The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-01-28

 - the East side of the Potomac river, near a little town called Sharpsburg, and a creek called Antietam. on the 17th, day of September, 1882, The Confederates called the battle that or Sharpsburg for the town, and the Federais that of Antietam for the Creek.
 After the great battles around Rfch- mond, when Mcclellan was routed and driven away from Richmond, the Army of General Lee, StonewaIf Jackson in the lead, marched in rhe direction or Manassas, where during four days Of hattie General pn;n, fon1saAnlirg 'be across the Potomac river. Lees Army, stiIl headed by Jackson, crossed the Potomac, marching in the direction of Frederick in the State of Maryland, where it rested for a few days. The army then dfvided--Jackson coming back across the Potomac and captur- ing Harper's Ferry with large number of troops and munitions Of war. D. H. Hill remained upon the Eastern shore of the Potomac river fighting on Sun day the i4th, of Sep-emoer the battle of South Mountain or Boonsborough Mcclellan, as already indicated. on the lTth, of the month with a we'll eaulp- ped army attacked the left wing of General Lees army, commended by Jackson, whose troops had returned from Harper's Ferry to participate in the greatest battle in the world. The battle began shortly after 'daybreak on a clear, warm September day. A large portion of Jackson's line, inc1ud-
 ing Trimble's Brigade, which embraced the 21st North Carolina, the 21st Georgia, the 18th Mississippi and the 18th Alabama regiment, fought in an open field, where there had probably years. The enemy were behind a tall rail fence in a skirt of woods. The troops were enfiladed to considerable extent by battery across the creek,- probably the Antietam-on the right Of the troops, and when the battle was on upon nearly every part of the field, they were exposed to cannon shots from the rear. Thus 1t will be seen that they faced the enemy in front and that they were exposed to fire upon the right and rear. Here Jackson's s troops fought with a courage and desperation rarely equalled and never surpassed.
 In the process of time the ammunition of the men had given out and some of the men spoke of it. John G. Archibald of company H, 18th. Alabama was lying upon the ground with a bullet through his head. and when the need of ammunition was spoken of, he placed his hand in his cartridge box, drew out a handful of cartridges and continued to wave them over his head, until his actiont was observed and the cartridges used.
 quote here from the life of Stone wall Jackson. written by Col. C. F. R. Henderson of the British Army At this moment, as if by common con- sent, the firing ceased on this flank of the battle. and as McC1eIIans second army, led by Sumner, advanced to sustain the first and twelfth-we may stand by Jackson near the Bunker Church and survey the field after four hours fighting"
 "Assailed in front by superior num- bers and enhladed by the batteries be- yond the Antietam, the Confederate left had everywhere given back-but if Jackson had yielded ground. he had ex- acted a fearful price for the conces- sion" The space between the woods. where he had received the onsiaughts of the enemy. was a veritable sIaugh- ter pen, reeking under the hot Septem- Der sun. where the Blue uniforms lay thicker that the Grey" "Fhe First Army Corps had been cut to pieces. II had been beaten in fair fight by Jack sons two divisions counting at the outset less than one-haIf it's numbers and aided only by the cavalry It had lost in the assault upon the Confeder- ate lines. in killed and wounded. over one hundred officers and twenty-four hundred men. General Hooker himself had been struck down. and as far as the Antietam. the field was covered with his stragglers. The twelfth corps had suffered hardly less severely and General Mansfield, himself an old man, and gallant soldier. was dying with his wounds but his infantry. reduced by more than 1.5O0 rifles could do no more than hold their ground"
 This terrific struggle was waged on either side by as good and as brave men as either army could have afford ed. All the principal Generals of the Army of Northern Virginia participat- ed in 1t. There were Lee, the two Hills. Longstreet, Gordon, Rodes. and per haps fifty other general officers. On the side of the Federals there were Generals Mcclellan, Mead, Hooker, Burnside Hancock and perhaps fifty or sixty general officers
 have discussed the doings of the left wing commanded bv General Jack son The other portions of the he1d.- the center and the right under Long street and Hill. exhibited as great prowess as the left wing. Tn fact talk luS tHt Wuoie paltlt t'SeiHtl lil'Tt was never any more desperate courage ex- hibited by any troops in the world.
 General Longstreet mentions a point about the centre that was held by one North Carolina Regiment without any ammunition, and coming to the point with his staff. he found q battery in which all the men in charge of 1t had been either killed or wounded. He caused his staff to dismount. take charge of the battery and open on the army. while he held their horses. The Colonel in command of the North Caro- lima regiment communicated to the General that he had no ammunition. He was directed by the General to hold the position without reference to am intuition. His reply was, The colors shall float here while there is a man to hold them up No Spartan, no man, ancient or modern. ever excelled these