The Republican journal., 1910-11-10

/ tween the two lines, II lines they could
! be called, and not feeling in condition to
run used my pistol as fell back, when
| saw one of my men rushing toward me.
In the history of the regiment, | have
put in print the desire to know the name
of this soldier. 1t was Frederic M. Giles,
| of Company G, now resident of Booth
bay, who had assisted James Burns, a
wounded man from that company, from
the field, and taken his remaining cart
ridges and returned to the front. | ask
ed him how many cartridges he had. He
replied forty or more. | directed him to
| take shelter in rear of clump of
bushes, and to hold the rebels in check as
we'll as he could. He came to me the next
morning and said: II carried out your or
ders, Colonel; but when my ammunition
was out the rebels were behind me on
either side, and l was obliged to lie
where l was till night, and did not find
nv regiment till after midnight"
There remains only the spectacular
charge of the troopers of General Gus
ter's Division. All the previous part of
that day they had been ensnarled and
vexed with the wagon train. Now, re-
lieved from that duty, they trotted out
in full view of the dismounted, line, and
led by the red cravated general of flow
ing locks and increasing their gait to the
gallop, were charging on the wide adj
vancing line of Pickett's men and Lees
dismounted cavalry, when an acre or two
of southern spring soil, disastrously wet,
terminated the charge in mixture OF
mud men and horses like porridge in
mid-air, from whose upper surface flash
ing sabers cleaned like breaking bubbles
of hot steam, and Sheridan half a mile
away.
OF Five Forks, will only say that the
story of that fight has been fully told by
our lamented companion, Major Holman
S. Melcher, but this incident remains
deeply impressed on my memory: as we
passed the field on our return march from
AppomattoX, l noticed slough holes IN
the roadway corduroyed with rebel
muskets, evidently the most available
material for road building. Now, Davis
left the church at Richmond, the fire in
that city left only fragment of its bust
ness section. and the Union cavalry went
westward with rush for the Southslde
Railroad.
One item in my diary indicates its
speed: marched till 100 a. m. Sup
per, a big appetite with little variety,
and at a. m. we were ready to mount. ;"
The next day and night was duplicate,
and the following day we struck the Dan
vile Railroad at Jennings Ordinary,
burnt culvert, tore up rails and came
front into line at gallop at Jetervllle.
The next day we had wild run for
Painsville and Fame's Cross Roads and
back where we saw Colonel Janway OF
the LIST New Jersey Cavalry go down
with his last wound, the thirteenth and
fatal one.
Then dawned the day with gentle
showers to lay the dust, and the damp
disappointment of Deatonville for the
glowing triumph of Sailors Creek at
sunset. For miles we marched in plain
sight of the rebel wagon train on a
parallel road. Captain Head, an officer
of great daring and promise, when he
learned the fact, galloped to the head OF
the regiment, and with eyes and voice
glowing shouted, do you know, Colonel,
that the train in sight is rebel tram,
In charge on that train at Deatonvllle
he was killed and Adjutant Little,s right
arm was rendered useless. At Sailor, S
Creek, in the glow of sunset, we rode
through burning trains, but the glow was
saddened by the above loss and the dis.
abling of Lieutenant Poor, student OF
Bowdoin, who had served only frac-
tional part of a day as adjutant. Ser
geant- Major Tobie was the only tlmb IF
remaining which could be bent into the
duties of adjutant, and these duties ne
performed to the end, though WOUNDED
twice. He was a man of newspaper
training, ever at hand, ready for duty.
His work in compiling the history OF his
regiment is his best monument.
Tho poyt 6av tho seventh. came the
wild dash at gallop through the streets
of Farmville, with the burning bridge
spanning the Appomattox, and the rebel
artillery playing on us from heights on
the other side.
Then, on the hilltop, overlooking the
town, we had a monumental banquet
with monumental appetites, toraged
from the dinners prepared Tor the re-
treating Confederates. In the after
noon we played at war across the river
till night when our digestion was dis
turbed by marching to Prospect Station
till midnight.
The next day came steady tramp for
Appomattox. At night we were at the
station and the air was filled by whistling
engines, the newly installed Yankee en-
gineers each trying to make his newly
acquired machine screech louder than
the other fellow. The horses and men
were fed on what remained in haver-
sacks and grain bags, and in memory of
the Farmville dinner both wlnked their
eyes for nights rest, when the order
came, "Be prepared to move at nine
o'clock.' Cross and sleepy we went
forward to see the dawn of the morning
ahead. We knew we We're near the end
of the war. We pressed back various
parties of the enemy. We passed
wagons overturned and stalled, by guns
ditched and deserted. Slowly, on account
of the darkness and the uncertainty of
the lay of the land, we pushed forward
till we reached Clover Hill, an eminence
in the village Of Appomattox Court
House, half mile west from the court
house, Here the heavier firing of the
enemy showed them to be in force, and
that it would be wise to wait for day.
light. The hour was a. M, April 9.
The three other regiments of Smith
Brigade were small in size, and did not
number, together, much more than the
ranks Of the 1st Maine Cavalry, even
thinned as they had been by nine days Of
strenuous effort and fighting: No troops
were nearer than Appomattox Station,
some three miles away as the road ran.
! The story of Appomattox has been told
as though it was day of exchanging
notes and waiting to commence negotia-
~ I Al r. = =