Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1898-02-05


| ton Hoods men were ordered into the
corn to hold it against the enemy. Wof-
ford brigade Of Texans led the charge,
dashing from the west wood toward the
east reckless or ignorant Of the fact that
the open field north Of them was filled
with Federal cannon and men.
AS Wofford marched into the corn
from the west two Federal divisions un-
der Williams and Crawford started in
from the north side Of the field. The
leading Federals bent around tho left or
rear flank Of Wofford, completely cut
ting him off from retreat, while his right
flank was rushing ahead to the east
wood. Gordon's Federal division lay
in the open field adjoining the east
wood on the north, and Green divi-
sion at the moment of collision charged
from the east wood westward. meeting
Hoods dauntless soldiers at arms
length Hoods limo facing north was
buffeted back by Williams, Crawford
and the batteries and that portion NOV
ing east was broken into fragments by
Greens resistless masses.
Although it was a hopeless fight the
Texans, Georgians and others that had
followed turned upon the enemy, first
one way and then another, wherever a
Federal flag waving in the corn or a
shower of grape moving a swath Of
eornstalks gave sign of the enemy's
presence. The Union artillerists, hav
ing clear sweep of the cornfield, held
their fire until the awful harvest was
ready for the sickle. Slaughter SO sud
den and terrible as that visited upon
Hoods men, and Woffords Texans in
particular, was never known. In the
first Texas, which formed Wofford S
center on the flank of the Eighteenth,
1856 men were shot down out of 226 in
the ranks. The Eighteenth lost 80 kill
ed and wounded. The cornfield had
proved trap to both sides alike, but in
the end the Confederates got the worst
of it, Hood IS men left row of dead
along the east wood and upon the north
ern border of the field.
Before the next battle the Eighteenth
was taken from the old Texan brigade
and assigned to Cobb's Georgia brigade,
change that gave it the post of honor
again at Fredericksburg. Cobb's Geor-
gians held the memorable stone wall,
from behind which came that leaden
hail which moved down the columns of
French and Hancock when they at
tempted to scale the slope of Marye's
Heights, in December, 1862. General
Cobb was killed while melting his
Georgians to their terrible work. A
chronicler Of the Eighteenth who was
present that day declared that every
member of the regiment killed his man
there and wounded many more.
In the battle of Charlottesville the
Eighteenth took its fortunes and its
punishment in the regular line Of battle
when it charged the Federal works on
Sunday, May 8. In less than an hour
and half the regiment lost 100 men
killed and wounded. The fallen leader
Cobb was succeeded by Colonel Wofford,
who led the brigade to Gettysburg and
took part in the assault made on July 2
under Longstreet's direction at the peach
orchard. Wofford's line advanced at the
first signal for the charge straight upon
the Federal batteries in the famous sa-
lient angle. The Federal line was soon
broken and driven from the field, and
the Eighteenth escaped with the small
est loss on any hard fought field. It's
total casualties were 40
From the time of its transfer from
the Texan brigade to the Georgia bri-
gade the Eighteenth had served in Nc
Laws division and after Gettysburg
went to Tennessee with that command.
A turn of the tables for Fredericksburg
was given when with McLaw's doomed
columns it charged the deadly bastion
at Fort Sanders, in front Of Knoxville,
on Nov. %, 1868. AS preparation to
meet that attack the Federals had
stretched telegraph wire around some
stumps in front of the work, and when
the Georgians and Mississippians, 3, 900
strong, came bounding along they trip
ped and fell under the fire of marksmen
within the fort. Benjamin S battery and
detachments from the One Hundredth
Pennsylvania, Seventy ninth New York
highlanders and Twentieth Michigan
constituted the guardians of the bastion.
In spite of the mishap at the wires
the Georgians rushed to the ditch, led
by Colonel Ruff, who fell as he was