The Hocking sentinel. [volume] (Logan, Ohio) 1871-1906, 1903-07-16
SOLDIERS AT HOME.
THEY TELL SOME INTERESTING
ANECDOTES OF THE WAR.
How the Boys of Both Armies Whi1ed
Away Life in Camp-Foraging Ex-
periences, Tiresome Marches-ThriI.
ling Scenes on the Battlefield.

pGrlenCee, I1TcSOmc haFCneS-1n 1nf1ls
ling Scenes on the Battlefield.
"Some of u.s." said the Captain,
shave been looking for twenty years
for men who played . very unusual
part in the fight at the bloody angle
at Spottsylvania on the 18th of May,
1864. After Hancock's corps had cap
tured the first line of Lees works at
the salient, and after the Sixth Corps,
under Wright. had plunged into the
fight, there were several pieces of mr.
tillery left near the angle, which were
put in action again by infantrymen
from different regiments. Up to May
10 we of the Army of the Potomac
had not been able to locate more than
one Of these men.
Eight or ten guns were captured by
Hancock's men in the first charge
early on the morning of May -. When
the rebels attempted to recapture the
works at the angle some of these guns
were drawn out and turned on the
charging enemy. Later. two guns Of
Battery G. Fifth United States Artil-
lery, were ordered close up to the an
gle by General Wright himself. The
guns went as ordered. but the staff Of
ficer guiding them was shot before
they reached the designated position.
and in a few minutes all the horses
had been shot, seven Of the twenty
three men had been killed and six
teen wounded.
'Then. OF course. the guns We're
abandoned. Ten years ago the only
survivors Of that squad were Lieuten-
ant Metcalf and Sergeant William E.
Lines. To show the character of the
rifle fire poured on the men manning
the guns it may be said that in the
time given to firing nine rounds, twen-
lty-seven bullets passed through the lid
of the timber chest and thirty-nine bull
lets through the sponge bucket of the
right gun. In spite of the fact that
mo men could live in such fire, Of
:1cers of Vermont regiment and of
the Ninety Pennsylvania ran to
the assistance of Lieutenant Metcalf
and Sergeant Lines, but these fell be-
fore the guns were Abandoned.
: Later. men of the Fifth Wisconsin,
and other regiments manned these
guns and some Of those captured that
morning. Until very recently Judge
j. c. Anderson, of Manitowoc, who
served In the Fifth Wisconsin at Spott-
cv1ranf, hoIiovod l,o r-oe tbo colo e,,r
;vivor Of this second gun squad In
relating his experience at the reunion
Of his regiment last year, he told how,
as the last load was rammed home,
John Lehn. Of Company d, sank down
wounded. Then as Anderson went to-
ward the other guns manned by infan-
trymen, seeking ammunition, some
thing struck him that put him out of
action. But he remembers that two
Of the captured guns We're blazing
away at the enemy. He stated that
he had repeatedly made inquiries for
the men serving those guns, but could
learn nothing Of them, and his conclu-
sion was that all were dead.
"All Of the boys who saw service
in the Army Of the Potomac became
interested in pushing the inquiry, and
was boasting that it was no common
man who could brave such q deadly
fire, when my friend Samuel D. Muir
ray. who lives out on Oakley avenue.
said quietly: 1t wasn't such great
thing. manned one of those guns
myself, and others of my regiment, the
Third Michigan. were with me- At
that time Second Corps men of a doz-
en- regiments and Sixth Corps men of
several regiments were fighting togeth-
er. Organizations had been broken up. !
and men of different companies left
without officers were doing the best
they could. Some of US loaded up the
guns and blazed away as long as we
had ammunition. My partner, toward
the last, was In doubt whether we
had rammed home load or not. and,
to make the thing sure, we put In an
other and let her go.
THE gun, double-shotted, turned a |
somersault and went splashing into
the mortar-like mud between us and |
the enemy. That put us out of action,
but some of the other guns were fired |
after that. l remember well just how |
that gun looked as it went like live |
thing into the mud. and 1 remember it |
more clearly because about that time |
an officer rode to where the boys were |
huddled close to the breastworks and |
ordered them to scale them. The men,
that he was drunk. paid lit |
tie attention to him, but one fellow |
asked why he didn't try it himself.
'Thereupon the officer spurred his |
horse up the steep incline into the very
faces of the rebS. As soon as he |
reached an elevation that brought him i
in range of the rifiemen crouching on
the other side, his horse was struck
and rolled with his rider into the mud |
at the bottom, fioundering and throw
Ing mud over the men firing at the
rebels. One Of the boys turned his
rifle on the wounded horse and others
pulled the rider out Of the mud. as
miserable looking creature as 1 ever
saw He went to the rear crestfallen,
and 1 have often wondered who he
vas and what became of him
"This," continued the Captain, '.bears
,ut all that have said about old SOL
liers placing modest estimate on
their own services in battle. That
struggle at the bloody angle at Spott-
sylvania. extending over twenty-four
hours, was the nearest approach TO a
land-to- hand battle that we had dur
ng the war. Trees. nearly two feet in
liameter, located in the zone of fire
we're cut down by rifle balls. Union
soldiers shot on top of the works
fought for, fell within the rebel lines,
md Confederates fell on the Union
:ide One man was shot through arm
md body by ramrod. 1t was fu-