The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1894-04-29

time. I washed myself, was already
dressed, Of course, and, in a little. an
orderly told me that breakfast was ready.
/ met at breakfast Captain Laurie, a fine
old officer Of the navy, whom | had known
u little in Boston. He said TO me- And
how did you like our firing last night.
Mr. Haie2" / said That, TO me, as a civil
ian, it seemed very loud, but l supposed
that that WAS what | had come to the
war for. and l did not get up from my
bed. Laurie answered as If he would
rebuke me for my ignorance, 81 have
been in the service thirty-nine years,
and never heard such firing before"
/ found then. FOR the first time, that the
whole staff had been up and on horse
back, had been at the front to try to
find out what this firing was, and had
returned almost as much perplexed as
they came.
IL was thus that it happened TO me
that ! spent my first and last battle i'm
bed. ] was acting on the principle of
doing the duty which came next my hand
and obeying all the orders which were
given to me. / had not run away; was
pleased with that. And If had not per
sonally received the surrender of three
or four battle-fags, that was my mis-
fortune.
/ had occasion afterwards to hear much
of the testimony and to read all the
rest OF ii, which related TO this re-
markable battle. If you will read the
history OF the time. as told in the Rich
mond newspapers and those of New
York city, and will put them together
you VIII learn that on that night a
reconnaissance was sent out from our
lines into the tangled shrubbery which
separated our newly-built works from
those Of the rebels. You will learn that
the rebel guns moved down these col
umns as corn is moved down before a
tempest. Or. if you read a Northern
newspaper, you will learn that certain
columns Of the rebel troops, who were
named, were worse than decimated by
similar artillery from our works. Every
word of this was entirely false. In
fact, there was very heavy cannonad-
ing from the newly-erected works on
both sides. AS 1 have said, it lasted
an hour. Much Of 1t was from heavy
guns, which had been landed from the
navy 10 strengthen the battery which
we had near the river But, as the re-
suit Of ii, there was never any evidence
that rabbit was scratched; certainly
no drop of human blood was shed in
that encounter OF giants.
How II happened so late in the evening
do not know. But what happened
was this: A party of ladies had been
entertained on board one of our ships of
war. AS they left, an officer, with the
gallantry OF his profession, asked one
Of the ladies' II she would Ike to see
how a gun was fired. and, to do pleasure
10 her, fired one Of the guns into the
darkness. At that moment everything
was on the qui vive ashore. and cur
land-battery men, eager for something 10
do. finding that one shot swas fired,
thought another had better be fred, and
continued the firing. This started the
successive artilerists for nearly a mile.
as our works ran up into the country to-
wards the Appomattox river, and not to
be belated or accused OF sleepiness, they
began firing In return. or course, this
The rebel side. and they fred, supposed.
reused the equally ready artillerists on
at the flashes which they saw a mile or
two away. And this was the famous
cannonade which made the whole of my
first battle.
The naval officers were dreadfully NOR
titled. our gentlemen at headquarters
were indignant beyond account. and the
thing almost came to courts-martial and
courts Of inquiry. But IL was wisely
to be made. at the end of thirty years,
by the only person who was at all con-
cerned. who spent the hour of the bat
tie in his bed under canvas.
EDWARD T.. HALE