The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1896-07-19
AMID The ROAR OF BATTLE.
Sturdy Confederate Hearts We're Some
times Depressed.
4 VETERANS THRILLING STORY.
lie Tells Of the Dangers and Nicissitudcs
That Encompasscd Intrepid Warriors
On the Fields of Gaines Mill and
Mschnnicsvillc.

ht times. finds place In the nedft or the
most intrepid bosom In time OF battle
has been disputed time and again. never
thciess IL has been so conceded oy men
OF indisputable courage. Apropos OF TINS
tho personal rCcolicctions OF veteran NJ
r. Icdbcttcr. OF Piedmont, Ala. VIII De
found interesting.
I will tell YOU said he. what l re-
member OF the Seven Days Bdtue De-
fore Richmond, especially OF the first two
days at Mechanicsville and Gaines MIL
THE VETERANS STORY.
was private Of Company c, Iifth
Alabama battalion. General Archrrs uil-
gaGe. ON the evening of June p. lsoZ'
near sunset. our brigade received orders
10 cook rations ana bc ready 10 march at
a moments warnu <. ON that order we
boys began TO hustle. for We believed thSt
a big battle was uTcn us. VIC could $50
81 in the air. Before we had time TO start
fires even. wo received orders 20 ran an.
fall in" You could hcd. Che order IN
every direction. We were directed also
to relieve ourselves of all baggage. we"
did we know that This order meant
battle. Our knapSacks, blankets, otc''
were all soon tumbicd into baggage wax
ons. and We were quickly ia line. Win our
guns elittcring in the light pf the settling
Starting on the march, our battalion
was ordered to front face" and the va
nous company officers made known the
cause Of the stir and confusion. We
were told that fighting would begin on
tomorrow. aud that We must be brave
boys and stand firm. be true 20 our
country. etc. That was "a solemn time 10
me: 4 will never forget IT, After this
another thing was done that made me
more solemn than ever. and IL had the
same effect upon the other boys our
commander appeared in our front with
our battle flag in his hand. and said.
Boys this is our flag We have no reeu-
lar color bearer. who will volunteer 10
carry il? Whoever will let him step out.
ACCEPTED THE COLORS
The god Of day was now setting be
hind tho western horizon. All nature
seemed to be drapcd In mourning. 1t was
only a moment. though. before / stepped
out and took H. The officer told me to
stand still until he made ano1her call.
ue then said II want five mon 10 vOlun-
tecr 10 20 with this color-bcarer rs
guard" II was not long before the re-
oulred number volunteered. l repeat, IL
was ono OF the most solemn moments OF
my life. j knew that 10 stand under II
.n time of battle was hazardous. but l
was proud that / had the courage %
take the position. for il was a place of
honor. The officer in charge ordered MS
10 take our places In line. and soon Wa
were on the march.
We marched all night slowly, occasion
ely hating he entire army Sc med 10
be on the move Everything indicated
n great battle We continued our marcn
until about noon the next day when We
halted and laid Gown 10y the roadside.
dropped down 10y my flag, and WIS so
worn out that ] was soon sound asleep
Oh, / was sleeping so good, suddenly 1
was awakened from my sweet rest by
some Of the boys pounding me in the
side. Get up Get up, There IS big
battle raging. and we are getting ready
TO go into It, ! jumped up quickly, rub
bed my eyes. and was soon i'm my place
We moved off in the direction IF heevs-
irins. Cannon were booming and small
arms could be heard distinctly. Ii was
now about 4 o'clock T. NJ. and in less
than one hour We had crossed over the
Chickahominy and were into the thick
est of the engagement at Mochanicsyile
The battle ragged furiously until about .
O'Clock at nisht. The casualties Of my
old battalion We're very heavy. We
fought under very many Disadvantages.
The enemy had fcllcd large trees In their
front. and il was with great difficulty
that we made our way through this en-
tanglemcnt OF tree tops. saphngs vines
and every other conceivable obstruction.
under a heavy fire. Many Of the boys
were killed in trying TO get through.
had TO wrap my flag around the STAFF
while crawling through this abatis.
CAME OUT UNSCATHED.
My flag was riddled in this battle, hav-
d. u.
through It's folds. while a splinter was
torn out OF the staff about six inches
above my head. l came out though. with
out Scratch" and was ready for duty
the next day. In this engagement some
OF the boys were shot down by my side
comrades that / dearly loved. Two Of
them. Murphy and Lambert. were killed.
When the firing ceased. our lines fell
back a short distance. In thick woods,
and huddled around talking over the
various incidents Of the battle. l soon
went TO sleep and knew nothing more
until morning. l awCke much refreshed,
and felt very thankful that had escaped
unhurt. while so many Of my comrades
were lying cold i'm death, and many
others were badly wounded. Early that
morning the enemy shelled the woods
We were I'm furiously. cutting the branches
do netting hut stand and take It. They
kept up this terrific cannonade about one
hour. The piece Of woodland was full
OF troops. To our surprise the cause Of
all this heavy cannonading was TO pro-
tect their retreat 10 the next line Of forti-
Hcations at Gaines Mil. About o'clock
we moved out after them. going over a
portion OF the battlefield. l
well remember passing over that part Of
the field, near Meadow bridge where II
was said General Lee led a charge In
person. ] saw many OF our soldiers near
this famous bridge stuck In the beg up
10 their knees and dead.
HOT AFTER THE FOE.
We passed over this bridge and pursued
The enemy On TO Gaines Mil. Here we
found them strongly protected behind
triple lines OF heavy oarthworks. with
head logs to protect them. 1t looked Ike
foollshncss TO undertake 10 move them,
but they had 10 be moved. our brigade
crossed the bridge that spans the stream
near Gaines Mill. and We were soon In
"A deep cut road We followed this road
about four hundred yards. when wo halted
and formed a line Of battle and moved
of in the direction OF an old apple or
chard. which was on the top OF little
knoll about two hundred yards In front.
Az the foot OF this knoll our line halted,
and We were ordered 20 lie down. This
order was cbcyed quickly. The little
knoll afforded very little protection. but
we used IL for all Il was worth. We got
down 20 our knitting you bet. We buried
ourselves I'm tho ground for an hour or
30. Finally courier gallcped up 10
General Archer. delivered a message and
then cailopcd of Then the General