The National tribune., 1901-05-23

! brought forward, and held in reserve just
behind the SD Ohio. Our skirmishers are
driven back pell-mell upon the line of bat
tie; the artillery with us in Fort Robinett,
and the guns which play over our heads
from the rear are firing rapidly, and some
of our officers are running along the line
| ordering the men to get down and lie
low until they are close upon u.s.
In an other minute the head of the rebel
column coming along the Chewalla road is
seen nearby heading straight for the SD
and Battery Robinett. Now our men
arise to their feet and poured into the
enemy that steady fire which fills the road
with his dead, and seems to call halt,
for though the rear of the column moves
steadily on, the head of it comes no nearer,
but appears to melt away. But the enemy
| is firing too. Along the whole length
OF the 63d and portions of the 9th and
Add officers and men are failing fast.
Some scenes here witnessed, though al
most as brief as if revealed by a fash OF
lightning, are stamped indelbly upon the
memory. Just where the 63d adjoined the
18th three men go down together Capt.
McFadden, 63d, shouts out his first COM
mand in battle, and is dead; Lieut.. Webb,
Of the 9th, endeavors to to repeat the
order to fire low and while his mouth
is open wide, a bullet enters; he throws
up his hands, and falling on his face is
still forever.
The men not hit heed nothing; they fire
incessantly, and their faces, black with
powder, make noticeable their flashing
eyes and their set teeth, so that they look
like demons.
A minute later the column in the Che
walla road has disappeared, but a strong
force a little further to the west is ap-
proaching the left of Robinett and is
making sad havoc in the ranks of the 43d
This regiment has hardly finished its
manuver of changing 'front.' obstructed as
| iS bn fol with nd
posed moreover to a flank fire from the
Chewalla road. a glance in their direc-
ton reveals a startling picture. Col
Kirby Smith, commander of the 43d, is
down, rider and horse together. Some of
his men now raise him up; his face falls
over toward us, and we see his cheek is
red with blood.
Lieut.. Hyl, the Adjutant, trying to keep
his saddle, clutches his horses name, but
gradually loOsens his grip, and before a
ccmrade with Oustretched arms can reach
him, he is on the ground. A dozen more
+, along the line drop in that instant, and
the enemyS hre from front and flank is
: so severe that for a moment a rout is
= feared; but only for moment, for Swayne
I here takes command of the regiment, and
, is steadying the line, and Gen. ID. S. Stan
ley, who rode over to the right when he
thought all the fighting was to be done
there, gallops back in the nick of time to
help. His coming at that critical moment
! ! seemed like the arrival of renforcements.
And now this regiment takes sudden ven
; geance for its Colonels fall; for they drive
back with great slaughter, the force
, which approaches to the left of Fort
tobinett, and shoot every enemy who
shows his head above the parapet or tries
to climb through the embrasures of the
battery, when the final effort is made, very
soon thereafter, to carry that works by
storm.
While the 43d is thus engaged, Col.
. Rogers, commanding the Texas Brigade,
rides out from the woods, and with his
troops moves along the Chewalla road
heading for the battery and the 63d; an
other moment his horse is shot, and he is
!, coming along the road on foot. His lead
ing Color Sergeant falls, when Rogers,
picking up the colors, continues to advance
7 with flag in hand. A cloud of rebel skirm-
ishers on either side of the road are firing
heavily on the 63d and left wing of the
9th until 4S per cent. of the men of the
former regiment are killed or wounded,
and the line is so much thinned that Col.
Sprague and |, standing behind, can look
:. right through it, and distinctly see the
advancing rebels, now close at hand.
. / shall ever remember looking at the
face of the rebel Col. Rogers, when not
more than 80 PAGES, and noting the pecu-
: liar expression it had. He looked neither
to the right nor left neither at his own
:, like one in Il hail-storm, was marching
slowly and steadily upon us. The rebel
: column in the road seemed to gain some
tremendous impetus from the rear, for ii
suddenly rushed on like a great wave,
! threatening 10 sweep into the gap which
: had been shot through the 63d, and to
carry the redoubt by storm.
a The supreme moment had now come,
= = and turned to give the signal to the 11th
: Mo-, in reserve, and close behind. The
= leader of this regiment, perhaps, 10 min
: utes earlier, had received his orders that
, had been sung out over the heads of his
= = men, so that every soldier in the ranks
= knew what was wanted, and there was
9 no need to repeat them now. Forward,
: shouted the Major, as the regiment
= sprang up, and | had to run to the right
= ! to let them pass. With a short, quick
: step, and alignment perfect, they filed up
u the gap which the enemy's fire had made
= charging the rebel column on the lead
- - The 9th under Maj. Spaulding, which
:, had lost heavily, yet still was full of fight
y Joined by plucky remnant of the 63d
o rushed forward at the same moment
g charging the column obliquely on its left
: flank when in an instant the whole scene
:, changed. Rogers, with many of his men,
" lay dead before us, and those who were not
= prisoners were flying back to the woods.
- One moment the enemy seemed tO-be
. | swarming over us in thousands, our own
. | lines looked thin and weak, we seemed
!, threatened with destruction; the next
most of the living of the foremost rebels
= were our prisoners, a few hundred, ap
e parenty, were running to the forest, while
. our boys seemed to have swelled into many
i thousand.
d In the melee a banner of the enemy wa!
d captured by Private Orrn b. Gould, OF
q Co. G, 9th Ohio. But there was one rec
:. flag, / think the banner briefly borne by
5. Col. Rogers, which escaped us as by {
n miracle. Some bold Texan had picked i
# up almost beneath our feet, and throwing
i the staff across his shoulder ran in a zig
: gag manner for the woods. He lodged be
d hind a log moment here, then behind 6
# stump there. He was fired at by 20 mer
l. or more, and once, whether hit or not
d tunbled headlong while striding falleI
d tree. Yet he escaped with the banner
& after all, and as he passed over the ridge
IS out of our sight some of our boys whC
had missed him gave him three cheers tha
e was due q hero.
4 An incident may here be mentioned Of
\. the ADD When the rebels made their fina
1t effort to break through our lines, Lieut.
d Robinett of the battery, severely wounded
h in the head, fell senseless under one of hi.
t guns. At this most of his men ran to the
e rear A moment later, some of the mel
IS of Co. A, of the 43d, entered the battery