The western sentinel. [volume] (Winston-Salem, N.C.) 1887-1926, 1890-04-17
A MAELSTROM OF DEATH
A SOLDIERS FEELINGS DURING THE
BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG.


It was Time which Made the Blood Tin
gle and Men went Mad with Wild Ex-
citement.
We had been held in reserve on the
second day at Gettysburg SO long that
men and horses became nervous and
afraid, writes an ex Confederate in the
Detroit Free Press. My horse was an
old veteran who would drop his head
aud pick at the green grass with bat
terry firing on either side of us. But
as the moments dragged away on this
occasion he evinced Il woman's ner-
vousuess. [ looked down the lines
and saw that the alignment was con-
stantly being broken by the horses
backing up or forging ahead They
could see the fighting to the right and
in front and the smoke from tbs I'm
ion battery to the left and in front of
us drove back over us, and the horses
breathed it in and blew it out of their
nostrils i'll gasp.s
rremor of excitement-a sort Of
excitement "a sort of shiver-ran
down the line.
The wind had shifted Il bit to blow
the smoke to our left, and down across
the meadows we saw the Confederate
cavalry forming WITH the green woods
for a background. Jeb Stewards men
were there-Asfb by's men-men from
Hampton's Legion-Imboden's Vir-
ginians -Rosser's Brigade, and scouts
from Mosby's command There were
fragments from every cavalry com
mand we had met on the turnpikes of
old Virginia. and there wasn't
squadron which wouldn't stand for
charge. The battery began firing
more rapidly and there wasn't a man
of us who did not realize what was
coming long enough before We got the
word Some of the horses knew it,
too. You could feel them filling their
lungs and stringing up their nerves
for hard work.
The troopers in gray wheeled into
line under fire which must have
tried the nerves of the bravest, aud
when the compact mass got the word
to advance they were coming for our
battery, which was without infantry
supports. There we stood, two thin,
| short lines, representing 1000 dra
goons, but not numbering half that
figure, aud body of five u one was
moving down upon US. [ saw several
of the gu.ners look back. They saw
the nj |, and wondered, perhaps, why
we did not run i.way.
'Attention
l. =! l. u. l.
was given.
"Right dress y
1--WE were minute ahead of the
command
"Forwari-lraw sabers = guide
rigIt-trot" The blue moves South.
| W. are going t.' meet in the meadow
below. We must hold them back un
til infantry supports can be brought
| up. Every man knows that he is
! going down into maelstrom of death,
| but no one lags. A strange exultatl u
creeps into the heart. 1t is as if you
had heard some grand, good news and
wanted to shout over it and tell every
body of your good lnck.
"Gallop-charge Y
Death! Why, if one could die a
score of times instead of only once,
there would be no fear. | sit 50 light
ly in the saddle that my horse seems
to have no weight to carry. He skins
over the ground as if he has wings,
and | begin cheering and yelling in
chorus with my comrades. 1t is a
living missile of 800 men thrown at
the front Of $1,000 What a crash
thare will be. How horses will go
down and men pitch from their sad
dies. Afraid? No! Why, man, l
would not miss the scene for a year s
life! My hand clutches the saber
with strength [ did not know I pos
sessed. feel a hunger for blood such
as | never felt before.
| We have driven through the mass
and the bugles sound the call to gath
er for the return The horses obey it
without touch Of the rein It seems
that the whole living mass is riding in
j, a circle and that there is blood on
every man and horse.
All of a sudden we shoot out from
under the smoke cloud into the sun
shine not the five hundred, but the
three huEdred-and the battery opens.
We are to the right of it, and it sends
grapeshot into wild mob to drive it
back into the cover of the woods It
is sight to look down over that field.
Five hundred deaG and wounded men
and horses are lying there. 1t is only
as | sit on my horse and look over the
field that [ begin to feel weak and
grow frightened. My head begins to
swilu-,hings grow dark. and scme
one hel ps me to the ground. | have
a pistol ball in my shoulder and the
blood is running down my back from
saber cut ON the head.