The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1900-12-19
The Laurens Advertiser
$l.5o Per Year in Advance.
THE GENERALS
FORGIVENESS

We looked before lis and then to ,
left and right, and everywhere we saw :
the smoke Of the cnemy's musketry ex-
tending like fire i'll n field of dry grass,
while the little bullets sang like y ,
swarm of bees, cutting down our ranks
and driving the Survivors into q hud-
died mass. 1t is one thing TO fight the
foe in an open plain, where you can
see his face and the chances are even.
1t Is another thing to charge him in
his chosen position, with the flag wav-
ing over you, the drum beating YOU
on and the hot blood singing IN your
veins, but 1T IS a very different thug
to nave HIM ri-c up from the woods
and thickets all around you when you
did not know of his presence and en-
Velop you in a fire that burns and
blinds you.
The torrent of the British muSkctry
grew alike in sweep and volume. Dur
surprise was complete, overwhelming
and terrible. We had marched into
the ambush as if that were the only
o IN the world, and our shattered
lines recoiled farther aud farther. We
were shouting to each other, firing
shots at the enemy whom we
could not ste and bending to the hail
OF hrllCts which reduced our number
so fast. Our colonel was swearing at
the men and striking some with the
flat OF his sword IN vain attempt to re-
store order, and then | saw n grayish
color overspread his face. He stopped
quite still = a moment. as if he lad
been stricken with sudden paralysis, the
sword dropped from his outstretchcd
hand, and he pitched forward on his
tace.
"Our coloncl's killed Our c~olonel's
killed " ran a wailing cry through the
regiment. Welovcd Colonel Carruthers
and well he deserved our love. lie
had led us through a d, zen battles,
sometimes in victory aud sometimes
IN defeat, but always he had been the
same brave, patient, kindly man, watch,
ing over us like Il father. When the
bullet struck him down, we felt as II
we had received the lead in our own
bodies, and the Mailing cry was follow
ed by one great groan, coming from
us all together.
But the fire that converged upon IL,
grew hotter and hotter and deadllel
and deadlier. The bushes seemed tt
spout death, innumerable little ilashe!
of flame appeared among them, mark
ing the activity of the tlitiing sharp
shooters, and the shrill hiss of the bul
lets never ceased. Our numbers melt
ed rapidly, although some tried to re
store order and reform the ranks the,
wasted both threat and appeals. w,
were veterans, but We had been thrown
into a panic. 1t was not the fire of tn,
enemy, ii was the surprise, the am
bush, and our routed regiment, a mob O
fugitives, slreamed backward, leavin!
behind it the trail of Its dead ant
wounded.
Good God, Gordon, did think tina
L would ever see such a sight An,
we boosted that ours was the fines
regiment in the army too!n gloane,
Captain Hunter TO me. There weretear
on his face, and he struck a fugi,iv,
across he head with the nat OF hi
sword. But the man paying no atten
ton to him, ran on.
l looked back and saw he British
pressing forward in a swarm, their re,
coats gleamLg in the dazzling sunlirh
ana their sharpshOoters showing In,
same deadly activity that had marke,
them In the beginning. But rank ant
lille and sharpshoOters alike no lonre
sought cOncealment. There was n,
need of it now. They saw that w,
were beaten, panic stricken, and the,
W upon us, pouring into us a fir,
that added TO our confusion and til,
desire to run faster.
We were firing, too, but in a wilt
and scattered way, and | fancy ,ha
few of the bullets found a British mark
The smoke of the musketry hung owe,
us and at times obscured our sight, bur
always we beheld through 1t the rec
and hostile uniforms pressing dowr
upon us in closer and heavier olumns
L knocked suddenly against some one
ami then wnen the smoke cleared away
little | saw it was Captain Hunter
again.
Cant you do something? Can't YOU
do something, Gordon?" he cried IN de.
spaii. "Oh, that such a thing should
happen to this of all regiments -
lie raised his sword again to strike a
man, but the arm dropped back to his
side, shot through by a musket ball.
Yet ne still shOLted to them and sought
to hold them back AMI form a line Of
resistance. L will confess that | had
suffered from The panic terror al first
when the volleys leaped from the mus
ie'Sh ohh pSLlOOlcIS III tnC
pushes, feeling that sudden impulse to
run away, to escape the bullets that
were cutting us 6own, the animal IN
stinct, think, but now my pride be-
gan to take control of my feelings. /
turned my face more than once toward
the enemy, and l found that it embold-
ened me. The danger that | saw was
less terrible hen the danger at NV
back. Then L used both cntreatics
and threats to make the men turn, but
they did not hear or if hearing thew
did not heed. The rout went on and
and the smoke cloud and our disgrace
alike !nfolded us.
"To the hills yonder! To the hillsr,
shouted the men and they looked long
lngly at the broken ridges that Law be-
fore us II mile away. They knew that
our main army was there, md the
thought in all their breasts was of ref
uge behind It's numbers. We reached
a little brook and plunged across it in
such a huddled mass that the water
new up IN a shower, and hen in an
instant all of us were on the other side.
There we paused a moment. A great
man on a white horse stood across the
path.
i shall never FORGET tho look of that