The National tribune., 1906-12-13

Your heart giyeilf Esat bound when
! tfag-and glancing along the front count
Is of those colors that were borne at
ana Psa kass loh s9TIdisa s,1r a.
Nobler than Cesar's rent mantle are
they all. And up move the banners,
now futtering like wounded bird, nov
faltering, now sinking out of sight.
Three times the flag of the 27th Ill.
goes down, and yati know why. Three
dead Color Sergeents Ale just there, but
the flag is immortal, thank God. and
up it comes again, and xthe VS. move o..
At the, left of WOOD ,tSree regiments e;.
Baird-Turchin, the ,Russian thunder
bolt, srthere-hlirl themselves aG:=!h /
a. bold point stron&y. with rebel work
For a long quarter of an hour th.,
flags are perched and motioniess. o.'. :.
/ plateau under the frown OF tho M
| Will they linger. forever2 i give = lo""
at the sun behind me: it is not IA -
tthan a hands breadth from the edSe ,'f
/ the mountain; its lexel rays bridse 49,;
valley from Chattanooga TO tha I.ids,n
with beams of gold; it shines IN the
hostile faces: ii brings out the E'c,iir !!
/ blue 1t touches up the; flags Oh. :.
| the voice that could bid that sun st;a,t
still | turn TO the battle again: tIoS,.
three flags have taken flight. Tho ;rc
upward bound. The men of the ,;,i
III. were sMept<bys an en.fadins irs'.
Col. Chandler seized the c9lors' the.
stcadied into rock and swept the enc
my before thein With Il broom OF bay
onets: it cost them 30 Of the rank ;n1
file and two Lieutcnants Col. Jacql",.
of the 73d; Barrett, of the 44th; Mar,A,
of the 18th; Dunlap, of the 51st-w1p
the boys delight to say is "fashionab!"H
! in n iight''-all wounded, and all III
nois - .,r ~,
'',The race. of the flags is sroWils
every moment moro terrible. There 1T
the right. in Col. Sherman's Bris,sGe. Z
strange thing catches the eye; one ~
the inverted VS. is turning right So.
up. The men struggling along the Coz
verging linessto overtaFe the flag h:v.
distanced it, and there the crlors are.
sinking down in the celIter between the
rising TANKS. The line wav@rs like :,
great billow. and VI, comes the banner
shoulderl The iron sledges beat on
Hearts, loyal. antri brave, are on the
anvil all. the. way from base to summit
nf Mission Ridge, but those dreadful
hammers never intermit. --Swarms of
bullets sweep the hilI;s you can count
rs balls in one little tree. Things are
growing desperate up aloft. the enemy
tumble rocks upon the rising line: they
light the; fuses and roll Shciis- down the
steep: they load the guns with hand
fuls OF cartridges in their haste; and
as # there were powder in the word,
they shout, "Chickamauga'" down upon
the mountaineers. Rut=itx would not all
do, and just as the sun, weary of the
scene, was sinking out 6f sight. with
magnificent bursts all along the line
exactly as you have seen the crested
seas leap mp at the breazwater the
advance Surged over the crest, and in
Il minute those flags huttered along the
fringe, where so guns were kenneled,
God bless the Flag!
What colors were first upon theI
mountain battlemefit 7 dare not try to
say; bright honor's!self may be prouG
to bear-bear?- Proud to follow
the hindmost. Foot bsLfoot, they had
fought up the steep slippery with
much blood; let themago to glory to-
gether. But this / can declare: the
79th Ind. of Woods Division, fairy
ran over the rife pts. and left its whole
line in the rear, ana its brcathess color
between him and the submit, he grasp |
ed little tree thatbrayeay hung there, |
and away he went, hand over hand, !
like a sailor up the shrSuds, and SHOOK |
his exultant flag ahove hhe crest This
I can declare: john -6Sheevers, of the |
SSth ILL.,, planted his flag by Brag:Ss
headquarters,, and it kindled there in |
tiit StttilS SUM- ut tile very nttIS OF inc /
enemy. A, minute, .andIthey were all |
there. Tutoring along the Ridge from
left to right The routeiT h6rdes rolled |
off to the north rolled off TO the east |
like the clouds of a worn-out storm. !
Bragg, 10 minutes before, was putting
men back into the rifle pits. His gal
liant gray was straining a nerve for him
now, and the man rode on horseback |
into 'Dixie's' bosom, who, arrayed in
some prophets discarded mantle, FORE
told, on Monday, that the Yankees
would leave Chattanooga in five days.
They left 1t in three. and by the way
of Mission Ridge, straight over the
mountains, as their fOrefathers went. |
As Sheridan rode up to the guns the
heels of Breckinridge's horse glittered
in the last rays of sunshine. That crest
was hardly well off with the old love
before 1t was on with the new
But the scene on that narrow pla-
teau can never be painted. AS the
blue-ceats surged over its edge, cheer
on cheer rang like bells thru the Valley
of the Chickamauga. Men flung them
selves exhausted upon the ground. They
laughed and wept, shook hands, en-
traced; turned around and did all over
again. 1t was as wild as a carnival.
The General was received with shout
Soldiers he said. you ought to be
oourt-martialed, every man of you.
ordered you to take the rifle pits, and
you scaled the mountain But it was
not Mars's horrid front exactly with
which he said It, for his cheeks were
wet with tears as honest as the blood
that Redeemed all the route Wood ut
tered words that rang like 'Napoleons.'
and Sheridan. the rowels at his horses
flanks, was ready for dash down the
Ridge with a view halloo' for "a fox
hunt.
But you must not think this was all
there was of the scene on the crest for
fight and frolic were strangely mingled
Not gray-coat had dreamed a man of
us all would live to reach the summit.
and when little wave OF. the FedereI
cheer rolled up and broke ever the
crest, they deffantly cried 'Hurrah and
be - The next minute the 65th
Ohio followed the voice, the enemy
delivered their fire, and tumbled down
in the rifle pits. No sooner had the
soldiers scrambled to the Ridge and
themselves than. up mus
kets and away they blazed. One of
them, fairly beside himself with laugh
ing and crying, seemed puzzled whi:
end of his piece he should load, and
so, abandoning the gun and the prob
lem together, he made a catapuit of .
himself and fell to hurting stones after II
the enemy. Bayonets glilied and MUS
lets ratified. Sheridan's ASorse was kill
ed under him. The sNillerlsts were ;
driven from their batteries at the edge