The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1894-04-17

For the time beng NJ Is Il nladnlan--a
devil. lilo cries xiii! Kill. kiil!'
even though in his excitement he fires
among the tree tops or at the clouds.
This is the excitement which numbs
all feeling in some men when wounded,
and they fight on unit. they happen to
catch sight Of their W blood and then
sink helplessly down. 1t ia a sort OF
nightmare in which no man can be held
responsible for his words, and in which
no one notes the flight OF time. To
| some an hour seems a day. To others
the sun passes from the monday mark
to the edge of the horizon so swiftly
that they are amazed.
For half a day Lees whole army had
hurled itself against the Federal lines.
Every foot of ground on that long front
had drunk blood. The line was broken
only at one place, but that was fatal.
There the fight continued TO rage until
long after nightfall, but at last il grad
ually died away, and solemn hush fell
upon the bloody field. One may on
Quer and yet be ~ near vanquished chat
he has no strength FOL another blow. So
it was with jackson. lie had broken
the Federal line, but he could not fol-
low up his advantage. Even if night
had not come he must reorganiZe his
shattered commands, replenish his am
munition and permit the wornout men
food and sleep.
A battle does not cease at once. 1t is
an hour or more in dying away. There
is a suffering and growing here and
there, and men give up their work Of
death g%rudgingly. Atlast a hush comes.
1t is absolute to the men who have been
deafened by the Ioar for hours and
hours. Ii is a blessed relief, but they
look at each other i'll alarm. The very
stiffness frightHns them. They have
seen dead aud wounded men before
them, TO the night or left, in rear, for
hours, but have scarcely given them a
thought. Now vixen the hush comes
the frenzy gradually goes away, and
they stand appalled, at the slaughter.
The hush does not last long. 1t is bro
ken by the cries Of the wounded-by men
who have suffered pain aud thirst and
fear for long hours. There is nothing
known to living mar which can be com
pared To these cries rising from Il field
Of slaughter as night comes down. Men
who have suffered and made no cutlery
while daylight lasted now seem to be
seized with a fear Of the darkness. Men
who seemed to have been struck dead
are revived by the falling dew to plead
for life. Some call out in quavering
voices, like children when III the dark
ness. Some curse; some pray some re-
vile. Here and there one, realizing that
no is wounded unto death and that help
will come too late, maintains silence.
With an effort which starts the red blood
afresh, he carries his hand to the pocket
in which lies a photograph of sweet,
heart or a last letter from the wife al
home, and the burial party finds hi;
dead fingers c%lutchiug the relic and his
glazed eyes fastened upon this last
glimpse OF things mortal.
The full horror of a battlefield is re,
allied only at night. While darkness;
shuts out a thousand horrible sights, il
yet adds to the horrors. Here and there
parties searching for some officer, dead
or wounded, move about with Lantern
or torch to guide them. They step over
the dead. They tread upon hands and
arms outstretched. They slip and stag
ger on the spots Of earth wet with blood,
the wounded hear and see them moving
about, and they call out with renewed
strength for sucCor. A wounded horst
who has been lying down in a pool OF
blood sees this light approaching, and
there is something human in his within.
perings. He pleads and coaxes. Will
a great effort he gains his feet and hob
bles along and utters his pleadings ant
%reproaches.
On this battlefield of Cold Harbor ar
nine or ten thousand dead men, ten O
twelve thousand wounded. The livins
and unhurt are exhausted with the day
struggle, and the wounded must lii
through the night. There are 10 search
ing parties abroad, no details to Civ
succor. From forest and thicket anC
field the cries of the stricken continu,
hour after hour, but they cry in vain. II
the swamp over which Hood charge,
wounded mel lap the water thick will
mud and slime. They struggle as the!
sink slowly into the ooze, struggle ant
shout and pray, but dig their owl
graves, as it were, and Some Of thei
blackened bones are there today. Here
where tho brigades OF Hill moved owe
the open ground to charge the troops o
Seymour and Reynolds, the dead ii
thicker than they will in the streets a
Fredericksburg or on the slopes at Get
tysburg. TheIe are no wounded
; least no voices cry out to Us through tn
; darkness. Here the Federals had 3
; pieces Of artillery posted to comman,
the approach, and as the Confederate
, advanced the slaughter was something
terrible. Sixteen hundred and eight,
dead men liz here in this open spot o
| i've acres. They were struck down b.
| round shot, by bursting shell and b.
grape and canister. There are bodie
J without heads, bodies without arms
bodies which are but fragments. Whe'
3 the burial party reaches this spot to
| morrow, they will name it 1.-THE Butch
| er Pen and that name will cling to i
forevermore, Napoleon would have sal
that no Troops in the world could hay
been advanced under that awful fire
but from 4 o'clock to shutdown the Con
federates charged again and again, leaY
ing their dead nearer earthwork an
> breastwork each time.
Here, where Porter massed so gun
at Alexander's Bridge in the vain hop
Of saving the center, the dead cannot b
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