The National tribune., 1902-01-23
By CAPT. FREE S. BOWLEY.
COPYRIGHT 1902. BY THE PUBLISHERS OF
THE NATIONAL TRIBUNE.

forced back, with hardly 4 round of am
munition TO the man remaining IN the sol
diers' cartridge-boXes, an army waSoi
came f1ying down the hill, sped along IL
rear of the battle line, pitching out boXe:
of cartridges as il rushed along. 1t Wa'
one of Jim Wright's wagons. ana JIM
was directing every movement anu Il'
arrival of the ammunition was most op
portuue. The negro driver and the mules
quickly went down before that ieauen
storm. and Jim, after seeing that tine
cartridges were all distributed, seized a
,nnsket and ran to the left of the lihe,
where a Maine regiment was being harH
pressed.
The thin blue line had been extended
until il could stretch no farther, ana the
enemy were steadily outiiankIng them,
Xybrn down the slopes of Little Round
Ton came two veteran brigadeS of the
Sixth COrps The feeble cheer that went
ND from the hari-pressed line was
drowned by the crashing volieys OF tne
Sixth Corps men, whose advance struck
the enemy's right flank, throwing them
into disorder and driving them back to
the shelter of the woods beyond the field.
The 10Th had arrived at Little Round
TOP in time to see the Sixth Corps check
the enemy's victorious advance, but they
had not been called upon to take any ac-
tive part in the fighting. Not being per
UHnnnIlN ltldtIltu " 'ths N'AB'' 80!
were used, with other regiments. as re
serve, and placed in Il second line, behind
a hill, near Gen. Meade's headquarters
The tired soldiers stacked their guns,
made coffee, and were soon sleeping
soundly behind the gun stacks.
All night long the stretcher-bearers
were passing with their suffering bur-
dens, but they did not awaken the weary
men of the 10th Early on the morning
of July 3 they were aroused by the heavy
skirmishing in their front and the sound
of q fierce battle on the right of the army.
They were soon called to help the hard
pressed Union right. Over to CUlp's Hill
they went on the run, only to find that
they were not needed. Back to the Ia
neytown road again, and this time the
column attracted the fire of the enemy's
artillery, only mile away. terrible or
deal it was for the 10Th as they ran
through that shower of bursting shell
Under the shelter of the protecting hill
they halted.
At IL o'clock in the forenoon the firing
had all gone down-nOt even Il skirmish-
er's rifle disturbed the silence.
At 1 o'clock precisely the sharp crack Of
a Whitworth gun broke the oppressive 81
Der" shot passed over the brigade. In
stantly 1873 Confederate cannon belched
out such q tempest of shot and shell as
the world had never seen before on any
battlefield. Seventy-seven cannon from
the Union line answered back the thun-
dering peal.
The men. stunned at first by the sud
dcnncss and severity of the cannOnade,
lay fiat upon the ground. and tried to
make themselves as thin as q hard
tack Considering the terrible storm of
missiles, the casualties were very few,
and the soldiers soon recovered their
caimneSS and began to make remarks.
Gen Meade's headquarters had been
shellcd out and he and his staff sought
safety under the hill, near the line Of
battle.
"What do you think of this. Barney? =
asked Jack of an Irish soldier in the
color guard.
'Regorra, Sergeant. it's an Elegant can
nonade, an it greatly remOinds me av
Sebastopol," said Barney, who had been
a soldier in the Crimean war and was
never weary of telling OF the lombard
ment of Sebastopol. AN Sergeant, dear,
it's a most proper battle, for Everybody
is under fire for onctr' And so it was.
for headquarters, hospitals, stragglers
and even the reporters were ali exposed
to the death-dealing blast. For an hour
and a half this terrible blizzard ragged.
Then the Union batteries ceased firing,
and in few minutes it was quiet again.
The 10Th, with the other regiments, were
moved up to the crest of the ridge, where
they could see the whole valley between
the lines.
'There they are! Here they Gomez
shouted the soldiers, and from the bushes
on the encmy'S side of the field emerged
a heavy skirInish line. Seventy yards be-
hind them was a second skirmiSh line.
Twenty rods behind these came the first
line Of battle; it was nearly mile in
length. The men were carrying their
guns, with bayoncts fixed, at right shoul-
der. Their regimentai flags and guidons
marked the position OF every regiment: be-
hind them. mounted, with staff officers
and orderlies. came the brigade and divi-
sion commanders, each with his head
quarters flag flying.
'What a magnificent line" said Jack
'but will they never stop coming?" for
the second line of battle in the same form
and order as the first had shown itself
massed columns, ready TO support the bat
tie lines at the proper time.
Soon the skirmishers of the two armies
were hotly engaged, and the Union skir-
mish line was forced back. The Union
artillery had opened n fearful fire upon
were torn in their lines were quickly
closed. In perfect order they advanced.
Again and again were their ranks shat
tered and torn, but always the same he
rOic closing OF ranks and the same steady,
onward tramp The men in the first
As the Confederates nearcd the stone
wall they brought their mUSkctS from the
right shoulder to charge bayunets." An
other crashing of grape and canister, an
other fearful rcnding Of ranks, that were
promptly closed, and on they camei They
caught sight Of the blue line behind the
stone wall; their muskets were quickly
raised. and 5000 rifles poured their mur-
derOus fire into the Union ranks. The
Federal line, living close, suffered hut lit
tie With n cheer and yell the Confed
crates charged Then the men in blue
rose as one man, and with cool and dead
Iy aim poured a whitening yolley into tho
foe, whose first line went down like grass
before the scythc.
The Confederate second line reinforced
the first. and with yell and a Yolley they
charged again. Another roll of muSkctry
and the opposing ranks closed in deadly
conflict. The Union men were Ovcrpow
cred and hcd to the main line Then il
was that the reserves, among them tho
10th, were called upon to advance anC
support their comrades Forward, IN,
brave men, Drive them backI Give then
the Stecn' shouted the Colonel of tn,
10th. AS the Union reinforcement.
reached the scene of the struggle the en-
envy gave them terrific yOllcy The,
answered it with a volley more terrible
With 4 sob Jack Wright saw his beloved
Captain fall: then the Eray-haired Firs
Sergeant. whom every man loved. pitche
forward. dead. Jack looked down the line
the Lieutenant was gone: the other Ser
geants were stretched upon the ground
he fbo Fifth ;,,