Waterbury evening Democrat., 1894-06-11
CHARGING THE GUNS.
How Brave Men Have Met Their Fate
 the Battlefield.

is ordered, one does not figure on his | chances of being hit If there is n limo of | earthworks with an abitis in front and ar tillery posted at intervals, a charge means that about every fifth man will be killed or wounded Those who escape the shells, bullets, grapeShot and canister will al ways regard it in the light of q miracle
 In n charge of cavalry against cavalry the dash of 1t carries one along without thought It is an infantry charge against field guns which have got warmed up to their work that calls for every iota of pluck in soldiers makeup.
 Hero on the north bank of the shallow creek wc have thrown up n breastwork of rails, logs, bushes, stones and dirt to cover l tho brigade front. X boy could jump it at any spot, but when tho enemy breaks out | of the woods over thcro and advances | across tho old pasture our defense will save 800 lives.
 l We havc n strong position, and the en- | emy knows it. Before sending a body of infantry up against us he will batter away with artillery and at least make gaps in our defense. Our guns arc blazing away | to the right and left of us, but wo have none on our front. The ground is too low for effective work. We are waiting, wait | ing, waiting, every man ready, but only a 1 little skirmishing on our front. Of a sud | den 500 men spring to their feet with OK clamations of anger and disgust. We can | see a battery coming into action on the high ground half n mile away and infantry | moving out to support 1t. One, threc, six guns gallop up with the horses under | the lash, un!imbcr and load, and within 60 seconds the first shell comes screaming over our heads, flying not moro than six feet too high. Bang! bang! bang go the other guns, one after another, and after three or four shots apiece they get their 1 distance and timc their fuses, and we aro under n plunging nrc. Solid shot would tear through the breastwork and wound and kill, but the casualties would bc fow Tho soream of q shell ShatterS tho nerves. It may not hit any one as 1t strikes, but its explosion may maim and kill d dozen. An aid dashcS to the rear; n battery comes galloping up; shouts of disappoint- mcnt run up and down the line It would be folly for our battery to unlimber here on the low ground. That plunging fire would diSmount every gun ill 10 minutes It hurrics of to tho left, looking for Il bet ter site, and down tho line comes the order for tho Fifth to make ready for n charge. Therc are 7So men of us The enemy prob ably has that number lying down behind the guns. We don't figure on them, how ever, but on the six f1cldpicccs, We shall be under their fro the minute we stand up. ThCrc is half a mile of ground to be travrrsCd. They will cut tho fuses short and use shell on us for tho first quarter of a mile. Then will come grape and can istcr, and n little later they will double shot the guns. The ping of n bullet is not a pleasant sound, but the wailing of grape and the spitcful hiss of canister bring q rbin NA,, b,r fn bnNN on tho field killed by these missiles, and you recall the hidcous nature of the fatal wounds.
 We seem to wait for n lull in the fir ing, but it does not come. Men cannot be held here inactive 10 minutes longer. Death and wounds follow tho bursting of every sholl. and those untouched aro fierce ly demanding to know if WIG aro to bo sac riffccd without firing shot In reply. It's death to charge those guns-death to rc- main lying on our faces behind the brcaSt work. Hero we go! Evory man in the old Fifth leaps to his feet and vaults over the broastwork and falls into double limo on the othor side. Wo instinctively drcSs to the right, come to n front and move forward. Every ono of the six guns Is i'm mct.iately turned upon us, and we hrCaR from ''common time" to quick time" without orders.
 Am l afraid? Yes and no. \ shell is murdcrOuS missile, but am not in direct range of any one of the guns It is the grape and canister 1 dread. We arc sweeping forward like d wave rolling in upon the beach. but it seems to mo that We only crawl Everybody is crying out: Plaster! Faster, Why don't we chargr:" We have covrrrd half the ground when the lines suddenly spring forward. Every man begins to shout and cheer, and the sole idea Is to reach the guns as soon Rs poSsi- ble. Now we get grape and canister in double charges. It ie as if 10, GOO whips were cutting through the air in every d. reetion. Men bend forward, clinch their teeth and think only of the finish.
 We are closc upon tho Runs-wc arc among them-we arc shooting and club ping and using tho hnyonct! The infnn try supports rise up of the ground and charGo us, and it becomes tho fight of a mob Round and round circles the mob. every mrn fighting on his own hook and the sInokc making tho hour seem like twi light, and no man roaliEcS when the end comes. The firing, shouting and rushing about gradually die away, the smoke cloud lifts and drifts of, and q great cheer leaps from tho lips of the living. Two acres of ground arc thickly dotted with the dead and wounded, but in the center, like tho black spot in tho bullscye, arc five of tho six guns wc made tho rush for. They aro ours. Wc hold tho guns and tho position, and tomorrow tho old Fifth will be proudly mentioned in brigade, divi- sion and corps reports. At what sacriflces War has no credit and debit. We fight and die for the glory of 1t. NJ. QUAD.
 An English Christening.
 An up to date ChristcninC' which