The National tribune., 1902-06-12

| aiohSSlue Us IL were SiiIlt
command, yet each man did as he chose.
Col. Brown, of the 14th was now in COM
mand of McGowan's Brigade. / saw him
more than once. The officers gave few
orders; most of them kept their heads
down; the men loaded and fired, but there
We're timid ones who lay full length in
! the mud and never fired shot Nobody
knew me; neither should l have recog-
nized one of these men had l not with
difficulty unriddled them, for they we're
muddy and begrimed; yet knew them by
| their voices.
| In iuH of the fight, Madison Scott
raised himself on his toes-he was small
man-and looked over the breastwork.
He had his gun at the ready, and seemed
about to fire. but he did not fire-through
aStonishment.
Great God NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.
emf he cried, and lodged back I'M
hurt.
l saw man rise and fire many times
| "a man | did not know. While others
huddlcd in the trenches. this man, grim
with determination deliberately worked
| destruction. He did everything slowly
and carefully. He protected his powder
with the sleeves of his coat: he rammed
the cartridges home; he did not return
rammer, but stuck il in the mud, to save
| time; he stood at his full hight and leaned
over the works. took deliberate aim. pull
wasted no time. but at once took good
aim and fired. Many times he fired point
blank into the masses crowded together
on the reverse side of the intrenchment.
/ AT last he, too, fell.
Men on both sides would kneel behind
| the works, raise their guns, depress the
muzzles as far as possible, and fire by
pulling the triggers above their heads.
Sometimes there tussle for the pos
session of a rifle being thus used. a man
on the other side would seize gun-barrel
and try to pull it away from its owner;
sometimes, just as the gun was being
fired, strong, unseen hand would raise
it that the bullet would go toward the
clouds. Many voices were heard on the
| Union side; our men said little. Demands
! for surrender frequently came, and were
retorted to with equal demands.
The thing went on. 1t was a question
of endurance. Bullets swept all APP
prOaches, and maniac shells screamed
through the woods overhead-almost al
ways fired too high. The trees around be-
gan to lose their bark-a raw girdle show
| ing at the hight of Il man. The dead and
wounded lay in the trench where they had
fallen.
Rifles were plentiful. Some of the Off
GERS picked up guns and fired away like
the men in the ranks. continued to feign.
| Say, my man., said a voice at my
|
foul?'
turned and saw Col. Brown He
looked amused; his tones had not been
angry.
Let me see that gum
| l passed it to him; there was nothing
else that 1 could do. But 1 did not wait;
l picked up another rifle, loaded and fired
high; he was watching me, no doubt.
'.See here. sir" said he.
| He was showing me the hammer, pro-
| truding many inches.
Yes, sir; it's leaded," said I.
| what do you mean by that?'
"1he chamber is foul with lead, sir,
formed around the barrel near the breach;
it's hard to get a cartridge down."
why do you hold to it, then! What is
your company"
go III, of the LIST, Colonel"
| Your name!"
Zones. SIR"
That's no name Mt all. Give me your
i full name. I want it."
| Berwick Jones. sill"
He went off after little, carrying the
spiked Enfield.
Although he had seemed amused, think
ing no doubt that in the excitement of
battle / had rammed several cartridges
into my rifle unaware, yet he was right
in demanding my name; l should get
scolding from my Captain if l remained
| On our right the enflade fire continued
| There the Union troops held the breast
works with no one opposite them; but for
| the traverse, to hold our line would have
been impossible. Cartridge-boxes were
replenished by men who stole along the
works from the left. They told us that
troops in the rear were hard at work on
a new line of defense.
| At last, besides the dead and the wound
ed, l failed to see any of Co. FL, except
one boy. The survivors had become in
| termiXed with men of other commands, or
perhaps had moved to the right or the
| left.
The boy saw was Promptly This was,
of course, a nickname. Mackay had been
Fall in promptlyt' Some ways of the
company said that the first order was adj
dressed to the men, and the last to the
| boy, who became known in the regiment
| by the name of Promptly. His true name
was Rothwell. To my great surprise,
Promptly knew me.
Where were the sharpshooters? Per-
haps they too were fighting somewhere on
the line.
Suddenly man hailed me. "Hey! Ber-
wick! You all right!
Eyes said 1.
1t was Chappell.
How'd l lose you the other dayT'
Got mixed, SAID 1; tnen seeing blood
on his hand, "are you much hurt?"
"NO-only a scratch. Amt this hell
of time? l tell you, old man, it's just
matter of time with the last of us; but
| she'll give 'em the best she's got in her
shop
l was glad to see Chappell again.
''You got through the other day I'M
hurt?'
"All right; yes, and found poor Powell
and covered him."
wonder where the sharpshooters are"
| said l.
Don't know; in the line somewhere
I'm going to get into that battalion first
chance. Look at that oak"
| The tree, almost cut in two by bullets,
seemed ready to fall. l pretended to fire,
saying, This old thing won't shoot half
the time
But Chappell was buster than I, and
had not heard me. He had gone on to
the right a few yards. The desutory fir
ing never ceased; occasionally from the
other side came volleys of musketry. Il
saw heaps of dead.
In the night a great cry rose in our
midst.
Look QUIT The big tree is fallingr'
But it was too late for me, and it was
too late for Promptly. As l write l see
the boy raising his hands as though his
feeble strength could ward the blow. II
see now the branches strike him first as