The Washington weekly post., 1900-05-29

Lee WAS moving 70 invade Maryland
and Pennsylvania. The mountains MD
us marching columns from sight Cf rhe
Ff1crdls, and at every gap in the Blue
Ridge he left force with instructions 10
hold Ou: @" ,he last and give him all the
iime possible to reach and cross the Po-
iomac. II was the aim OF the Federals
10 break through at some point and pene-
irate his movement and there was fight
Ing on every mountain tran and at the
mouth Of every mountain gap. The major
general had said 20 the brigadier ordered
90 proceed 70 ThorOughfare Gap:
Il do no; know how many Confe1erates
are holding that gap. bat be the number
30 or loWo YOU must break through.
That is the oyder-break through. II
only one mar OF your command is LETT
alive hc viii bring us the news We wan
And the major general on the Confeder-
ate side had said TO the brigader:
You Will cetach one regiment OF yOur
command 20 hold Thoroughfare Gap. I,
must be held against the Federais for
:hrec days. We cal. spare only a single
regiment. II here is but one r.an Ief;
alive az Jna sad 81 that time, he will fol-
low on and oveIgske Us"
Gap Was Like Tomb.
A narrow wagon road. twisting and
turning between walls from 20 to lOo feet
high, with alternate spots OF sunshine
and gloom-that was Thoroughfare Gap
As the skeleton regiment Of go Confeder-
atrs entered II and pressed forward 10 its
western mouth. it's ruggedness and
gloomy solemuity brought a feeling Of
awe. Il reminded them OF a tomb. and
they shuddered to think OF dying in the
seTni-darkness Two feldpieces rolled
along with the regiment Of infantry. and
the jar OF the heavy wheels loOsened a
stone now and then to come Gathering
down from far above. When a blue
brigade came gathering up il was 10 find
the coo in possession and the position one
which the duIlest private must see was
well nigh lnpresnable. Every hour was
worth a thousand lives 10 the Federal
army. and the Federal bTigadier lost no
time IN beginning the attack. In the open
ne would have Cobbled up that skeleton
regiment at a dash. Behind A rocky wall
hastily thrown up. with no way to get at
the enemy except in front, his surplus Of
men did not count At the sound Of the
hugles they dashed forward with cheers.
but not man got within five rods of the
walls. Grape and canister and bullets
tore the lines to pieces. II was tried
again and again. The orders were to
break through the gap. A thousand dead
and wounded would be a cheap price for
the information to be had at the other
end. Artillery was brought forward 10
batter down the wall but IL could not be
placed 20 advantage. The pieces had only
been fired once when their crews lay dead
or wounded and the carriages were shat
tered. The Federal brigadier rode back
and forth and stormed and swore and al
most wept.
Had Imperative Orders,
Whether 800 or 10000. you must break
through were the orders. and if he
failed to carry them out his career as a
soldier was at an end. An army of 2O0.0O0
men was waiting TO checkmate Lee. A
whole nation was waiting TO hear the
splash Of Confederate feet in the waters
Of the Potomac. The men in blue could
hardly form company in the mouth of
that iefile. A charge against the wall
meant death to every ether man, but they
formed up and charged and cheered and
died. After half a day of bloody fight
ing the Federal brigadier rested. He was
still bleeding from a wound when he
opened dispatch and read:
You nave one of the best brigades in
the corps, and II is certain you are op-
posed by only handful of Confederates
BY O'Clock in the morning you must
have authentic news of Lee"
The brigadier had sacrificed 600 men that
day, and he could not believe the Con-
tederate loss to be over 80. There was
but one way 10 reach them on the morrow
over that stone wall. lie would drive
them or die with the last man. There
was no jollity In the Federal camp that
night. Men will sing or joke as they
swing into battle line in the open. but
these men peered into the darkness Of the
gap and thought of the dead in front of
the stone wall and spoke to each other
In whispers. 1t was a brave sight TO see
them swing into Inc as the sun gilded
the tree tops. Every face had its pallor.
Snd every eye looked into the midst of
death, but there was 10 tagging or faltcr-
ing. You saw them tightening their belts
end setting their jaws as they waited. and
you held your breath for the signal which
vas 10 send them TO death.
On the Confederate side.
On the other side OF the stone wall
there was no eXultation. The dead and
the wounded were comparatively few. but
every hour would add to the number. and
only one day of the three had passed. The
colonel knew what was coming and
prepared for it, When the blue lines
ten deep. came dashing forward they net
with such a hail of iron and lead that the
hrst three or four were blotted of the
lace Of the earth. Then, under the smoke
cloud, some of them wounded and all des-
perate. the other lines crept forward ami
the wall was reached. Ii was a hand to
hand fight now, and every man vas a
devil, and after a quarter of an hour Of
bloody fighting the Federals held the no
sition. The dead lay three deep below the
wall. but the living stood upon its crest
and Cheered and cheered again. But the
cheering soon died away in groUls 9nd
oaths quarter OF mile above, at the
bend OF The ravine there was another
stone wall. and the ConfederateS had sim
ply Withdrawn 10 the new position. They
had lost $50 men, but the Federal brigade
uas no longer brigade Ii lacked a fpu
regiment That night the brigadier had
another wound. and again there were or
dors from the major general:
We must have news OF Lee at every
hazard. Unless you break through AT
once YOUR resignation will be accented" "
\ dark and narrow Tavine. up which
only eight men abreast could make their
way at once; at the turn a stone wall. de-
Tended by two guns: behind The guns the
nuskots OF the infantry You must break
through" repeated the brigacier over and
over1again. He knew that he could not do
II. He knew that the best he could do
was 10 pile up more dead in the dark "a
vine. When morning came he stood on a
knoll and looked down upon the sun
hronZed and waiting veterans. and II was
ke . knife in his heart TO give the order
to attack, single buelC can ard the col.
Umn dashed forward. There wes never a
CEeer nor sfCuL Men who feel that
they are going 10 certain death do not
cheer. They draw a long. breath. CHOKE
hack the gasp IN the throat, and rush
forward with heads down. In ten minutes
IL was all over. The wall had been reach
ID and fought over. hut it could not be