Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1899-04-27
TWO WAR STORIES.
LongEtreers IFresistibIe Charge and
mn Experience at stone
River.


81 know something about that my
SELF" said the corporal. "On the see
ond day Mt Chiclfamauga, as there had
been so much marching and counter
marching, two or three Of us on nd
vance picket duty felt that there wasn't
going TO be much OF shower and We
were scouting with instructions TO
keep our eyes open in the woods in tho
direction in which we would have bet
money there were no confederates. We
struck several detachments from other
commands, and il seemed to be very
general opinion that we wouldn't have
much work that day on our part Of
the line. We found very nice place
and sat down to rest, and were engaged
in little discussion as to where Rose
Grams had made mistakes, particularly
as to our own regiment, when there was
a sudden roar and rumble off toward
the river.
ut sounded ut first as though great
body Of water had broken loose and was
coming down upon us. 1t grew louder
and came nearer, and as we sat stricS.
en- dumb by the appalling noise we
saw coming straight toward us n
rapidly moving mass or cloud of gray.
1t seemed at first like heavy thun-
dercloud rolling along the surface Of
the ground and enveloping trees and
brush as il came. We soon saw that il
was n great charging column, line upon
line, of confederates. The mystery was
there was no firing. They came whir-
ing through the woods like u resistless
tornado. They were on us and over us
and speeding away before our wits
came back, and we understood that
this charging column in gray meant
death and destruction to the right wing
of the union army. 1t was Longstreet's
magnificent charge, and in its sweep
forward the tremendous column paid
no more attention to the pickets or
scouts or attachments in front than
If they had been so many dead leaves.
Literally we were knocked down and
trampled on, and, bruised and bleed
ing, we crept away to join, later in
the day, our own regiment, which had
made the best fight it could against
this tornado of war. When an army
got ready to go it joined issue with
the other army without any ceremony"
"Do you remember that experience
at Stone river?" said the doctor.
EARLY on the morning of the LIST of
January our brigade, which had been
roughly handled the day before, was
sent to the extreme front as sort
of grand picket or observation corps.
| remember that it was very dark.
Aroused from the troubled sleep in
bivouac on their arms, the men, stiff
and sore, shivering with cold, moved
sullenly along in the dark. They came
at last to where they were to form in
line of battle. This was in front of the
command that was to be relieved. As
the men struggled to form a respecta-
bic line on the uneven ground they came
in contact with logs which seemed
clustered in confusion all over the
ground. The men kicked at these in
the dark and grumbled as they tried
to find n place for their feet.
"Only a few hundred yards to the
front was a heavy mass, darker than
the darkness, which we knew was the
confederate line. AS the purpose was
not to make an attack, but to guard
against attack, the men were required
to be very quiet. So they stood with
their arms at ready when daylight