Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1897-06-10
THE BATTLE-FIELDS
OLD SOLDIERS TALK OVER
ARMY EXPERIENCES
The Blue and the Gray Review Incl
dents of the Late War, and in a
Graphic and Interesting Manner
Tell of Camp, March and Battle.
Memorable May of ,64.

started upon the closing campaign Of
the great war.
Let me speak of the army 1 served i'll
the Potomac. 1t was then camped at
Culpeper. Brandy Station, and on the
banks Of the Rappahannock River.
Tents were struck, wagons loaded and
the troops in line ready to move before
daylight. 1t was a warm, sunshiny
May day.
From the rise of ground to the east
of Culpeper. one could see, in all direc-
tons, that moving army-infantry, ar
tillery, cavalry-followed by thousands
of canvas covered wagons bearing IA
tons, ammunition and camp equip
age. 1t was an army OF fully 100000
men. The march to the Rapidan was
quickly made and a crossing effected
without serious difficulty, and before
night most of the troops had reached
the Wilderness. The men had muskets
for bedfellOWS.
1t seems but yesterday that Grant, a
young man just past AZ, with his glo-
rious leutenants, Meade, Hancock,
Warren, Sedgwick and Burnside, back
ed by dauntless thousands, plunged in
to the Wilderness the 9TH and fought
one of the bloodiest battles of the war,
but it is third Of a century. What
coming together it was! The two
armies had rested for several months;
had not been in great battle since
they fought at Gettysburg the July be-
fore, except Longstreets corps, which
had helped Bragg at Chickamauga.
Both armies were in the best of Spir-
it's; both had the utmost confidence in
their leaders; both fought with a ten
acity thay had never before exhibited,
and when the blackness Of night fell
upon them and the roar Of battle ceased
the survivors, exhausted, fell asleep
amid the groans of the wounded, with
dead and dying about them. In that
days work more than 10000 men died
or were wounded. 1t was drawn bat
tie. Neither side could claim victory.
What mighty work there was for
Grant and his generals between sum
down May and sunrise May 6. SO
had Lee and his generals great tasks
to perform. The wounded had to be
The lines had to be rearranged and
supplied with ammunition. Divisions
and brigades had lost their command
ers. New ones had to be provided; eel
CnelS of regiments had been killed OF
wounded and new commanders had to
be assigned. During most of the night
Grant was busy receiving reports and
giving orders for the next days finch,
which began before sunrise with an
attack that for hours promised dsas-
trous results to the army of the poto-
mac. 1t was Longstreet's men agains:
Hancock's and a portion Of WarrHl's
corps. How those men in blue and
gray fought in that smoky forest!
The second days fight was really a
defeat for the Union army. It had been
driven back after first driving, and suf-
fered great loss, but it had also inflict-
ed heavy punishment upon the enemy.
Longstreet was seriously wounded and
thousands Of Lees best men were mus
tered out
There was feeling throughout the
line that May Z would witness the
army of the Potomac on the way back
across the Rapidan. What gloom it
produced A fraction Of that army had
gone to Manassas, in 1851, been whip
ped and rushed back to Washington; it
had gone to the peninsula and worked
up to the back door of Richmond, and
then, without excuse, fallen back, after
losing nearly $4,000 men in three
months. 1t had gone the second time
to Manassas and suffered defeat; it
had crossed the river at Fredericks-
burg and lost 1900 men i'm killed and
wounded without gaining point, and
then marched back between two days.
1t had crossed the Rappahannock and
the Rapidan under Hooker, with a
great blast of trumpets, met Lee and
his host at Charlottesville, lost $4,000
men, and then, in the dark, swept back
to the side of safety. After Gettysburg
it had moved out to the Rappahanno< k
and then as suddenly flown back, close
ly followed by Lees legions A few
months later it went forth to Mine
Run, remained in line of battle two or
three days and again crept back to
camp.
An army made up of other than
American citizens would have been
demoralized after SO many mismoyes,
but our armies We're not made up Of
machines; they were composed of men
who loved their country and who knew
the prize at stake. But that night of
May 6, as they looked forward to the
next day, expecting an order to fall
back, the gloom, as stated, was intense
Morning came and the fight was not
renewed; noon came and the army had
not retreated, and that evening word
passed from command to command
that the army would move to the left.
f,,o - n -.