Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1898-09-11

lighting on January and was QeS-
| perate, the advantage being with US.
Our brigade was ordered to the left to
oppose Breekinridge's celebrated
charge. We had about sixty cannon in
| position and our brigade was in the re-
serve line. Riding past us Rosecrans
| said TO our colonel: If the enemy
pierces the first line, get UP and go at
him with the bayonet' but the line
| was not broken, the terrible fire OF the
batteries repulsing Breckinridge's gal
liant charge which Bragg had fooisnly
| ordered. 500
This victory made Rosecrans great
| fayorite, and the boys Cheered him
whenever he appeared. Resting up for
six months at Murfreesboro we prepar-
ed to advance on Chattanooga. The
army had been reorganized, our corps,
McCook's, being designated as the
| Twentieth Corps. The Tullahoma cam
paign followed in June. Bragg de-
| clined battle at Tullahoma, where II
was offered him, falling back across the
| Tennessee into Chattanooga.
| "On August Halleck presumptlvely
! ordered Rosecrans to advance, but the
! latter delayed until the 10th. Our corps,
| McCook's, formed the right, Thomas
! center, and Crittenden's the left. CUR
corps advanced by Stevenson, Ala,
crossed Sand Mountain about thirty
miles south of Chattanooga, and also
Lookout Mountain, hating at Alpine,
! Ga. We were swung away from Inomas
| and he from Crittenden, and II we
| had been attacked in detail, as Bragg
! ordered General Polk to do, we would
have been destroyed. Our corps was III
a critical position at Alpine and hur
ried movement to the left was neces-
sary, concentrating at Chlckamauga. L
was then an orderly to General DAVIS,
commanding our division, and was de-
tailed to carry a message 10 Generai
|, Thomas and General Rosecrans.
"Tne message was written on thin
paner and | was told to chew and swal-
low il if CAPTURED. | had a good horse
and started after dark. | climbed the
mountain gap and started at a gallop
along the road which lead along the
smooth mountain top. The moon was
shining brightly and | spurred on rap
idly. I kept my eyes skinned Tor the
enemy but encountered none. | passed
the cabin of a mountaineer and dog
ran ont and pursued me some distance.
7 wanted to shoot him, but was afraid
a shot would bring the enemy. About
daubreak / reached Generalp Thomas
! and delivered the message. | then rode
hack to Alpine where found the corps
. coming M the gap from the valley be-
low.
"Our cavalry was covering the move
mont and the enemys cavalry was
pushing them hard. At the top Oh Tue
cap Gen. Lyttle, author OF that lmnot
tai poem, 81 Am Dying, Egypt, Dying
! sat on his horse reviewing the connect
far down in the valley. I'VE hau
comDlete bird s-eye view of the battle
and it was a grand sight to see tlie
charges and counter charges, the fash-
| ing of sabres and the pulfs OF smoke
from the many carbines. The enemy
was beaten off and the cavalry followed
rs IN through Winton's Gap and on to
! Cbickamauga. We descended through
Stevens Gap to junction with Ihom-
| as The junction of the three corps
was now completed and we were dis
| nosed in line in front of Bragg on
! Chickamauga creek.
THE extreme right was held by
| Sheridan when the fight opened on the
10Th of September, and Wood came
next. then ours The fighting was
desperate all day, neither side gaining
an advantage. Longstreet's division
had arrived from Lees army and we
could hear their cheers as they got off
the cars in the enemy's rear. 1t was
not long until they appeared in our
front. coming headlong with the bayo-
net, not firing a shot. But there was
an uproar sure enough when we clash
ed. We had heard that they Dragged
about showing Western rebels how to
fight. and about what a picnic it was
to whip the Yankee shoe-peggers UP on
! the Potomac
80 we had it in for them, and the
western Confederates told them: You
are not running against Yankee shoe
peggers now Back and forth we
| charged and fought all evening, inter-
/ mingling our dead and wounded on the
| field. General Davis sent me to Cen
! eral Rosecrans for reinforcements.
| General Rosecrans said: Tell General
| Davis | can give him no aid and that
he must hold his position When l
| got back General Davis was walking
| back and forth on a PROSTATE tree
| losses. | heard him eXclaim: My God,
They are killing all my men.
Next day, the 10th, was Sunday.
Longstreet' shattered division was
withdrawn from our front and a di-
vision of Folks Corps took its place.
Owing to a heavy fog, the fight did not
open until about $50 a. m. General
| Wood received an order to move his
| division to the left and close on Rey-
nolds. In executing this, order Wood
opened a gap in our line The enemy
| saw it, quickly swung into it. and sep
arated our division and Sheridan's
| from Thomas
! AT the moment of this disaster Ros-
| ecrans, McCook and Davis were to-
gether near our division. On the en-
envy came, driving our front line in con-
| fusion. Near us was a small log house