The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1900-07-01

the next day. which was spent In restless
lclnGinG by our men. II was hard 20 get
drink of fresh water. There was very
faint stream. Or. rather, ooze of water from
the side of the hill. and it required deal
OF patience TO wait until a small sxcava-
ton In the mud should be sufficiently flied
with muddy water 60 enable us to dip up a
cuprul to drink. Captain Radford spent the
day apart from us all. He had u PRESENT.
ment that Re would be killed In the ap-
prOach;ng battle and wrote letters and
PAPERS most OF the time.
on the Goth were sent 20 DO picket
duty for General Cooke at the ford above
US. So. Sunday morning. July 81 found j.
Pleasant Dawson and myself stationed IN
der a large water oak in the edge Of n
green meadow that skirtsd Flat Run
near where II entered the "Buu Run II
was hard for TO resist the temptation to
6isnount and loll on the carpet Of green
verduro spread so tempt!ns!y beneath our
feet.
AS the sun rose on this beautiful spot. so
calm and SO peaceful, our thoughts reverted
10 our homes. our loved ones and our neigh
bors. then to odd Trinity" back IN Bed
ford County. the church We had attended
for worship all Of our lives. We spoke In
low and tender tones OF our girl friends
who would be likely to attend church that
day, wishing from the bottom of our hearts
that we could be there In person as We were
in spirit: and then We grew silent. for our
talk had conjured up a multitude of sweet
memories of the past on which our hungry
hearts silently Toasted with delight.
a call to camp put an end to our entran-
cling reveries-love. peace and beauty must
cfy- ay.Ia 70 fha nf hal 70
he'd hardly gotten to camp and taken our
place =. the regiment before the booming
of cannon was shaking the earth and balls
were tearing and whizzing through the pine
woods in which we We're concealed. Sever
al hours were spent "in ranks" during
which II was hard to Danish the thought OF
the terrible havoc one OF these deadly mis-
siIes would make should 1t pass from front
through to the rear OF our column. As the
day advanced cannon began to boom north
west Of us. and those that annoyed US
ceased. We then formed In line In the
open field on the crest OF the hill.
Ever fresh In memory Is the sight OF
South Carolina regiment that passed By to
take a position In tho line In rear of the
ford. In their ranks was the tall figure of
old Mr.. Ruffin. who fired the first shot at
Fort Sumpter. His long. snow white locks
hung down below the collar of his coat
from under the fur (sillD hat so often worn
by elderly gentlemen In that day. The reg
irnent passed in silence. and the firm ana
stately tread of the men showed that the
spirit that animated every bosom was OF
the ''do-or-die" type.
After We had been in ranks for Some time
with the MONDAY sun beating down upon US
from a. cioudiess sky, We were allowed TO
dismount and stand by our horses. We
strained our eyes toward the northwest.
where the battle was now hercely raging.
and tried 10 see some hoped for signs OF vic
tory for the noble band OF Southrons. but
thsre was little to encourage US, though
our painful interest in the scene made US
forget the intense heat that developed u.s.
We had no means Of knowing the time Of
day. but the sun had some time passed
the zenith. when the clear. ringing voice
OF Colonel Radford gave forth the eau
tionary command. Attention. Then. Pre-
pare TO mountr' and then, 'Adountv, We