The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1893-11-15
Amdersutt 9ute1Iigeuter.
After the Battle.

After the Battle.
Only those commanding corps and
divisions have posts from which they
survey battle field while the fighting
is on. If the fight is furious all along
the line, even the general in command
may not be able to take in over a half
mile of front. One may have been in
a dozen battles without witnessing
more than the manevers Of a brigade
| Battles usually end in withdrawal and
pursuit. In either case nearly all the
troops on both sides are put in motion
and so men who have been fighting all
day march away and see only the dead
and wounded in their front. But very
few wounded are brought in by night,
and the dead can wait for the sun to
rise. To move about on the field at
night, is to take your life in your
hand. There are ghouls robbing the
dead who will fire upon you, and there
are wounded men who will treat you
as foe. There are riderless horses
galloping about, while others madden
ed with the pain Of wounds, will
rush at you open-mouthed from the
darkness.
It is when morning comes again
that those left behind to bring in the
wounded, bury the dead and collect
the equipments, scattered over miles
of ground, perhaps can see and fully
realize how fierce and deadly the
conflict was. The dead are not all on
the battle lines. Here, where the re-
serves were posted, mile in the rear,
are the first of them. They had been
killed by solid shot and bursting
shell. They are lying in heaps, and
in nearly every case the face is cover
ed by poncho or Blanket. Down this
front Of mile in length we find a
dead man here and there as we ad-
vance, sometimes two or three to-
gether, but there are no wounded.
They were removed under fire. Half
mile in the rear of the battle line we
come upon the first of the men killed
by the musket fire. They were
not really under fire, but acting as
supports, and yet the ranks lost heav-
lily.
1t is curious to note the positions
Of the dead where the bodies have not
been interfered with. Nine out Of
ten are lying broad on their backs
| with arms outstretched; their feet
are pointed out all around the COM
pass, but more Of them lie with their
heads to the east than in any other
direction. The men shot in the head
are lying at full length; those shot
below the neck have one foot drawn
up and their fingers are clinched.
There is not on any face what you
would call a look Of pain or anguish,
and neither do you find smiles and
placidity. Look into the faces of 100
men killed in battle, and you will find
the same general expression, whether
young or old. 1t is a look of surprise
and fear. This look rests on the
faces of men killed in their tracks, as
it were. The mortally wounded man
may turn on his side to die, and you
may find him with smile on his face,
| he has had time TO breathe prayer,
to think Of wife and children
and home and realize that his hour has
come.
The battle line runs across high
way, over an old cotton field, across
meadow and into the woods: The
men made breastworks out Of rails
aud dirt. At one spot they had the
cover of stone wall at another the
banks Of winding creek. Here was
a brigade without the slightest cover,
rushing III to hold a gap in the line.
The dead and the wounded lie just as
they fell-fve dead to one wounded.
The enemy used grape and canister
from battery planted on that ridge,
and the missiles did terrible execu-
tion. Here along the breastworks the
men were lying down an fired from
that position. Nearly every dead man
still rests at full length. on his stom-
ach, though their faces seem half
buried in the grass. Many Of the
muskets still rest across the breast
works. Here for 300 feet we cannot
find wounded man. Most Of
the dead we're struck in the face or
throat.
With his back to the wall sits a
dead man who probably lived an hour
or two after he was hit. His knees
are drawn up for rest for his arms,
and thus his head is supported. Next
on his left is captain lying on his
back, with his outstretched right arm
still holding the sword, and that sword
rests across the body of another dead
man. The officer was struck fairly
between the eyes by the bullet. His
lips are parted, as If shouting a COM
mand when death came. We hesitate
for moment and then step over the
breastworks and advance to the creek.
At this spot it was midway between
the combatants. Night before last
friend and foe filed their canteens
here, sometimes elbow to elbow, but
purposely ignoring each others pres
ence. Here is the horror of the bat
! tlefeld. We knew it would be so, but
were impelled to come.
The banks of the creek are now here
less than 2 feet high; in some places
they are 5 and 6. The bed of the
stream is 6 or 8 feet wide, but the
flow of the water only half that and
from inches to a foot deep. On a
front Of half mile all the wounded
on both sides who could creep or pull
themselves along inch by inch made
for this creek as the fighting ceased.
They reached the bank and flung them
selves down. They I'll the bed from
bank to bank, lying there, four or five
deep. Here and there may be liv-
ing man, but 19 out 20 perished that
ght. They fought each other for
the water, but only the first corners
quenched their thirst. Before they
could move away they were caught in
the crush. It is great trench, with
it's dead ready for the dirt to hide
them, and the waters Of the creek
have been damned back until they
are seeking a new outlet through the
cotton field. Help arrives, and we
walk slowly along the bank to look for
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