The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-11-28
HOW THEY MADE HISTORY

What a swarm of history makers
began to take position about the an
cient city of fredericksburg. Va, 80
years ago the latter half of this month
November.
General Robert E. Lee, with the army
of northern Virginia. somewhat re-
plenished after Antietam, came down
from Culpeper way and encamped on
the hills back of the city and up and
down the River Rappahannock. In
front of the river, across the Kappa
hammock, ON Stafford Heights, and up
and down the river on that side, and in
spots here and there as far back from
the heights as the River Potomac,
rested, for few days, General Ambrose
e. Burnside and the army of the Po-
tOmac, almost fairly well recruited up
since it's heavy losses at Second Man
asSaS and Antietam.
Tens of thousands of men in the two
armies could look into each others
camps, see their white tents, the trains
OF cars and wagon trains supplying
ratiOns for man and mule; could see
the private as he sauntered out of
camp and the general as he rode up
and down the hills and heights, fol-
lowed by his dashing, glinting, glowing
staff.
9 3 9
The pickets of the two armies were
on the dark rivers banks. In some
places they we're not so far apart that
they could not with comfort carry on
conversation in an ordinary tone. In
other places it was necessary to raise
the voice to the shouting point. For
! a few days they the pickets and the
( armies, had a quiet, comfortable time.
There was no firing in any portion of
the long line. Bands played for each
| other. The inspiring strains of Co
| lumbia, the Gem of the Ocean," yes,
! We Are Coming, Father Abraham
! and Yankee Doodle" were heard each
! evening on the heights of Stafford, and
from Marye's Heights came Dixie
! The Bonnie Blue Flag" Maryland,
| My Maryland" Some evenings large
numbers of the Well-seasOned soldiers
! of the two armies gathered about their
respective bands and cheered their IA
vorite music.
There had been one of these COM
! bined concerts when the pickets sta
toned near the burned railroad bridge
leading into Fredericksburg entered
upon a discussion of music, their music
in particular. L will give a specimen:
"Yank, you alls can't match our
J Dixie " called a man in gray.
Johnny, you are such joker. Why,
man. your battle songs are Stockings
compared to ours. Didn't Yankee
Doodle make you want to dancer"
Maybe it did make me want to
dance, but our Dixie made you dance
at Manassas on two occasions, and
when we tuned up in front of Rich
mond last summer you waltzed back
to HarrisOn'S Landing with a limp in
your gait
Nov you are INVITING on facts. You
are rolling US up. Better that you had
left that out, Johnny. 1t seems to me
somebody who undertook to invade the
/ a
away from Champions Gap, South
Mountain and Antietam, crossing back
into Virginia with a double limp, listen
ing to the 'Star-Spangled Banner
John Brown and other patriotic airs.
If that isn't enough, put your ear to
the ground and you VIII hear the echo
of our tunes as Floyd fled from DOnel-
son when Grant demanded an uncon-
ditional surrender"
Say, Yank, we'd better not get UP a
new rebellion about our music We are
satisfied with ours, and you seem to
like yours pretty well. Let it drop
there. While we attend to matters of
more vital Importance"
What's your next question, John
nie?"
How is you alls stock of coffee,
Yank?"
Plenty of it. They just sent US a.
fresh supply, but we are running low
on tobacco. How is your layout Of
the weeG?"
Enough for both armies. Yank.''
: Then let's sWap?'
, Swap it is, Yank."
, Then these men who had looked at
each other along glistening muskets on
: many q field of carnage, padded to the
= center OF the river, made a satisfactory
! trade and padded back to the banks,
the Yankee humming The Star-Span-
= sled Banner" and the Johnny singing
? Dixie with all the skill and strength
= he possessed.
on one side of the river a little band
t OF men in blue filed their pipes and
r Puffed, and on the other side a little
s band in gray made coffee and drank.
i The smoking and drinking over, they
e renewed their conversation.
What are you alls going to do next,
v Yank?"
s AFTER we get a little rested from
t chasing you out of Maryland and so
5 far down through old Virginia. we are
S going to roll up our trousers, wade the
= RappahannOck, scale yOnder heights,
: mop Bobby Lee and his crowd out OF
/. the way, and take a walk to Richmond,
d getting there il time for Christmas
e turkey. What do you think you are go
ing TO do next, Johnny
e oh nothing much, except to let you
4. wade the Iiver. That done. We viii
p step back TO the mills out there and
JOCK XOA 20 sleep ny Tie JAlOuoclAAIAo
le leaving the plains blue with your army
j. 1t viii be q nice breakfast spell. Don't
lie postpone your visit day after you get
le your things on. Don't be afraid of cali
L. ing before we are ready for you. The
N flOOr will be swept, the curtains anc
err furniture busted and Bobby Lee anC
re his househOuld Will be in the doors
50 ready TO give you the hottest welcome
te you ever received"
rs you are buffer, Johnny; you tall
Id too big"
w wen, now, Yanks, don't forget t.
come, and we will let the result of th'
a. visit tell who is the big ta1ker.'
IN Good night, Johnny. No shooting II
on the morning"
h Good night, Yank; no shooting IN
1y less you begin it.
m . g q
"a About two weeks after that CONVEX
he sation the Union army crossed the Rap
il pahannock, remained two or three days
he and then recrossed, having lost in kill
of ed. wounded ana prisoners, more me-
w, than there are in any Iowa city; an
We city in Minnesota, outside of ST. Pau
RS or Minneapolis; any city in Indiana
ey outside of indianapolis and Evansville
les any city in Michigan. outside OF Detrol
by and Grand Rapids; any city in Wlscon
'es sin, outside of Milwaukee; any city
North or South Dakota; any IN Mon