The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1897-09-18


Gen. Lees center. Here the fighting
became terrific, and the tide of battle
ebbed and flowed first the blue surging
forward and then the gray line pressing
them back. Happily at this juncture
Gen. Lee called troops from his eX-
IRENE right under McLaws and Andcr-
son, and the struggle for victory around
the old Dunkard church became terrific,
until finally such was the high courage
of all the Confederate troops, and such
the high mettle of the North Carolina
men that had been led over from the
right to reinforce Gen. Lees left centre
and extreme left wing that the Federal
line was pressed back to the position it
occupied early in the morning. Pend
ing all this heavy fighting on Gen. Lee :
left finak. both Gems. ID. Fl. Hill and
Longstreet on both sides of the Boon
boro road had been warmly but not as
holly engaged as were those so fercely
assaulted on Gen. Lees left by the
three corps already mentioned. One
must not think for one moment that
Gen. McCellan's management of this
fearful strife was so faulty as to leave
his own left unemployed. He did give
orders to Gen. Burnside to cannonade
to make an assault upon the bridge i'm
mediately in his front. Gen. Burnside.
for some reason which the careful study
OF neither the pages OF Swinton, Dab
ney nor any of the writer's upon this
great battle disclose. failed to make the
attack till about two in the afternoon,
long after the contest on the right had
been decided. Then he stormed the
hpiI don md in1 1riy
his front all the troops that had been
placed by Gen. Lee to protect the Shep-
herdstown road, which was in truth
Gen. Lees line of communication with
Virginia. At this juncture most fortu-
nately fer us Gen. a. Z. Hill, having
finished the work assigned him ut Har-
pers' Ferry. came on the field with his
splendid light division, composed largely
of North Carolina troops. These men
had just finished Il march of seventeen
miles from Harpers Ferry and were leg
weary, hut such was their courage, and
so admirable were Gen. Hills DISPOSE
lions that while the Confederate line on
| the right was fearfully tangled and the
| Shepherdstown pike almost in possession
| of Burnside's corps, in less than one hour
| and a half the Confederate line was re-
stored and Burnside was taught les
son of value. But this terrific fighting
| with its high success cost us dearly
| From tina hour until the present many
Il North Carolina home has been draped
| in mourning because of the fallen sons
of this noble commonwealth. Among the
many slain from this State. two there
We're of whom we may speak in highest
| praise without the slightest suggestion
of inviduous comparison. Gems. Ander-
son and Branch were men of such hero
ic moulds, were so devoted to their
country's highest good had rendered
the country such noble service as to
weave around their brows cold in death
chaplets of the brightest immortelles,
and it was in the loss of just such men
as these on this and other battefields
that their old mother was stabbed so
deeply in her heart of hearts. Gen Nc
Clellan, commanding upon this battle, OBJ
served that the Confederate line was
very short. 1t was short because Gen.
Lee had not the men to make it longer.
1t was short because with only $4,000
men Gen. Lee was obliged to compress
his lines so as to make resistance
against the large number of
troops with which Gen. Mcclellan
sought to force him from the field But
this he could not do, for the Confederate
line at night on the 18th was identi-
cally the same with which Gen. Lee be-
gan this struggle at sunrise that morn
ing, except that it was slightly depress-
ed at the centre. And this Gen. Lee
seemed to have anticipated, because if
one studies carefully the conformation
Of the ground and the exact adjustments
Of the whole line Of battle, it will be
seen that the line was an obtuse angle.
with the apex OF the angle at the cen
tire. 1t has been regarded by military
critics as one of the finest Illustrations
of Gen. Lees high mastery of the science
of war, for it can be safely affirmed
that if Gen. McCelan's attack upon
Gen. Lee found him with his troops
scattered and far away in the reduction
of Harper's Ferry, and still Gen. Lee
held his own, waiting the whole of the
next day, the 18th of September, for
Gen. Mcclellan to renew his attack
what would have been the result had
not that order setting forth Gen. Lees
plans not been lost at Frederick City.
There have been made several estimates
of the number of muskets employed by
Gen. Lee on this battlefield. The great
FI2lLldIl HIoueSuy pidceS the nunDer at
figure under 10000, others again say
that there could not have been over 49,
600. A distinguished Confederate off
Ger who won llaurels on that battlefield.
ex-United States Senator Ransom, who,
! think was n General of brigade ON
the occasion, in a recent conversation
said to me that after the closest and
most careful calculation, there were only
about 27,50O muskets employed that
day by the Confederates. Now if this
be so, the question will come up why
was 1t so. Let Gen. Lee speak for him
self. In his report of the Maryland
campaign, Vol. ., page 40, our great
Captain says 'The arduous service in
which our troops had been engaged. their
great priyations of rest and food. and
the long marches without shoes over the
mountain roads had greatly reduced our
ranks before the action began. These
causes had compelled thousands of brave
men to absent themselves. This great
battle was fought by less than 10000
men on our side" Official report page
| T.