Virginia free press. (Charlestown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1832-1916, 1911-04-13
WAR WARM WORK
The Phrase "Heat of Battle" Not
a Mere Figure Of Speech.
FIGHTING. FIRES THE BLOOD.

An Old Veterans Story Of an Early
Morning Attack In Zero Weather and
the Change the skirrish Wrought In
His Half Frozen Body.
.'The expression heat of battle is
more than q mere poetic figure Of
speech descriptive Of the fierce glow Of
emotion the soldier feels when In the
| midst of conflict" said southern SOL
der who was an officer under Colonel
Mosby. "It describes exactly the SEN
sible. physical condition the soldier
feels, no matter what the temperature
may be.
'eThat this Is true was evidenced by
my own experience during the war be-
tween the states. 1t. was in February,
1884, and Colonel Mosby. with some
hundred of us, was camped near Up
perville, village In Virginia about
thirty miles south of uarpers Ferry.
Late one afternoon our leader received
dispatch from General Lee to make
forced march that night and attack
body of Federal troops that was sta
toned on Loudon heights. which over
looks Harpers Ferry. The weather was
bitter cold, the coolest that had been
known In that section for many years.
The mercury was coquetting around
zero, six inch fall of snow, half Nmelt-
ed and frozen again. made the Hoads
almost impossible, and a<stif north
20 10
the outlook for pleasant dash Of
thirty miles a most dismally improb-
able one.
'It was about sunset when, muffled
to the eyes against the biting frost and
bitter wind. our column left camp at
Upperville For the first ten miles our
squadron, made up of veterans Injured
to all manner of hardships, did not
suffer much, and occasionally some one
would even essay joke. But in the
second ten miles the cold, that had
slowly eaten its way through overcoat
and jacket and shirt, began to bite into
our bodies To restore life to our numb
legs we would take our feet from the
stirrups and let them hang until the
with those compelled to ride much in
the cold-and we would keep our
hands and arms in some measure
warm by beating them against our
bodies or clapping them severely to-
gether.
1.-The second ten was bad enough.
say, but the last was-well, polar
nightmare The vitality seemed to be
frozen out of man and beast For
hours the horses stumbled through
the snow bearing a troop as silent as
the dead save for an occasional
humping of some poor devils half
frozen arms against his side as he
sought TO restore life to the deadened
limbs. When I took my feet out Of
the 'stirrupsz to help the circulation L
would have to take my hands and lift
my legs up to get-the feet back in
place., so lost to all sensation We're
they.
"At length about o'clock in the
morning we saw the lights Of the en-
emy's picket fires and could distin-
guish the muffied forms of the sentries
as they paced their beats. There was
a small strip Of woods that ran to
within a hundred or less yards of he
Federal camp, and in this we formed
for the attack My hands were so
cold that 1 was unable to cock the
hammers of my revolvers with my
thumb, but was compelled to effect it
with my teeth. holding the pistol be-
tween my numbed fists and drawing
hack the hammer by gripping it in my
teeth and pulling 1t back until it
caught
"At length all was in readiness. As
l sat there, barely able to grasp my
revolvers, the Charger rang out, and
the nextamoment we were in the midst
of the enemy, who were too astounded
at an attack on such a bitter night to
offer much resistance and for the most
part fed down to Harpers Ferry to
the main body. Some Sf them. how
ever, put up stout fight for men
awakened from warm sleep to fight to
the death in the bitter night air, and
for couple Of minutes we had all we
could do, but it was soon over, and
we We're in possession of the camp.
when came to myself found
was sitting with one leg thrown over
the pummel of my saddle, my over
coat and jacket flung wide open. while
my shirt, opened to the last button,
allowed a grateful zero zephyr to play
upon my bare sweating breast. In
my hand. from which I:had pulled the
glove moist with sweat, was hold
ing my hat. with which l was vigor-
ously tanning myself.
"And less than five minutes before
had been so chilled that had been in
a comfortable house with physician
at hand he would have filled me full
of hot drinks. wrapped me in blankets
and kept me insbed couple of days.
NO" concluded. the veteran. the
heat Of battle is something more
than mere figure of speech. New
York Times.
FA