The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1893-01-26
THE BLOODY ANGLE.
What a Comrade Remembers About Il
Tree Cut by MINES.

What Comrade Remembers About the
Tree Cut by MINES.
answer to information asked by Comrads
A. ID. Springer. of franklin. Ind. in the
l. issue of Oct 81, 1892, regarding the tree
said to have been cut down by mimic
balls at the Bloody Angle, near SpottsyIvania,
| think the following is very closely what
great many besides myself have seen and can
say in regard to it.
/ was on detached duty at Gen. Ricketts,
headquarters at the time. and on the morning
after the fight at the Bloody Angle squad of
us went TO see what some then called tho
slaughter PEN" We crossed a strip of low
land about 100 yards in width dotted on one
side with clumps of small bushes, giving it
little the appearance that at some time it
might have been the bed of small stream of
water, though now grown over with coarse
grass; then up slope for about the same dis
lance, with rise of about Is feet to the edge
of piece of woods The rebel Notifications
were just outside of this, the main line run
ming parallel with the low land and the other
going straight back into the woods. forming
square angle. The woods were mostly medium
size trees with uuderbrush. The trees
were considerably scattered for few rods in
side the works, but after this the woods were
quite thick, with the ground having the ap.
pearance of slight slope toward the rear.
Many of the dead and dying still lay in and
about the deep trench behind the works-in
the trench there being three in depth in places.
As we stood inside the angle some one men,
toned the fact that during the fighting bat
terry of artillery had started up the slope for
the purpose of planting its guns at the angle
and getting an enflading fire at the Johnnies
in the trench, but every horse was shot down
before reaching the top of the hill.
The tree said to have been cut down by
mimic balls stood about so feet back of either
ell aC 10 ,ln hn,,t .,.f.n
diameter couple of feet from the ground, and
looked little like sycamore. Two shots
from the artillery had struck it about Is or IS
feet from the ground, one going exactly through
its center and the other just aside of the first
thus please notice, coming almost within an
inch or so Of completely demoishng the theory
that " shells never strike the same place twice,
because the first takes the place along with it,"
Whichever shot-sold shot or shell-struck
last must have snapped of entirely the remain
der of the tree; for the top seemed to have
come down butt-end first, striking q johnny
who was close behind the tree, and sinking
him q foot more into the soft earth-only
his side, one arm. and legs being above ground.
On the two sides facing the Union lines, the
tree, from near the ground to where broken
off, had been SO riddled with bullets that l
don't believe it had bark enough left to have
covered space foot square, Where broken,
it appeared to be about Is to 10 inches i'm
diameter.
Gen. Grant, in his Memoirs mentions this
tree as having been cut down by mimic balls
/ suppose he had not been informed of all the
facts. Soon after the close of the war heard
that part of this tree had been taken TO Wash
ington.-W. II. SwAIL. Co. ID, 10th VT, Detroit
Mich.
A section Of this tree is in the Museum of
the Ordnance Bureau of the War Department
in Washington, and it shows plainly that it
was cut down by mimic buliets.-EDIToR Ma
,cInNA Al TRIRIrNE