The Norfolk Virginian. [volume] (Norfolk, Va.) 186?-189?, 1897-10-10
Some Vivid and-GhastIy ReCoIleGtloRs Of
the Field Of Slaughter.
WHAT THE CHASTITY DEAD INDICATED
Fhe Unburiod Dead One of tho Awful
Features of tho Great Conflict
Gray and Biue Lny Side by Side or
Athwart the Characterization
OF Cyrus G. Shepherd, Of tho Now
York Calvary.

lfTom the New York Evening PoSt)
Il have no time to bury my dead,
and can give you none" was Grants
famous reply to Lee, when. under flag
or truce. q cessation of hostiliues was
requested long enough to bury the dead
Ihus one great and awful feature OF
the battle of the Wilderness was the
unburied dead. that lay for days and
weeks all over the bloodstained fields,
one Of the most horrible and CHASTITY
sights ever exposed to human vistcf
Probably no battlefield of the civil war
afforded such an opportunity for iuspec-
tion as this.
Ordinarily, after fight, burying par
ties were detailed, and the long, deep
trench, q common grave, was dug, and
the dead were at least covered. but not
SO mere. Grant could not stop, and the
long stretch of country, overrun with
Mosby's Suerlllas, that interviewed be-
tween the Pappahannock river and the
nearest union lines prevented aid from
mat direction in Iburying the thousands
that were slain in the Wilderness and
IN the light at Spottsylvanla Court
house
sat on my horse looking over the
portion OF the field where the fierce
and deadly fighting OF May and 5,
1864, occurred. 1t was four or five DAYS
after the fight, about the 9th or 10th
or May. ~ small detachment of our
regiment had been sent as an escort TO
train OF ambulances to gather in the
wounded. who were being temporarily
cared for in barns and farm houses
near the battlefield, and 1 thus had an
opportunity to view this historic scene.
During the thlrty-thrce years since. IL
mas been arl open question Whether to
pe Eiad or sorry that 1 visited this bat
tle-nelu. 1t could not be more wildly
impressed upon me had l seen it yestcr-'
gay. II mas been a nightmare and Il
horrld day dream all these years. Often
have prayed that visions of those nm
turned faces, blackencd and distorted
OF the staring, glazed eyeiyalIs, of the
Stltened, outstretched hands, seemdlg-
~ sun graspfng for support, those rigid
forms wrapped in blue and gray that
naa fought their last battle and now
lay Side by side in that great chornaI
field. might be blotted forever from
my recollection. Then, again. T have
Deen glad that knew so we'll how that
oattle-feld appeared. and how barbar
ous' brutal and iclhuman It made war
seem; glad that know how 10. 600 dead
a looked. who had faced and met
ueh,h amid the wild frenzicd scenes of
ohc Oh me greatest battles in the his
Tory OF the world
ohe oi the most striking features 10 ne
ondt uhy' ana the one most thoroughly
nAed IN our memories, was that all over
tnat battlefield, or at least that mart wo
anea' there lay three boys In blue TO
r az gray. IL Will be remembered that
all through the Wilderness rebt tha,
Confederates were protected bv n swsN
tc,i, or earthWorks and has thy Construct
su ioftlncations, and abatises, while tho
Chion troops were compelled 10 fight
largely In the open, and assaiI tho CON
iedeFates in their strongholds, From
,hGse lt was utterly Impossible to dis
enemy except by the mastery
go ol Hank movements so SUCCESS
iuily executed by General Grant.
We saw in one place where the mon IN
line or battle had taken off their KHAN
sacks and laid them in n long row n,,,-
uehtIy 10 be prepared to make n charge
upon one OF these earthworks of the
Cohlederates, some little distance in
front Ihese knapsacks remained al
anost undisturbcd, while the men lay.
some In heaps, some here and thcro in
front OF the Notifications they had
charged upon. AT this point the Union
dead lay thickest. I believe I could
nave dismounted and walked a distance
as great as two city blocks and never
once nave stepped upon the ground
walking on dead bodies all the way. IN
deed. had l undertaken the ghastIy
journey l would have been compelled
IN some places to climb over henps of the
dead.
vas a. SliSHt ETOWlQ OF under
prusn al this point, with a few trees re-
naming. ] made careful examination
ohd could not See a limb or twig or bush
mat was not marked by n bullet, and
some or them In several places The
wonder seemed not that there we're so
many dead, but that any lived. officers
ana prlVates all made common cause
mere, Tor among the dead we noticed the
shining shoulder straps OF the commits
stoned officers mingled with the ordinary
plue UNIFORM OF the common soldier.
me trees We're torn and shattered. the
FEARFUL work of shot and shell being
shown on every side. N1uskcts, can
teens, haveraacks, knapsacks-in fact.
nearly all that makes up the acquire
ments OF the soldier, wero scattered in
all directions. Near the road, evidently
smashed by solid shot. was the broken
caisson Of an artillery wagon, while the
gun lay in ditch with n dead soldier
lying face downward across It,
None of us felt like performing any
act of ghoulish vandalism; though as
saw a letter extending from the pocket
Of dead Confederate soldier, l dis
mounted, and, some of the boys gather
ing around, we looked It over. 1t was
worn and partly illegible, but we made
out that 1T was from the town Of Ham
let. In the State OF North Carolina 1t,
was In q lady's handwriting, and the
portion that we were able to read was
as follows:
"AIy Dear Jack-We hope that you
can soon return and help us with the
tobacco crop; but II not, we do hope and
pray to God that our dear Jack will not