Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1897-11-18
WAR "REMINISCENCES.
At COLD HARBOR.

A Private's Terrible Experience In the
Battle Of June .. 1854.
The Ninth New Jersey, with the
Twenty-third, Twenty-fourth and
Twenty-seventh Massachusetts,, COM
posed Heckman's brigade, which had
won reputation for fearless fighting
in North Carolina. 1t was in the But
Ter expedition to Bermuda Hundred.
In the attack on Fort Darling the bri.
gade lost over half its number either
killed or captured. Among the latter
was our brave Gen. Hickman, of the
daredevil sort. He had often boosted
to us that he was surely going to Rich
mond. He thought to go as conqueror
and not as a captive.
My regiment went into that fight 700
strong and came out about 300. The
three other regiments of this brigade
suffered about in the same proportion.
This remnant Of a brigade Gen. Grant
sent for to join his forces at Cold Har-
Dor. The requisition was made in the
latter part of May, and we hurried off to
join Grants army about the LIST of June,
1864.
Whether Gen. Grant thought that a
fighting brigade, more than half used
up, might as well be finished by hurting
it on the rebel lines in his front, know
not. Nevertheless, we cheerfully and
promptly complied. My own regiment
was delayed somewhat in getting trans
portation, so that we did not arrive at
the White House landing till June 2,
and Immediately set out for the front.
A terrible thunderstorm set in, and
the peals of thunder and of Grants can
non blended made horrible discord, as
il trying to rival each other. Drenched
in the rain, with ankles stained in the
sacred mud of Virginia, we continued
our weary march till midnight, then
sank to repose between the mud pud-
dies, or wherever the mud was not
ankle-deep; for with a rubber blanket
below to keep out the mud and one
above to keep off the rain, tired soldier
between will not have long to court the
gentle goddess Of sleep.
In the morning we rose early, swal-
lowed some hot coffee and bareback,
and were marched to the right and
somewhat in advance of Gen. Grants
breastworks, There, on gently-slop.
ing hill, and in the woods. we dug our
ritle-pits. loosening the soil with our
bayonets and scooping it out with our
tin cups. The confederate bullets be.
gan to zip" in the leaves above us, but
we worked on till our rihe-pits were
completed. Toward shutdown the con-
federates, having got Our range, con-
oentrated their batteries on us, and let
in a storm of solid shot and shell that
threatened to sink us all into the
ground.
Large limbs of trees were cut off and
fell about us in all directions, 1t seemed
as If hell had broken loose. Our officers
sprang behind large trees and we pri
Yates Rugged the bottoms Of our rifle
pits and thought our last day had come.
Orders came for us 70 withdraw from
that perilons position and seek refuge
in Grants hreastworks.
About this time | was slightly
scratched below the linee Ivy a splinter
from shell, and then solid shot struck
at the head Of my rifle pit and caved it
in, nearly burying me up in the sand.
By the time I had lug out and partial
ly cleared myself of the sand found
myself alone in the woods, with the
exception of our sergeant, George Titus,
who was at d considerable distance
from me, and whose presence then did
not discover.
He had suffered worse than ], for the
sand had been driven into his face with
such force that it had completely blind
ed HIM. and il was about three months