The Jennings daily record., 1902-07-24
TRAGEDY Of the Sunken Road
How Burn sides Mon Wore
Shot Down At fredericksburg

~ -
before him q path bloodier than any
he anticipated. The left of the army |
has little trouble in crossing the river.
1t is at Fredericksburg itself, in the
street by the river, in the houses that
line the unambitious way. that the
Federals find terrible wall of hostile
fire confronting them. Gen. Barksdale
and his Mississippians are behind that
wall. and the Federals. trying to lay
their pontoon bridge, drop before the
Mississippi rifles hopelessly. as the
leaves on the Fredericksburg forests,
when October charges upon them.
There is a fire from the formidable
Union batteries, to force Barksdale
and his men out of their hiding place.
and they will stubbornly fall back but
not yet. Meanwhile the 7th Michigan
and the 10Th Massachusetts rush for
ward in their boats. polling from shore
| to shore, though the bullets rain down
wounds and death. They land. They
press into the town. Many are doomed
to sacrifice.
In the street, there in the hottest
collision, is the Rev Arthur B. Fuller
of Watertown, Mass. He sought
| chaplaincy, resigning from his parish
| to get it. He resigns his chaplaincy
| this morning that he may get quick
| access to an altar. His soul feels the
heat and sweep of flame of devo-
| tion consuming him. The chaplain's
altar is in the very center of conflict.
| He seizes a gun. He goes into the
ranks as private. He is one OF the
| first to volunteer to dare the passage
OF the Rappahannock. He gains the
bloody street. His rifle is ready. The
| crack of another rifle is heard, and
Arthur B. Fuller of Watertown falls in
the crimsoned way. The altar-hams
| has done its work.
The 18th of December comes. 1t is
to be the saddest day Of slaughter.
On the left, in Frankln's corps. Gen.
| Meade almost pierces the Confeder
ate line. Unsupported. he is forced
| to fall back
The dead lie in far-stretching, silent
heaps. On the Federal right the light
ming from the thunder of the Confed-
crate army is still more serious.
| The 18th is foggy morning. There
| is - deep veil Of mist between the
town of Fredericksburg with the north
ern army and that southern army on
Marye's hill, Willis HILL Lee hill and
kindred heights. The fog lifts. though,
in the forenoon. and the Federals
proudly advance in their march
| against the bitterness of death.
The lifting of the fog is only the
! rising or the curtain on one of the
most serious, disheartening, cruel ira
! gedies of the civil war. 1t should be
! said that the project of this advance
has not been heartily welcomed among
the officers of the army. There has
been strong blast from wind called
public opinion roaring 'On to Rich
mond,' and the army is obedient to
the controlling will at its head, re-
sponsive in its turn to that unreason-
| ing pressure of public sentiment. Let
us keep this distinctly in mind.
The northern regiments are now
marching out to martyrdom. In long,
clean, bright lines they come steadily
on. Their colors are proudly defiant
Their attitude is a challenge to the
| grave
There is a flash along the frowning
hills, there is roar. and the southern
balls make deep burrows in those ad-
vancing ranks. They will not turn,
though. They press on, when suddenly,
to their surprise. like specters spring
ing up through the last of the morning
mist, like gnomes wriggling out Of the
ground, rises a long line of waiting
rifles in the "sunken road"
They hurl wave after wave of fire
and ball, to which there can be no
hopeful resistance. Broken, crippled.
the bluecoats fall back in utter re-
pulse. AS their lines fill up, they come
again. only to be broken, crippled, de-
feated again. They keep coming, but
up out of the sunken road flash the
fires of the hidden rifles, and every
time the charge is in vain.
Finally in the sunken road are four
lines of troops. The front rank, de-
livering it's fire. falls back. The Sec
ond fires and other ranks follow. No
matter how brave, what advance could
withstand those repeated deadly fires
The sun has gone down on the Grim
son snow when the last charge is
made. 1t is only an assault that is an
invitation, and the answer is s1augh.
ter. The horrors of the battlefield that
night, the sufferings of the wounded
amid the wintry cold, the discomfort
of troops bivouacked out under the
chilling heavens, cannot be described
The Confederate losses reported
are: Killed, COS; wounded, 4,116;
, Union killed, 1,2S4 wounded, $500.
The desire of Gen. Burnside to re
trieve, the next day. his sad losses
and to lead in person another charge
finds fortunately no encouragement
and the Fredericksburg chapter of the
, | oil