The Yakima herald. [volume] (North Yakima, W.T. [Wash.]) 1889-1914, 1892-11-03

enemy coming on charger The muEzles
Of the cannons may be pointed so as %
sweep the entire front and leave no path
way unscathed by missiles. Behind their
guns the artillerymen may stand and hurl
large shot or pour canister into the ranks
Of the assailaHts almost At will. The op-
puSing artillery Is unable to fire upon q
battery while a party Is charging IL for
fear Of hurting friends, and at the supreme
moment IL comes to a tussle between can
non and rifles or bayonetS. The slAshing
shells one would suppose could Guido bull
lets, the showers Of canister overmatch
the bayonets. Sometimes 1t turns out 60.
but not always
The first time that saw an array Of our
cannon on the battlefield. said to a COM
rade, How can we help winningi" With
more experience than |, he exclaimed. Its
all right II they'll stand" meaning the
artillerymen. We were infantry, and
said cheerfully, "0f course they'll stand II
we stand by them" soon found out
that ] would prefer the other horn Of the
dilemma, to charge the enemy's guns
rather than to stand BY our own guns
while repelling a charge, II that charge
was worthy the name. The bloodiest ex-
perience Of this kind during the civil war
Tell to the lot Of the Eleventh Ohio battery,
n the little fight at Iuka, Miss, Sept. 10,
1862 It was an accidental battle and that
partly accounts for the extraordinary ex-
posture Of the artillery.
Toward the close Of the day Sanborn's
brigade Of Rosecrans' army was marching
along q high road leading to the town,
feeling the way in anticipation Of striking
n Confederate outpost. The route lay
through a strip Of woods that separated
two wide clearings held by the enemy,
and upon entering the pass Sanborn's
column drew q heavy fire from COnfed-
crate rihemen and artillery. The place
would have proven an ambush had San
born pushed ahead, but he halted his line
and the enemy quickly attempted to crush
1t before It could prepare for battle. There
was no time to lose and the nearest bat
terry, which happened to be the Eleventh
Ohio, was placed on a slight elevation at
the edge Of the wood. where It could sweep
the roadway and also the nearest edges Of
the clearings on both sides Of Il. The DO.
sitiOn Of the guns was an ideal one, wide
range to the right and left oblique and a
slope along the whole front. Regiments
Of infantry were placed on each flank Of
the battery and in rear, and as far as Il
WNAh NuG AAAAg VI NaAANAl WtAa HEAAGGhs
Looking at the plan on paper. most men
Of experience would choose a place benInd
those six cannon IL they had to be in Il at
ALL The troops took their stations under
heavy fire Of shell and bullets, and were
no sooner settled down to business than
the Confederates charged three columns
deep upon the crest where the battery
stood. The Orleans opened their guns with
canister and the infantry on each side gave
the assailants volley after volley Of bullets.
The charge was repulsed, and no doubt the
men who had hand in the work thought
they could easily repel o second and even a
third. The battery was still intact. It's
fighting force Of q officers and men quite
unframed. and enough ammunition on
hand to double load the guns for the nexL
encounter.
There were other Union guns In position
on the field, but the Confederates were
bent upon silencing those Of the Eleventh
Ohio first. They reformed ant dashed in
again with vigorous yells. A dense thicket
screened them at the start, then they fell
below the bank Of a ravine, finally emerg-
ing into full view AZ the distance Of 100
yards from Sanborn's line. The Ohioana
let go their double charges Of canister.
the infantry keeping company for time
with well aimed bullets But while the