The National tribune., 1901-06-13
SPOTTSYLVANIA.
A Story of Fierce Fighting in
..rllD.
the Wilderness.
BY S. d. BURGER, First SERGEANT.
co. L, 9Th n. Y. II. A.

| make any noiSe!' Out OF a sound sleep
n sleep that had lasted only four hours
a sleep of almost utter exhaustion! M
echo-awakening bugle call; no rattlins
drum or ear-piercing fife to sound the 'as
sembly;" only the voice OF our Orderly
Sergeant in that early morning CT an af
terward eventful day; only his voice, thai
had in it almost an ominous sound, in the
| blackness of the somber pine forest, call
| ing the men from dreams of home, per
haps-from transient forgetfulness GER
tRinly-to the demands of duty, and, tc
some of us, indeed, to death! 1t was YET
an hour or two before daybreak, the dark
est of the "a; rain was threatening, and
though in the glad springtime of May, al
nature seemed sad, ready to weep because
| of mans inhumanity to man" and because
of the terrible events that had succeeded
the crossing Of the Rapidan just seven
days before.
Silently we rolled our blankets, soggy
with the dew and the rain that had already
fallen; silently we took our places in line,
and as the word forward" came, passed
by one company commander to the other
in low tones down the line, the brigade
was again in motion.
81 wonder what all this means?' said
Serg't Flandreau.
Sure, an it's back to the rare we're
goin' to dhraw rations, so we air." said
Private Sullivan. To draw rationsi Ah,
yes; ratiOns, indeed Such rations as the
terrible old commissary, Apollyon, had
been so gleefully and so literally issuing
since those first dreadful days in the Will
dernessl An ounce of lead, fragment of
shell. Il thrust, perhaps, of the glittering,
murderous bayOnet, or the swinging sweep
of the terrible saber already reeking with
human gore!
Dark and dismal was the road the tree
tops towering far above and shutting out
all Of heaven, imparting some of its own
gloom to the hearts of those now pressing
on over its devious, uncertain way. At
length a line of rife-pits, which seemed to
have been quite recently evacuated was
reached and quietly taken possession OF; q
line of Skirmishers was thrown out, and
we sat down under cover of the works to
await daylight and the events that were
so soon to follow. We had not long to
wait. Gradually the darkness gave way
to the gray of dawn; slowly the curtain
of night rolled up. Just in front of our
position farm house, at first but dmly
discerned, came clearer and clearer into
view. A number of small outbuildings
surrounded it-altogether so peaceful and
happy and homelike looking that one could
scarcely realize that Death was lowering
so near.
Suddenly, away off to the left, a mile or
mere away, came a crash of musketry.
somewhat softened BY the distance and
the intervening trees: the cheers of a
charging column minglinE with the hideous
sounds of battle. A Sudden quiet sue
ceeded-a hush like that which precedes
the oncoming tornadU's blast-and then
cheers-wild, exuitant cheers. Yankee
cheers, loud and long, broke on the trem-
ulous morning air, telling of the fearful
charge and the victory gloriously wont
And brigade after brigade. as it caught
the glad news, sent answering cheers along
up the line until it reached us and was
caught mp by other biigades still farther
to the right. -iH
Soon an aid came ghlloping along in
rear of the line. I'VE have captured Gen.
Johnston's Division Of 1000 men and be-
tween 30 and 40 pieces of artillery. one
Major-G General, three Brigadiers, and the
whole bloody lot of them" We. too, arose
in the rife-pits, and, for the moment for
getful of the proximity OF an enemy al
ways alert and always aggressive, added
our cheers to those that were making the
old woods ring again.
For an hour or so scarcely a shot was
fired; then the dropping fire of skirmishers
was heard. gradually increasing in vol
ume until il had again reached the crack
ling and rattle of desperately-foug bat
tie. The heavier detonations of field guns.
hurtling shell and solid shot, canister and
spherical case, broke viciously on our
listening ears, and we knew our time had
come.
An Orderly rode up in haste. "FaHi in.
men! Left-face. Forward - double
quick-march.' and away we went, left in
front. along that rough road-not a road
merely path through the woods, on and
on. every moment bringing us nearer and
nearer to that fearful din of shot and
shell and fierce shouting OF men contend
ing in struggle of life or DEATH With
a quick cry of pain Wallace Homan, one
OF my terminates during the Winter at
Brandy Station, dropped his gun. caught
his right arm, shattered by bullet, in his
left hand, and shouting, "Pye got it,
boys" fell to the rear. On we went, the
bullets coming thicker and faster the
shells bursting high in mid-air, or plow-
ing up the ground before us and ricochet-
ing over the column into the woods be
yond. And now the steady stream of
wounded men. fleeing from the scorching
breath of battle, was met coming out of
that maelstrOm of death in that smoke
envelOped woods. Men with shattered
limbs, blood gushing through fingers clasp
ing a hideous wound in the throat. torn
and mangled, and bleeding their life away
as they essayed to hurry from that field
of DEATH Boys, that's hot place in
thtlts 'fIFt lHtIU 1elIOwS. were
some of the greetings we received as we
rushed now madly on. An officer led the
way and position was assigned us, and.
quickly forming in line of battle. we were
ordered to lie down and cover ourselves
as best we could.
The batteries in rear of the line were
throwing shells over our heads while those
OF the enemy were cutting off great
branches of the trees above; bullets were
cutting the air all about us, spatting
against trees or striking with dull thud
into some luckleSs fellow-creature. Closely
we hugged the ground, the rain coming
down in ceaseless downpour. Our Do
sitlon was truly most trying one Just
over that little rise of ground one of the
most tremendous battles of the war was
progressing, charge following charge in
quick succession, while the carnage on
both sides was fearful; "men fighting hand
to hand, their respective flags often plant
cd on opposite sides of the same breast
works."
Lying there in the mud and rain. in
active, listening to the never-ceasing rat
tie and crash OF musketry and all the hor-
rlhle sounds of that fog-and smoke hidden
field, momentarily expecting, yet dread
ing. the order that should send us into
that battle-crazed !, mass of struggling,
bleeding, dying humanity, it is no wonder
Ii we grew sick with the agony of sus-
pense and the unwonted strain on the
nervous system. But even with all the
excitement and dread and the uncomforta-
bleness of the situation, so thoroughly ex.
hausted had the men become that num-