Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1907-01-19

nois regiment that had been engaged
going to the rear. and for the first
time saw wounded men being carried
of on stretchers and in ambulances.
I remember one of the Illinois boys
saying To us:
Boys, you'll catch -! We've
just come out of there, and our regi-
ment is all cut to pieces"
We had not advanced much over a
quarter of a mile along the ridge when
the balls began to go zip, zip, through
the branches of the trees and the I'M
derbrush near us. We Immediately
filed to the right in line of battle
across the end of hollow, halted, and
faced toward the enemy, the first Ne
braska being put in position about ten
yards in front of US and a little lower
down the hill.
They Immediately opened fire on
the cOnfederates, while our regiment
was ordered to reserve its fire. The
confederates, a Mississippi and Texas
regiment, with a battery, returned the
fire. They overshot us mostly, but we
had Is or 20 men wounded, and our
boys could be restrained no longer,
and began to load and fire as fast as
they could, delivering their fire over
the heads of the Nebraska regiment.
I'll venture to say that neither the
Nebraska boys nor the confederates
were in much danger from some of
our firing, for 1 observed that some of
them fired much as if they were shoot
ing squirrels in the tops of the trees.
AS the leaves on the underbrush and
the butternut uniforms of the confed-
crates were nearly the same color, it
was difficult to see the latter, but their
balls whiZZing about us convinced us
that they were there. In less than
half an hour we had driven them from
their position and their firing ceased
What our feelings were as we were
marching to the front for the first
time, and how rejoiced we were over
our first victory there are few old sol
diers here, perhaps, who do not know
better than any of us can tell.
That was on Saturday. That even
ing we moved a little farther to the
front and bivouacked for the night
The next morning-Sunday-
we moved again to the front, l took
the opportunity to look over the
ground where the battle had been 60
ing on the day before. The under
brush and saplings were shivered with
there broken musket; "a few steps
further on a knapsack torn in shreds,
and letters, writing paper and some
articles of clothing scattered about;
here a bayonet and there a soldiers
hat, canteen with a bullet hole
through it, crumbs of bareback scat
tered about, etc.
About nine or ten o'clock we had or
ders to move to the front, for the pur-
pose, as we understood, to charge on
the fort As~we went forward among
the cutdown saplings that were in
tended by the confederates to impede
our advance we frequently came to
dead confederates. After frequent
halts we came in sight of the fort
across an open field a few hundred
yards to the front. We were momen-
tarily expecting the order to charge
on it, when, to our great delight, we
saw a white flag raised on the works
Word soon came of the unconditional
surrender" and we marched into the
little village of Dover, a mile or so
above the fort. We went on board the
transports that night, and the next
day were quartered in the fort, where
we remained until we went up the
Tennessee to PittSburg Landing.