The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1892-04-15
TentinS on The Old Camp Ground
Or Co. G.. 10th VT. Vols to the Front.
BIZ Lieut. II. II. WHITE.
MO. ~

ana the army OF the Potomac hau bee
cut in two, and our brigade had close,
the gapj and saved the army from
disaster. 1t was Gen. Sedgewick's in
tention to make the gallant deeds o
Gen. Morris and his brigade known
through a special order, and give then
the place in history to which this affai
entitled them.
When the break occurred Gen. Sedge
wick was in consultation with Gen
Grant and the Corps commander a
Army Headquarters, and he was still
there when the courier arrived with
the glorious news that the enemy had
been hurled back to his own lines by
MOrris's brigade, and the gap closed
When Gen. Sedgewick returned TO his
command he at once called upon Gen.
Morris and cOmplemented him in the
highest terms. He said "Gen. Morris
when we are once more in camp
shall issue an order and give you and
the regiments of your brigade the credit
to which they are so justly entitled"
Before that time came Gen. Sedge
wick was killed and Gen. Morris
severely wounded. In the death of Gen.
Sedgewick the Union cause lost one of
its most brilliant and trusted leaders,
while the 10th Vt. lost the credit it had
so CALAMITY earned and which would
have given the regiment at once
standing among the many gallant regi.
ments of the grand old State.
During the night of, and following
the break a new and much stronger
position was taken up in the rear of
the one then occupied by the left wing
of the army. A portion of the troops
were withdrawn to the new position
and worked all night constructing
works and otherwise Strengthening the
new position.
Early the following morning the
troops then holding the first position
were Withdrawn. AS we moved to the
rear the enemy followed us. Before
reaching the new position we had to
descend hill. The enemy here bore
down hard and by the time we had
reached the bottom it became necessary |
to call halt and drive back the enemy's |
advance. This done strong skirmloh
line was thrown forward to hold the |
enemy IN check, when the brigade
moved by the flank to the new position
then in sight on the hill beyond. Our
regiment brought up the rear and our
exposed position so tempted the enemy
that he decided to charge and capture
us. For short time it was terribly
exciting and looked very nuch as
though portion of the regiment were
booked for AndersOnvile. Had we
been in line of battle we could have
defended ourselves. | was looking
toward Col. Henry and expecting the
order to form line when my attention ,
was attracted to beautiful little grove :
OF pines just to our right. Then | saw !,
behind the grove an artillery officer :
OF course it did not take long to I'M ;,
degstand the situation. The little e
grove had just been planted there and 7
behind it and out of sight of the enemy ;.
was Sleeper's magnificent battery load i
ed to the muzzels with canister. They +
waited for our regiment to advance =
far enough to be out of range when :
those pine trees suddenly leaped from 8
the ground and six guns sent their
loads of canister crashing through the :
enemy's ranks. Our fear of Anderson
vile vanished with that one discharge.
The enemy went back faster than they
came. Their ranks had been terribly
shattered while the killed and wound
ed covered the ground.
The 10th Vt. was soon in position
behind the new works with Sleeper's
battery in position on higher ground
just in our rear. All day long we laid
behind those works waiting and hoping
the enemy would attack; but they re-
ceived Sleeper's pills in alapathic doses
in the morning, and it had the effect of
keeping them quiet. They would Oc-
casionly attempt charge on our lines,
but there was no heart in it, and it
always ended before they were we'll in
reach of the grape and canister.
When night closed the fighting for
the day, it also closed the battle of the
Wilderness. Most of the troops were
withdrawn during the night and the
first of a long series of flank move
ments was begun. Our brigade was
left to hold the position until some
time the following day, with the hope
of holding the enemy as long as posi-
BILE, and our troops gain some advan-
tage in position when the new battle
field was selected.
The larger part of the rebel army
had already gone while those left be-
hind made every effort to keep up
appearances and if possible to convince
"Yank" that their whole force was
still there. They would start cheer
away on their right and slowly pass it
along to the left. 1t was decidedly
weak. "Dadd" Leavitt came near
giving the true state of affairs on their
line when he said "Boys there is only
one man doing all that cheering. He
is mounted and has been detailed to do
the cheering for the rebel army"
During the afternoon the last of our
L 4
took up the line of march for Spottsyl
%snia. Inc march was continued dur
ing the entire night, but the roads were
blocked with artillery and trains so that
but little progress was made. 1t was
a wild night. The soldiers were COM
nletelv worn out. They would drop
to the ground as soon as there was :
halt or delay of any kind and instantly
fall asleep. They would dream OF
charging columns of rebel cavalry ana
foot IN rnnpl an lmaQ1n- |