The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1896-11-13

brigade of four. regiments to occupy the
bleak, barren and rugged Little Round
Top, grand, awful, terrible eminence,
beaten by storms of missels from the oan-
Eon of Longstreet. who was anxious to
keep every living thing off it until his
own men, now sweeping on in waves.
could reach 1t.
| On and up, close up and keep steady,
.thougn the earth open, though the heav-
ems fall
Passing on we 60 to the extreme lett
of the position. and from the left of the
army.
| Colonel, you understand that you
are to hold this at all COST said Vim
cent as he pointed out the position.
| "We did understand full we'll" Gap
plause.)
We formed (the Goth MaiDe) with the
SD Pennsylvania, 44tn New York and
10th Michigan on our right. We reached
there before Longstreet's men. The sight
as they came on was wonderful and
terrible.
Hood. one OF Longstreet's division
commanders. has seen that Round Top
must be taken at all hazards, and has
sent the men of Texas and Alabama
against it. The artillery fire suddenly
cease, and we know that Hoods men are
upon us, and that some where in the
thick underbrush his men are coming.
The storm strikes the 10th Michigan
first, hurls them back. and the Confed-
| crates are about to break our line. cap
ture Hazlett's guns and be able to turn
them against the whole Union left. At
this juncture Vincent, by superhuman
energy and the timely arrivals of the
10th New York, restores his line. But
Vincent is soon snatched up in a chariot
of fire.
| Rioe, however, ably succeeds him.
Then the attack struck the 2Oth Maine.
The lecturer told how he mounted a
rock by which he could overlook the line.
Then WAS disoovsredsa body::of the enemy
hurrying to get at the left flank. One
company was brought back to face
This manoevure was difficult and dam
gsrous. but was successfully made. The
Confederates, expecting to strike an i'm
portant flank, met a line of battle, and
were literally scorched back by the hot
| fire.
But with wild yell they sprang on
again; and here began fearful,
Rrotesque, hand to hand conflict. At
times, the lecturer said, he could see
more of the Ccnfederates than of his own
men about him. There were shoutssof
wild defiance, curses, dying prayers,
loved names. Seconds seemed centuries,
minutes ages. What then must whole
hour of it have been?
And when, by some mysterious in
| stinct. the lines drew apart, our little
line stood fast. We lad been pressed
from our position in the melee without
knowing it. and the enemy. standing
among the dead. were preparing to come
again
| Then with the spirit OF true-hearted
men, the little line rallied on the COL
ors and dashed on the enemy, tearing
him from their dead as the tiger de-
tends her young.
When the enemy had fed the little force
fortified itself, rsplenished its ammunit-
ion, exchanged its inferior English En-
field rifles for better Richmond rifles left
by the Confederates, and bore away ten
derby the wounded and dead.
But an ominous silence on their front
put them on their guard; and soon
new line Of troops. two Alabama regi-
ments led by Col. Oates, now governor
of Alabama, came on silently and deter
minedly. 1t was an awful moment.
The sough of the great fight on the right
was reaching US. Sickles's line had been
smashed. Round Top alone held outs
Here was tie key of the day, of the fate
Of the nation.
Our line was thinning, the Confed-
crates were creeping onto US. Our men
were out of ANN uni ton. There was
nothing but to take a desperate offenH
sive. A single word was enough.
"Bayonetsl"
The word rang down the line. No 9TH
er was necessary. Like soimetar of
steel flashed our 200 bayonets down on
the 1000 rebels.
EThe astounded foe yielded, the men
Of Alabama threw down their guns and
yielded, and the little command wheeled
on to the Texans farther to the ri gbt,
| driving them also.
The men felt like keeping on " Rich
mond, but were finally persuaded to re-
turn. over the bodies of $50 of their foe
and bringing 400 prisoners with them.
The enemy returned no more and the
day was done. The shadows slowly
mounted the CHASTITY crest. Darkness
and stiffness deepensd down the slope,
which became the valley of the shadow
Of death
| But what Of the day elsewhere No
word had come since Vincent had told
us to hold the hill at all cost. But
Hazard above us, had been working his
guns like a deni-god-only 10 Years
old, that boy. Weed, commander Of the
support, Stands beside him. Weed falls
and Hazlett bends over to catch bis last