Wauwatosa news. [volume] (Wauwatosa, Wis.) 1900-1948, 1904-04-02


charged battery and the men were
among the guns when one Of the Con-
federate gunners running back to his
gun was just In the act of firing It
when man OF the Seventy eighth iii
nois took in the situation. There was
cluster of 20 men directly in front of
that gun and a pun of the string meant
death TO most of them. The Confeder-
ate had been ordered to surrender and
the men near the gun supposed he had
surrendered, when he changed his
mind and decided TO give us one more
shot for luck.
1T was a brave thing To do, but it
was n terrible thing for us and re
quired quick action. My comrade of
the Seventy-eighth Illinois was as
quick as flash of lightning, il seemed
TO me- He thrust nj the man in way
TO push him back from the gun. and
his bayonet went clear through the
Confederate's body. We left him, as
we supposed, dead, but ut later date
| found him in one of our hospitals at
Atlanta, by the side of one of our own
men wounded the same day. He got
well, and If living to-day 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 a yolley The bullets went
over our heads and the next minute
we looked down on the Louisiana III
gers with empty guns In their hands
All our men held their fire and we
thrust the muzzles of our rifles In 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 A. one OF
come and that the question of surren-
dering was not open TO debate"
81 had some doubts" said the ser
geant. about handto-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 IL any battle was fought in
which men strOVe against each other
| within reach of bayonet or sword At
| Stone River we charged at run
against Confederate line. expected
| the old thing 80 happen and the enemy
| to break. | shook from head TO foot
as | saw the Confederntes start on a
run and at charge bayonets TO meet
us. ] could see the hair ana eyes and
facial expression of the Confederates
as they came steadily aud swiftly TO-
ward us. remember one fellow wore
red comfort around his neck and
that the ends We're tapping in "a very
| ridiculous way as he ran.
II could see a short man making his
legs do their best, and long-legged
fellow in advance. | felt this thing
couldn't go on without bayonet strk
| ing bayonw apd without the lines
crashing together The crash came
sooner than expected, and not quite
in the way 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.
| Ii was undlgniiied and confusing, and
when we turned we found men in gray
standing back 10 back fighting both
| ways. There was little or no shooting,
| but a giving and taking of hard blows.
| and a good deal OF rough and tumble
scrapping. Finally one Of the Confed-
| crates shouted: what's the user Why
| in thunder don't somebody ask us 20
surrender ThercupOn all our fellows
shouted, Surrender" and down went
| the nuskets OF the COnfederates
caught between our lines.
There wasn't nm unbruised man IN
our company, but we felt like birds
when the Confederates threw down
their guns and she'd their cartridge
boxes and belts. They went TO the
rear. and we went slam-bang into an
other Confederate line, which, yielding
NJ first, rallied and drove ns back
Then we rushed them ana broke their
line, ana never felt happier ii my life
when | saw the men in gray scamper
away into the ccdars Al Chickamauga
we waited for the Confederates 80
charge, and they broke us MI up Some
Of our boys were 50 completely knock
ed out that they ran mile like scared
horses, in the belief that the whole
army had been routed aud that the
only thing 10 DO was 10 get off the ficld
Then they slowed up, came 10 their
senses. turned and ran the other way.
and. falling IN anywhere, fought like
wildcats TO the end. crashing at odd
times into the Confederate lines with
the deyll-may.care insolence or foot
ball players in II tussic.'
The IOungest Soldier.
william w Gillespie, who lives fom
miles west OF Hudson, Ill. II in point
Of service the youngest veteran OF III,
civil war GillpSufo was born on March