earth abou us onall sides.
Branches, cut from the trees lby shot
and shell, fell like hailstones. Now
the Federals would charge over us to
be driven back by the Confederates ;
but always we lay there in the path OF
the bullets, and one by one died SLOW
ly. The second day the; flames crack .
ling. in the woods took up the role OF
destruction, though they did not reach
me before the rebel yell that Sunday
evening told me that we had won. l
was picked up that evening, after ~.
ing wounded two days between the
lines.',
This would seem to be bad enough,
but it was not the worst. The woods
were as dry as powder, and they were
in some way set on fire during the
fight of Sunday. The widow Glenn, ,s
house, Rosecrans headquarters, was
burned down. All through the woods
that skirted the right side of the Dry
VALLEY road, there had been terrific
fighting and heavy slaughter. The
dead and wounded numbered the
ground. Through this corpse laden
grove swept the long line of fire. 1t
ieaped from twig from leaf to leaf, and
from copse to copse. Neither blue nor
grey was spared by this barbarian
spoiler. Nor did the dead only consul
tute this enormous funeral pyre the
wounded soldiers, stricken down 6y
shot, writhed and groaned amid the
II saw where dying men lay in the
track of the fire." said Confederate
soldier. "but I could do nothing. l
was wedged in the line and on wild
rush at the enemy. There was only
one way to go-straight ahead. When
/ came back, the ground had been
swept by the flames and the Woundeo
had ceased their groahing." :, 49,,
."On Sunday morning." SAID the
same soldier, ''as our division was pc
ing hurried forward to support the
centre, I noticed a little hut in the
woods in which were crowded at least
fifty, possibly a hundred wounded
men. No surgeon was with them.
They had no water: no food, no one
to offer consolation. They were absolu-
tely alone-awaiting death. Late that
evening I returned though the same
wood. The flames had swept away,
the hut. I know not how many had
perished, but I could see charred flesh
and bones in the ashes"
Poor Lyle was dying in Chatta-,
nooga, mortally wounded in that
ghastIy fight. But he had friends and
peace around him, "The path to Sty-
gian horrors" was lighted for these
Wretches by the flame OF their own
funeral pyre.-Herald Of Peace.