Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1897-03-11


les OF the country, including Balti
more. 1t was also on exhibition ii
the art department of the Chicag,
Exposition. Major Cookies sketch
follows this dispatch.
A NIGHT ON the BATTLEFIELD
Fortunate is the inciacnt in thil
busting, hnrrying sezsd of ours,
where there il 90 muci3 to look *,
80 much to think. Of, 30 much tc
excite tears or indignatien Or laugh.
ter-fortunate, we say.als the Incl.
dent which possesses BE supreme
advantage Of being ctbresque.
Other incidents may &gual or sur.
pass it in moral beauty, but they
will not be able to eqhal it in at
traction. Hearts may hrob as no.
bly, therein, but the world will not
catch the tumultuous heaving OF
the bosom. Tears assnoble may
be shed, but they win flow in ST.
lence and unobserveds Deeds as
worthy may be performed, but if
they do not possess pictnresqHeness
are they ever heard Of? DO not
the writer's Of the North, who ought
to know the truth, declare that the
Federal General (Wright) rallied
and reformed their line after Ear
ly's terrible blow at them at Cedar
Greek in October, 1864? and yet
it was that picturesque General
Sheridan who rushed at full speed
upon the field, "shod with fire, =
says his poet. and carried of all the
glory. Unhappy General Wright,
if Mr.. Swinton is good authority.
Why did you not arrive at the nick
of time, rally the rallied and reap
the honors of the hard-fought field?
Your good, hard work and steady
nerve had the misfortune not to be
picturesque" or striking" Gen.
seral, sad hence @nobody bat the
whole world tifty years from this
time will ever know that it was you,
not Sheridan, who saved the Fede-
raj army from destruction on that
day.
But every subject has two phases
every thought cuts double-edged;
the shield is silver or gold, as it is
looked at from one side or the 9th
er. Actions may be grand or pic
turesque both-as noble and beau
tiful as they are striking and i'm
pressive. The incident which we
are now about to relate will be found
to illustrate this statement. TIE
picture which we shall attempt to
draw is one of those which catches
the eye, moves the heart, touches
the hidden fountains of feeling and
draws forth those "noble tears'
which flow forever in the long cur
rent of our human history at the
mention of all beautiful and heroic
deeds.
The incident took place in July,
1864, just after Early'sreturn from
Washington, and when his advance
force under Ramseur was near Win
chester. On the afternoon of the
Goth of that month General RAM
seur, the gallant, the noble, the he
roic Ramseur, who died, as he had
lived, fearless soldier and stain
less gentleman, received informa-
ton from General Vaughan that
General Averill was at Stevenson's 8
Depot, a few miles northeast Of the
town, with a force so small as to
render an attack upon him almost
certain to result in bis capture.
Acting upon this information, Ram
seur put his troops in motion, ad-
vanced to attack Averill, and soon
the forces on both sides were en-
gagged in an obstinate conflict, Ram
seur having moved with too little
caution in consequence of the re-
ported inferiority of his opponent.
The result was a serious repulse
by Averills force, the loss of four
pieces of artillery, the death of Col
onel Board, of the Fifty-eighth Vir-
ginia and the wounding of Generals
Lewis and Lily. Many of the CON-
mand. officers and privates, besides
these gentlemen, were killed and
wounded. When Ramseur fell back
as he was compelled to do, so as to
prevent himself from being flanked
by large force approaching from
Berryville, he left the ground COW
cred with his dead and wounded.
He retired through Winchester,
joined Early at Newtown and Win