The Grenada sentinel. [volume] (Grenada, Miss.) 1868-1955, 1889-08-17
SPLENDID FIGHTING.
ceu. Boynton's Tribute to Con-
faderate ValOr at Chickamauga.
khe Most Desperately Contested Battle of
the Civil War--Losses Unsurpassed
I'm the History of Modern
Warfare.

rho M8sG DeSpeTdttly SohtCotCu IobeAO Va
the Civil Warehouses Unsurpassed
I'm the History of Modern
Warfare.
cen, H. V. Boynton in Commerclal-Gazette.
As one advances in the study Of the
attle of Chickamauga he must, at every
step, become more and more impressed
With the magnifcence of the Confeder-
ate fighting. Since the first assertion
that Cbickamauga was for both sides the
\ bIoodiest battle Of the war, in proportion
! 10 numbers ard the time of the engage
ment. and that it far outranked in the
|, percentage of killed and wounded any OF
tbe battles of modern Europe, there has
bpen an industrious searching of records,
Hath Of our own war and of recent IA
mous foreign campaigns, to test the ac-
curacy of the claims made for Chicka-
krauga. But The further the investiga-
tion'has proceeded, and it is now suf
6ciently completed to allow general re>
kults to be stated with certainty, the
more clearly the truth of the first asser-
tion has been made to appear. 1t is not
&trange, therefore, that the discussions of
khe past year, which have served to dis
kpel so many of the msapprehensions
(which clouded the public mind in regard
to this battle, and dwarfed it in the his.
to Of the country, should have created
Euch widespread interest in its real his
Htorv, and raised it at once to the very
afront rank of the most notable engage
fments of our war.
The marvel in German fighting in the
creat battle of Mars la Tour was PERFORM
led by the Third Westphalian Regiment.
|It suffered the heaviest loss in the Ger.
imam army during the Franco-Prussian
var. 1t went into the battle 5000
strong, and its loss was 494 percent. There
was nothing in the campaign of. which
this formed part which exceeded these
figures, and they became famous through
out the German army. And yet in our
war there were over so regiments whose
losses exceeded this. seventeen0of them
lost above 60 per cent, and quite num-
Der ranged from 70 to so. There were
over score of regiments on each side at
Chickamauga whose loss exceeded that
Of the Westphalian regiment.
But the object of this letter is more
PARTICULARLY to set forth the character OF
the splendid fighting performed by every
u portion of Braggs army on this noted
field in Georgia,
ATCLosE RANGE.
The battle of Saturday opened in front
III of Gen. Brannan, on the extreme Cons
federate right, and here brigade of For,
rests cavalry, dismounted, assisted al-
most Immediately by Confederate In
fantry, assaulted the Union lines. As
they we're driven back by an overwhelm-
ing fire they were continuously REIN
forced for nearly four hours. The bat-
n tie was continuous and Constantly at
short range. In fact, it was distin
H guished feature of the whole two days
Y battle that most Of The fighting was at
Il close range, much of it hand to hand,
with the bayonets and dubbed muskets
Fl Forests men in front of Brannan assauls
ted time and again, marching up into
n the very faces of the Union Infantry
and in their final effort came on fjul
lines deep, with their hats drawn down
over their faces, and bending forward
4 against the storm of lead as men face
the elements. The rapid fire of long ano
well-trained infantry seemed to have NJ
effect upon these veterans, and it was MOI
until they had marched up into the lint
offre of batteries, which, with double
shotted canister, en6laded their ranks a
amurderous range. that their advance
was checked. Even here they stood ant
fought with desperation. Ector and Will,
son of Walkers division, and Walthal
and Govan Of Liddell's, all marching t.
the assistance of those contending in ,hi
hell of battle, became, in turn, as hotl,
engaged themselves in front of Baird
and for hours on this portion of the fell
the scene lust described on the extrem
Confederate right was repeated for all
these brigades. At the first onset Wal
thall and Govan drove their lines owe
the flank Of the regular brigade and cap
tured its battery, only to be themselve
pushed back gain almost at the poin
of the bayonet, and so shattered frol
their own courageous exposure at shol
range as to be practically put out of th
fight for several hours Nothing coul
exceed the valor Of these troops. Thel
was nothing in the way of despera
fighting, either Of infantry or artiller.
which they were not called upon to fac
And they did face it with courage Sc
dom equalled, and which it was imposs
bic to surpass.
BLOODY WORK.
Thus the lines ofthetwo armies, marc
ing toward the sound of this furious ba
tie. closed in toward the positions
Brannan and Forest, each striking Il
other, as they came into position al
within reach, with as ponderous al
murderous blows as are ever deliver
in war. Cheatham moving to the su
port Of Walker, turned on johnson wi
irresistible force and drove him w
backward toward the Lafayette roa
when Palmer arriving on Johnsons rigl
these two divisions, acting in conce
drove Cheatham back mile, and bad
shattered his entire command. Ne
came Hood with Law and Bushrod job
sons divisions and one brigade of Pr
tons and these grappled with Davis a
Wood and Sheridan along lines of bs
tie that at times were scarcely two mt
ketlenghts apart, and thus till sundo,
this contest ragged in the thick woods
tween the Lafayette road and the Chic