The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1912-04-06

uCut Of % young officer VINO udd TAX %
part in the affair walking up 90 va.
colonel, who had been @ calm and
impartial spectator and graycly re-
porting THE enemy is in force jus.
beyond this field, sir"
TX
In subordInation to the design OF
this narrative as defined by its title.
the incidents related necessarily
group themselves about my own per
sonality as q center; and, as this cen.
ter during the few terrible hours Of
the engagement, maintained a yaIi-
ably constant relation to the open
field already mentioned, it is import
ant that the reader should bear in
mind the Typographical and tactical
features of the situation The hither
side of the field was occupied by the
front of my brigade-a length OF two
regiments in line, with proper inter
walls for field batteries During Tie
entire fight the enemy held the wood
ed slight ACTIVITY beyond The de
batable ground to the right and lief.
of the open was broken and thickly
wooded for miles, i'm some places
quite inaccessible to artillery, and al
very few points offering opportunitie
for its successful employment As a
consequence of this the two sides of
the field were soon studded thickly
with confronting guns, which famed
away at one another with amazing
zeal and rather startling effect. or
course, an infantry attack delivered
from either side was not to be thought
of when the covered TANKS offered
inducements" so unquestionably SUI
perior; and | believe the riddled bod
les of my poor skirmishers were the
only ones left on this neutral
ground" that day. But there was
very pretty line of dead continually
growing in our rear, and | suppose
the enemy had at his back a similar
encouragement.
The Confguration of the ground Of
fered us no protection. By lying fiat
on our face between the guns we
were screened from view by strag
Cling row of brambles, which mark
ed the course of an obsolete fence
but the enemy's grape was sharper
than his eyes, and it was poor conso
lation to know that his glnners could
not see what they We're doing so long
as they did it. The shock of our
own pieces nearly deafened us, but
in the brief intervals we could hear
the battle roaring and stammering in
the dark reaches of forest to the right
and left, where our other divisions
were dashing themselves again and
again into the smoking jungle. What
would we not have given to join them
in their brave, hopeless task! But
to lie inglorious beneath showers of
shrapnel darting divergent from the
unassailable sky-meekly to be blown
out of life by level gusts of grape
/ to clench our teeth and shrink help
less before big shot pushing noisily
/ through the cOnsenting air-this was
/ horrible! Lie down, there!" a cap
tain would shout-and then get III
himself to see that his order was
obeyed. Captain, take cover, sir!
the Northumberland would Shrek
pacing up and dow ia me most eX
posed position he could find.
o, those cursed guns! not the enc
my's, but our own. Had it not beer
for them, we might have died lik
men. They must be supported, for
sooth-the feeble, Boosting bullies!
was impossible to realize the fact tina
these pieces were doing the enemy a
excellent a mischief as his were dc
= ing us; they seemed to raise thei
7 cloud by day solely to direct arigh
2 the streaming procession of ConfeC
+ crate missiles. They no longer II
t spired confidence; but begot apr,
, hension! and it was with grim sati
faction that | saw the carriage of on
y and another smashed into mattel
S wood by a whooping shot and bul
] died out of the line.
e The dense forests wholly or part
e in which were fought so many battle
y of the Civil War, lay upon the cart
# in each autumn a thick deposit
G dead leaves and twigs, the decay
i which forms soil of surprising dep
r and richness, In dry weather the Il
S. per stratum is as infammable as ii
:; der 4 fire once kindled in it W
j. spread with a slow, persistent advan
e as far as local conditions permit, lea
s. ing a bed of light ashes, benea
e which the less combustible accretio
I'd of previous years will shoulder un
G, extingushed by rains In many
r. the engagements of the war the +
! len leaves took fire and roasted t
I'd fallen men. At Shiloh, during t
d. first DAVIS fighting. wide tracts