San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1892-03-01
Killing a Man in Battle.

Killing a Man in Battle.
Detroit Free Press.
They do not call it murder when
men meet to slaughter each other in
battle. They simple report go many
dead, wounded and missing. When
YOU fire into the smoke cuncealing the
other battle line you fire in the hope
TO kill or wound. Tt is your duty.
Battles cannot be won without kill
ing. You load and fire-load and fire
move to the right or ieft-advance
or retreat, and when the battle is
over you may have fired fifty rounds,
and yet you have not had q near
sight of the enemy; you have simp
1y fred at MIN. and you can nOtvouch
shat q single one of your bullets has
found living target.
Here is q brigade of us in battle
line across an old meadow; our right
and left join other brigades. We
have thrown down the rail fence,
gathered logs and brush and sod, and
erected breast work 1t Is only q
slight one, but enough to shelter us
when lying down. A division of the
enemy breaks G. yer half mile away
and comes marching down upon Us.
The field pieces behind us open on
their solid columns, but they are not
checked. Under the smoke we can
zee the work of the shells, but they
cannot halt that macs of men. The
grape and canister does awful execu-
fion, but there should be q dozen
guns inst. ad Of six.
They are going to charge US. The
guns can not prevent that. Orders
run along the line, and we are wait
ing until every bullet, no matter if
fired by q soldier with his eyes shut,
must hit q foe. l select my man
while he is yet beyond range, have
eyes for no other. He Is q tall soldier
ly fellow, wearing the stripes of q
sergeant. AS he comes nearer ina
CINE that he is looking as fixedly at
me as am at him. / admire his
GOODNESS. He looks neither to the
right nor to the left. The man on
his right is hit and goes down, but he
does not falter.
am going to kill that man! / have
rest for my gun on the breastwork.
aud when the order comes to fire /
can not miss him. He is living bis
last minute OIL earth! We are calmly
waiting until our volley shall prove q
vertiable flame of death. Now they
close up the gaps, and we can hear
the shouts of their officers as they
make ready to charge. My men is
still opposite me. he still seems tn
be locking at me and no one else. I
know the word is coming in q few
seconds more, and aim at his chest
I could almost be sure of hitting him
with q stone when we get the word to
fire. There Is billow of smoke-a
billow of tlame-a fierce crash, and
1000 bullets are fired into that COM
pact mass of advancing men. Not
one voIley alone, though that worked
horrible distinctions but another and
another, until there was no longer a
living man to fire at.
, The smoke drifts. slowly away
men cheer and yell-we can see the
meadow beyond hesped with dead
and dying men. We advance our
line AS we 60 forward look for my
victim. He is lying on his back.
eyes half shut and fingers clutching
at the grass. He gasps draws up his
legs and straightens them out again,
and Is dead as pass on. 1 have
killed my man! My bullet alone
struck him, tearing that CHASTITY
wound In his breast, and am entitl-
ed to all the honor. Do I swing my
cap and cheer? Do point him out and
expect to be congratulated? No. [
have no cheers. L feel no elation.
/ feel that murdered him, war or no
war, and that his agonized face will
haunt me through all the years of my
life.