Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1891-04-17
AZ bermuda Hundred.

~, A prlSed, retreated,
~ III and again rallied
~ ! S on the 18th of
(---.ese2@ October, 1864,
when the rebel
|,GgHIHINNIN/WIforces under Gen
eral Early, at
Strassbourg, in
"H7A.N#IHZIWI the Shenandoah
Nm, '@| Valley, SO sud
k@Iz@ denly and uncer-
|n;ouslv called upon Sheridan's
4, We had helped to pursue the
Eating host down the valley toward
|chburg. and, coming back to Win
tier, had seen the barns and hay
* on both sides of the pike ascend
lack smoke to the heavens, leaving
(out subsistence the remorseless
es Of suerillas as we'll as the reg
forces of the Confederates, and
" had settled down in comfortable
tiers northeast of the beautiful
! Of Winchester, Va, fondly hop
Eowinter there, dreaming of parties
dances among the gentry of the
and envious with those fair
ems We had assiduously courted
|sintance beforehand, when like a
derclap from a cloudless sky came
brder to rack knapsacks and get
tomove,
Eanwhile the siege OF Petersburg
een vigorously maintained, Grant
ching his lines further and further
nd the doomed city like the mighty
Of an octopus. General Butler
engaged in the perilous and pom
Undertaking Of digging the ever
|5able Dutch Gap canal, and be-
his extreme left and Grants
al Bermuda Hundred, was a gap
recently, but patrolled at inter-
the PECULIAR formation Of it's wales
bills and dense woods forming o
alprotection against sudden at
But it had been deemed ex-
but to extend the lines and close
Jap; formidable line of breast
svas thrown up. 1t was our for
Of war to be ordered to occupy
Of this territory, and from City
We marched to Bermuda Hun
amid a driving snowstorm. What
Pur dlsmay and disgust to find up
arriving that we. were reliev-
a regiment Of Uncle Sans
ed troops, who had built comfort
hnts under the shadow of the for
ton: But, oh, so dirty and so
lellms But the snow was still
fs' the cold increasing, and night
ng on; so, with wry faces, we took
Fsslon of the camp, leaving house
ING Tor more propitious day.
our right We're the mighty bat
commanding Fort Darling and
betting the toilers in the canal,
unwieldy, but powerful and
FclnS; on our left, the extreme
OF the Army of the Potomac,
III front the woods were of such
Sc thickness that on more than
|ccaslon single outposts lost them
IN those intricate wilds and fell
'Ae hands of the enemy. Con-
vigilance was the watchword,
slert to the wiles of the foe lurk-
''l \ the cedars and swamps; we
sept, often, behind protecting
u earth and logs, with musket
u.s. Duty grew irksome, tedious,
~ mhearable. All the horrors
Virginia winter were upon us,
no sleet, wind and storm, with
easlonal snow, kept us confined in
!asters behind and in the pro,
embrace OF the Notifications
NOT on duty. This monotonous
'lletimes was enlivened by the
'rol oeserters, lank, lean butter.
VINO would fly to the stars and
10 be fed, clothed, and housed,
ssefence to slow starvation and
ufe' At other times a skirmish
is picket line, an exchange Of
-, from the distant Fort Darling
W. Two and three hundred pound.
a aaoe the earth heave and tremble.
" ~ !nongh, toward the spring Of
Il q'let OF our camp was rudely
,"ru by rumors Of an approach
~ t"t'L-martial. A sergeant and q
ani naa been sent back to theil
, aa IRON some hospital, one
~ with desertion, the other, the
~ WIN accepting bride to aid the
s W escape. General Ferrera, in
'ae9 . OF our division, promptly
' a'1 a eourt-martial, which, aftel
naaoefatlon, condemned both thu
-efs 10 be shot to death by mus
.u aaay of the execution dawneo
t lua frosty: A plateau, shaded
"e enemy's view by q strip O
- INV was selected as the stage O
ns; MIA enacted in such sad reality
'l ns had spent their las
r Gn earth; this days sun would
49, AGAIN to greet their eyes.
h e 81 command, with the ex
y, a double line of pickets ant
- We're drawn up in an ope,
~, 70 witness the scene. Tn,
a A. =, commanding and suit occu
idop iace a little to the rear o
W ol the square on a knoll al