The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1905-09-17

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|rifle balls Ithat were making such queer
! each step that I took l thought -,'nuld
Suddenly caught sight OF n moderate
sized ample tree sS q little II Q my right
towards thefrIver, and ! tnsttnc,tlNol
turned my flight In that direction l since
the spot, and rs clearly as 4 cnii 4 10 y
cate lit, that tree stood Just between wee 7
whcrt now the rails Of the Norfolk q,
Western, 1snilrond cross the meadow In
tile direction from tho Lewis House
iii spite of my race through lhf Wheat
field. Ind hot mitch distanced my puf, !,
suors md when 4 reached The tree, !
laid flat On tho ground behind II, shell
terlng myself ms best l could with the
protection Of the larger portion Of the
trunk of the tree close to tho roots. q
,u,iibcr OF times tho tree was strtck,
but the balls were TOO high to 40 m me
any harm. Ono poor fellow. an infnn l-
tryn1an, got on the ground behind me.
trying to share with mo the shelter OF
the little tree. lie urged ME TO get up
and 70 away, saying We would both no
killed II we stayed. / refused TO go,
feeling that to sthy was my only ehahc (,
Ho started to run and was instantly
kiiied. S lust about then tho Lieutenant
Colonel Of one OF the louisiana regi-
ments tie seventh, / think, rode up IRON
| tho direction OF the enemy. and stopped
md turned his horse close to my tree
He made every effort to rally around
him the few scattered and flying IN,
for n moment close to his side, put a. q,
most at once 1lhcard the thnd tof rifle
bullet, and he fell from his horse still
crying rally" 10 his men. The horse
limpcd off bleeding freely from its hip,
but what became of tho few men VINO
The firing from the enenly's infantry
continued, although there were SO few
marks for it; the men still shouting
and advancing. All this it must re-
nembcrcd took but few minutes to hap
pen in and my flight could not have been
moro than hundred yards. CHANGING
to the front from the root3of my tree,
I thought, l discovered a slight depression
tn the ground few yards off and III
though It was In the direction OF the
enemy, determined to go to IT, t pos
sl1le Rising lip I ran for IT. and catch
Ing my foot IN ~ dewberry bush, !!
tllnblcd head foremost into what turned
ming down to tho river, and which had
filled up with water from the heavy rains
to tho depth OF several feet.
Plunsing head-foremost into the water
r came up splutterng from It like
drowning rat, but finding that there was
II foot or earth above the level OF the
water, towards the place from which the
shooting came thought I had better
stay where was. My heavy clotll uni
form and blue flannel shirt with the In
tense heat of the day and my severe
exercise. had put me In Il profi,sc per-
spiratlon. The sudden plunge into the
cold water was a severe shock ana
~ IL, ff
ed health and many henorrhngcs from
my lungs. But just then 1t was that
little piece Of ground or nothing, and
therefore, stayed in the chilly water.
After a time the firing from the front
seemed to cense and rapid firing back
and forth from another direction be-
gan; the history Of the battle show
ing the rally and return of the Confed-
crates with their front at right angles
to their former position. and with cor
change Of front by the Fed
cral troops. About that time, too, the
right of our. army had swept down and
captured the Federal battery in the coal
pit near the Lewis house and the tide
Of battle was changing rapidly.
But of MI this understood nothing.
and the points Of the compass and the
position of the armies Mere unknown
quantities to me, But the firinH in front
had ceased and that to my right moving
away, l crawled out OF my watery hole,
full of mud top to 10. shiverns with
cold and aching in every bone. 7 pulled
off my artillery jacket. squeezing some
Of the water out of It. and hung it over
my arm. Underneath that I wore n |
blue flannel shirt, and wringing wet and
dark with mud might have passed for
anything. I blindly started off just
to get away from where ! was and was
soon stopped by the cries of a wounded
man begging me for water. There was
some in my cantcen, and STOPPING; down
to give it to him he begged me TO raise
him up. He was horribly wounded and
I told him IL raised him up Il would
Kill him. He Insisted, however, upon
my 30 doing, telling me that he wis
from Pocahontas county. and giving me
tho name of his father which have
now forgotten.
lifted him up and he died almost IN
stantly in my arms. Then ! stumbled
I could tie dead and wounded. When
a sharp call to halt came from
the front. Looking up saw lying down
In the wheat quite a body OF men, seem.
them In their shirt sleeves, and with the
Virginia flag stuck UP among them. In
my confusion I thought had run Into
aid not "xn be es't g my iY0b brsade mere
fore, refused to halt. and had some
sharp words with one man. who, pointed
his rifle at me, ana said ne WOulu SnOOl
II + did not come to him. It never oc-
Cured to me that he really would shoot;
but with some words rs sharp as his,
passed along the line OF the regiment
some ten or twelve yards from them,
they were largely ,corcealed from
me by HE tall wheat in which they wero
lying. My blind wnnderlngs, dazcd and
shocked from what had gone through
and my sickness and consequent weak
ness OF the morning coming hack TO me
as my excitement died away, i pursued
my courae still towards the river when .l.,
suddenly q terrific fire Of artillery conf
menced and tho plain on which was, was
swept with shells. Seeing a, deep ana
tortuous wash which led to the river
got into 1t and tried to protect myself
from this new danger But tho firing did
not continue long and had come from
Eremont's artillery, which came Z up y, % on
tha at her side OF the river after Jackson 4
burned the bridge, 100 late to aid Gem
eral Shields In his flsht With us on tho
right bank of the river.
When the firing ceased ! got, out OF
my ravinc. and renewing my cfforts 70
lind where our battery wns, I was much
surprised to SEQ battalion of the Fifth
Virginia "a regiment OF our hrignde)
.crcpplux along n large Vinc-cOvcrGd fence