Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1906-06-07

i Ao s1of1 wcTos in0eeus tor "a
memorable second battle OF Col,
Harbor had commenced. The enc
my advanced upon us, dressed o.
their colors. as II on review. and fal
tered not until they reached th'
very muzzles of our guns, scores O
them falling against our very earth
works. In the din and roar Of bat
tie. was startled by the agonizes
exclamation Of q comrade by my
side: Gracious God. how they ar,
rnnningP CHANGING hastily 70 ths
left. spectacle met my vision thai
yearly paralyzed me. They wers
running indeed our own troops +
running too as n rate OF speed thai
would have distanced any modern
sprinter that / have seen and ruled
him outof the race. They were only
running thus. imagine. simply be.
cause they couldnt fiy.
salient point, q hundred yards
Or 50 to our left. the enemy had pen.
esrated our lines and captured Cas-
kie's Battery from Richmond. Crit
ical momentl Critical for US, for
Richmond and for the Confederacy
But salvation was at hand.
The Second Maryland Infantry,
commanded by Captain (now Judge)
J. Parran Crane. Of the Seventh Ju-
dicial District Of Maryland-the la
mented Herbert, It's Colonel having
been wounded almost unto death in
the Second Balaklaya charge ut Get.
tysbury and still being q prisoner
Of wsr-was happily stationed as a
reserve line. q 'forlorn hope q very
short distance directly to the rear oi
the breach. Deserving the Stars
and Stripes within our lines they
made what / can only describe rs q
spontaneous charge, every man
seemingly inspired with the idea
that upon him depended the fate of
the day. and in o hand to hand and
man 70 man encounter such as is
rarely Witnessed in which numbers
fell by the bayonet and some by the
sword. the guns are recaptnred and
the linessHs:ored as ifby act of some
magicis kand. Nor were they q
moment too sben as the captured
lines auu sUalcy rroMn sueus wvuzs4
have moved Us down as grass before
the sickle. But for the superb,
.transcendent conduct Of Maryland
troops the fate of Richmond had
more likely been sealed on the Bird
day OF June, 1864, instead of the 3rd
day Of April, 1865. In the light of
after events possibly it had been bet
ter that it had been SO.
The recaptured guns were imme-
diatsiy placed in charge of Lieuten-
ant Charles B. Wise, of the infantry,
who was somewhat experienced in
artillery service and q detail OF men
was made from our battery TO assist
in working them. In a very few
moments however the. end came.
The enemy had been repulsed all
along the lines. The smoke of bat
tie lifted. The intermingled roar OF
cannon and musketry Ia hushed and
stiffness dominates the scene. The
elati0n: and exultatioa incident 10
victory speedily subsidized, giving
way to sympathy for the dead. the
dying and the suffering before and
around US in painful hideous array.
Sickening scene. Sickening then
sickening in retrospective contem-
plation even at this remote period
of time. BY many soldiers are con-
sidered hardened, but IL is not the
rule by any means. Injured to pri-
vations, hardships and dangers. fa-
niliar with scenes OF carnage, he
may appear stoical but the fact is
that after the battle, il he bleed moi
from wounds himself, bis soldier 8
heart bleeds in sympathy for the
misery around him and the ccnqueror
is conquered. Truly the "bravess
are the tenderest" and he, and he
only, jests at scars. that never felt q
wound. We were informed that
soon after the cessation of acti "a
hostilities on this occasion, General
Lee offered truce for the burial oil
the dead and the removal Of the
wounded, which was declined by
General Grant, but having since tho
war heard that this was denied OF
disputed, l am not prepared to as
sert that il was 50. / do know bow
ever that il would certainly hav,
been in accord with the magnificeu
Il may say with the invariable hu
manity of that Christian soldier B,
thas as il may, however, these rite,
were not performed until three day
had elapsed, when truce was grant
ed. at the request Of the Fedora
Commander. By this time th
wounded were for the most part,
not all. dead. and the killed outrigh
in such an advanced stage Of decon
lposition that Il was too revolving 4