The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1911-12-24
THE SECOND CORPS
IN THE WILDERNESS
Vivid Pictures of Fightng-No lime to WASH
Faces in Two Days-A Horrible
Rattlefi cid
Battlef cid.
~ KENT HIs,rELi.,
oe EeorR'ln,

After Chuncellureville and the death
OF Stonewall Jackson. aIajor-Goncral II
b. Ewell succeeded To the command or
tho Second Corps. with The rank OF
!ioutenant- general. lilo was /, man al
distinguished courage aud ability.
While not poracsscd OF the dash vi
jackson, he was moro prudent, perilups.
1cvcr lacking, however, in successfully
carrying out al orders given him by.
ais chief. ITO was quick to neTccive
any advantage gained. always had his
corps well In hand FOR any cnicrg cncy.
Ills men had entire confidence IN hts
ability, and always considered him
the equal OF any corps commander
, Nndc- whom | sGr"ed. IIistor, does
not give him tho credit or the promi-
Fence he 20 richly dcsrves.. At Gc,tys.
burg and In tho two campaigns follow
ins, whcro tho strategy OF our chief
added additional lustro TO HIS fnmc,
EwciIs handling OF his corps was eu-
porh Ho waa tell, slim OF figure. paIo
always al u ghost, used crutches chad
lost J. limb above the knee hi Jackson's
valley campaign IN 1882, ard very
holnol5' In appearance, so much SO that
IT was the wonder OF tho rmy why the
lovely Widow Brown evsr made mp her
mind to marry him. IIa was as brave
ha . Hon, and hts men loved hin. and
never faitered In going where Ito d.
Tectcd. lie was gentle and kind, casy
OF approach. and II good horsemau. no
was proud OF his corps and OF It's rec
ord. Il had never fuiied General Lac
ON all OCCASION. whore duty called,
and now was to I've called OH 10 open
the campaign OF 1861.
General Grant wLs In command OF
tEu Army Of the Potomac. lilo was
no" To US. Bis army ~sa said 10 10
rcorGarizcd and every arm OF service
placed in tho best Of condition Ills
numbers were said TO be liy,S60 mon.
and the force "" had 10 meet these
numbered ac,o0o---soHe differences, YOU
must acknowledges. TN odds. but Cen
hral Leo commanded VI, and lie fully
made UP tina difference. Our army
was hcattered for miles up and down
III" Rnptden River Our corpn WAS on
the extreme RICH. OF Mor:on'h Ford.
a. u. Hill TO our left and LonSstrcet
mt GordonsV!lle, some twenty miles
soi:h OF our centre.
I, waa May, and the air 90 baln,y
we knew that spring was near. Tho
'rses wero leafess, but the lingo OF
green from the grass WAS visible. We
heard that General Grant had crossed
the Eapidan at Germsnna Ford, and
that was all. In fact, he had crossed
without any opposition, and his army
had continued It's march until its front
had reached Spotsylvania Courthouse,
some fifteen miles. and was rapidly OH
It's way to Richmond, unoprosed, its
rear ending the lrRt d. ct q point
where the Orange Pike passed into the
fredertoksburs Plank Road. and VIII
derness Tavern. about four miles from
Gormanna Ford. Now mark the STRAIT
egy and hudastty OF General Leo, IN
stead OF moving south and eaHt TO head
OFF Grant. no bolcIy advanced tho Sec
"nd Corps down the Turnpike Road,
almost TO Wilderness Tavern, where
tho tall OF thu enemy's column wasr and
cried TO the moving column of blue.
HALT" Tho battle was TO take place
on ground OF our choosInE---the Will
dernesa We knew the location well.
a year previous we had made tho
flank movement on Hooker at Chan
cellorsVisie, and our base was Wilder
ness Tavern. ana short time previous
had awaited at Mine Run the attack
that never came from this same army.
On May tho corps was ordered 10
advance down the Turnpike Road.
Tho march was as usual--march an
hour and rest ten minutes. Tho re-
Sion we were passing through was
sparsely settled. Thore was no cavalry
In sight, nor arttliery--nothing to indi-
cate we were hunting trouble. About
O'Clock wo begun to march more
RloTIy. moving Il short distance Mt
time, stopping. then moving on again.
This always denoted the presence OF
tho enemy. Conversation ceased; every
soldier became alert aud Watching
every sign. We were fully an hSur
marching a mile. Night was approach
Ing. There was no firing of any kind
simply silence, and we soon moved TO
tho side OF tho road and went into
oiVouae, making our pallets ON Tho
ground, with tho bright stars for n
covering, and went to slccp. "ncycr
thinking OF TIM
At Daylight on the morning OF tho
9Th We were on tho pike road, ready to
move; directly We began 20 move,
but In Glow. searching way
30 continuous az to DO almost unbear.
able. We knew tho reason. Tho enemy
was near our front, and we were lo1k-
ting for position. Not gun could be
heard nor any one be seen. We had
entered tho Wilderness. There was an
open road on which we were moving
and to right and left an impenetrabIo
Jungle.
All was silence, savo slight wind
moaning among tho trectops. as If
sighing for what was so soon TO take
place. Still moving. slowly, cautiously,
the limo kept on. 1t was terribly try
Ing on the nerves. worse than IL
actually lighting, and IL oneo nerves
over turned against ones self, 1t was
1inder Just auch circumstances, ~
'SoA, W IL ever Co'ReSs Ia always luEt
previous to fight The fret gun dis
pels all fear, and action follows.
Moving down the roads perhaps half
mile, we moved Oft on right IN line OF
batue. How wa tore through tho
bushes and growth cannot say. Ad-
Nancing rapidly. we suddenly halted.
In leaa than i've minutes every man
knew that we wero not In right po-
sltion; We wero parallel with the
4; road we had been marching on, and
reason told US w,o should be at right
il Il s,al9sles5 We tswere on extreme left OF