The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1895-01-23
WAS ~ FIGHTER,
HIS Last Wish Was For Ano,hor Shot, Int
c,,,,.. - Ito Dlcu Too Snun,

~ Ntul
cAicaCo Yri5anG '"'"'
Hero was n battle going on" amid nm
gu soldier; nothing very heroic nbou'
u ! o anything worry tremendous, OK
sent ,hnt moro or loss mon were getting
Ell!ea AMI wounded nil tho Tins
iatchcs oil woods with omen spaccs In.
~terSening, tho line stretched along tho
odge OF tho woods and across tho Oman
spaces. Along In front an Oman spar,
n on tho othor nido Of that tho Con.
ioderatos, In woods like oursolyo,, wher,
thoro were wools, but IN light earth.
worko hnd rifle pits botwcen. That wos
tho'r position aud wc Ind advanced
toward II rs n part OF some general
movement, aud our business was 10 stnv
gagged.
Veteran troops, ours were, cxs,pt
Tor such recruits a, wcro scatteroI
among us and except Tor q few onthu,l.
nsllc mon that liked TO shout, using
ammunition spEringly and not shoot.
Ing much unless thcy thought they had
somo sort oil chanGa Tor littin: some.
thing. T%houchtlcss. sometimes, about
themselves. but pto,ty careful general.
", and protecting themselves as much
AZ they could, But even with that, and
WITH tho lighting slow, We managed in
tho course OF the day to loso q pretty
good lot OF mon.
here, now, was n man in my regi.
meht shot through the body. lie
crawled away toward tho roar. | don't
know why no wasn't picked up by tho
hospital mon, but he wasn't. Just back
oil that part OF the limo whcra our rcgi-
m6nt was stationed was Il little farm
house. In front OF ,hls house was a
sort OF open, yard or spacu in which
there was ono tree; 1t wasn't n very biz
tree, and ldon't remember what kind
oil u troo 1t was, but / remember that
" oil IFS roots ran away from tho trunk
a little above tho ground for four or five
feet, aud between these roots thcro was
n little hollow, just n little sort OF a dc.
preston in the ground. The front yard
was maybe eight or ten rods back
from the line; that Is, it might have
been that much back to tho tree.
Tho p!an crawled along slowly until
no came 10 the tree. and he crept partly
into that little depression; l suppose it
looked sort OF inviting; it was a place;
It wasn't Just m doors, but was a sort
OF place by itself, and the tree rave it a
kind OF companionship, too. lie crept
partly into the little hollow and then
stopped and raised himself up so that
he was half sitting up, propped up on
u arm and hand, and he sat up in
that way aud looked at the brigade
commander. who was standing in the
yard. Tho brigade commander had
been tho colonel Of the wounded mans
regiment, and he knew every man in It;
he knew this man and, Of course. every
man in the regiment knew the colonel
the general he was now-and from know
ing him so long aud so vol the men
had all come TO rely OIL him aud to look
to him.
Red was creeping out around the
wounded mau, and staining the little
hollow as he sat there, propped IN on
his arm looking at the general. There
was n sort OF wistful look on his face, as
though he thought the general could
help him, and the general looked down
on him very soberly; in fact, with n
very great pity. Just n few ieot away.
more or less, men were being killed and
wounded all the time. but that was go-
ing on IN an orderly, business fashion.
This man was just dying, just simply
dying by himself, and you could SEQ his
lie Jade as you looked at him, and You
could SEQ the red stain spreading in the
little hollow, and making scallops here
and there whore it ran up into little
shallow CULTS and bays making OF from
the main depression.
HE was getting weaker and weaker,
and was going last, bu. all the time
looking up at the general with that look
on his lace.
III could only have n more sho.!'
he said. You soc, he wasn't thinking
Of home or friends. He was thinking OF
the battle; his last wish was for one
moro shot; and n second later he col.
lapsed and fell dead"