The National tribune., 1902-06-12


of Union prisoners in many directions
pressed hasty steps to the rear, while,
meeting them and crossing them, regi-
ments and brigades at the run We're going
forward to the fight The crashing of
branches, the bowling of shells, the near
whiz of the mimic ball, commingled on
both sides told us that the front lines had
interlocked in an unheard-of struggle.
Mounted officers in the woods strove
| Intellectually to rally fugitives who rushed
headlong through ranks of troops advanc-
| ing. l saw fleeing soldier fall dead; l
saw n caisson burst and throw death and
disorder for 30 yards around; / saw n
horse plowed through and through by a
shell which exploded Immediately after
ward and killed three men; l saw red
battle flag go down and rise again: then
heard the voice of Col. Baker-'For-
ward, Sixteenth, and hold your fire. and
then | saw Col. Baker fall.
What could a man not see? Within n
radius of n hundred yards no horror was
lacking. But what could a man see:
Shut in by the woods, misty with falling
rain and rising yapors, and smoky with
battle, no man could see how the fight
was going.
Col Baker is dead. The regiment is
running forward by the flank. the men at
trailed arms, every man painting for
breath, going we know not where-Only
forward to the breastw0rks. | know the
ground We are now in rear of Ramseur
the right of Ramseur, and the left of
Doles. But where is Ramseur now, and
where is Doles? Have we met their
routed men? Are the Union troops in pos
session of the works once held by these
brigades? Then why are we advancing
by the flank?
The rage of strife increases. Even
more does death abound, and in every in
| 10 ctiII he,
and the branches fall, and the echoes OF
the forest are slenced by mightier sounds.
| If the Fcderals are in the trenches, the
10th will be slaughtered by fire from
many directions poured on its tanks and
its head. Lieut.. Nixon falls.
| Still the regiment holds its fire, al
though vacant intrenchments are near at
hand, with spouts of smoke bursting from
their farther side, where the Federals lie
| enSconced.
And now from our right a gray line Of
battle advances, cheering.
The 10th keeps on by the flank, up the
| breastwOrks toward the angle, marching
across the course of the advancing line,
which later we found to be GOrdOn's. Be
hind the breastworks on the Confederate
side, men are lying-the dead and wound
ed-and few strong men are yet there.
most of them hiding behind cover, but
others loading and firing. Bullets are
coming from the right, where our Union
| men hold the east face of the angle; our
Mississippians are dropping fast, but those
who live work their way along the line
| firing now, and moving slowly.
| A terrific sheet Of fire comes. and / see
and feel the column stagger and then halt
Every man lies down. The Yankees are
| just across the works. They lie there
| afraid to rise: we lie here afraid to rise.
In all the scramble ! had yet not even
pretended to fight Some of the mems
rifles failed to fire in the rain. Men rose,
| aimed at a Federars head at the right,
fired, and began to load. and water drip
| ping from their ramrOds. The right Of
| our column rested on n short traverse, and
was protected. The line farther from the
| traverse was exposed to entiiade fire. Now
l aimed and pulled the trigger, noises in
our midst making the act a safe one. The
men were huddled in the trench; the
l aimed and pulled. The man next to me
said. Look out; don't put another
cartridge in that gun: it didn't go off,
NO said 1; its wet"
| picked MP another rife; rifles were
plentiful. Without loading it / pulled
again, aiming high. The noise was 50
great that. this time, | did not know
| the rebound. | began to load, spilling
most of the powder. and getting the rest
wet. l aimed and pulled.
| Oh, for the power to make our men rise
| and take the whole business of us! 1t
could have been done. Either side could
have taken the other, but it would have
| required an inspiration from God.
Again l picked up my own gun. A
great clamor arises behind us, and an
other Confederate line struggles from the
| rear, and reaches our position. They, too,
have worked their way along the intrench-
ments by the flank; they wish to extend
| the line, but there is no extension; they
| begin to lie down in our ranks.
And now l see Capt. Shooter fall, with
| death in his face. and l know that the
new line is the old 1st.a
| Men of the LIST and 18th were now in
| termingled. My face was bearded-my
face was covered with gunpOwder-I had
little fear of being recognized: if l should
be recognized, might it not be for my
good? Men of the old company would
thereafter say that crazy Jones had
turned up by magic in the great fight of
May 10Th. had sunddenly appeared in the
midst of his old company, coming no one
knew whence: but coming. A
straggler returning to his command at
such time would be counted true-grand-
ly true; if appearances had been against
him before, now all would be atoned for.
Should l declare myself? Should l re-
gard this an opportunity!
Zones, that's your regiment" said
Mississippi Sergeant.
81 thought So" said /. and crawled to
my left little, and on down toward the
left of the 1st
The South Carolina men kept coming
from the left. l saw Gen. MCGOWAN,
commanding the brigade, suddenly sit
with one hand holding the other which
was full of blood from a wound in the
arm. He was taken out.
|. l reached Co. II.
"Serg't Mackey," said 1, II report for
duty"
"Who are yOu?" he asked.
The company was busy. loading and fir
ing. 1 saw Wallace Williams.
Jones'" said |.
Mackay looked almost frightened; then
he smiled and held out his hand, and
started to speak, but he never spoke, for
bullet cut the thread of his life and he
fell almost in my lap, dying with the
| smile on his lips.
l saw Lieut.. Miller, and crawled to
speak to him; before l reached him l saw
him hit; he at once went to the rear.
Wallace Williams was near me. 1 saw
him rise from his knees and take long
aim; but he did not fire. Backward he
fell in the muddy trench, and added an
other to the slain.
| Old John Wilson took the vacant place
on the right. The place of Orderly-Ser-
geant just made vacant by Mackay's
DEATH He was smOking-nO, not smok-