Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1894-06-09
Oh pTER XVI

While Jackson was pressing on to
join Lee most of his cavalry was de-
tached and left in the valley. The Shen-
andoah guards, which had dropped the
title when transferred to the cavalry,
were a portion of Imboden's command.
The Federals poured into the Shenan-
doah and Luray from the north and re-
captured everything and pressed the
C~Qnfederates slowly back to Staunton.
Neither side was strong enough to pos
sess and hold the valley. The Confed-
crate occupation defended enc of the
roads to Richmond. The Federal occu-
patton defended one of the roads to
Washington. There We're scouting and
raiding and clashing of sabers, but moth
ing like a general battle resulted. Both
commanders had been instructed to
avoid this and watch the mighty nov
ments developing elsewhere.
What is a battle like-a battle in
which 10, 600 men fall in their tracks
to die with the roar of the guns still
sounding in their ears and as many
more lie there for hours cursing and
~groaning and praying with the pain of
their wounds? Mcclellan was on both
sides of the Chickahominy, with the
spires of Richmond in view. His front
was miles long and defended by rife
pits, earthworks, felled trees and nat
ural distractions. More than 100, 600
Federals faced Lee along this line. Be-
hind them were camps and wagon trains
and field hospitals and supplies cumber-
ing the ground for miles and miles.
Mcclellan was about to attack. He
was even writing his order when Lee
fell upon his wing at Mechanicsville.
That was a feint. The fight at Meadow
Bridge, directly in front of his center,
was a piece of strategy. The assault
upon his wing at Cold Harbor was
meant to annihilate him. The battle
ground was made up of swamps, cleared
fields, patches of forest, timber covered
hills and old fields grown up to bushes
and briers. Mcclellan had two and
three lines of earthworks here, and here
his guns were planted as thickly as men
could work them. Longstreet and Hill
attacked here. They knew the strength
of the position; they had counted the
odds. There was no skirmishing, no
waiting. On a front three miles long
the C~onfederates suddenly appeared and
rushed forward to the attack. Had
they numbered FIVE times as many they
would have been beaten back. They
were repulsed again and again by the
fire which seemed to burn them off the
face of the earth, but those who lived
came back again more desperate than
before. Only their leaders knew why
this terrible sacrifice was being offered
up TO the god of war. Lee had planned
with Jackson. Jackson had left the val
ley by way of Browns gap to fall upon
McClellan's flank at Cold Harbor. The
sacrifice in front was to give jackson
time and to mask his movement.
And SO Longstreet and Hill advanced
again and again to the sacrifice until
their dead and wounded outnumbered
the living. The afternoon sun was sink
ing lower and lower. By and by it was
only an hour high. Then the roar of
battle along the front suddenly ceased.
Had the remnants of regiments and
brigades become panic stricken at the
awful waste of life and fed from the
field? Had they ~sullenly refused to obey
orders to advance again? Had Lee
given up all hope of success and with
drawn from that front? For FIVE min
utes scarcely a musket was discharged.
Then from the heavy forest directly on
the flank of the position Jackson APP
peared. The flank Of an army is its
weak spot. Even if attacked in the rear