The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1907-08-02

in >quplil palior. then sought to
trace the course OF some special
lronps-the LouSianian> and Texans.
Both fought well, both died
we'll. You know why [
passed the route Of the Tex
an charge-a charge as fatal as Bal
aklava. | walked slowly and looked
tmay God spare all other brothers
from such feeliny.) carefully at
every gray corpse. Many were shock
inyly slaughtered. l could see none
like him. Hope again came to me,
and | returned to our bivouac some
how elated. yet crushed in heart.
You have not yet caught the faint
est glimpse of themost disgusting hor-
ror of battlefeld-to me. You will
smile (as 1 would have done lang
syne) when l tell YOU that horror IS
the smell-the smell of blood. A man-
gled corpse is discoverable in this
way a distance Of many yards. The
odor comes gradually yet surely. You
sit down to rest hoping 10 be out OF
it for a respite; but the same dead,
faughty, penetrating odor steals over
YOU, and you experience the over
powering sense of blood, look around,
and there it is in the weeds there just
at your feet. One third Of his breast
may be shot away; but he stares as
you turn upon him, and -!
In the afternoon Of the same day
I walked partly over the same field
Our dead had been buried, and only
our foes lay there and fewer Of them.
The severest fire we received was
on Monday evening in the fight at
Willi<'s Church. Here I advanced
with the regiment as usual in the face
as brisk fire, one that dropped our
men every few yards. This subsidized
for while and darkness thickened
around us. We were ordered to lie
down, and remained thus for several
minutes: meanwhile the bullets reviv-
ed. Some Yankees advanced to the
front of our regiment inquiring for
the colonel and informing Colonel E.,
who was then on our right in confer
ence with General g., that they want
ed him up there "to see about some
prisoners. Colonel E.asked, "Who
wants me e?'and was disregarding the
summons and going on to carry out
General G's. instructions. His order
was "To your feet, by the night
flank -. Here, just as the order
to rise was heard over the field and
as the unknown individual had time
to get out of range, there came into
our faces a fire from the 'front.'
such a fire as only full regiment
can pour upon one spot. 1t came just
as we rose-just after and some lay
down again to rise no more. The fire
did not have our height perfectly,
else certainly half our number had
slept forever there. They. calculated
for our rising and allowed too much,
a few inches too much, and that few
inches saved hundred lives. Above
us flashed and popped the explosive
balls wherever they hit tree or skull
OR a bone! These internal balls ex-
plode whenever they hit any hard
substance; hence they rarely inflict
a slight wound-it is miss or death.
In receiving fire in that way one
thinks of death remotely in one sense,
because there are enough practical
things to do that absorb the atten-
ton; yet one remembers momently
that he may fall next step. This re-
membrance has nothing to do with
bravery; for when a, man has made
up his mind to advance to do his duty
even to death, he never for once
dreams of changing his plans hasn't
time. Under that most blasting
breath Of lead our regiment moved as
coolly as the nature Of the ground
and the darkness would permit. And
in the most trying charges Of Fri
day, when universal Death seemed
sweeping whole armies before him,
our lives were always good. [ never
saw at any time three men waver IN
the whole regiment in which I was.
They were never confused, and only
puzzled when they could not possibly
hear the words of command on ac-
count of the incessency Of cannon fire
over head, the bursting of shells
among them. and the constant zip
zip-zip Of the leaden balls at their