St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1898-10-12

above this ravine for no obvious pur-
pose, obtained leave to 60 down into
the valley OF death and crafty repre-
hensble curiosity.
Forbidding enough it was in every
way. The fire had swept every super
fetal loot OF it, and at every step | sank
in ashes to the ankle. 1t had contained
thick underground of young saplings,
every one of which had been severed by
bullet, the foliage Of the PROSTATE tops
being afterwards burnt and the stumps
charred. Death had put his sickle into
this thicket, and fire had CLEANED the
field. Along line which was not that
of extreme depression, but was at every
point significantly equi-distant from the
heights on either hand, lay the bodies,
hall buried in ashes; some in the unlove'y
looseness Of attitude denotng sudden
death by the bullet, but by far the great,
er number in postures OF agony that tod
of the tormenting fl inc. Their clothing
was half burnt away-their hair and
beard entirely; the rain had come too
late to save their nails. Some were
swollen to double girth; others shriveled
to manikins According to degree OF ex
posure, their faces were bloated anu
black or yellow and shrunken. The con-
traction of muscles which had given
them claws for hands had cursed each
countenance with a hideous grin.
Faugh! cannot catalogue the charms
of these gallant gentlemen who had got
what they enlisted Tor.
1t was now three o'clock in the after
noon, and raining. For fifteen hours we
had been wet to the skin. Chilled, sleepy,
hungry and disappointed = profoundly
disguised with the inglorious part to
which they had been conference.-the
men of nv regiment did everything dog
gedly. The spirit had gone quite out OF
them. Blue sheets of powder smoke,
drifting amongst the trees, settling
against the hillsides, and beaten into
nothingness by the falling rain, filled the
air with their peculiar pungent odor, but
it no longer stimulated. For miles on
either hand could be heard the hoarse
mutter of the battle, breaking out near
by with frightiul distinctness, or sinking
to a murmur in the distance; and the
one sound attracted no more attention
than the other. We had been placed
again in the rear of those guns, but even
they and their iron antagonists seemed
to have tired of their purposeless feud
pounding away at one another with
amiabe infrequency. The right OF the
regiment extended little beyond the
field. On the prolongation of the line IN
that direction were some regiments o
another division, with one in reserve. A
third of mile back lay the remnant o
somebody's brigade looking to it
wounds. The line of forest bounding
this end OF the field stretched as straight
as wall from the right of my regimen
to heaven knows what regiment OF tn
enemy. There suddenly appeared, march
ing down along this wall, not more thar
, two hundred yards in our front, doze'
files of gray clad men with muskets OF
, the right shoulder. At an interval G
fifty yards they were followed by pei
haps half as many more; and in fair sur
! porting distance of these stalked wit
: confident mien a single man! Their
! seems to me now something iudescribf
5 blv ludicrous in the advance OF thi
: handful of men upon IAN army, albe
] with their left flank protected by TO-
: est. 1t did not so impress me then nc
l. anybody. They were the exposed enc
r of three lines of infantry, each half
y mile in length. In moment our GU
It ners had grappled with the neare
IS pieces, swung them half round, and we
y pouring streams of canister into Il
IS invaded wood. The infantry ro
V in masses, springing into line. II
It threatened regiments stood like wa
If their loaded muskets at "ready." the
r., bayonets hanging quietly in the sea
* bards. The right wing of my own rel
ment was thrown slightly backward
r. threaten the flank of the assault. T
N battered brigade away to the rear pull
re itself together. Then the storm bur'
" A great gray cloud seemed to spring o
of of the forest into the faces OF the waltz
DC battallions. 1t was received with
as crash that made the very trees turn
n. their leaves. For one instant the asss
,g ants paused above their dead, til
lr struggled forward, their bayonets glitt
he ing in the eyes that shone behind
lie smoke. One moment, and those unmoy
rk men in blue would be impaled. WI
#, were they about! Why did they I
az fix bayonets? Were they stunned
he their own volley? Their inaction "
OF maddeningl Another tremendous cra'
,e, the rear flank had fired Human
De. thank heaven! is it not made for Il
d. and the shattered gray mass drew bs
* score Of PAGES, opening a feeble +
SITS Lead had scored its old-time victt
nix over steel; the heroic had broken
ilv great heart against the commonpls
as There are those who say it is sometir
ain otherwise.
to All this had taken but minute
ap. time, and now the second Conieder
MT line swept down and poured in its
nd The line of blue staggered and gave W
he in those two terrific voleys it seemed
have quite poured out its spirit. To
IS, deadly work the reserve regiment II
IN, came up with run. 1t was surpris
ney to see it splitting fire with never sou
Die, for such was the Internal din that the
to could take in no more. This fearful Sc
do was enacted within hundred PAGES
as our toes, but we were rooted to
,ise ground as if we had grown there.
.ect now our commanding officer rode fl
on. behind us to the front, waved his h
pir. with courteous gesture that says a.
on; vous, and with barely audible cheer
t sprang into the fight. Again the sn
her ing front OF gray receded, and again
,op. the third line emerged from its leafy