Herald and news. [volume] (West Randolph, Vt.) 1878-1943, 1893-07-06

S&s---a- -9Anses
I'VE CAN HOLD HEM"
1t? Because we may need TO pass q
brigade over it to strike the enemy's
left flank and double it back on his
center. A gully with banks not fifteen
feet high--a small creek across which
men can jump-a rude bridge from
bank to bank scarcely wider than a
wagon, and yet this may be the key of
the right flank
In thirty minutes we are sheltered by
breastwork at our. end of the bridge,
and every man is down behind IL and
waiting. Poor old Company CT Disease,
death and furloughs had reduced its
strength to sixty men. We should have
had thousand muskets there. backed
by battery, but they could not be de-
tached from the right wing. We have
no reserves to-day. Such of the wound
ed as tan hobble or crawl must go to
the rear unaided Men who cannot
help themselves must lie as they fan and
weep and groan and call in vain. Be
yond US, on the meadow, Casters cav
airy is drawn mp and in waiting. They
will have their hands full without
minding US.
Hold the bridge. Hold 1t against a
company. a regiment, brigade, a divi-
sion-hold il until the last man Of you
is wiped Quit"
Sixty men against-what? The for
est on the far side is dark and heavy.
We peer into it over the breastworlS,
but nothing can be seen. Listen to the
tide of battle. The enemy attacked on
our left flank. to be repulsed. lie at
tackled on our left center with the same
result lie mqsscd two divisions as
wedge to pierce our center, but shot
and she'll and bullet left thousand
dead and wounded in the forest He is
hustling for weak spot on our right
flank. The wave is slowly rolling down
towards us.
''Ready. men-fre at willn
A mob of men suddenly appear in
view, bursting out of the dense under
growth into the narrow highway as If
In fight. II is a company which has
been rushed through the woods as we
were rushed and with the same object
in view, but it has arrived too late. The
mob has disappeared as the smoke lifts
and for the next ten minutes only the
dead and wounded are in sight
Harll '.Yil vi! Yi!' 1t is Stuarts
cavalry rushing down upon Custer If
the Michigan brigade does not hold its
own to-day, good-by to our right flank.
We are listening to the yells and
shouts on our right when the head of a
column of infantry suddenly appears at
the far end Of the bridge. There are
no sldrmishers. They are coming in a
solid column to crush us by sheer
weight.
STEADY. men-we can hold them !
shoot to ldll.-
We heap the sod with their dead and
wounded. Above the noise of the fight !
we can hear the shouts of the men and
officers. Two-three r four times a /
score of men leap forward and dash at
the bridge, but as the bullets strike
sink down on the rough planks or stag /
ger about and plunge into the creek be-
low The road is too narrow for the
enemy to form in, and the dead and (
wounded are in his way. lie deploys
right and left into the woods He can
the fire of thousand mus
xets on our poor little breastworlS. but
he cannot entilade u.s. We hold our
Gre and keep sheltered. For ten min
ltes there is blaze of musketry and a
nailstorm of bullets which seem to
sweep away the forest behind Us, and
then comes a sudden lull For thirty
seconds we listen to the rattle of Gus
.er's carbines, and the defiant shouts Of
his men. and then we turn to the
bridge. The enemy is determined to
possess it. Possession is worth the
ives of five hundred men to him A
has massed in the highway
beyond the turn. They raise shout as
hey lower their heads and come with
-ush. Our fire does not seem to me to
De as heavy as before. but it checks
hem. A single man reaches our end of
he bridge, but only to fall dead with a
.heer on his lips.
They viii come again. That wave of {
living men is strong enough to roll the !
lead before it for moving breast 1
work. orr musket-barrels burn our |
lands as we reload. To the right and l
eft of me, behind our shelter, there are In
lead men in plenty. There is hull a
gain. Six thousand horsemen arc y
harging and counter-charging on the Z
1road meadow. We can even hear the '
lorses CRY out when wounded