The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1891-07-23
WARS BLOOD-SPOT,
The Soil SO Glutted With Human Blood
That 1t Turned Red.

That 1t Turned Red.
Should you ask a veteran of tho war, Of
fcer or private, to point out the blood-spot
of the war, the field on which the carnage
was greatest in given time. no two would
perhaps agree. Almost every battle of the
war would be named, and not one in hun
dred answers would locate the spot, says the
World.
twas at Spottsylvania, on the second day
of the fight. On the afternoon of the 1st,
as the Second and Fifth Corps moved up
against the earthworks browning Laurel
Hill. they were driven back after ight
lasting not over forty minutes, with loss
of almost 5000 killed and wounded. The
dead were ten to every wounded man.
There was no heavy fighting next day.
Grant was inspecting Lees lines for weak
spot. He found it at the point known
to every soldier on both sides and to history
as 1.-THE Horseshoe" In forming his battle
line Lee had left this stand. Indeed, his
troops had formed 1t as they came on the
field At this one spot his feld-works pro-
jected out from the main line like tongue
of land into bay. A whole Federal corps
might have been rushed against it in daylight
to its destruction, but Grant moved Han
cocks troops by night and stationed them
for dash in the gray of morning. They
rested on the fields OF the Brown farm and
the farms house was Hancock's headQuart-
erS From HancOck's lines to the Horseshoe
was less than half mile. with the route OBJ
structed by thlckets and second -growth
forest.
Just before daybreak of that early sum-
mer's morning with mist rising from the
fields and thickets, and while the birds
were family chirping in the trees as they
noted the coming of dawn, Hancock'S men
moved forward. The Confederate pickets
were only pistol-shot away. As they chal-
lenged, the lines got the word to double
quick, and the pickets were carried along
with rush. With cheers and wells. which
were heard two miles away. the Federals
struck the feldworkS-dashed over them
were upon the Con celebrates before even
single company had rallied. Some of the
defenders we're preparing an early break
fast-some yet slept. More than 5000 pris-
oners were captured in twenty minutes and
Lees right center was pierced.
Then came delay and confusion and the
golden moment was lost He formed new
line in rear of the Horseshoe, and the Fed
erals reached it to be driven back TO the
ground they had captured.
Now it was Lees turn. He did here what
he did at Gettysburg attempted the impOs-
sible. Five times within ten hours did he
burl great masses of troops ut Haneock's
front, but each time they were repulsed with
dreadful slaughter. Every charge was made
with momentum which carried the Con-
federates clear up to the held-works, and
there they were shot and bayonetted or
taken prisoner. After the third charge the
dead almost blocked the way, while the
cries of the wounded almost drowned the
roar OF musketry. There was not tree
nor bush nor twig nor blade Of grass which
was not cut by the flying missiles. The
earth was ridged and plowed and furrowed
as If some mighty drag had passed aud re-
passed. The very air seemed to blaze and
burn. After / o'clock it rained heavily,
and wounded men dragged themselves
about and drank out of the pools and hol-
lows. Those who could not crawl lay with
open mouths to cool their parched tongues
by catching few drops. In front of part
of Birney's division was a sink-hole. Into
this rain and blood collected until it was
full of red water, and around this we're
hundred wounded men, drinking and moan
ing.
Not when the sun went down-not when
the night came-but only at midnight did
Lee cease hurting his gray masses at Han
cocks front. Then the living could no
longer charge over the dead and wounded.
And when the morning came again and men
looked out on those acres of flesh and bush
they saw what was seen nowhere else dur
ing the long and bloody war-the earth hid
den from sight-the soil so glutted with
blood that when the burial parties cleared it
of its awful burden it had turned red!