The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1895-09-20

the crest of Missionary Ridge. He saw
Sherman aud Thomas, and Mcpherson,
| and Schofield, as they gathered IN tle
| Spring of 1864 at Tunnel Hill near Dal-
| ton.
| He scaled Rocky Face Ridge, penetrat-
ed Buzzard's Roost Gap He bore ms
part in the two days of Resaca the douple
and twisted skirmishing of Adairsvlile
the half-fedged battles of Kingston ana
Cassville; he went blindly through tne
mud and ugly dry forests of Northern q
Georgia to be with Hooker's assault
against the shaggy abattee Of Joe John-
ston at New Hope church. No man
worked more than he did at the bloony
evening entertainment at Pickett's Mill.
| He worked all night with his comrades
at the trenches which kept back Joe
Johnston in the morning, and preserved
| Shermans left. He had sight at Ffne
Top, where the military bishop, like some
old master OF Santiago, was surveying
his forces, but yet was forever cut OH,
while doing so, by shriek1ng 9anhGe
shell. He saw the charge at Muddy
| Greek, where breastworks, well manned,
were wrested from brave foes; thlng
almost never doue. He was in the midst
of the fearful slaughter and sad repuise
OF Kennesaw.. He knew Gen. >: NJ,
| Corse, whose indomitable spirit kept him
at his work at Alatoona Pass, after losing
part of his ear and right cheek bone, apd
who, hero-like with the courage OF
| Joshua, made the few defeat and put TO
rout the many He witnessed that re-
markable Fourth of July celebrated with
double shotted guns, where Stanley ;
double skirmish line swept the Held, anu
both sides fired more than A cannons, q
veritable Union salute He barely escaped
capture at Pace's ferry over the Chatta--
| hoochee, but was all himself, as he pressed
| forward into action, where Thomas and
| Newton and Hardee fought with fury and
persistency for a flank The flank vas
saved to us; for here, at Peach Tree
Creek, the dauntless Hood mighty in at
tack, had abutted against the rock OF
| Chickamauga, rock made to stand. He
participated in the bloody. shifting, ter
rife strife of Hood again, when McPher,
son fell and where Logan, Blair and
Granville NJ. Dodge with their never
beaten corps, with much loss forced him
back, back into the citadel of Atlanta.
At Ezra Church he watched through a
long and bloody day the fitful lighting OF
Logan and S. D. Lee, and bore his part
without scratch A little later in the
night, he was in the columns OF Howard,
which were pulling out from the Atlanta
works, was saluted with only one Shrek
ing shell that fortunately fell into an
empty space, and merely said: Good bye.
He swung with the column circuit of
25 miles, he charged with Capt. Estey the
Confederate sscavalary at run for SIX
miles more. and helped to stamp out the
| fire over the Flint river bridge. He guild
ed the men who crowned tie unfriendly
heights of Jonesboro, where the skirlnlsh-
ing was tncessant. Here ne Deheid liar
dee's defeat Here too he heard the rum
bling of the exploding magazines OF All
lanta evacuated, and here he got glimpse
of Sherman's despatch about Hood going
out and SIocum coming in to the long
coveted citadel, "a despatch wherein the
| fiery Sherman proclaimed Atlanta ours,
| and fairly won II The further battilngs
The shared on front flank and rear over the
Atlanta bone already in Sherman's teeth,
till Thomas went back to Nashyilleisa land
| like loadstone drew on Hood via Frank
| lin to himself and to destruction, and till
Sherman was reorganized into Howard,
Socum and Fitzpatrick with 65, 600 COM
rades for a seward march, these things,
with duty unremitted he watched with
interest and wrote concerning them to
his mother as yet so far off in the north.
Now with good horse to ride, for pro-
motion has brought it, he faced Macon ;
he fought Walcott at Griswoldville;
along the route he foraged freely on the
country: and at last he wedged himself
between the Ogeechee and the Savannah.
where for time his force halted till
for here Hardee accomplished a noisy and
bothersome resistance. The Savagnah
being at last crossed Slocum hurried the
Confederates out into Carolina, and our
young friend rode cheerily into the city
the day before Christmas, 1864.
But now, while these comrades are
crossing the arms of the sea and the cot
ton islands of South Carolina while they
are scrambIing OH. leaving their dead aDd
wounded at PototaligO rivers and Blnak-
ers bridges, Orangeburg, Congaree Greek,
and elsewhere up to Columbia, naughtily
beholding the burning of that great city,
our young friend has gone away from
them to the coast to discipline, drill and
bring to Sher1nans support thousand
black men.
His comrades roll along through Cherau.
the battles of Averysboro, the skir1hish
of Fayetteville, up to the final stubborn
fights of Joseph fE. Johnston again, at
Bentonville, and are quietly waiting for
final settlement of all the national
the terminal conflicts, the young soldier
broke the seal of an apparent order to
find the refreshing news of Lees surren-
der; then shortly another despatch re-
yealed to him, now in camp at NeWburn,
the story of Johnston's capitulation, and
then of the capture of Jefferson Davis
The young colonel had never been hap
pier. The cheers of his black troops were
only excelled in melody by their jubilee
songs; when, like an unexpected thunder
cloud, full of lightning flashes and start
ling reverberation the nations sky WAS
overcast with indescribable blackness,
while the saddest messages import moth
ing but sorrow and impending trouble
Who can describe it?
Abraham Lincoln is dead assassinated !!
killed not by the Confederates nay, by
an enemy of mankind There was in
tense national gr eff in which the young
volunteer with his new soldiers bore their
sad part But the sources Of joy that
were flowing from the very fountain
head of the great peace were rolling down
the mountain sides, and filling the val
leys of the land. Our young friend be-
held Sherman's men marching at twenty
five miles a day OH to Richmond redeemed
and to Washington forever relieved. He
came to the capital. He sat on his noble
horse, and participated in the grand re-
view, lingering at the presidents stand
| to behold the very last of the armies of
the East and West, as they passed the ex
ecutive platform in their strong martial
thread. The words were not said, but
| the meaning of them swelled every heart
penetrated to every home in the land L: