Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1893-08-11

Y. a L GUST IL. Is
On May 5, 1864, the army OF the Po-
tomac commenced a forward movement,
and from the 5th to the 7th, inclusive,
occurred the bloody battles of the
Wilderness, eutailing to the union
arms loss of nearly twenty thousand
men in killed wounded and missing.
Hardly a shot had been fred during
the first two days OF the advance, but
on Thursday, May 5, some very heavy
fighting took place, resulting in no de-.
cisive advantage to either side, though
the confederatcs claimed the greater
number of prisoners.
( Very early on the morning of the 9th
the enemy attempted to turn the right
flank of the federal army, held by the
divisions of Gems. Wright and Seymour,
and here our young friends first came
under hot fire. As they stood together
in the front rank of the line of battle,
T while the gray battalions rushed fierce
I " on, Herbert glanced anxiously at
+ Fred and saw, to his dismay, that his
teeth were chattering and knees shalz-
ing in deadly terror.
STEADY, steady, old fellow he cried.
Brace up; you're not going to get
hurt" and the next moment storm of
bullets hurled about their ears. This
a-,1. iiowever, was successfully re-
r.,.l-,ti were also two others, made in
tine course of the forenoon, and Sey-
mour's brigade then gained a good posi-
ton.
By this time, Fred, finding that he
. and te=i1r. were sta 1rltouched, had got
pretty well over his nervousness and, to
the latter's delight, fought steadily as
himself
When evening came, it was supposed
that the days fighting was over and
the boys in blue were about preparing
supper, but just at nightfall the confed-
crate Gen. Gordon made another dash
at the right flank, surprising and rout-
ing Seymour's and Shaler's brigades
and taking three thousand prisoners,
including Gen. Seymour himself.
In this sudden assault, before which
even old veterans quailed, Herbert Les
lie fought like lion and held his
ground, through the gathering gloom,
with dauntless courage, until left stand
ing nearly alone in a little patch OF
scrub, with the yelling, exultant hordes
almost upon him. Even then he must
not fly, but threw in another cartridge
and fired once more right in the face of
his foes. Then, alasi as final scatter
ing volley flashed along their breath
less ranks, the gallant boy fell. Fred
had been early swept away in the tor
rent of fugitives and some time elapsed
before the remnants of Seymour's brig
ade were again brought into something
like order by Gen. Sedgwicl. More
than one-half of Company had either
fallen or been made prisoners, yet so
soon as the shattered fragments were
got together, and IL could be ascer-
tanned who were missing, Fred began
to inquire for his friend. But, in the
confused and darkling fight, none of the
men, now present, had seen Private
Leslie make his last stand, and hence it
was hoped that he might be among the
unhurt prisoners. Fred, however, was
not satisfied, and at his own request
was detailed on one of the fatigue par
ties, sent out to look up and bring in
the wounded.
1t may be that many who read these
pages have taken part in this most sad
of all soldiers duties, and to such
need not attempt the hopeless task of
describing the young recruits feelings,
as he turned over one lifeless body after
another, fearing that the next might be
that of his beloved comrade.
At this time, the wild, uncultivatcd
tract of country known as the ''Wilder-
a..
by dense growth Of dwarfed trees,
shrubs and bushes, and was, moreover,
cut up by numerous ravines and gullies,
among which dead, dying and wounded
men now lay in every conceivable posi-
tion, many of the latter having, in their
agony, crawled into cover so thick that
1t was exceedingly difficult to find, in
the prevailing darkness, those of them
who had become unconscious, or were,
from any reason, unable to call out.
For more than an hour Fred pursued
his melancholy quest in vain and had
| just said to one of the party: 81 think
Leslie has surely been taken prisoner,
but that will be about as bad as death
to him." when he noticed n dark clump
| of ragged scrubwood few yards to
| one side, and stepped over to search it as
mere matter of duty. Entering the
| tangled mass of frayed and broken
| bushes, he was for several seconds
lost to view, and then from out the
| gloomy depths broke forth his wailing
| cry: ''Oh, HERBERT Herbert! my dear
| old HERBERT"
Sergeant. Traynor hurried up, and,
| kneeling by the side of the young sol
dler, ran his hand under the blood
stained tunic and felt of his heart.
''Tut, tut" he said cheerfully, "the
boys all right. pretty bad hole
| through his shoulder, to be sure; but
he'll live to fight in many another bat
| tle-if Grant don't finish the war too
| quick
Being removed speedily as possible TO
the field hospital, Herbert recovered
| consciousness while the surgeon was
| dressing his wound, and on recognizing
| Fred, who sat holding his hand, he
asked "How is it with you, Fred?"
'Not stratch, Herbert" replied his
chum, and the brave fellow sank back
with q sigh of deep content.
All that one loving friend could do for
another Fred Ainslie did for his old
| 5cnoolindte "hho ehSJ "eio 0osoehSA,
but this was for few hours only.
Momentous events were daily occur
ring; the fearful conflicts in the vicinity
Of Spottsylvania courthouse followed
close upon those of the Wilderness and
it was many months before the boys
again met Through all the frightful
carnage Of the next fortnight Private
Ainslie passed unscathed, and, having
now fully awakened to the Importance
of the cause for which he fought, bore
the fatigues and dangers of his position