Wauwatosa news. [volume] (Wauwatosa, Wis.) 1900-1948, 1905-03-25
SOLDIERS STORIES.
ENTERTAINING "REMINISCENCES
OF THE WAR.
Graphic Account of Stirring Scenea
Witnessed on the Battlefield and In
Camp-yeterans of the Rebellion Re-

The new artillery, said the Major
| lis good deal Ike the old when it
comes 10 a daily bombardment. There
was an an-day artillery duel at Stone
River Dec so, 1862, but so far rs
know the bombardment of our lines
didn't scare single man in our di-
vision rhe shells that tore through
the tree tops and the sixty pound can
noa balls that came rolling toward
our lines at regular intervals caused
considerable excitement at times, but
as one of the boys put it, nobody had
his feelings hurt.
~Early in the morning when the
rebel artillery opened on us we
thought 1t meant business But the
boys soon discovered that the shot
and shell that reached us came from
very heavy guns firing at long range
For example, the largest cannon balls
would strike the ground two or three
hundred yards in front Of us ana
come rolling easily toward us. bound
ing over logs, breaking through fences
and barking trees. The boys thought
the first one was a rabbit as ii came
rustling through the dry leaves.
1T did not have a rapid forward
movement, but had a revolving mo
ton like a spinning top, and looked
as harmless. The bail was So large
| that the men could not believe it came
/ from a cannon, and were getting
ready to stop II when it struck a rock
| ten feet in front of us scared into the
air, cut limb off tree and went
| crashing through the cedarS behind
us. A dozen men who had made
ready to stop the ball with their feet
gave the next one n wide berth, al
though It looked as smooth ana harm
less as the first.
| ''fhe men soon became engaged in
warm discussion as to how the rebels
came into possession of So large 81
gun, and the third bali was almost
upon us before we saw it, Three men
were restrained with difficulty from
| giving the ball a kick as it rolled
| through our line. In another division
two men lost their legs, each under
/ the fascination Of the spinning ball,
putting out a foot to stop 1t. In our
own division we looked for the sixty
FOUNDER every twenty minutes and
avoided an issue.
'AIost of the field gun prolcctiles
fell short of us, ana the boys had little
use for the conical shells, anyhow.
There was some fun in chasing an old
/ fashioned round cannon ball and in
specializing as to what would happen
wien it soruck a tree, but there was
small basis for speculation in the
work of the cap shell We were In
line all that day but not excited, MS
the men understood il was only a pre-
/ liminary bombardment, and that there
were as yet no Indications of when
the real fighting would begin. Like
/ the Russians and laps ORer in Man
churia. they did not rgard mere
bombardment as serious matter.
During the day the rebs must have
made some demonstration with nfan-
| try, for a battery of Rodman guns
went into position near us and fired
spitefully for half an hour. our bri-
/ gade battery was Of bronze guns and
| the boys were not used to the short.
! sharp bark of the Rodmans. Scarcely
had the battery opened when three or
/ four men who had been asleep sat M
ana sworc expressing the hope that
/ the rebs would get every BANKED
| Rodman In the army
The next day, however, when ev-
erythlng was going wrong and the
enemy's guns were pouring shot and
shell into our depleted ranks at short
range there was a commotion in our
rear, a sharp voice said. Lie close
to the ground. men, aud the same bat
| terry of Rodmans harkcd out in spite
full fury behind us, the guns firing
over us. Then there was a cheer for
| every bark, ana as other batteries
| came up and thirty or forty guns.
brass, Rodmmr and Parrot, sent
hurting shot ana shell over MS into
the rebel ranks, we realized what a
difference there was between artillery
I in 'bOmbardnent ana real fight.
"The Rodmans ana other guns Of
the same material were n trial 10 the
ears and nerves OF men trained to the
roar Of the field pieces in common
use, but the swearing at them that
day was in lhe tone Of a rider petting
high mettled horse, We Rugged the
ground close while the guns pounded
the enemy. each man with his nose
close to the ground, feeling that at
last the turn had come in the tide Of
battle. and that the furious advance
Of Bragg's army had been checked"
Chicago Inter Ocean
"Doub1e SLOW
\ soldier in Company j. oath MaSsa-
chusetts Infantry Volunteers. quite a
wag in his way, was once put In the
rpglmsntal guard house. for some tri-
,.fof ,Pfouau xvf3taa Dbsff,. 1s.1,t..