Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1899-12-03


| hain't got no cannon, but here's lot of
| extra muskets, plenty of cartridges, and
we've got just twenty-five feet of wall
| to guard. faint in human natur that
we kin lick huh army, but we orter
| stop full regiment, and mebbe brig
| ade. I've bin ordered to stop here and
| do the best kin. How many are will
in to see me through"
| "HerAhere-aerer' answered man after
! man. until all had spoken.
WALL then, let's hev no more jawin'
! about it," said the sergeant as he moved
| off, If the Johnnies don't come Wen hev
| lots of time to eat and smoke and play
| keerds If they do come, then 1 want We
| to help me hold this pass as long as one
| us US can pull trigger. Tom and Jim We
| may sneak UP the pass and act as videttes
| and the rest of the crowd will load these
extra muskets and gift plenty of cartridges
| along
High up on Bull Mountain the enemy's
| signal men looked down on the Federal
| camp. at sunrise. AS the guns began to
timber UP and the companies to fall in a
| signal flag sent message to the plains at
J the southern entrance of the gap:
Moving off to the west, and only about
dozen men left behind
| The flag had scarcely ceased waving
when a; force of 5000 infantry was on the
| march for the gap. From crest to crest
| along the range-from Frazer's gap to
| Snicker's-the flags instructed the enemy
| force to attack at Smoker s-to make
| great show of breaking through. The
| sound of battle would hurry along the re-
| enforcement and leave the other gap open.
| The videttes which The federal sergeant
had posted in the ravine had only smoked
a pipe apiece when they caught sight of
! the enemys' skirmishers making their way
J DOWN the defile
Did We ever kill a MANI asked the ell
| der of the videtes as he thrust the barrel
| of his musket over the rock behind which
| they were sitting.
What the devil have I bin dom down
here for two years" snapped the other.
DRAWN yer gigantic salary and Twin
| on the fat of the land Mebbe you want
| some shootin jest fer change. Behind
| them skirmishers Is a hull army. We will
| drop one man apiece and then git back to
the wall. Ready, now, and if We miss yer
man I'll never speak to yer agin as long
! as | live!'
| Two muskets cracked and two of the
| advancing skirmishers threw up their
hands and went down. A minute later the
men were back to the wall and the SER
gesant was saying:
Il told ye it was a trick, and any gin
eral with an ounce of brains orter knowed
it. Now, boys, noise don't count for
shucks. What we want to do is to shoot
I c4,., fcrl,& i
are goin' to die for glory, but a heap of
them fellers hev got to show US the way!"
The leader of the advancing force sent
200 picked men ahead to clear the way.
Each man knew how that gap vas de-
| Tended, and the number of defenders. A
heavy stone wall ran across it and was
carried up to a height of eight feet. There
were embrasures for two guns and there
were loop holes for plenty of muskets. In
that narrow defile there was but one way
of approach. No strategy could be used.
There must be more men in the attacking
force than bullets amount the defenders.
/ The slirmishers moving up paused as two
of their members fell, but only for half a
minute. Then each man drew a long
| breath, set the cap on his head more firm
| ~, and dashed forward with yell
Thar they come, boysn shouted the
sergeant who was handling musket him
| self. and sheet of flame leaped ten feet
from the wall as the muskets volleyed.
| 1t was dead rest for every musket and
! a point blank fire at a stones throw.
| Every bullet counted once-some twice
! and not an enemy reached the wall. None.
| had expected to. Here and there, within
| pistol shot of the wall, were great rocks
| lying as they had fallen from above, and
| here and there were inches in the rocky
! sides of the defile which would shelter
man. Men sunk down behind the rocks
| or pressed into the niches, and from thence
| began a fire on the loop holes which soon
| drew blood. AS this fire slackened to per-
NIT of another rush the sergeant looked
around and saw three or four dead men
! on his side of the wall, but he lifted up
! his voice and shouted:
STEADY and cool, boys, and they can't
| do it! We can hold hull army here for
| an lnour!''
A second rush and secoEd volley, and
| the groans of the dying and the shrieks of
| the wounded made the narrow defile, filed
with smoke until it was almost as dark as
| midnight, seem like the entrance to he'll.
| One or two of the enemy reached the wall,
! but only to die there. A rush could not
| carry it yet. Down behind the dying and
| the dead dropped the living. to send their
| bullets through creyice and loophole, and
| the sergeant exchanged his musket for
| fresh one and looked along the wall to
| find only four men beside himself. Even
as he looked a bullet found the heart of
| defender as it whizzed through a loop hole.
kin we hold 'em, sarge?" asked one OF
| the three as he looked up.
"Of course not" was the reply. Cant
no four men lick a hull brigade on this
| trip
Then what are ye goin' to do?"
Die here, Die for orders and for glory.
Keep away from the loop holes till they
come again. Strikes me we hewitt done
any cheerin' yet. Now, then, hip-h.p-
hurrah!"
Three minutes later came the third rush.
Four men thrust four muskets through
the loop holes and fired. Then there were
only three men-then only two-then the
enemy swarmed over the wall by the
score and one of them waved his cap and
| shouted
Down with the wall. boys. for it's all
over, Shuck my hide. but every one Of
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