Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1893-08-11
The s1RANoEsT BATTLEFIELD.

1t Is there today as 1t was in lSGi-
though perhaps ever more somber and
grewsume-;hat strangest of all battle
fields of the war, the "Wilderuess.'
When Hooker swung his army around
to Charlottesville he was in the edge
Of that dark, dense and silent forest
which extends from that point to Mine
Run and beyond. 1t is a strip of coun-
try from three TO seven miles long. |
which is penetrated here and there by |
roads, but whose depths furnish safe re-
treats for the wildcat, the owl, the SER
pent and the fox. 1t is a lonely ride
along even the best travelled highway in
time of peace. The boot of the owl is
h ,ard from the dark thickets at MONDAY
d the deadly moccasin snake leaves
his trail ia the dust as he crosses the
highway to plunge into denser swamp.
There is not n spot on the main high
way where one could see the length of
regiment on the march, and he who
would hide from the whole world has
but to take 20 steps to right or left.
In days gone by the slaves in that part
of Virginia had horror of this Wilder
n 4ss. Runaways sought its cover, and
were safe from master and dog, but AS
they skirted the swamps the deadly
serpent reared its head and struck them
with death. Murderers have been driven
in there by hot pursuit, never to lie
heard of again, and men have made
clearings there and there. only to be
driven out by the sterile, unyielding soil
and the Estrange lonesomeness of the
woJds. War woGld have avoided 1t,
but war was dragged there. Every
acre of the dark pines. every acre of the
tangled thickets, every dismal swamp
and barren knoll echoed the shrieks and
groans of wounded men and the travail
Of fierce battle. History may tell you
thlt it is a singular spot for grapple
of enemies tbrsting for carnage, but
history will not paint the weirdness of
even peaceful ride through that desc
late tract.
In the first grapple between Grant
and Lee in this dense tangle, 10000 men
fought for five hours. and at the going
down of the sun G000 lay dead and
wounded. In the seven miles front oc-
cupied by the two armies there were
not half dozen spots where single
battery could he massed to sweep an
acre of clear ground. There was not a
spot where the brigade commander
: could stand and overlook his four reg-
ments as they stood in line of battle.
There was at one point on the right a
,, clearer spot of about two acres in eX-
tent, and II Feddeal battery, which was
dragg through the forest, was placed
in position there about o'clock n the
morning of the second day. In ten
minutes three of the guns were sienced
by the musketry fire, and a charge was
made by the Confederates to capture the
! whole. Here two regiments grappled
and fought until 800 men incumbered
- the ground. Again the battery opened
and again it was charged, and when the
COnfederates retired the dead had to be
corded up to get them out of the way.
" Again and again fresh artillerists were
= brought up and fresh fire opened, and
again and again the Confederates charg-
ed and added scores aud hundreds to
that awful pyramid of dead. Grant had
not advanced on his right. Lee had not
advanced on his left. Where the dead
+ fell in the gray of morning there was
the battle line when night shuddered at
the sights 1t hid from view.
The fighting on the second day was to
save thar narrow and tortuous highway
known as the Brock Road to the Federals.
1t was the path into and out of that
great forest. Along it must move every
man, horse, gun and wagon. 1t is a
dark and lonely highway as you ride
: over it today. and every foot of it has a
story of blood. The burial parties
found hundreds who had crawled into
the thickets and swamps and died, and
years after the government contractors,
/ who were removing the dead 20 the ma
! tional cemeteries, found scores of
| skeletons which never had been buried
I at all. When night came again the
:: Federals had secured possession of the
road, and under the pines where thous-
ands of dead-thOusands of manned and
crippled; and as twilight faded into
darkness along that front of seven
miles, stretching over swamp and
thicket, there arose direful sound. 1t
was murmur at first. Then it
: sweled to steady cry-not one shout
, or grOan or shrek, but thousands of
them mingled together and quiyerlng
over thicket and rising over the pines
+ like the wall of gathering tempest. 1t
was the piteous cry of the wounded and
helpless as night added to the frightful
, horrors of that s0mbre wilderness.
2 II Detroit Free Press.