The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1891-12-15

Cross brigade went in with the Irish
brigade, soon to be followed by their COM
panion brigades under Gen. Zook and Col
Brooke What harvest Death reaped on
that wheatfeld is an old story. The Fifth
bore its share as usual and Cross was NOR
tally wounded in front of its uplifted ban
ner while melting his boys, as he had ever
done in the heat of battle. The next day
the regiment was under fire from Lees
batteries during Pickett's charge and came
out of the fight with death roll of "a, the
total killed and wounded numbering so.
This left but 81 men and officers, not more
than one full company, to march back
with the victors to Virginia.
But the organization was too glorious to
be given up, and the remnant was sent
home to the old state to fill up the gaps
and renew its shattered banners. IL re-
ported back to the army and resumed its
place in the brigade on June 1, 1864, on the
field of Cold Harbor On the Sd it trotted
out at daybreak, 517 strong, with arms at
shoulder SHIFT and dashed forward half
a mile in the famous grand assault, bound
ing over the parapet of a Confederate bat
terry without firing shot. This was Bar
lows celebrated charge, unequaled for
duU IL JDe slaughter
suffered by the assailants.
The Fifth passed through the battery
and rushed for the enemy's second line,
but was met on the way by strong opposi-
tion from the front and both TANKS. No
support coming TO its aid, retreat was nec-
essary, and it fell back TO the battery, dis
putting every foot of ground in a hand to
hand struggle. The Confederates that had
been captured in the outward rush repudi-
ated their paroles, and catching up weapons
from the fallen New Hampshire boys
opened fire upon their late conquerors.
At the battery the conflict was fierce in
deed, the artillerists throwing themselves
in front of the retreating men and laying
hold TO capture them by main force But
the gallant fellows of the Fifth rallied TO
one another's aid and beat down their foes
one by one. A captain of the Fifth was
one of the last TO abandon the battery, and
his parting blow was a sword cut that
split a Confederate artilleryman from the
shoulder down, leaving him dead and
nearly decapitsted beside his gun. Terri
bic work, this, and the Bloody Lane, with
its savage war whoop, and the stone wall,
and the wheatfeld, bat such is war, If one
GOES in to win. In this charge pa fell,
OF which 90 were killed
The regiment went on into the Peters
burg campaign under Gen. Nelson Miles
as brigade and division leader. In the
Petersburg assaults il lost Is killed and
its second colonel, G. E. Hapgood, wound
ed Col. W. A. Crafts, who had passed
through every grade from sergeant up,
next took command. In the trenches il
lost Il killed and in various battles l6 Ia
the Appomattox campaign it lost killed
at Sailors Greek, and at FarmSjlIe, April
z. was overmatched in desperate charge,
losing % killed, 60 wounded and s. cap
tured out of 8 companies engaged. Capt.
Kicker, the bloody swordsman of Cold
Harbor, was in command and was wound
ed three times before he surrendered his
coloTs. He was soon recaptured, and the
flag was restored 10 its brave hearted de-
tenders at Appomattox two days later.
So it was that the Fighting Fifth"
rolled up its awful list of killed in bat
tie. GP L. kILME6