Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1889-05-02
IN THE WILDERNESS.
Time Has Made Little Change in the Fa-
nous Old Battlefield.

Time Has Made Little Change in the Fa-
nous Old Battlefield.
All who have in mind the late civil
war can not but recall some of the
scenes that transpired around the Will
derness. lying about twelve miles to
the west of Fredericksburg. Here,
every body remembers. was fought the
bloody battle of the Wilderness, Nav 5
and 6, 1864, and in the same vicinity
the battle of Charlottesville, in the
spring of the year 1868. 1t was during
this campaign of 1868 that the South
ern army suffered a great blow by the
loss of one of its best men-General
"StonewalP' Jackson. He was wound
ed by his own men through their mis-
taking him and his staff for the cavalry
of the Northern army. Three balls took
effect in his arms-two in his left and
one in the hand of his right. While
he was being borne from the field one
of the litter-carriers was shot down,
causing the litter to fall to the ground
injuring jackson much by the fall. He
was then taken to the hospital at Will
derness Run, where he died eight DAYS
afterwards. His remains rest now at
Lexington, Va, which was his home.
Though both armies lost valuable men,
all agree that ''Stonewall" jackson was
the most important who fell here.
The Wilderness, as it is viewed to-
day. does not present much material
change since the days when so many
noble hearts ceased to beat in uphold
ing the cause which they believed to be
right. The growth of timber which
stood when the war began was mostly
destroyed by the camping of the two
armies in its midst during a winter,
but the growth at present is very dense
so dense that it is nearly impossible
to make ones way through it. This
great body of woods may we'll be called
the Wilderness, as it embraces thou
sands of acres Of densely wooded land,
unbroken by cultivation except on the
''old plank" road which runs from
Fredericksburg to Orange Courthouse,
distance of forty miles. 1t was on
this old road that the armies marched,
after the battle of Fredericksburg. to
Charlottesville. 1t was originally
laid with what was called planks. and
from which it derived the name of the
plank road" These planks were
nothing more than logs hewn so that
they would fit closely together and
were fiat on top, which made very
smooth road. Another great advan-
tage derived from such road was that
it never became impossible by reason
of being cut up during rainy seasons by
constant travel.
Since the running of a narrow-gauge
railroad through this country the old
road has not been kept up, but in many
places one may see some of the
old planks strewn along the roadside.
1t was about four miles above Chancel- |
lorsville, on this road. that jackson
fell. The spot until very recently was
marked only by a large white rock.
This has now been replaced by small
but pretty monument Of marble sur
rounded by neat iron railing. Near
by stands the tree under which he fell |
from the litter. The visitor will be
struck by the remarkable preservation |
of the breastworks which were thrown |
up during the war. They stand out in
relief as plainly as they did the day |
they were abandoned. Stretching along |
unbrokenly for miles. these old breast
works seem to stand as monuments to |
those who fell behind them in the dis |
charge of their duty. The mounds of
earth and logs behind which the cannoa
were placed are still to be seen in the |
same state of preservation. do not |
know of any place which impresses the
visitor more than this scene of the /
battle-fields of the Wilderness.
During the summer visitors to these |