The Hocking sentinel. [volume] (Logan, Ohio) 1871-1906, 1904-04-07

we'll, and II living today knows that
bayonets were used during the war in
very reckless way"
'.There was another hand-to- hand
tussle in the fight ON the Sand Town
road in the Atlanta campaign. We
charged the Confederate works and
climbed on top just as the Confeder-
ates fired vOlley. The bullets went
over our heads and the next minute
we looked down on the Louisiana Ii
gers with empty guns in their hands.
All our men held their fire and we
thrust the muzZies of our rifles i'm the
very faces of the men below us and
demanded them to surrender. Some
few attempting to push the guns away
were shot. but the most of them sur
rendered without ceremony. AS one of
them said. they knew their time had
come and that the question of surren-
dering was not open to debate"
Il had some doubts" said the SER
geant, "about hand-te-h hand struggles
during the first year of the war. Our
regiment did good work at Shiloh. but
didn't come to close quarters with the
enemy. We made our mark at Perry
vile, but not at close range. and Won
dered if any battle was fought in
which men strOve against each other
within reach of bayonet or sword. At
Stone River we charged at n run
against Confederate line. expected
the old thing to happen and the enemy
to break. / shook from head to foot
as l saw the Confederates start on a
run and at a charge bayonets to meet
us. I could see the hair and eyes and
facial expression of the COnfederates
as they came steadily and swiftly to-
ward us. l remember one fellow wore
a red comfort around his neck and
that the ends were tapping in very
ridiculous way as he ran.
81 could see a short man making his
legs do their best, and a lOng-legged
fellow in advance. 1 felt this thing
go ON without bayonet strik
ing bayonek and without the lines
crashing together The crash came
sooner than 1 expected, and not quite
in the way l expected. About half of
our men went through or over the Con-
federate line, some of us coming down
on our heads and others on our feet.
1t was tlndignified and confusing, and
wheIi we turned we found men in gray
back to back fighting both
ways. There was little or no shooting,
but giving and taking of hard blows.
and a good deal Of rough-and-tumble
Finally one of the COnfed-
crates shouted: What's the use? Why |
IN thunder don't somebody ask us to |
surrender? Thereupon all our fellows |
shouted, surrender and down went |
he muskets of the COnfederates
,aught between our lines.
There wasn't an tinbrilised man in
,ur company. but we felt like birds
when the Confederates threw down
heir guns and shed their cartridge
,oxes and belts. They went to the
ear. and we went slam-bang into an
'ther Confederate line, which, yielding
It first, rallied and drove us back.
then we rushed them and broke their
me, and never felt happier in my life
vhen 1 saw the men in gray scamper
way into the cedars. At Chickamauga
re waited for the Confederates to
barge, and they broke us all up. Some
f our boys were SO completely knock
d out that they ran d mile like scared
orses, in the belief that the whole
rmy had been routed and that the
niy. thing to do was to get off the field
hen they, slowed up, came to their
enses, turned and ran the other way,
nd, falling in anywhere. fought like
-ildcats to the end, crashing at odd
mes into the Confederate lines with
lie devil-may-care insolence of foot
all players in tussie."