The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1892-06-09

Ieadipg division was that of Gen Rirnev.
and the vanguard OF that was. Berdan's
| brigade-the First regiment scouting and
| the Second in reserve The Confederates
| were seen in the distance making good time
| in the wrong direction, and Berdan nushed
| his scouts we'll forward to look into mat
| tiers. They met some Confederates on
guard over road that ran on into the one
along which jackson marched. and with
| shareholders logic sent them to the rear.
| The Confederates rallied around an old
| foundry and tried to turn the tables on
Berdan's men and outshoot them. But the
| men in blue charged in true soldier fashion.
surrounded the place and bagged the whole
| lot. Farther along they ran upon the re-
serves to the Confederate skirmishers-the
| Twerty-third Georgia--chased them into a
railroad cut and closed in upon both ends
of the gorge. A few dead shots made
the Georgians recall the old adage about
discretion versus valor, and give In to the
argument. Berdan captured 365 men and
10 officers in this haul, and was going ahead
on the same lines when, owing to some
scare, Hooker recalled Sickles from his
hunt. Sickles recalled Birney and Birney
recalled Berdan Then Jackson's battalions
marched on around to the Union rear with
nobody to say, Halt, who goes there?"
until the mischief was done. In two days
fighting at Charlottesville Berdan kept
the First on the skirnish line in close con
test with the enemy's crack rifemen. Both
sides shot to kill, and the regiment counted
it's 80 victims, IL OF them carrying death
wounds.
Gettysburg found Sickles and Birney and
Berdan still pulling together. Sickles, as
restless as ever: no sooner III learned that his
line than he felt inquisitive about what the
Confederates could do or would do in the
country adjacent Birney's was the left
division of Sickles' corps, and in front of
his outpost lay strip of woods that
screened the regions beyond from view in
the Union camps. A hundred of Berdan's
First regiment stole. into the woods and
the steady crack of their rifles announced
that the marksmen had their game in
sight. Birney told Berdan to take another
100 men, with regiment of infantry to
back them up, and scour the country
farther to the left. Starting from the
Peach Orchard the scouts went along the
road westward to the S1arfeld house and
disappeared over the ridge Their steps
led into broad valley that hugs the steep
mountain side opposite Little Round Top,
and very soon the familiar interval shots
gave warning that the enemy had been
sighted in that quarter also. Willcox's
brigade, of Anderson's division, the adj
vance guard of Lees column, that was
marching stealthily around to assault
Meade's left, had just reached that point.
Berdan's skirmishers took to the trees and
hov y L
huge bowlder for citadel, and poured a
fire into Willcox's leading regiment that
surprised and staggered it. The Confeder-
ates were ambushed in certain sense, for
they were not looking for anything of the
kind at that time and place. Wilcox sent
a second regiment to aid the first and Ber-
dan called in his helpers. After twenty
minutes of this busar7hacking the Sharp
shooters beat retreat, and then Sickles
knew and Meade knew that Lee was
edging along toward Round Top.
The bloody Peach Orchard battle opened
not long after Berdan's plucky scout
ended, and the First regiment took a place
targets they had, too, for awhile, when
Longstreet's deep and we'll closed ranks
advanced boldly to the attack.
The Second regiment has meanwhile
climbed up among the powders on Little
Round Top to turn their farsearching eyes
upon the exposed places south and west, or
still beyond and beyond Sickles' menaced
left. The enemy is seen sneaking up
behind the woodlands, ridges, farms and
stone cross fences, and the Sharpshooters
glide down the mountain, through DEVILS
Den, into the wooded loop bordering the
Wheat Field. This has become Sickles' left
by a sharp bend back from the Peach
Orchard. The Sharpshooters crawl out
among trees and bushes, well on to the
broad plains where Longstreet's veterans,
led by the fiery Hood, are crouching low
and creeping up to make their mad plunge
for Round Top. One Confederate battery
is silenced and charging regiment breaks
three times in the face of the bullseye
shots of Berdan's rifemen. Then the
scouts retire Indian fashion, stopping for
pick shots only, and the whirlpool of battle
seethes around the Wheat Field and DEVILS
Den to the bese of Little Round Top.
Sharpshooting is ended for the day on that
ground, for the contestants are at arms
length and brute force takes the place of
skill.
At the Wilderness, Spottsylvania, Cold
Harbor and Petersburg the regiments
fought together in their unique roles.
Their highest losses were at the Wilder
ness and Spottsylvania. In the First regi-
ment 1 1893 men showed on the rolls and 1853
of them were killed. The wounded num-
bered 1893 and the casualties reached an
average Of 40 per cent. The death roll was
over 10 per cent. The Second showed LIS
names on the roll. Of these 125 were killed
and 1877 wounded. The percentages were
the same as in the First. AS place of
safety the skirmish line is not to be recon-
mended, but this sad boast can be made
for Berdan's men that they sold their lives
dearly, and perhaps sent more Confeder-
ates to dust than any other regiments in
the army. The First regiment lost it's killed
in twenty-four separate battles; the Second
in twenty-one Both were engaged on sew
eral other fields. GEORGE L. KILMER
One Thing That 1t Pays For.
sDeclined with thanks?' he asked, as
the young author came out of the pub
I;ebinot ho,1se with a roll - ,.,,,,,,scr;o+